Can anyone recommend an mp3 player?

[ZFR]

Hi, can anyone recommend an mp3 player?
Important features I'm looking:
_Small size (comparable to ipod nano; It'll be used only for music - no photos/movies - so a big screen is not needed). e.g 1.5in x 1.5in x 0.5in / 4cm x 4cm x 1.5cm
_Good navigation (preferably with folder support). My last one would just dump all the files together and sorting them to play them in a particular order was a real pain. Plus, I'd like to be able to easily just copy files from my PC to the player or use it as a portable disc.
_FM radio a big plus.
_No apples.


Thanks in advance,

ZFR

[SpiritWarrior]

I use this one.

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Sansa-.../dp/B000ETVKHE

I was gifted it by someone in exchange for fixing their PC. Pleasantly surprised as I figured it was just a generic Mp3 when I got it. It has FM radio, photos, etc. Folder support, drag and dropping. I don't fuk with it much TBH - just put songs in and play them - so I do not know every nuance of the thing but hey, it works great and has lasted me like 4 years with zero issues. I also use an FM transmitter with it in the car and it functions flawlessly. I am sure you can find on Ebay for like $30.

I avoid iPods too (iPad is nice, iPod too proprietry for me).

Here's a review on that amazon link from one user.

141 of 143 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Cheaper (and better) option to the Nano, November 27, 2006 By Shini (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviewsThis review is from: SanDisk Sansa e260 4 GB MP3 Player with MicroSD Expansion Slot (Black (Electronics) I've owned a 3rd generation iPod for quite a few years now and decided it was time to upgrade to something newer. The iPod Nano was one of my top choices, but then I found this item and decided to give it a try. It offered much more features (FM radio, voice recording, video, photos) for a lower price. The negative reviews and stories of it breaking soon after purchase made me wary, but I hoped they were just rare occurrences and got one anyways. 1)Music One of the great features of the Sansa is that it allows you to drag and drop music files right into the drive in MSC mode and it'll find and play it after a restart. No need for iTunes or any other complicated jukebox program. If you would rather use a music program, it can be set to sync with a Windows Media Player library in MTP mode. I did notice that the only way to put user made playlists on the Sansa is to use Media Player and select a pre-made playlist in the sync options. When browsing through music, the typical options of searching through albums, artists, genre, or songs are available. One problem I found was that browsing through songs in a playlist slightly lags compared to browsing through other options. I like organizing my music in playlists so this bothered me. While listening, the repeat, shuffle, and equalizer options are only a few clicks away. One problem, however, is that you can't scroll to any place in the song. The available options are pause, skip, fast forward, and rewind. Similarly to the iPod, the scroll wheel becomes the volume control. The difference is that the Sansa resets the volume to 50 every time you turn off the player. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be like that, but hopefully it'll be fixed in a future firmware update. As for music quality, I was quite impressed with the sound. My music sounded as good if not better than my 3G iPod. For the record, all of my music is in mp3 format of 192 to 320kbps. The included earbuds are okay, I'm not a big fan of earbuds. 2)Radio The FM radio is a nice feature to have when you're tired with your music and want to hear something fresh. Reception from the Sansa isn't the best, but some stations still sound good if they have a strong signal. The player allows you to create your own presets or it can browse and make some for you. The ability to record radio is a nice addition for those times you want to remember a song you don't know the name to. 3)Video Watching video on a 1.8" screen might seem pointless, but I very surprised by the quality of video the Sansa produced. I first tried converting a seven minute, DivX encoded music video using the Sansa Media Converter, but the program crashed when loading the file. To remedy this, I first converted the file to MOV using a free encoder then used the Sansa program on the MOV file. The result was a 416x304 DivX file (131mb) to a 160x208 QuickTime movie (118mb). The final file is quite large considering it's about half in resolution and frames per second (29.97 to 15fps) as the original. Nonetheless, the video looked and sounded perfect compared to the original (just quite small). Being able to carry videos with you to watch whenever you want is certainly a cool factor. As with music, one grievance is the inability to scroll to any point in the video. The only controls available during playback are fast forward, rewind, pause, skip, and volume control. 4)Photos The Media Converter can handle most picture formats and convert them to something friendly with the Sansa. I haven't tried adding photos of my own, but the sample photos look nice. 5)Voice Recording I tested the voice recording feature during lecture in one of my classes. I sat in the 9th row and the professor was using a mic. However, her voice still sounded muffled in the recording. The recorder does seem to be able to record voices at a close distance fairly well. Another drawback is that the output file is in 16bit wave format. Voice recording is a nice feature, but you shouldn't expect too much from it. 6)Style The Sansa looks great, even better than the black iPod Nano in my opinion. The mechanical scroll wheel does feel a bit cheap, but I guess I'm just used to using the electrostatic touchpad of an iPod. The buttons are small if you have large hands and they are somewhat hard to press. I have to sometimes use the tip of my nails to press down. It would have been nice if the buttons were raised slightly higher, but it might ruin the Sansa's sleek look. The included pouch looks nice with the player and is certainly better than getting nothing. There is also an included lanyard that can be attached to the player. Finally, the screen is very bright and its colors vivid, even on the lowest brightness settings. Videos and photos look quite good on it despite the screen size. 7)Other Notes I was able to get about 15 hours of use from my initial charge. It's less than the advertised amount, but came fairly close. Charging the battery does seem to be a bit of a hassle since it must be connected to a computer via USB. It would have been nice if they just included an adapter to let you charge with a wall outlet. Finally, more memory can be added with microSD cards, which is a cheaper alternative to upgrading to a model with more capacity. Overall, the Sansa is a great audio player with some nice features. There may be some bugs, but hopefully some of them can be fixed in future firmware updates. It may not have the fame of an iPod, but sells itself through its looks and functionality. PRO: Price (cheaper than iPod Nano for same amount of storage) Extras (FM radio, video, photo, voice recording) Drag and drop to add files Looks great More memory can be added CONS: Hard to press buttons Lag when browsing playlist No included wall charger Volume resets to 50 every time it's turned off

[Firestormalpha]

Yes, anyone can recommend an mp3 player...

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[Hindsight]

I bought 2 MP4 players on EBay a few years ago. Both are 4gig. I got one for $28 and the other for $19. I can not even tell you what brand they are. I most play music on them, but I can do much more with them.
Just search MP4 and see what comes up.

[ZFR]

Originally Posted by SpiritWarrior I use this one. http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Sansa-.../dp/B000ETVKHE I was gifted it by someone in exchange for fixing their PC. Pleasantly surprised as I figured it was just a generic Mp3 when I got it. It has FM radio, photos, etc. Folder support, drag and dropping. I don't fuk with it much TBH - just put songs in and play them - so I do not know every nuance of the thing but hey, it works great and has lasted me like 4 years with zero issues. I also use an FM transmitter with it in the car and it functions flawlessly. I am sure you can find on Ebay for like $30. I avoid iPods too (iPad is nice, iPod too proprietry for me). Here's a review on that amazon link from one user.

Thanks. I've had someone else recommend a Sandisk sansa as well, so I'm thinking of getting this one
http://www.amazon.co.uk/SanDisk-Sans...9428253&sr=1-3

Just a question, I'm not too thrilled about the fact that battery is not replaceable. Can you comment about battery life in yours? Is the "last up to 15 hours" accurate? Did it deteriorate after few years of usage?

[SpiritWarrior]

Mines still going strong. And it lasts longer than my iPod nano used to. I don't use it for more than 2 hours at any given time usually, but I find myself not needing to charge it much at all. I rarely see it below 30% power. This is because by the time it could use a charge, I am already adding new music to it and this plugging it into my PC for a bit. The result is I have never seen it shut down due to lack of power.

[ZFR]

Bought it. Seems good so far. Thanks again.

[SpiritWarrior]

Hope you are very happy together.