Music

I Need an MP3 Player But I Don’t Want an iPod. What Do I Buy?

Given the ubiquity, ease-of-use and various price points of Apple’s music players and phones, I’m not sure why anyone would want any other brand.  Perhaps on principle?

So let’s assume you need an MP3 player but you’re not going to drink the Apple Kool-Aid.  What’s your best option?

Lifehacker is asking the same question and is looking for input from non-iPod/iPhone users. This speaks volumes since people turn to Lifehacker for answers and not questions.  If they don’t have anything to offer, that says something, doesn’t it?  

Still, I think it’s an interesting exercise.  Anything to contribute?

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38035 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

3 thoughts on “I Need an MP3 Player But I Don’t Want an iPod. What Do I Buy?

  • I have a Sandisk Fuze that is pretty much perfect for what I need. I can easily transfer MP3s to/from it using Windows explorer, and it has a micro SD expansion slot in which I have a 16GB card (on top of the built-in 8GB). All that was about $89 in total (including the card), which I think is cheaper than the equivalent iPod. I'm very happy with it.

    I did try the iPod Shuffle, but it forced me to use iTunes to upload songs (which has a horrendous interface IMO and made things unnecessarily difficult in many more ways – in the end I gave up, since I want to do things my way and not Apple's way).

    Reply
  • I have a Sandisk Sansa Clip+ which basically takes care of all my musical needs. 4GB onboard, 32GB microSD card in the slot. Drag 'n drop files on there, no messy iTunes. Having a Mac and a PC at home, it'll mount up on either. The only downside is that when you refresh the card it has to reparse the library. (With my 32 GB of tunes on there, it takes about 5 minutes.) But that's far less annoying to me than "syncing" the library.

    Total cost for player and card? 90-100 bucks.

    Sure, it's a basic little thing. No video, no wireless internet, no garage door opener. But I bought it for listening to music. And it's the size of the iPod Shuffle, but with a nice clear display. My only downside is that you have to stay on the battery. Charge it when not in use, or it'll lose capacity a whole lot faster. Oh, and the supplied headphones suck, but who uses those?

    Reply
  • Samsung Galaxy Player. Basically an Android powered version of the iPod Touch. One thing that makes it better than the iPod is that it has a MicroSD reader, so you can expand the memory from 8GB up to 40 (8GB + up to a 32GB card). Really cool device. But for whatever reason, no Canadian retailer carries it. But it can be purchased from B&H Photo and Video (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/) and they will ship it to Canada.

    Reply

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