Choosing the right MP3 player

Rati Chaudhary So you are a music lover and you want a nice portable MP3 player. The obvious choice would be an Apple iPod but just the fact that other companies are still making MP3 reflects that there is a big market out there. Reasons for not buying an iPod can be various: a) It doesn’t suit your pocket b) You don’t want to have the player that everyone seems to have c) You don’t like the look of it (OK OK that is rare ...but then to each his own) et al. So if any of that defines you and you are looking for any other MP3, it’ll take you through the labyrinth of 1-2 GB MP3 players in the market. Samsung U3 Samsung U3 is inexpensive, has a cool design and a built in USB interface. Colour options are good too: there is white, black, blue, green and pink. It has a touchscreen pad that might appeal to some and not appeal to others. What I like best is the blue light on it that flickers while syncing. Apart from playing music in almost all formats, this 1 GB player can even record voice and has FM. Sound clarity could have been better. 15 hour battery life is good enough. Sounds good? Well in Rs 3,900 it’s no bad deal at all. Creative zen stone plus Don’t be fooled by the small size this MP3 player packs in many more features than can be imagined to be in its size…and weight –just 21 gms! This ultra small player with OLED screen has a capacity of 2 GB. Successor to the creative zen stone this one even has features like FM radio, a voice recorder and even a stop watch. The music is easy to transfer, just drag and drop. Colour choices are really good. This pebble shaped MP3 player has a battery life of 9.5 hours. Sony NW-E005F/V A little on the expensive side this MP3 will cost you around Rs 7,000. It has direct USB plug. Most appreciable is the 30-hour battery life. 3 minute charging can give you 3 hours of battery life. Capacity again is of 2 GB and it also weighs just around the creative’s zen stone plus—25 gms! This player also has a 1 line organic EL. I just wished that somehow I was not stuck with Sony’s Sonic Stage software, which would have made the experience so much better. Philips Go gear SA1355/97 This one is also a player with direct USB; this makes it so much easier to operate. Just drag and drop; no hassle of struggling with the software. This gogear product also has an OLED display. It has a capacity of 2 GB and like almost all other players it has FM. The voice recorder is also a common feature now in all the players so it is not any different for this player. It weighs around 40 gms and costs Rs 3,000. These are the ones that I could short-list among the players available in the market with more or less the same capacity and price range.