MP3 Player Recommendation(s)?

[oldschool]

Looking for decent advice on picking up a new(er) MP3 player...

My laptop sucks, so my only real worthwhile option is something that won't need software to run, and something that won't require an update. I used an old Samsung USB type MP3 player before, and it opened as a folder where you could drag and drop files which was convenient, but it was only 1GB and you had to buy AAA batteries to power it which was somewhat of a hassle. I've also owned a Creative Zen Xtra, but my AC adapter died, and also aside from it normally being a wicked player (albeit old), it would occasionally power off or die when the unit itself got really cold from being outside. I've been looking into a Zune, but I'm not sure how the software thing would work, since my last player was a Sony Walkman, and it never worked properly on this computer since it needed a Windows Media Player update.

I know it's a pretty specific thing to ask, but can anyone recommend something decent? I've been through 4-5 iPods so recommending those will be kindly ignored.

 

[payment_due]

I had a Zune and I liked the machine, hated the software. Now I have an iPod but Itunes BLOWS too.

There are some Sansa players out there that are like 20/40 gig or bigger and they act like an external HDD when plugged in. No SW needed to run, and you just drag and drop. I wish I could do that with my ipod but thats the only player I could find that would work with my in-car stereo controls.

 

[Mrandersonjr]

You could try an M:robe,or,get an ipod and use floola to manage it,and it will be much more convenient.

 

[xiao_haozi]

The setup I have now and really like:

Ipod nano : one of the video guys
Amarok : to throw on music or gtkPod sometimes
thinliquidfilm : to load movies

iTunes to load music at work sometimes

and then I get most of my music lately from AmazonMP3.

 

[striderpunk]

Samsung P2, it sounds like it would suit your needs.

 

[Retrogamer]

If you are looking for something smaller, I recommend the Best Buy brand "Insignia" for 2 reasons.

first of all their internal memory is flash memory, no hard drives that will eventually crash.

second, some models have a memory card slot that uses micro SD cards, so they are INFINITELY expandable.

They also use thick poly plastic screens instead of glass, and rubberized cases, much less to break and damage.

 

[Mrandersonjr]

The setup I have now and really like:

Ipod nano : one of the video guys
Amarok : to throw on music or gtkPod sometimes
thinliquidfilm : to load movies

iTunes to load music at work sometimes

and then I get most of my music lately from AmazonMP3.

Im sorry,but rhythmbox is better than amarok IMHO.I didn't know you ran linux.

 

[xiao_haozi]

Im sorry,but rhythmbox is better than amarok IMHO.I didn't know you ran linux.

Yeah i've just always stuck with amarok. Was working on a plugin a ways back and never really gave up on amarok. Granted, I don't really use many of the catchy features... I just use the file browse tab (no collection) to go through all our servers and randomly throw stuff into the current playlist as my mood fits.

But really what I tend to do is throw music on with gtkPod, and for listening to music I probably use mpg123 or mplayer over screen versus using something GUI like amarok hmm maybe 75% of the time.

Yeah, run a bunch of different versions of linux here depending on the box. Mostly slackware (well and some non-linux BSD servers) on all the servers and then other distros on the desktops and laptops. Just use macs in the lab as most of our research software is written for macs (and some linux stuff there too).