Mama is a rolling stone

March 30, 2010 12:39 PM

Help me find a AA or AAA battery powered MP3 player for my Mom

Mom is turning ?0 next week and has asked for a MP3 player. She likes to travel and is likely to find herself away from a USB connection a lot of the time. Does anyone still make AA / AAA battery powered MP3 players? I've seen this but the none of the recommended players are still available.

posted by bluefrog to Technology (18 answers total)

Response by poster: Sorry, this was the intended link
posted by bluefrog at 12:42 PM on March 30, 2010

I've got a wall charger for mine, and used it in London (with the appropriate adapter) with no problem. Or will she be away from power sources as well?
posted by JoanArkham at 12:44 PM on March 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Have you considered buying her any old mp3 player and a portable usb charger? They even make battery chargers which can use charged batteries to recharge your devices, but you can charge via cigarette lighter or power outlet, depending on what kind of travel she does.
posted by jeather at 12:44 PM on March 30, 2010

This thread will probably help, they recommend the Sansa C240 or M420 or M250, or the Panasonic SV-MP020.
posted by rmless at 12:51 PM on March 30, 2010

Seconding JoanArkham's question. I have a Dell DJ that just plugs right into the wall to charge, no USB required. They also make chargers for iPods that plug right into the wall so you don't even have to charge those through the USB slot.
posted by theichibun at 12:51 PM on March 30, 2010 [1 favorite]

The Samsumg Yepp YP-T6 runs on a single AAA battery. The controls and the screen are rather small so depending on how big a number is behind your ? that may be a factor. I had one several years ago and I thought it was great.
posted by ChrisHartley at 12:57 PM on March 30, 2010

SanDisk used to make some decent-ish type stuff like that. It dentded to work on the drag-everything-into-a-folder model, so you'd have to do without any kind of iTunes like interace - for some folks that can be a plus.

This site may be useful for non-iPod MP3 players: anything but ipod.
posted by Artw at 12:58 PM on March 30, 2010

Searching on AA and AAA it seems like non-USB charged MP3 players peaked around 2006-2007, so availability may be an issue.
posted by Artw at 1:05 PM on March 30, 2010

I used to have one, a Samsung YP that took regular batteries. It was barely any bigger then the battery itself. but I just upgraded to a Sandisk one with an internal rechargeable battery.

I can't figure out how how you would search for that feature.
posted by delmoi at 1:08 PM on March 30, 2010

I just bought a couple of these for my kids -- they take one AAA battery.
posted by Doofus Magoo at 1:21 PM on March 30, 2010 [2 favorites]

Sandsk, Sansa and Samsung would seem to be the brands to search for, with Samsung being pretty good contendors - I didn't get one of their battery jobs but the USB stick players I got from them were very good.
posted by Artw at 1:22 PM on March 30, 2010

Best answer: Will this work for your mom? SanDisk Sansa m250 2GB. Friend of mine used this on the AT as an FM radio as well as an MP3 player.
posted by apartment dweller at 1:26 PM on March 30, 2010

I used to have a Lexar JumpDrive. You could buy a dock for the drive, which turned it into an MP3 player. It used 2 AAA batteries, and had really good battery life.

I'm sure you can find the drive and the dock on eBay for cheap.
posted by reenum at 1:43 PM on March 30, 2010

Response by poster: Thanks everyone.

Didn't think about USB chargers (she never strays very far from the grid). The SanDisk m250 sounds like a good option too...

Let me piggyback on my own question: regardless of power source, what MP3 player would you recommend for a 70 year old women. Simplicity of operation a must. Budget around $100 (give or take 50$).
posted by bluefrog at 2:02 PM on March 30, 2010

Simplicity of operation a must.

Just in terms of playing music on the device, or in terms of purchasing/ripping/loading the music onto the device as well? The later could be where it gets tricky.
posted by Artw at 2:08 PM on March 30, 2010

I have a Sandisk Sansa 1GB player. It's pretty much idiot-proof. One AAA battery which lasts quite a while. Mini USB port for copying files to and from the player. Send me a MeFi mail if you'd be interested in buying it.
posted by hungrysquirrels at 2:33 PM on March 30, 2010

Previously. However, my mom's Coby player (as mentioned in that thread) has since broken. I don't know if she got an odd bum one, or if it is just cheap.
posted by anaelith at 3:24 PM on March 30, 2010

This is what I take to the gym with an arm band. AAA-powered, you can copy files to/from it using Windows (no extra software needed). If you can find, I recommend it highly.
posted by exhilaration at 11:02 AM on March 31, 2010