MP3 player suggestions?

[Silkspinner]

So, looking for a somewhat cheap, but sturdy/quality player that I can jog with.

I'm not much of a gizmo guy, so not up on brands and such. Like the kind that you can set into this speaker base and can play it as well.

Any suggestions?

[Erloas]

Although not cheap, there are a lot of GPS watches now that will also play MP3s, as well as being able to work with heart rate monitors. I know its not exactly what you asked for, but if you are jogging with it, those are all features that could be important if you take it at all seriously.
I personally have the MotoActv.

For any good recommendations more information is needed. The primary ones being how much memory do you need and do you need/want expandable storage (such as microSD cards), and do you want standard sized batteries or is a built in rechargeable battery better? And secondary is of course what you consider "cheap."
I have a small RCA one that just plugs in like a USB stick and can be transfered onto without all the itune stuff and it uses a single AAA battery so I can easily carry batteries to switch it out. It doesn't have a lot of features and not a lot of built in memory but it can take microSD cards so I can put a fair amount on it, but its not practical if you have a 50GB music library you want with you all the time.

[Hbgplayer]

Well, seeing as you're asking, I'll assume you've ruled an iPod, so I suggest looking at Sansa. My dad has had on for going on 6 years and loves it. The only problem with it now is that the volume control is starting to get worn out.

[grimbold]

i had a crappy k star (i think thats what its called) the lasted me about a year of daily use before it started to crumble

you might want to check those out they're REALLY cheap

[GnomeFighter]

iPod Shuffle. I know I sound like a normal apple evangelist but I would never think about another brand of MP3 player at the moment. iPods are well built and designed. There is a reason why they are the "go to" int he way Sony used to be.

The shuffles are not that expensive either, and are perfect for jogging.

FYI I own an HTC phone, a HP desktop, an Acer Linux lap top and an iPad. I'm not an apple "fanboy", but also not an apple hater. I just try and buy the bext thing for the job.

[Don Julio Anejo]

I'm pretty much anti-Apple at the moment, but you still can't beat iPods, especially older ones, before they got all shiny and annoying with their touch screens.

Get anything that uses the old Apple jack (not the new thunderbolt-like jack like on the iPhone 5 and not a little cereal loop) and you're all set, 80% of docks are made specifically for the iPod, while USB ones are a lot more rare (i.e. none of the Sony's have USB jacks). And if you're using a USB dock, you honestly don't need anything more than a $5 flash drive anyway, which makes this a moot factor in selecting a player.

Also, AAA batteries suck. Not only do they add weight/bulk to the player, but you also have to change them pretty often, which is annoying. On the other hand, built in lithium batteries on most newer players last something like 20 hours anyway and don't cost you any money to use.

That said, a lot of it depends on how much music you want to put on there, as my library is only ~12-15 GB and I only ever listen to maybe 5-6 of it. If yours is large, it rules out iPod Nano and Shuffle and leaves you with the larger (and much more expensive) Touch or Classic, which are honestly too big/heavy to jog with.

PS: if you don't mind buying used, CL has a very large market for older iPods for cheap.

[Gnoman]

I'd ebay or pawnshop an old Zune, personally. That was a great design.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

I've been very happy with my ipod classic. Though mostly because it's the only thing that has the memory capacity I needed, while also being in a reasonable price range...

[Jack Squat]

iPods aren't a bad suggestion, especially if you're wanting accessories built especially for them. Personally though, I hate iTunes, so I avoid using iPods.

I've been very happy with my Creative Zens that I've had, and refurbished ones can be had for dirt cheap. got a lot more expensive after I bought mine, apparently. They're still not terribly priced though, and have some of the best battery life on the market.

Really though, what are you looking for out of an mp3 player? You said you want it to jog with, but do you also want to use it when walking around town? What's the price range? How much music are you looking to put on it? Do you want to also store videos/pictures? Are you going to want to plug it up to your car (and does your car have iphone/aux/usb support)? What media player do you use on your computer?

[grimbold]

leaves you with the larger (and much more expensive) Touch or Classic, which are honestly too big/heavy to jog with.


the weight factor can be easily ameliorated with an arm band :smallsmile:

[Don Julio Anejo]

the weight factor can be easily ameliorated with an arm band :smallsmile:
I've been thinking of getting one (even though I don't use an iPod at the moment), but I'm not sure how it would work with a jacket and/or a heavy sweater. Especially since I constantly need to reselect songs - I'm too lazy to use anything other than shuffle and too moody to leave song selection to lady luck.

Right now I just keep it in my hand and use behind-the-earlobe headphones so they don't fall off.

[Erloas]

Not sure about all of them, but at least a few players have some controls build into the headphones where you can at least skip to the next song with it. Of course that also limits your headphone options.

With some of the higher end MP3 players, like the MotoActv I mentioned above, they have bluetooth so you can get bluetooth headphones and the cord doesn't matter and many of those headphones also have build in controls on them.

[Thajocoth]

I hope I'm not threadjacking too much here, but I'm also looking to buy an MP3 player. This would be a gift for my girl. What she wants:
- Purple
- Will play music
- Has a screen (to see the title of what's playing)
- Doesn't have iTunes or anything like it
- Doesn't need more than a couple gigs... 2 is doable, 4 might be ideal, 8 is more than plenty

Last time I bought her an MP3 player, the one I bought didn't work when not connected to the computer, so I am obviously not good at picking them out.

[Zrak]

The only MP3 play I ever had was an iRiver. I recall it being quite cheap, having more memory than I managed to fill up, and outlasting all my friends' iPods.

[Erloas]

I hope I'm not threadjacking too much here, but I'm also looking to buy an MP3 player. This would be a gift for my girl.

About the most limited factor there is purple. And pretty much everything other then an iPod doesn't require the use of annoying syncing software like iTunes.

The SanDisk Sansa Clip+ (http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Sansa-Clip-Player-Indigo/dp/B00400TGEC/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1354299935&sr=8-5&keywords=mp3+player) fits everything you are looking for. I'm pretty sure I got an older version of one of these for my ex-step brother several years ago.
It is cheap, can take expandable microSDHC cards, has a screen, and has a rechargeable battery. As an aside you can get the 4GB version and a 32GB microSDHC card to expand it for less then the 8GB version.