Mp3 Player for my 80 year old Gran, need advice?

March 31, 2006 3:56 AM

Mp3 Player for my 80 year old Gran, need advice?

Biddy-filter: My 80 yr old Gran wants an MP3 player so when she goes on holiday she can listen to all her classics.

I need advice, as it took her 2 years to learn how to use the DVD player and she isnt technical one bit. I can transfer all her music for her. But I need an MP3 Player that is really easy to use, I mean really really easy.

She liked the IPod as her friend has one, but Im thinking it could be abit too hard for her to learn. She said she doesnt want to have 1000's of tracks, Im guessing about 5gb should do the trick. I thought Ipod nano, but I reckon its going to be way too small for her.

Her eye sight is fine, but like I said before she isnt technical.

Cheers

posted by spinko to technology (9 comments total)

the american apple online store appears to still have refurbished iPod mini's, which are larger and sturdier than a nano, use a larger screen, have a longer battery life and come in five fun flavors.

be sure to drop the extra $10 on the second-generation mini, so you get the bump in battery life and the slightly more vibrant color.
posted by heeeraldo at 4:05 AM on March 31, 2006

The iPod interface is pretty easy as it is, (I wish menus were editable though) If you create only one playlist subdivided by artist she should enjoy it quite easily. I think if you try and dumb it down any further she may get frustrated with those one or two line LCD interfaces that some of the other players use.

BONUS: sure her eyesight is OK, but she may enjoy audiobooks too
posted by Gungho at 4:29 AM on March 31, 2006

How about the iPod Shuffle? Preload it with all her favorite songs, and then all she'd have to do is listen. No futzing around with interfaces.
posted by Faint of Butt at 5:10 AM on March 31, 2006

I don't know what she's using to listen now, but why not just get her an old fashioned SONY walkman or a similar device along with a nice case for a bunch of CD's. They're not that expensive so if it gets broken, who cares. And a walkman is easy to use. She can move on up to an ipod in the future, if she wants.

...and audiobooks are a great idea! I've been getting into them myself lately.
posted by bim at 5:44 AM on March 31, 2006

I second Faint's suggestion of the iPod Shuffle. Once loaded, all that she has to do is press play. She can listen to her music in order or have it automatically shuffle through her files. Plus, the Shuffle is really inexpensive and holds a charge, in my experience, almost forever.
posted by richardhay at 6:05 AM on March 31, 2006

I'd recommend not skimping and go ahead and get the 30 gig iPod. No, she won't be watching videos, but it's a nice size to hold and operate. Don't fuss about "she doesn't need that much space." Of course she doesn't. But she also need something that will be reliable, easy to use, and the color screen will enhance her ability to see and read. I'd also recommend helping her get the album art in - a nice addition.

While you're at it, scan in or import some pictures of the grandkids so she'll have those, too.
posted by cptnrandy at 7:55 AM on March 31, 2006

Great, Ipod shuffle why didnt I think of that. Doesnt the shuffle require a pc to charge it though? she doesnt have a PC to charge it
posted by spinko at 11:31 AM on March 31, 2006

Get the USB charger from the store when you get it. It's an additional $29. (it's just USB - if you can find another charger that provides power over USB that should work as well.)
posted by mrg at 12:31 PM on March 31, 2006

and mrg means a usb power adapter, which you can then plug the usb charger into.
posted by jacalata at 6:00 PM on March 31, 2006