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Original poster

MP3 player advice/recommendations needed for stone age woman

27 replies

DumbledoresGirl · 19/11/2007 19:40

OK Mumsnetters, I really hope you will come good here.

Dh wants an MP3 player for Christmas. I have absolutely no idea what this is, beyond it being some sort of music player. I really don't want dh to have to go and buy it for himself as that is so unromantic and totally takes the fun out of Christmas IMO.

So, I am going to do this myself, hopefully without even acknowledging that he has asked for one so he thinks I have not bothered with one!

This is what he wrote on his list:
Non-Apple MP3 player (FM output would be good).

This might as well be in double dutch as far as I understand it.

Please could you tell me what this means, recommend a make, tell me where is the best place to buy one, how much will it cost, what else should I be looking for? Basically tell me everything there is to know about this.

Thanks!

OP posts:
lou33 · 19/11/2007 19:42

i have a rio carbon pearl and an ipod nano

exbf gave n
me the nano and i much prefer the rio

he wants an mp3 that isnt an ipod i think

creative zen mp3's are supposed to be good iirc

crunchie · 19/11/2007 19:45

basically what he means is not an Ipod,, therefore you can go all over the place. I have a sony that I LOVE, good brand, men like it, nice product. No radio though

Or look at this looks good and radio too

Flame · 19/11/2007 19:53

I was just coming on for the same advice!

I want one for meeeeeeeeeeeee but have no idea what. I was thinking sony too... didn't even occur to me that some came with radios

Original poster
DumbledoresGirl · 19/11/2007 19:53

Shit that links to a product for over £100! Is that the sort of money I am looking at?

Right, ok, so Non-apple just means not an ipod? Yes?

And asking for FM output means he wants it to have a radio incorporated into it? Yes?

Is Creative Zen a make? [bewildered]

I recognise Sony as a brand that dh would accept!

OP posts:
Bluestocking · 19/11/2007 19:54

I think what you need is a Zen V Plus. I am reliably told that this is the one that the techies like!

Flame · 19/11/2007 19:54

£100 Glad the link wasn't loading for me

Flame · 19/11/2007 19:58

DH says that one with a memory card rather than internal memory would be better...

Original poster
DumbledoresGirl · 19/11/2007 20:01

Ok, so, so far you have recommended a Samsung YP-P2 or a Creative Zen V PLus.

I have looked at both links and none of it means a thing to me

Can I just ask, if I bought one of these things, would it come with everything it needs or are there other things I would need to buy to make it operational? (eg think back to the good old days. If you bought a cassette player, you might also buy blank cassettes or headphones. Does an MP3 player come with everything it needs?)

OP posts:
Bluestocking · 19/11/2007 20:10

Look on Amazon - they have loads of different MP3s at really good prices, and clear descriptions of what you actually get when you buy one. The Zen V+ is here. It looks like you get all the bits you need with it!

Original poster
DumbledoresGirl · 19/11/2007 20:16

Wow! It is £70 reduced from what looks like £130. That has to be a bargain! Anyone know why it is so "cheap"?

TBH, none of the blurb means much to me, hence my need to have a recommendation from someone who knows what the product is all about. Would you say that you are a bit of an expert bluestocking?

OP posts:
dolalloween · 19/11/2007 20:22

dumbledore, not sure if anyone's mentioned the memory size.

Don't get less than 1 or 2 GB of memory.

(there's lots on the market (cheaper) with 512MB of memory (that's half a gygabite -GB))

Also battery power - will it use normal loose batteries?. We've just bought a Sony which has a rechargeable battery - you plug it into the PC and it charges really quickly. It has 1GB of memory and we paid around £35 for it. I'll look it up if you interested.

Original poster
DumbledoresGirl · 19/11/2007 20:25

Please do.

Or check the amazon link below for me and tell me if the model there has the memory or battery power you recommend. I did read something about it having 15 hours of power which did not seem long to me but then I have no idea how long other machines have.

OP posts:
Bluestocking · 19/11/2007 20:26

I wouldn't say I was an expert at all! Most of the MP3 lovers in my life have iPods, but your DH has made it clear he doesn't want an Apple, so that's out. Is your DH a techie? I ask because most Apple-haters are techies - and that's why I recommended the Zen, because the most die-hard Apple-hater I know has a Zen and he loves it.

crunchie · 19/11/2007 20:27

sorry you didn't state a budget!! ALso a radio means more expense. You can get loads of MP3 players that are OK at aorund £50, they have a few GB of memory (eg hold certain amount of songs) So the larger the memebry - 1gb, 4gb. 20gb - the more memeory, the more songs athat can be stored. If your DH is a music lover and has a huge collection of cd's you wll need one with good memeory, if not then worry less, however at least 2 - 4 gb is best. ALSO keep it simple and get one video pictures/video capability if he just wants music.

I have a 20gb sony and I also have speakers and an in car adapter - these things are fab ass I can have my WHOLE CD collectoion and dh's (1000's ) of songs wherever I am

Original poster
DumbledoresGirl · 19/11/2007 20:28

OK, one reviewer said the Zen V Plus had 4 GB of memory so that is OK, isn't it?

Not impressed that the product details did not seem to mention memory as I suppose that is quite a fundamental point.

Any other fundamental points I need to consider?

OP posts:
persephonesnape · 19/11/2007 20:29

argos have some at up to half price just now. that doesn't help because dd has her little heart set on a poxy ipod for xmas.

Flame · 19/11/2007 20:33

I'm leaning towards this for me....

Original poster
DumbledoresGirl · 19/11/2007 20:34

Dh isn't really techie in this field but he is an engineer so I suppose that is techie enough. I know he has very strong (and unprintable) views on things that don't even register with me, like Microsoft!

Budget is not really my prime consideration though I would not want to spend more than about £100. Dh has told me he wants to buy something for me but is not sure we can afford it. When I asked him how much it was, he said between £100 and £200 depending on make, so I guess I need to spend at least £100 to match that! Anyway, I am attracted to the idea of getting something for less than its RRP on Amazon.

Ummm, is dh into music? Yes, he has quite a few CDs and listens to music a lot more than me. But is the aim to get all your music onto one thing? I really don't understand MP3 players.

OP posts:
Original poster
DumbledoresGirl · 19/11/2007 20:35

Flame that is an MP4 player. WTF?

OP posts:
Flame · 19/11/2007 20:38

lol - videos too. I don't really care about the videos though.

I have MumOfMonsters's DP looking now

LongMeg · 19/11/2007 20:39

I love my Creative Zen. Completely idiot-proof, charges from the PC so no buggering about with batteries, and it's a doddle to load music onto - you just plug it into the PC and it does all the ripping and copying for you on a Windows-type system. Holds as much music as I'm ever going to need (I think I have about 40 CDs on there at the moment and there's still room for as many more).

It's small and neat, with a PC-type display screen that's ever so easy to navigate around with a little joystick thingie. I love it, use it lots and wouldn't part with it - and I'm a complete idiot when it comes to technology.

Original poster
DumbledoresGirl · 19/11/2007 20:39

I have a sneaking feeling romance and surprise is going to go out the window here, and by tomorrow I will have said to dh "Either find me the precise MP3 player you want, plus a website where I can buy it, or you can have a new jumper and some underpants for Christmas".

OP posts:
Original poster
DumbledoresGirl · 19/11/2007 20:40

Thanks LongMeg. Sounds like something I should have then.

OP posts:
Bluestocking · 19/11/2007 20:42

You're so right, DG, and I'm sure that your DH would much rather have exactly the MP3 that he wants than a surprise and possibly a disappointment. Do let us know what he goes for.

dolalloween · 19/11/2007 20:47

got an electrical storm here at the mo and blasted internet keeps going down.

Yes that one looks good, though wonder if the video playback is likely to be a bit of a gimmick (and would use battery power big time). Note it says UP TO 15 hours battery life (i.e. if you use the video screen it's probably a lot less!!)

If you look carefully at the tech details it says "internal battery - rechargeable" that's what you want.

Yes, as others say...if your dh has a big collection of cd's 4 or more GB of memory would be better.

(and if he's got a recent car or getting one, he'll be able to plug it into his car and hear the music in there too!!!)

That is about the limit of my technical expertise!!

Can't find the model dd has and she's away at school so can't ask her.