MP3 player for a backpack

January 12, 2006 6:25 AM

My 14 yo's MP3 player (a cheap Motorola flash player) kicked the bucket the other day. She wants a new one. I really don't know what's out there, or even what I should look for. She's reasonably careful with her stuff, but the player would live in her backpack and has to be somewhat durable. A flash player is probably preferable, for the same reason. She doesn't want her dad's Zen (says it's dorky looking).

She wants something with a display, so an iPod Shuffle is not acceptable; and a Nano is a bit more than I want to spend. Price range is under $150 (although if there's something really great out there, I'll get it for me and she can have my Mini). Most of our music is not ripped through iTunes, so that's not a consideration.

posted by jlkr to technology (29 comments total)

i've heard good things about the mobiBLU cube player.
posted by xospecialk at 6:38 AM on January 12, 2006

also i WOULD recommend this player

Sony NW-E 507

if it wasn't tied to sony's sonicstage/connect software. its a very hot looking player
posted by xospecialk at 6:39 AM on January 12, 2006

The iRiver series is small, durable, flash, and includes a radio tuner (which you can record off of).

Hooks up as a regular USB drive, drag-drop, etc.
posted by unixrat at 6:49 AM on January 12, 2006

I'd check out the Iaudio U2. It's an outstanding flash DAP, the 1GB version is less than $150 new, and it comes with a durable case so it's extra tough.

On the software side, it's drag-and-drop... very simple and requires no drivers. Also has nice sound, which is a good bonus. The only negative I would say is that it's a little plain... the NW-E507 is much flashier, for example. But then with the Iaudio you won't have to wrestle with software just to add music.
posted by selfnoise at 6:55 AM on January 12, 2006

I have a samsung YP. It works great (although it had a software glitch once that I fixed by updating the firmware. It probably just needed a hard reboot, which happened during the upgrade process).


The Samsungs are flash based, tiny, and less then $150.
posted by delmoi at 7:15 AM on January 12, 2006

samsung makes like a million diffrent MP3 players as you can see.
posted by delmoi at 7:17 AM on January 12, 2006

A MuVo?
posted by Firas at 7:25 AM on January 12, 2006

I've had a 128 MB Rio Forge for about a year and a half. All you need is a USB drive and the software is drag and drop. Without a memory card (SD/MMC), it obviously doesn't hold too much music, but the thing is insanely durable. It lives in the bottom of my purse and I use it while running in the heat/cold/rain/whatever each day.
posted by sara is disenchanted at 7:57 AM on January 12, 2006

Seconded on the mobiblu. I've got two iPods and I STILL want one.
posted by By The Grace of God at 8:02 AM on January 12, 2006

When teens are involved I, too, recommend a somewhat obsolescent but rugged player. I've found these Lexar JumpDrive units to be indestructible (mine's lived in my gym bag for couple of years now without compliant.) The largest capacity 256 Mb units are getting scarce, but still can found real cheap on the 'Bay, so if it gets lost, it's not a tragedy. They load music thru Explorer, and thus they work just fine as a USB flash drive, a handy feature for students.
posted by mojohand at 8:11 AM on January 12, 2006

The newer iRiver players don't show up as a standard usb drive, they use a Microsoft proprietary protocol so you can't use them with anything but Windows. FYI.
posted by thedward at 8:24 AM on January 12, 2006

I know I'm not the first to say it, but get her the MobiBlue. All her friends will be jealous, and it has a ton of great features.

I have one, and whenever anyone sees it, their eyes glaze over in geek envy.
posted by Merdryn at 8:27 AM on January 12, 2006

Definitely a 1GB Mobiblu. By far the best mp3 player unless you need many GB of songs. It's 1" tiny, connects to PC via USB cable where the ear plug normally goes, shows up as a drive to drag your folders/files over, charging all the while. Great OLED display. Ear plugs on a cool necklace-like tether that hangs the mobi right off it, exactly where you need it to get to the buttons.

In a pinch it doubles as a USB flash drive. Just drag whatever files you want to transport.

Have purchased three as gifts and two for us.
posted by mumeishi at 8:48 AM on January 12, 2006

I really like my RCA Lyra, particularly for its SD card expansion slot and FM tuner--it wins on functionality. It's knocked around my gym bag, been dropped, it goes from dry Minnesota winters into a humid damp locker room, no problem. Runs what seems like a long time on a single AA battery. Display is nice and readable, but has *zero* coolness factor, if that's what you're looking for in a display.

I *do* like the looks of that Mobiblu, though.
posted by gimonca at 8:58 AM on January 12, 2006

Isn't the Mobi only available through Walmart, though? That is a concern for some.

I've never been impressed by the form factor anyway. I don't particularly want to wear my mp3 player as a necklace, and it seems like a cube wouldn't fit very well into pants pockets.

Additionally, the Mobi uses a built-in battery, so you can't just swap out it with a fresh AAA if it dies on you. You have to be next to a USB cable.

I'm not hatin', I'm just saying that the Creative Muvo has the same specs, none of the above drawbacks, and only costs slightly more.
posted by Hildago at 8:58 AM on January 12, 2006

I like the Creative MuVo line. But honestly, all these devices are about the same.
posted by Nelson at 9:03 AM on January 12, 2006

I like the MuVo a lot. its pretty tiny, which is great. i just wish it had an OLED....

and the swappeable battery issues hasn't stopped millions of people from buying ipods...
posted by xospecialk at 9:56 AM on January 12, 2006

Don't be cheap dad - you have a style concious 14-year old daughter. Pop for the Nano and say, "This is part of your birthday present, ok?" -- and then wait for your hug.
posted by nathan_teske at 9:57 AM on January 12, 2006

a froogle search "without the words 'walmart'" turns up lots of good non-WalMart options.
posted by By The Grace of God at 10:34 AM on January 12, 2006

On a friends' recommendation, I've had the Sandisk 1GB for the last month, and am loving it. $90 on Amazon.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 1:16 PM on January 12, 2006

The Sandisk 1 GB is $90 on Amazon. Tried to post a link, but evidently the Green doesn't like that.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 1:17 PM on January 12, 2006

Oh, yeah, you folks reminded me about more about the excellent MobiBlu features: FM receiver and recorder, voice recorder, preset and custom EQ settings.

And as for batteries... it so tiny you'd have to fold up a AAA to get it in there. Recharge it via USB and go.

Looks like you can get some models with an AC Charger thrown in for free.
posted by mumeishi at 2:10 PM on January 12, 2006

Mumeishi, those features aren't unique to the Mobi, they're shared by most decent players.
posted by Hildago at 2:32 PM on January 12, 2006

Wow. Thanks a bunch, folks.

I'm not Dad, Nathan. He said 'you could use my Zen'. A Nano is completely out of the budget, period.

I think the Mobi is a little bit too small. The iAudio seems to be out of stock everywhere, although it's really nice. We've had good luck with Samsung in the past, so we'll check them out as well as the iRivers.
posted by jlkr at 2:33 PM on January 12, 2006

samsung yepp
posted by suni at 9:16 PM on January 12, 2006

Hildago, mi amigo, I didn't say they were unique features of the Mobi, just that I didn't previously list or see them listed here for the Mobi before I was reminded of them. Of course other players have some or all of those features, silly. I'm just jazzed up about the wee Mobi (the only mp3 player that actually plays mp3s and has a volume control -- kidding, I'm kidding :-).

Anyway, it's moot since jlkr says it's simply too cool and too packed with unique features. The Mobi probably gets that a lot. Millions of potential buyers just too awestruck to purchase it, settling for mp3 players hopelessly saddled with lesser features.
posted by mumeishi at 11:42 AM on January 13, 2006

Ummm. AFAICT, the only "unique" things about the Mobi are the size and the fact that it's only available through WalMart. (Doesn't matter what the Froogle search shows up, they all come through WalMart.) The rest of it, enh. She doesn't care if it's got FM, or if she can record on it. She wants to be able to listen to MP3s when she's on the bus, or walking from school. (The WalMart thing is a deal breaker, imo.) She's settled on either the 1G Samsung or the 1G Sandisk, depending on which one is in stock when we go out tomorrow.
posted by jlkr at 5:34 PM on January 13, 2006

I second or third whichever is next for the mobiblu DAH-1500i player (see also their blogspot).

I have one, and it hangs around your neck. I can't tell you how many women have come up to me and ask what it is. Even the ones that know what a GB is, they're like, "a gig fits in THERE?"

* Tiny and stylish, appx 24mm cubed, 18 grams
* MP3/WMA digital audio
* Drag & drop like a USB drive
* only port is a small standard headphone plug -- the USB cord turns into a three-bar (as opposed to two for stereo, one for mono?) headphone jack (thru which it also recharges via USB)
* picks up AM/FM, records voice and radio to mp3
* OLED display with variable brightness
* charges in about 3 hrs for 10 hrs playtime
* SRS WOW surround sound
* headphones in the form of a necklace, and the radio antenna is inside the necklace. I've found holding the unit itself with your hand increases the reception way better.
* $130 for 1GB player (also
* Gotta get it thru either Walmart.com or one other place I think. I got it thru WM and it shipped pretty quick.
* equalizer settings included preset and user-defined (4 or 5 variables I think), date/clock, actually has to boot up and shut down, turns up *really* loud, repeat/repeat-all/etc. You can scroll thru directories and such thru the screen and buttons, just like you lay out in the USB drive view on the computer.

For a teenager who has an eye for stylish and rare(r) technology bits that girls like already, she'll probably be the talk of the school with it, I wager.
posted by vanoakenfold at 12:34 AM on January 14, 2006

The other place you could get it was Circuit City's The Source, but appears to be just for Canada and appropriately price-adjusted, though some of their specs are a bit off.
posted by vanoakenfold at 12:38 AM on January 14, 2006