MP3 for Christmas? Which one?

There are a number of MP3 players on the market despite the fact many believe Apple’s iPod may be the only one. MP3 players have become more sophisticated, fashionable and with multi-uses, than their predecessors. Prices range greatly as well, according to brand and provision. So which MP3 player will you look into buying this Christmas?



1. Sony Walkman E Series – Sony Walkman has a history of being the forerunner in bringing customers portable music. Their Walkman E series is a nice affordable player (around $70) and has 4GB of memory. With this player you get a 2-inch screen, photo and video support – just like the iPod Nano but for less money. This player comes in blue, black or red- has physical buttons rather than a touch-screen display. The buttons are in the form of a wheel with a Play/Pause button at the center. The wheel is clickable in four points – no scrolling. The Hold switch and Volume is on the right-side. There is a 3.5 mm headphone jack, a mini USB connector and a lanyard loop. This unit plays MP3, WMA, AAC and Linear PCM files.



2. SanDisk Sansa Fuze+ - This unit is believed to offer better features than the iPod Nano or the iPod shuffle. It has an FM radio and voice recorder and a MicroSD slot for swapping content. The price of this unit will depend on the memory you desire. It starts at $79 for 4GB and goes up to $119 for 16GB. The Fuze+ has video playback and photo capabilities. It isn’t known to be beautiful but for the price, one can possibly sacrifice this.



3. Apple iPod Touch (4th Generation with Camera) – This unit gives you a camera for HD video recording and has the ability to take pictures. It has a front-facing camera for FaceTime video chat, a new high-res Retina display, and a crisp and colorful screen. This unit is almost like owning an iPhone minus the phone carrier contract – but you also pay for all the technology as this unit starts at $229 for 8 GB of memory. As far as playing music, one can navigate the music menus in many ways. You can use CoverFlow to search Artist or Song, you can peruse playlists, you can scroll song or artist lists by dragging a finger or skip ahead to a letter on the scrollable alphabet. While listening to music you can play games, surf the web, check your email and more.





4. Samsung YP-R0 – This player is for those who are budget conscious. The YP-R0 starts at $99 and includes 8GB of storage. It has file support, a "decent display and above-average earphones". It does come with a built-in camera for photos and video. Not having a touch screen one might feel the scrolling control is slow and outdated. This unit isn’t made for those looking for snappy graphics and cool gadgets but it can play music above average. The screen is small for watching video but it’s better than nothing.



5. Archos 3cam Vision – This MP3 player has a touch screen, shoots video and photos all for around $100. It has a sleek design and an intuitive touch screen based user interface. It comes with 8GB of storage, about the same capacity as the Apple iPod Nano, which is about $50 more in price. It has an FM radio and a built-in voice recorder. It comes with 30 programmable presets as well. The battery is rechargeable and provides 14 hours of music playback and about 4 hours of video.



While there are a number of MP3 players on the market today, ranging everywhere in price and quality, choosing the right one for you may be just a matter of budget and preference.



Brandon Snow is a marketing associate at Cash Your Tech where you can sell electronics fast and get top dollar for them. Sell your old electronics, sell iPhone, other cell phones, laptops, or consoles and Cash Your Tech will get you money for your used electronics. For more information please visit cashyourtech.com.