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Mac Daniel's Advice

Picking an MP3 Player

Evan Kleiman - 2001.06.15

Q. I've been hearing good things lately about handheld MP3 players, but there are so many out there. I don't know which one is best one for me! Can you help?

A. Right now there are dozens of available handheld-MP3 players out there for the Macintosh user - but all of them are equipped with different features and standard equipment, so I'll help you sort them out and decide which one is best for you.

The first (and probably most popular) MP3 player is the Nomad II by Creative Sound Labs. It comes standard with 64 MB of memory, which should be more than enough memory for you to listen to two hours or so of your favorite music. The base-model will cost you around US$180, but Creative also makes different models which adds such features as an FM-Tuner and a docking station. (The Nomad II is available in multiple colors at many stores and online retail sites, such as Amazon.com.)

Another very popular one is the Rio 600 by Diamond. It has such features as 32 MB of memory, which is about an hour of music. However, this can be upgraded to as much as 340 MB of memory, which is about 9 hours of music. Also, a neat and individual feature of this product is like many of today's cell phones and other small consumer electronics, Diamond produces multicolored faceplates for your Rio. It's US$150 price tag is almost unbeatable.

A newer MP3 player is the Hip Zip MP3 player by Iomega, a brand that's been out there for years. The Hip Zip has many features that other MP3 players on the market just can't offer. One of the most innovative features is no built-in memory. (Yes, this is a good feature, believe it or not!) Instead of being limited to the 32 or 64 MB that other players offer, you can use small, low-cost 40 MB PocketZip disks. You can have as little or as much memory as you want by buying additional disks, plus the US$200 Hip Zip doubles as a portable PocketZip drive.

The last and probably best priced MP3 player today is the D-MP120 64 MB MP3 player by D-Link. Available for under US$200 in most places, this MP3 player offers the most stuff for the money. However, compared to the other MP3 players, it doesn't have all of the coolest features such as an FM radio tuner or faceplates. But if you're out there just looking for an inexpensive 64 MB MP3 player with not a lot of features, then this is the one for you. (D-Link also offers less costly 16 and 32 MB models.)

Now, there are many other MP3 players out there, but the bad side is that very few of them are also Macintosh compatible, but, thankfully, the best few, the ones I've reviewed today are probably the best of the bunch in either the Mac or PC world.

So, get out there and start listening!

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