MP3 players--available in a wide variety of styles and sizes and capable of storing thousands of songs--capitalize on digital technology to supplant traditional Walkman-style cassette-tape players and portable CD players.
Today's players pack loads of songs, and the devices are easy to manage, too. We'll help you figure out which one is best for you. The storage capacity and battery life of an MP3 player can have a big impact on how much you enjoy it. We'll explain what's behind these and other specifications.
A portable digital audio player sets your music free so you can easily mix and match songs in any order and take the tunes with you. MP3 players use one of two storage mediums: hard drive or flash memory. Hard-drive players offer the greatest amount of storage space but tend to be larger and more susceptible to damage due to the fragile nature of hard disks. Flash-memory models hold a more limited number of songs, but their lack of moving parts makes them more durable than hard-drive players.
An alternative technology beckons as well: Portable media centers, made by companies such as Archos, Creative Labs, and IRiver, play both music and video (on LCD screens about the size of a playing card). Exclusively hard-drive devices, these handheld entertainment consoles tie in closely with desktop PCs and let you watch hours of recorded television shows or movies.
Nearly all MP3 players require that you have a reasonably modern PC with a free USB 1.1 or 2.0 port. Your songs will load much more quickly with the latter. As you begin creating your music collection on the computer, you may want to upgrade your hard drive to be able to store more files.
Specialized MP3 players are not the only devices you can buy to listen to your music.
You can now get mobile telephones, thumb drives, digital cameras, personal digital assistants, and car stereos that can store and play back MP3 music files. Many pocket-size voice memo recorders can now also record and play back MP3 files. But a word to the wise: Dedicated MP3 players usually sound better and have more user-friendly controls than hybrid devices.
Today's players pack loads of songs, and the devices are easy to manage, too. We'll help you figure out which one is best for you. The storage capacity and battery life of an MP3 player can have a big impact on how much you enjoy it. We'll explain what's behind these and other specifications.
A portable digital audio player sets your music free so you can easily mix and match songs in any order and take the tunes with you. MP3 players use one of two storage mediums: hard drive or flash memory. Hard-drive players offer the greatest amount of storage space but tend to be larger and more susceptible to damage due to the fragile nature of hard disks. Flash-memory models hold a more limited number of songs, but their lack of moving parts makes them more durable than hard-drive players.
An alternative technology beckons as well: Portable media centers, made by companies such as Archos, Creative Labs, and IRiver, play both music and video (on LCD screens about the size of a playing card). Exclusively hard-drive devices, these handheld entertainment consoles tie in closely with desktop PCs and let you watch hours of recorded television shows or movies.
Nearly all MP3 players require that you have a reasonably modern PC with a free USB 1.1 or 2.0 port. Your songs will load much more quickly with the latter. As you begin creating your music collection on the computer, you may want to upgrade your hard drive to be able to store more files.
Specialized MP3 players are not the only devices you can buy to listen to your music.
You can now get mobile telephones, thumb drives, digital cameras, personal digital assistants, and car stereos that can store and play back MP3 music files. Many pocket-size voice memo recorders can now also record and play back MP3 files. But a word to the wise: Dedicated MP3 players usually sound better and have more user-friendly controls than hybrid devices.
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