The Fish in the MP3 Player Sea

[Justinian]

So, I'm saving up some money and have decided to finally get an MP3 player and take my music on the go with me. Yay! The problem is I just can't make a decision between the top 3 MP3 players.

From greatest to least (in terms of popularity): (all are about the same price and are 30 GB)

iPod

The king of the industry so to speak and the "cool" thing to have. But I don't feel like uprooting myself from Windows Media Player, which I've used forever and am very satisfied with. iTunes would waste another 5-10 gigs of my hard drive converting all my music to AAC, and the iPod doesn't support .wmv so I have no choice. Another huge con is it doesn't have FM radio. I love radio (got some great classic rock stations in my area) so this sucks. #3.

Zune

One of the newest players. Nice look to it, great WMP support, supports my .WMV files, has an FM tuner. Probably my #1 choice right now.

Creative Zen Vision: M

People say great things about this. Also has great WMP support, has an FM tuner AND recorder. My #2 choice but the recorder and better WMP support, plus not being made by MS, are pushing it towards #1.

What do you guys think?

[Evariste]

Well, I hear that the Zune is has a clunky interface, but I haven't heard much else.


I'd say go for the iPod, as the thing plays video, too. iTunes is starting to get a bit bloated, though. For FM radio, I've seen add-ons for the thing, but I have no idea how much they cost and if they're worth it.

[RusskiSoldat]

The iPods are notorious for battery problems, many of them becoming useless after a year (meaning you shell out 80 bucks for a replacement battery).
I suggest the Zen since I haven't heard anything good about the Zune.

[Zuwxiv]

The Zune I don't like, partially because I don't like supporting M$ and partly because I don't like it's interface. Try it out at a store, see if you like it.

The Creative Zen I have heard really good things about.

The iPod: Well, there's a reason it's the most popular. iTunes may be a hassle to set up, but it's a breeze to use after that. It may not play WMV, but I think iTunes can convert the file format.

Personally, I like the iPod. But honestly, this is my advice: They all play music. The biggest difference is the interface. Find them on display in a store and try them out. Whichever one you like the most, buy.

[SoggyFrog]

I'm not sure if I can comment on the new generation, but I'm really satisfied with my Creative Zen Micro, which has not had any problems through about 14 months by now (Minor navigational lag in -30°C weather.:hmmm: )

Even though I use iTunes for music, I went with the Creative because of features/concern over iPod reliability. File conversion either way is of small inconvenience, but since you use WMP that's a + for Zen anyways.

As for the FM radio, don't expect too much. I doubt that between generations the consistent radio static would have been corrected. That is, you can hear the radio alright, but you'll hear the static as well. As for the computer software, that will have changed; I'm not satisfied with the kind I'm working with for the Zen Micro.

I recall the Zune being ugly and featured only in dull colours. Oi:

[Incinerate_IV]

iPod is pretty overpriced and over hyped. It may look nice, but the thing scratches so easily that you are forced to keep it in some kind of protective pouch all the time, which pretty much gets rid of the whole point of having one.

I say go for the Creative Zen Vision: M, it's got some pretty decent reviews.
http://reviews.cnet.com/Creative_Zen....html?tag=also

Or even better a Toshiba Gigabeat;
http://reviews.cnet.com/Toshiba_Giga....html?tag=also