Universally accepted drm enabled mp3 player?? (no ipod please)

[yoda313]

So I've got a birthday coming up in a month or so (june) and was looking to buy myself a new mp3 player. I've recently signed up for the Yahoo unlimited music service - monthly subscription. Unfortunately my old Rio S11 player I bought used on EBAY is not supported. It is supported on Napster but for the purchased songs only - not the subscribed songs.

I was looking for a player in the $100-$150 range with a 1-5gb storage capacity - SD card compatible a plus. I would also like it to be YAHOO compatible but also be compatible with as many subscription services as possible for if and I when I do switch services.

If you have recommendations please let me know. I'm in the "browsing" stage of my shopping. Nothing serious at the moment but hunting for the right model.

And as I mentioned in the title - I DON'T WANT AN IPOD - they don't have subscriptions and I'm not giving APPLE any more money than I already have with the 20 or so songs I've bought off ITUNES - I'm strictly a MICROSOFT person.

Thanks to any suggestions - and I'm certainly willing to consider EBAY if a more expensive model supports the most services but is a bit out of my targeted price range. Thanks again.

[Faustus]

Wait... you won't give apple money so you are going to rent music from yahoo? Just do what I do dude, buy Cds from half.com and rip them yourself. Now go get that ipod.

[yoda313]

Well I still don't want an Ipod - I WON'T CONFORM!!!

And I do buy a lot of my music on cd still. But I like the ability to just grab a bunch off the "digital" shelf and keep current.

I'm looking for something thats on more than one compatibility list. I would be open to just about any brand but would prefer to stick to well known ones like CREATIVE or RIO or something like that.

[Faustus]

I research a lot of players and basicly every deal I found that looked good seemed to have a major draw back. Such as Creative and how they would rather sell a new player then update their older ones and fix problems.

In the end I gave in and went with the iPod. I'm glad I did.

[yoda313]

I guess I want to know just for my own benefit - can the ipod read mp3 at all or do you have to convert everything to aac??

[Faustus]

It reads and uses non DRM mp3 files perfectly. I don't have but like 2 AACs on my entire pod.

Heck if you goto the itunes program preferences you can make it rip to MP3 for ya when you import a CD.

[yoda313]

Hmm... well thats something at least. But I still won't seriously look at an ipod unless I get one for free. I almost bought one on ebay last fall but you had to buy tokens at an online casino before you got the ipod and I thought - I don't think so - so I ended up with a very serviceable used rio. But I'm ready to upgrade.

Oh well the search continues.

[yoda313]

Ok here's a list of what's compatible for napster to go and yahoo portable:

iRiver: H10 - 5GB, H10 - 20GB, H320, H340, PMC-120, T10, T30, U10

Dell: Pocket DJ, Ditty, Gen 2, Axim X50

Creative: Zen Micro, Zen Micro Photo, Zen PMC, Zen Sleek, Zen Sleek Photo, Zen Touch, Zen Xtra, Zen Vision - 30GB, Zen Vision M - 30GB

Samsung: YH-820, YH-925GS

Gateway: Photo Jukebox

Toshiba: Gigabeat MEG-F20

There may be one or two in the creative list that aren't yahoo or napster compatible. But this is the main comparison.

Anything around $120 and about 5gb in those lists??? Maybe 2gb??? I might go up to $150 or buy used.

Suggestions are welcome.

I'm also going to do some comparisons on rhapsody and sony's website. Any other online music services I should consider in the comparison shopping??

[smearbrick1]

Sorry... I can't recommend anything other than an IPOD. There's just too much missing from other music players. If they have the file compatibility, they are missing the interface. If they have the interface, they are lacking in file compatibility and storage size. The IPOD has plenty of storage (even at the $150.00 level), a great interface, great sound, excellent software support, and decent file compatibility (AAC, MP3). All of my WMAs, when imported into Itunes, were converted to AAC w/ no restrictions. Any existing MP3 was imported as such and left as an MP3.

I just can't, in good conscience, recommend any other player. I truly think you are missing out on a great player just by saying "I'm not one of the mindless masses" (which is absolutely false, because you are part of the mindless mass of people subscribing to a music service such as Yahoo - Congratulations on your new song rental purchase.)

Which music player would Luke Skywalker buy?

[thecoalman]

buy Cds from half.com .

I buy all mine used at the used CD store, the discs look like brand new. The local guy has a 100% gurantee so if they skip he'll refund your money but I haven't gotten one that does yet. Also runs a deal where you can sell it back to him if it was purchased from him for more than he usually buys them for. :P I keep them myself. usually get a disc for $5 or $6 and since I like classic rock I have a very wide selection. Usually pick up the real good ones or a Greatest Hits, preferably live.

Can't go wrong.

[Faustus]

buy Cds from half.com .

I buy all mine used at the used CD store, the discs look like brand new. The local guy has a 100% gurantee so if they skip he'll refund your money but I haven't gotten one that does yet. Also runs a deal where you can sell it back to him if it was purchased from him for more than he usually buys them for. :P I keep them myself. usually get a disc for $5 or $6 and since I like classic rock I have a very wide selection. Usually pick up the real good ones or a Greatest Hits, preferably live.

Can't go wrong.

Yeah I buy them. Rip them into iTunes then I have a old wooden file cabinet all my CDs go into in my closet. So I have all my music and their "backup". If what you want isn't brand new I often pay more for the shipping then some CDs.

[Supreme2k]

Which music player would Luke Skywalker buy?

(waves hand) "I am not walking out with a shopping cart full of mp3 players. These aren't the items you are looking for."

[Doramius]

Just buy a universally compatible player with SD or other type memory slot. Store your music on memory sticks and be done with it.

Heck, get a Pocket PC or a low cost Palm with audio. if you cut out on the storage size , but still have a sd slot, you can get a 2 or 4GB sd card and be happy. Or you can buy multiple 2GB for ~$50 at newegg.

On top of that you got your platform for getting those eBooks you were talking about, a planner, and something to play games on. Dammit. I want a Pocket PC now!

[Faustus]

On top of that you got your platform for getting those eBooks you were talking about, a planner, and something to play games on. Dammit. I want a Pocket PC now!

This is actually a very good point.

[lordsmurf]

Forget the iPOD. Get a Creative Muvo (much smaller, I like it a lot better).

Then go grab cheap CDs and rip songs yourself.

[MackemX]

On top of that you got your platform for getting those eBooks you were talking about, a planner, and something to play games on. Dammit. I want a Pocket PC now!

is that one of these?

https://forum.videohelp.com/viewtopic.php?p=1483009#1483009

[Doramius]

That would be a tablet PC. I think that would be closer to the $1500-$2000 range.

Yoda, I was talking about a simple PDA. Because of the better versatility, you may want to see if you can extend the budget to $250-$300 and get yourself a decent one. Again, it should hold and play any format you throw at it. Plus if you decide on one with WiFi access, you could peruse the net while sipping a morning cup at Starbucks, -OR- packing in a pastry at Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts. Many of either of these chains now carry Wi-Fi. Airport hubs are catching on too.

[Supreme2k]

Nah, that's a tablet PC. He's talking about this.

[Bodyslide]

Here's the one I just ordered...

http://www.buy.com/prod/SanDisk_Sansa_E140_1GB_MP3_Player_with_FM_Tuner_SDMX2_1024_A18.../90145848.html


80.00 including shipping...

[yoda313]

Thanks doramius but I'm really not in the need for the functionallity of a pda. I prefer the small size of a mp3 player.

Lordsmurf - thanks I'll take the creative muvo into consideration.

And thanks for the other suggestions.

[Faustus]

Before you decide on a Muvo first look up some of the complaints about them.

Meanwhile if you are dead set on a tiny one a friend of mine got one of the thumbdrive ones off ebay that has the multi color backlit screen. Its cheap and he likes it good enough if you want a cheapie.

Personally everything but the iPod is a cheapie to me.

[yoda313]

Hmm... good point about the thumbdrive faustus however I dont' think any of those are on any compatiblity list for the music services.

[Doramius]

How small are you looking to go? I know iPods bigger than many PDAs.

Well I could use the functionality of a PDA. I think I'm gonna get one next month. Not sure which one I want, but there's a nice selection out there to choose from.

[Bodyslide]

This one is compatible with the Yahoo Service...

http://www.buy.com/prod/SanDisk_Sansa_M250_2GB_MP3_Player_with_FM_Tuner_SDMX3_2048_A18...202021594.html

[Faustus]

How small are you looking to go? I know iPods bigger than many PDAs.

Well I could use the functionality of a PDA. I think I'm gonna get one next month. Not sure which one I want, but there's a nice selection out there to choose from.

Either the ipod you are thinking of is a prototype or the PDA has no screen. Show me an actual PDA bigger then an iPod.

[Doramius]

Show me an actual PDA bigger then an iPod.

do you mean smaller? Because I also know PDAs larger than an iPod.

Even the old Palm100s were about the same size as a 30GB iPod. The Mini iPods would be smaller, but there are some small PDAs out there now.

[smearbrick1]

The new Palms, Ipaqs, and Axims are larger than an Ipod (Video, Photo, Nano... etc). What Ipod were you looking at?

[MackemX]

Birth of the iPod

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN0SVBCJqL

[Doramius]

My friend has an iPod and it's like 2 1/2-3" across. about 8 1/2" long and about 1/2" thick. He's got 30GB drive and I've seen Palms about the same size.

[smearbrick1]

8 1/2 inches long? He must have something attached to it. My Ipod is only 4 1/2 inches long by about 2 1/2 inches across and 1/2" thick. This is a 30GB IPod Photo. The newer ones are even thinner.