By Chris Rubenstein
When it comes to MP3 players, the choices can make one dizzy. Storage capacity, external memory cards, battery life, weight, how long the unit will hold a charge are just a few factors that pop into my mind when I think portable MP3 players.
When it comes to MP3 players, the choices can make one dizzy. Storage capacity, external memory cards, battery life, weight, how long the unit will hold a charge are just a few factors that pop into my mind when I think portable MP3 players. On one hand you have the Apple iPod. Now mostly everyone has heard of the iPod even if they never held a portable MP3 player in their hand before. This is possible due in part to Apple's tremendous marketing efforts. I am fortunate enough to say honestly that I owned both an Apple iPod and other portable MP3 players.
This article was written in the hopes of leaving you further educated on MP3 players than you were when you first reached this page. I will start with positive attributes to the iPod and end with the downside.
User Interface
Most MP3 players have intuitive interfaces and are very easy to use. I have not found another MP3 player with an easier interface than the iPod. The iPod allows a user, pending that their digital files have the proper tags associated, to sort their music by Artist, Album, Genre, or by a user created playlist. Many other MP3 players also have this feature. The iPod user interface syncs up seamlessly with their proprietary software, iTunes and also allows you to sort your music as aforementioned. If for some reason your mp3s do not have the proper tags, you can still add them to a custom playlist for easy retrieval.
There are many other units out there with great interfaces. The company SanDisk, who started out as an external storage media company has dipped their feet in the MP3 market and came out with a product called the Sansa. It is considerably cheaper than the iPod. It has all the functionality of the iPod but the UI differs extremely. I own this player and personally, I found the iPod UI to be friendlier for a number of reasons. The wheel on the Sansa is mechanical, versus the touch pad technology on the iPod which doesn't allow for precise scanning through songs. The iPod's touch pad wheel allows you to scan through songs quickly by flicking your finger on the pad or slowly with a steady deliberate drag of the finger. This especially comes in handy when scanning through very long broadcasts. On the Sansa, you can spin the wheel forever before you get to the 10 minute mark.
Another issue where the iPod shines over the Sansa is if a song is copied to the Sansa player without ID tags, it simply doesn't show up. This baffled me when I first got the Sansa and has been an ongoing headache since I now have to add ID tags to custom recorded broadcasts that do not come with ID tags.
Price
The saying hold true that you get what you pay for. The Sansa MP3 player comes at or more than 50% less than the cost of a new iPod (depending on the model and storage capacity). For users who are a bit more tech savvy, the Sansa can be a real money saver. On the other hand, the iPod will be easier to use for the less than tech savvy listener.
As you can see the iPod is no different than many other MP3 players out on the market as far as functionality is concerned but their front end user interface is well thought out and in the end you are paying for the brains of the product. The actual electronics in most cases is worth less than $5. Good luck in your search.
Chris has been writing helpful articles for two years now. Please view his website geared to help people find the right fish tank filter where he reviews the Hagen Fluval 304 and the Fluval 204 at his site.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Rubenstein
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