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Six Tips for Buying an MP3 Player with Flash Memory
If you're the type of person who's on the go all the time
and wants to jam to your favorite tunes while commuting to
work, trekking across campus, or working out, then having
the "right" MP3 player is essential. Here are six tips to
help you find the flash memory player that's right for you:
1. Understand
the basics.
For the active person, a player that uses flash memory to
store music has distinct advantages over a player that uses
a hard disk. Simply put, flash memory players have no moving
parts, meaning that you can take them jogging and your music
won't skip.
2. Make sure
you're getting all the goodies.
Many portable music players can do more than just play
music. Some players have a built-in voice recorder, FM
recorder, or stopwatch. And some come with extra
accessories like high-quality headphones, a belt clip, or an
armband. Because most of these features are included at no
additional cost, make sure the device you choose is filled
with these fun extras.
3. You'll want a
display.
When you have hundreds of songs on your player, you really
need an easy way to select your music by artist, album, or
genre. This is critical if you want to find that one song or
artist you really want to hear. A display also comes in
handy when you're looking for your favorite radio station.
4. Let a
professional make your next playlist.
Having an FM radio lets you put your player on autopilot as
you mountain bike, cycle, or rollerblade. And when you're
sweating it out on the stationary bike at your health club,
you can listen to the program airing on the club's TV. You
want to have something that is fun, lightweight, and
flexible. And FM radio is a key feature that many players
offer at no extra cost, even for less than $100.
5. Pick the
right size for you.
The price of a player will depend on its storage
capacity—the more megabytes (MB) of storage it has, the more
music it can hold and the more it will cost. If you're
ripping your own CDs, using a player with Windows Media
Audio (WMA) support as well as MP3 support gives you the
most music per megabyte.
6. Don't get
locked into one online store.
Have you ever been on the hunt for a particular song? Some
obscure indie rock tune or rare jazz performance you heard
on the radio? You might have to shop at more than one store
before you find the song you're looking for. Having the
flexibility to choose from over 1 million tracks of music
from multiple online music stores such as MSN Music,
Napster, MusicMatch, and Wal-Mart can be the key to getting
the music you want. Several stores even offer subscription
services so you can download all the songs you want for
about the cost of a CD each month.
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