Easy Guide To MP3 Players

| Wednesday, May 18, 2011
By Anne Harvester


MP3 players are the latest in music listening trends today. These very portable and space saving devices are one of the most ubiquitous devices today, popularized by the current file sharing systems and the availability of such systems which allow you to be able to listen to your favorite tracks anytime, anywhere, with maximum fidelity.

The secret is in the compression mechanism called MPEG-2 Audio Layer III. It is lossy, meaning that it shaves off some information from the original recording. Its advantage, however, is the fact that it only shaves off those parts which are not heard, allowing you to save more space. While initially developed as an accompaniment for video, it has come to be a good alternative as an all-audio format. This allowed the advent of MP3 players.

MP3 Players are perfect for a wide variety of people, but generally apply to those who are more mobile and active. This includes sports buffs and travelling salesmen.You can fit a lot of files in just one gigabyte of memory; in fact, for every megabyte, you store a minute's worth of audio. That is a good rule of thumb to follow when you buy your players.

This is also a very environmentally-friendly and economic way of managing a music collection. Just imagine the mounds of CDs, tapes and LPs you can replace by switching to MP3 players. In fact, this is already the basis of a lot of music collections, especially those which are intended to be shared to everybody. This also alleviates the costs of physical storage, and makes it easier to organize.

The value of an MP3 Player is dependent on five key factors: price, memory size, physical weight, battery capacity and ergonomics. Each is a factor to be considered when you buy the thing that will be your personal radio station. The choice depends on your needs and value judgements based on these factors. A good tip is the fact that one can only listen for so long, so memory size has a sharply diminishing return.

Extras should also be seen with caution, bordering on suspicion. While some may just be there to jack up the price, others are very useful and handy and add a great deal of value to the device. Speaker attachments, FM radios and built-in alarms are generally good features, but stay away from far-fetched ones like cameras and games. Before looking at the extras, ensure that you will be able to use them.

The longevity of the devices should be the prime concern. It is also best to get upgradeable ones, so that they can grow with your needs. This is particularly true if you are into file sharing and get a lot of files from the Net. (I would not advise it at this stage, though, since it is a legal grey area).

Choosing MP3 Players should not be too daunting or intimidating as a task for you. What you need is good sense and a knowledge of your needs. A good grasp of market trends is also a plus. Know thyself and know others, and you gain 100 victories, or in this case, the perfect device for your lifestyle.




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