What MP3 Player

[gbrown]

How did my little kid get to be 15 ??? Well, it's birthday time for the munchin and his mom and I are going to get him some sort of MP3 player. I'm leaning towards solid-state vs. mini-drive based. Budget is under US$200. You folks are the uber-geeks...suggestions?

GcB

[TJ_Tigger]

How did my little kid get to be 15 ??? Well, it's birthday time for the munchin and his mom and I are going to get him some sort of MP3 player. I'm leaning towards solid-state vs. mini-drive based. Budget is under US$200. You folks are the uber-geeks...suggestions?

GcB

What other features are you looking for in a MP3 player? Some have FM radios and other swanky features. I don't know if the Nano meets the sub 200 price range, but the iPods are great. They tend to scratch easily but I love mine. I have a regular iPod photo and it gets used all the time, airplane rides, walking the dog, at work.

[gbrown]

What other features are you looking for in a MP3 player? Some have FM radios and other swanky features. ... They tend to scratch easily but I love mine. I have a regular iPod photo and it gets used all the time, airplane rides, walking the dog, at work.

"Swanky" isn't really needed. "Tend to scratch" makes me shy away from the iPod. It IS a 15 year old we are talking about here ! FM player would be nice (he likes NPR!).

[eric_darling]

iPod, and don't look back. The new Nano's are pretty slick, and just within your budget range.

At this point in the portable MP3 market, it's all Apple.

BTW, I have a trustworthy iPod mini, and there's not a scratch on the thing. It's wise to get a protective case for it - I picked one up at Best Buy. It cost me $179 for the player + whatever the case was. I think that any sub-iPod make will scratch every bit as easily. iPods are hyper-prevalent in the market - so you hear a lot of good and bad about them - basically you just hear about them a lot.

If I was 15 today, and my folks bought me Zips instead of Adidas (with apologies to the Fresh Prince and Mr. DJ Jazzy Jeff), I'd be secretly disappointed.

[TJ_Tigger]

The nano is solid state as well and for what it is worth Gary, there are lots of NPR shows available via Podcasts as well.

[Intrigued]

I usually go for iPod units;however, this time I am recommending a different unit for various reasons. Such as, the unit may find itself in hostle environments (hit with a basketball for one! ), it's light weight, comes with extra accessories, has the ability to receive Stereo FM stations, and allows for extra solid stated memory (solid state so that violent jolts will not ruin the unit, as might happen with a HD based unit).

My suggestion then?

Lyra RD1090

Check out the specifications.

http://www.rcaaudiovideo.com/NR/rdon...5/0/RD1090.pdf

I had my hand on one (guy I have done some work for) recently and it was a nice little unit. If you want to "wow" your son... then the largest capacity iPod with some accessories should do the trick (get an armband for sure!).

[Intrigued]

Wow, am I missing something here?

http://cgi.ebay.com/RCA-Lyra-RD1090-...QQcmdZViewItem

That is dang cheap, Buy It Now!, and did I read that right? Free shipping in the U.S.? (oh good rating too for the eBay member).

That's under $40!

Woot!

[Corey]

I've reached the conclusion that earbuds are bad for your ears, especially if you wear them while sweating lots. I'm going to get a new set of headphones for my shuffle, probably these:

http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...250&pfp=BROWSE

[gbrown]

Ended up with the iPod Nano. Jeff is thrilled. What more could I ask? I love his playlist:

Barenaked Ladies
Flogging Molley
Tom Lehrer
Jazz
- Louis Armstrong
- Frank Sinatra
- Basie
- Dorsey
- Miller

It's really great when you have a 15 year old that has THAT all on one list!

GcB

[JimS]

Jeff is thrilled. What more could I ask?

Nothing, I don’t suppose, especially at that age. It makes the gift worth every dollar, doesn’t it?

If he’s spending time listening to that Mr. Armstrong, make sure you’ve had “the talk” with him.


Congratulations for getting it right, Mr. Brown.

[eric_darling]

I've reached the conclusion that earbuds are bad for your ears, especially if you wear them while sweating lots. I'm going to get a new set of headphones for my shuffle, probably these:

http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...250&pfp=BROWSE

Yow! $149? That's a lot of bank for consumer grade headphones, even if they are wireless. I think I spent less on my AKGs and Sony professional sets. I guess if you gotta have something appropriate for skateboarding... I wonder what the other end of these things looks like? It has to be bigger than the Shuffle itself... [edit] just found a picture, actually.[/edit]

[Corey]

<YODA>Wireless they are. Kind of neat that is. Up to 30 feet from the iPod can you go. Remote control do you have... Mmm?</YODA>

Here's the main thing, I need to get something where my ears can breath. My ears need freedom man, they've had it with being oppressed by the system. Plus I think when sweat gets forced into your inner ear "it's a bad thing" as Martha would say. I think when you engage in sports with earbuds it works sweat down into your ear which would normally roll off or evaporate. Additionally I've always been a believer that earbuds are dangerous for your ears in terms of how they launch the sound right inside there like that. I mean holy toledo, our ears were definitely not made for that. It's like the great 20th century philosopher Nancy Sinatra once said, "These ears were made for walking, and that's just what they'll dooo..."

[eric_darling]

I hear you. *boo!*

The thing is that a wireless transmitter is bound to be a mismatch with your model of iPod. They even purposefully leave it out of the supported models on Logitech's web site. Just looking out for what's practical in your case. I would also assume that your audio signal will be pretty variable when you go to a skatepark and cover distances greater than 30 feet. We all know how dubious maximum range ratings are for wireless products. Believe it when you've field tested it.

[Corey]

The module is small enough to fit in your pocket, I definitely wasn't planning to set it down at the skatepark, that would be the last I'd ever see of it. YOINK! Anyhow I'll check into it, I just assumed they'd work with the shuffle for the audio but not the remote. Feh...