[drive-thru]

My sister is looking into getting an mp3 player for the gym, so I told her I'd look for options.
The requirements are:
2-4 hours of music - roughly how much is that in MB?
iTunes (mac) compatible - doesn't have to auto-sync
Doesn't need lots of features, just the ability to play mp3 playlist(s) and maybe a radio
Under about $100

So does anyone have experience with small capacity flash-players? I've heard recommendations for the Rio series, but I've also heard bad things about them. What else is available?

Thanks in advance.

p.s. please don't suggest an iPod (mini), it would be overkill for her and not worth the price.

[The Oracle]

Assuming a 3-min. song is 3MB:

240min. * 3MB/song
= 720 MB.

Almost a GB. And my avg song size is probably low. Unless she wants to encode below 128 bits.

[tooki]

For not much more cost than a 1GB flash player, you could just get an iPod mini.

tooki

[drive-thru]

Originally posted by tooki:
For not much more cost than a 1GB flash player, you could just get an iPod mini.

tooki

And I would if it was my money (I have a 20Gb iPod), but my sister doesn't want to spend that much. In the UK, and with Edu discount, a mini costs about £160. I tried convincing her that a mini would be a good choice, but she simply can't afford to spend that much. I would love to get her a mini for Christmas, but I can't afford to spend that much either. I've had a quick look at flash players and there are some for about £60 which have 256MB of storage. These say they will hold 4 hours worth of mp3 at 128kbps, although I think this is just marketing BS and it's going to be more like 2 hours.
So, which brands should I look for which will work with iTunes? Which brands should I tell my sister to avoid?

[tooki]

Originally posted by The Oracle:
Assuming a 3-min. song is 3MB:

240min. * 3MB/song
= 720 MB.

Almost a GB. And my avg song size is probably low. Unless she wants to encode below 128 bits.

I just realized that that math is all wonky.

You calculated 3 MB per song, and then multiplied that by 3MB per minute as well.

At 128Kbps, four hours (240 mins) will take roughly 250MB.

tooki

[The Oracle]

[iMacfan]

I'd recommend that maybe you pool your budget for your sister's present and her budget to try and get an iPod mini. Otherwise, whatever you spend, she'll probably just want an ipod after using another mp3 player for a while anyhow. If not, one idea for a really cheap mp3 player is the SD one from www.mymemory.co.uk It costs just £17.99 without an sd card, and you can get a cheap 128Mb card for £9.99, and upgrade later, or a generic 512Mb card is only £35. Not the most stylish way to do things, but very cheap, and you get a card reader and a memory card that can be used for other things to boot!

David.

[ajprice]

If it must be for before christmas, get a cheapo usb stick player and save for an iPod, if it can wait til January (ie. Mac Expo San Francisco) there's a chance of a flash memory iPod below the mini (there are rumours flying and apparently Apple has bought a stock of flash memory). Another reccomendation for a pre christmas buy is Aldi, they have had a USB stick 128mb player with an SD card slot for expanded memory for £39, tech stuff like this flies out of Aldi stores though, because of the prices, so don't be surprised or disappointed if they've all gone.