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I too have been looking for an MP3 player for a while. Was massively excited by iPod Mini, but as Apple decided to scr*w us on the UK price and availability, started to look elsewhere. Bought a PC magazinr last month that reviewed loads of solid-state and hard-disc players, their verdict - iRiver 120 (I think). Have a look at it here (http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shop/index.php?sort=4d&manufacturers_id=4). Styling is a bit more masculine than an iPod and it's worth noting that the newer models are about to be launched, so a price drop may be just round the corner.

Am off on hols soon so was going to see whether one of these was available at the airport (or an iPod if I had to!), but then noticed that the Sony HiMD players are out (I didn't think they were coming out so soon!). For me, they look very tempting - as my MD Walkman was nicked I already have a load of "normal" MiniDiscs (that can be formatted as HiMD), I know that I am happy with the size of MD players, the batteries are removable on some models and have a good life, they're jogproof, have good connectivity (both for data and audio), I don't really need to carry more than 1Gb at any one time (and buying a few extra discs to have in pockets is no hassle), and £160 starting price seems pretty good. I, for one, am seriously looking at HiMD instead of iPod-style devices for my replacement Walkman.

Sorry, forgot to say, if you're looking, try here (http://www.hifibitz.co.uk/subcategory.asp?id=63) for HiMD players

i've seen and read about iRiver devices. They look nice and have some good reviews, pricing is competative too.
I've personally purchased an archos mini (I think that's the name), i got the other halfs brother to buy it from the states for me saving about 1/3 on the cost.

If your after an MP3 player Napster are doing an offer:

(Taken from www.theregister.co.uk)

Showing a longing for its dot-com hysteria heritage, Napster has decided to give away MP3 players to people willing to sign up for a year-subscription to its service. Napster managed to coax Rio into lending its name and music players to what can only be seen as a desperate proposal for increasing online music sales. Now subscribers can pay $119.40 for a year's worth of Napster and get the Rio Chiba Sport MP3 player at no extra charge. For an extra $80, consumers can upgrade to the Rio Nitrus player, which has 1.5GB of memory as opposed to the stunning 128MB (What! - Ed) Chiba Sport.

The price of the Rio Nitrus is the same as what it would be if you subscribed to Napster and took advantage of the extra $80 offer for the Nitrus.

Alternatively if that doesn't tickle your fancy ordering iPod's from the US works out a hell of a lot cheaper. Personally I'd go for the iPod Mini as it doesn't have a hard drive and you won't be worried about your H-D in your MP3 player going after a few years.

However if you order from the US you get nailed for TAX however if you know someone in the US just get them to post it you as a present and you don't have to pay TAX:)

Personally, I wouldnt have an Ipod if you paid me. Sure, they look nice, but theyre ridiculously over priced, and sound quality is mediocre at best. I just ordered one of these (http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?prodid=9288) . From reading online reviews, you get all the features of the Ipod, with better sound quality, at nearly half the price. Cost me £202 from Alienware (http://www.alienware.co.uk) .

Personally I'd go for the iPod Mini as it doesn't have a hard drive and you won't be worried about your H-D in your MP3 player going after a few years.

Just to clarify, the iPod mini has a hard drive - it's a 4Gb Hitachi micro hard drive (the Rio Nitrus has the 1.5Gb version by the same manufacturer I believe). Not that I'd buy an iPod mini anyway due to the aforementioned "double the price for the UK market" attitude that Apple seem to be exhibiting at the moment.

I dunno if any of you checked the price of an iPod Mini from the US but they are £130.

Yep, and I'd have snapped one up if Apple had kept to their original April release date and made the price the sterling equivalent of what they're charging in the US. Instead, we're still waiting for a launch date, and still waiting to see if Apple "adjust" their stated £199 asking price. How we manage to get soooo ripped off is beyond me....

ive got a NOMAD Jukebox Zen NX 30gb cheaper than ipod and personally i think the sound is better than the ipod, dont think you can get a mini version but it isnt too big, very easy to use, rechargeable battery and unlike the ipod i looked at it came with a free case.

I have an Iriver 120hp and its spot on. Cheaper than an Ipod and longer battery life. Very easy to use

I have a Sony MiniDisc Net player, which works as well as an MP3 player.

They are under £100 as well!!!

see here http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10001&langId=-1&catalogId=1751&productId=83062

Before that I had a CD Walkman which was MP3 compatible, I prefered that to an MP3 player as an extra space just meant buying a blank CD!!!

Ive got an ipod, love the thing :)

People always tend to claim its sound quality is poor but nearly everyone who claimed that I demonstrated to and they've gone and bought one :D

3/4 of my friends have bought ipods on listening to the quality of it.

Plus the OS on the thing is the best one going, its so simple and the control system is so intuitive!

Originally posted by spook


I have a PC and heard that there might be problems with ipods and .wav files on a pc?


That's true, IPOD's won't do .wav's only .mp3's.

However, it is not really a good idea to be using wav's for music. The compression is significantly (and I MEAN significantly) worse than .mp3, .ac3 or .wma.

More likely to be a problem is .wma's. If you rip cd's to your hard drive using a MS product, you will end up with a .wma. The IPOD's come with software to rip in mp3 though so this shouldn't be a problem! There's also free convertors out there to do the job.

I have a 40gb IPOD, it is my favourite posession & desert island thing....

They're just sexy.

What do you think about the Sony NW A3000, which can be purchased on Amazon for £160 and it stores 20g. The design is original as well. I would give it a try.

i think this thread is a little out of date ;)

The Sony is good on battery life but the software you get with them IMO is rubbish.

The iRivers seem to be the most honest players out at the moment with most audio formats being supported on them.

iPods and iTunes are very easy to use tho and look great.

edit: yeah just noticed this thread is abit out of date!

I'm now interested in buying an mp3 player as I'm walking to work for a while and it'll be nice to hear some tunes in the morning.

Any updates on a good player and the cheapest place to get one? Is iRiver still the best recommendation?

P :-)

I'm now interested in buying an mp3 player as I'm walking to work for a while and it'll be nice to hear some tunes in the morning.

Any updates on a good player and the cheapest place to get one? Is iRiver still the best recommendation?

P :-)

Depends on who you speak to with regards to the recommendation, i'd say an iPod, but there would be others who say different obviously.

You're best just getting it down to 3-4 that you like/have been recommended. And narrow them down using what you need from a player as the deciding factor.

I'm also interested in mp3 players primarily to record voice data (not mine) for interviews etc and wondered which if any of these recommendations would be suitable.

What do you think about the Sony NW A3000, which can be purchased on Amazon for £160 and it stores 20g. The design is original as well. I would give it a try.

Iv just sold my sony NW-A3000 (20gb), it was the worst MP3 player iv had. When you first get it you think its all ok but you suddenly realise its not:

*Software is so bad sony has told everyone to stop using it
*Cant see screen in sunlight
*Its slow and sluggish in the menu's
*Have to 'de-limit' the sound to make it loud
*Mine devolped a creak at the bottom as there was a small gap between the metal and the plastic front
*Some of my MP3s wouldnt work, even tried re-encoding them
*Artist link function never worked
*Batterey life wasnt amazing either

Id stay well away!

Depends on who you speak to with regards to the recommendation, i'd say an iPod, but there would be others who say different obviously.

You're best just getting it down to 3-4 that you like/have been recommended. And narrow them down using what you need from a player as the deciding factor.

I do like the look of the iPod but I can't really afford an outlay of £135 just for an mp3 player right now. I'll have to see what else is available. I'd rather not go for a dodgy unknown brand but also I don't want to be spending too much.

I guess there's always eBay. :)

PLEASE can someone advice which MP3 player is good for recording voice data for at least 3 - 4hours continuous recording and capacity required if this is feasible. Very gratefully

PLEASE can someone advice which MP3 player is good for recording voice data for at least 3 - 4hours continuous recording and capacity required if this is feasible. Very gratefully

The Griffin italk is a gadget which plugs in to the top of an ipod, it's a microphone with a 100ft range, it also has a built in speaker for play back.
it's about £30, works with 3G and 4G ipods.

The Belkin voice recorder for the ipod records voices as WAV files, has the speaker, works with 3G 4G and mini ipods priced around £40

I can't speak for any other make as i have'nt tried them.

Have a look for the Cowan iAudio M3L, its the best MP3 player I've ever had. Does voice recording, 40gig, FM radio. Plays loads of formats. here (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002OXP0Q/qid=1138570121/sr=8-6/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i6_xgl/203-1259536-5246323)

Joel

Have a look for the Cowan iAudio M3L, its the best MP3 player I've ever had. Does voice recording, 40gig, FM radio. Plays loads of formats. here (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002OXP0Q/qid=1138570121/sr=8-6/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i6_xgl/203-1259536-5246323)

Joel


Mmmh now that does look reeeeeeeeeally interesting. Can you recommend any suppliers where I can see it in real life??

Not that I know of, Dixons used to stock them but I dont know if they do now. But they are well worth the money.

Joel