View Full Version : Best MP3 Player - weather, FM - AAA battery
I'm looking to find the BEST, smallest player that has all in the subject line above.
IS there a player that has it all?
It has to have a replaceable battery that is somewhat cheap... AAA
Please educate me with what you use (manufacturer model etc.) and any down faults it may have.
Thank you!
Rob
DawnTreader
03-18-2006, 12:40
i saw a guy on the trail last year with a solar powered mp3 player. when he wasn't using it and it was sunny, he would put it in his water bottle mesh pockets, and it would recharge.. I thought that was the most practical trail friendly mp3 player I have seen...
It doesn't have weather, but the Creative Zen Nano Plus appears to be one of the best and fits most of your needs. Plus it has FM and voice recording capabilities.
http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=213&subcategory=214&product=12720
is a Creative Zen Nano Plus, 512 MB, with FM radio,and voice recorder..cost less than $80. The 1 GB is slightly more expensive. You can also record directly from a CD player phone jack.
Battery power is 2 AAA, and they last for something over 20 hours-not exactly sure how long. Only drawback is the ear buds don't stay in place when moving about. So, maybe some better ones later. I would recommend this model MP3.
Check out IRiver. Various size flash memory players with FM and runs on single AA. http://www.iriver.com/
Shutterbug
03-18-2006, 13:12
I'm looking to find the BEST, smallest player that has all in the subject line above.
IS there a player that has it all?
It has to have a replaceable battery that is somewhat cheap... AAA
Please educate me with what you use (manufacturer model etc.) and any down faults it may have.
Thank you!
Rob
The one I use, PNY Vibe, meets your requirements except for the weather. Check it out at: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1730662&CatId=1698
Thanks and keep them coming.
When I get back I'll start studing / compairing.
Up to NJ for a family event...
There is a time for thanking God for a beautiful day... (no tunes)
Then there is a time to get through the day... rain, fog, wind (tunes!).
To me, there is no pleasure like great music (outside of a perfect day in the mountains - of course).
Thanks again for you experiences / knowledge
Rob
BonzNRio
03-18-2006, 19:22
Thanks Rob for posting this thread.This is the last of my gear left on my list.I've been out looking at them & have been confused.I just ordered the Zen Nano.
No Belay
03-18-2006, 21:32
Just bought a Creative MuVo Nano 200 from the Creative website for $60 for my last hike. Uses 1 triple A for 15 hours use, packs 512mb, FM, and records directly from the FM radio or aux input. It's great for trail use because you can directly Rip CD's to the player from a CD player, no computer needed. It's about the size of a micro cassette.
Check out IRiver. Various size flash memory players with FM and runs on single AA. http://www.iriver.com/I second that suggestion. Up to 40 hour battery life on a single AA battery. Great sound, and I am still using my 512mb from 3 years ago with no problems. My wife has the newer 1 gig version.
is a Creative Zen Nano Plus, 512 MB, with FM radio,and voice recorder..cost less than $80. The 1 GB is slightly more expensive. You can also record directly from a CD player phone jack.
Battery power is 2 AAA, and they last for something over 20 hours-not exactly sure how long. Only drawback is the ear buds don't stay in place when moving about. So, maybe some better ones later. I would recommend this model MP3.
I have a ILO model from Wal-mart. Uses AAA batts, has FM and voice recorder capability. It has 1 gig of internal memory and a expansion slot that will accept the SD camera cards. Price was $99.00 at Christmas last year. Here is the link to the one I got. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4127960
Omni
No Belay
03-18-2006, 23:26
Omni, I owned the ILO this fall and it isn't very smash resistant. The circular control on the front of the unit went bad on mine after it's second trip. I had the same problem with an RCA Lyra. I won't buy anything now that has controls on the front or back. Just the pressure from being packed and bounced all day seems to do them in. Is Wal-Mart still headquartered in Bentonville?
judypudy
03-19-2006, 00:13
I chose these because they're compatile with Audible format and I love listening to audiobooks while I'm hiking/camping. Both use AAA batts, have FM radio, and have SD expansion slots.
Buy.com -has Sandisk Sansa for $52. Seems a little chintzier than the Forge, but the ear buds it comes with are not such great quality. Also - the SD card pops out while I'm hiking so I have to rubber band it on. Very light.
Buy.com has 512MB Forge for $113 - I think they may not be made anymore. There are several on ebay for less than $100. Also - if you can add a 1 GB card it doesn't really matter if you have the 128MB version, which is cheaper. It has a rubberized grip around the outside and a metal plate on the front. It is really sturdy but also more heavy.
This is just my opinion, but if you want cheap/light/capacity/AA compatible/AM/FM/TV/weather, there is only one way to go. Buy an Mp3 CD player. I got an excellent one for about 80 bucks.
You can't beat the cost per gig, 10 CDs is 7 gigs for about 15 bucks.
It's very light, no worries there. The one I have is so efficient that I could go from town to town on a single AA lithium ion battery, and sometimes it was heavy heavy use. I don't remember what the packaging but it was something like 72 hours of listening on a nickel hydride, and the lithiums are lighter and last longer. You'll never worry about charging a specific battery. It gets AM/FM/TV/Weather channels. I never used the TV (audio only) but the Weather was kind of neat, a cycling forecast broadcast locally from who knows where.
My player has a display function where you can scroll through the lists of songs. It can fast forward and rewind through the mp3 as well.
CD's are going to get scratched so spend an extra 10 dollars on the plastic sleeves that cover the CD completely. You just leave them on and store them in the regular way, the player will read the CD through the plastic. Then if it gets marred, replace the sleeve. If moisture gets in, it doesn't matter.
It's almost as shock proof as an ipod. I can jog with mine on pavement and there's no problem. While hiking, I normally kept it in the pocket of my shorts and it would skip maybe once a week or so, and then only when I really should have been paying closer attention to where I was going.
The only downside is that you can't change your lineup as easily as an MP3 player. But, it's the woods. So you're not going to be changing much anyway. I would also find it hard to believe you're going to get an MP3 player that can pick up weather stations without paying through the nose for it.
Omni, I owned the ILO this fall and it isn't very smash resistant. The circular control on the front of the unit went bad on mine after it's second trip. I had the same problem with an RCA Lyra. I won't buy anything now that has controls on the front or back. Just the pressure from being packed and bounced all day seems to do them in. Is Wal-Mart still headquartered in Bentonville?
Yeah they are still here, we live about 10 blocks from the home office. I did section two of the Ozark Highlands trail last December and my ILO worked great. I turned the key lockout button on and stuck it in the zippered valuables compartment under my packs top lid. So far I have not had any problems with the unit. After about 150 hours of use I ended up dropping the earbud in a bowl of soup, I dried the earbud and it works with no problems. We are going to do section three this Easter and if I have any problems I will let you all know.
Omni
hikerjohnd
03-19-2006, 19:12
Sandisk Sansa M250 (http://www.sandisk.com/Products/Item%281211%29-SDMX3-2048-Sansa_m250_MP3_Player_2GB.aspx) - 2 gig, 1 AAA battery, FM receiver - 1 ounce. You can't go wrong! (and it plays Audible (http://www.audible.com) files!)
Check out the BenQ Joybee 130 http://3btech.net/bejo130usb20.html It has 512mb of internal memory and has an expandable memory of 2gb. Also has radio and voice recording. It's less than $50, but the memory cards are expensive. My plan is to put my fav music on the 512 internal memory and coordinate mail swaps with a couple of 2gb cards with a friend at home. Low weight, lots of memory, lots of music...
chowhound
03-20-2006, 16:21
I'll put in another plug for the Creative Designs Zen Nano plus. I've been using the 1GB version since last September and think that it is great. You should be able to find one on the internet for around $100. I listen to both misic and audio books with no problem. I drive quite a bit on my job, and the audio books make it a lot more pleasant. It is also nice to be warm in your sleeping bag while you listen to a book or music. The radio on the Zen nano plus also works well.
I'll add my vote to the others for the iRiver IFP series (I have the IFP-799, the 1 GB). It's small and light, runs for 40 hours on a single AA, and has superior sound. I've used it for hiking for the last year. I haven't had it in the rain yet but it's small enough to tuck away out of the wet. Has FM and record function also. They do regular firmware updates, too.
There's another good thread on hiking music but I find myself playing a lot of reggae, GD, Phish, blues, and jazz - don't forget Mofro and The Who!
If anyone has anything to add - by all means PLEASE DO!
I love using the I Tunes software that my wife and sons use, but they don't sell a player with a removable battery.
Are any of the models above recognized by ITunes software?
Can the Zen Nano, when you plug it into the USB, access the music on ITunes?
Thanks,
Rob
Almost There
03-22-2006, 23:29
A thought about MP3 players as it relates to hiking. I personally know of three people who have had close encounters with rattlers on the trail while using them. Two almost stepped on one and one person actually stepped on one while jamming to tunes, luckily didn't get bit as rattlers aren't quick to bite people. I used to carry one all the time...but after hearing this I have decided that if I do take mine it will be strictly for camp. I carrry a small samsung with an FM tuner and alarm. Regardless...be careful if you're gonna hike while bopping down the trail.
Anyone using a Sony MP3 player? I hear there is one that runs on a AAA?!
I'll be picking one up in about a month.
Can I load files from ITunes to any of these devices?
Thanks,
Rob
hikerjohnd
04-11-2006, 08:04
Can I load files from ITunes to any of these devices?
No - no itunes on anything but an ipod unless the device says it is compatible. I made the mistake of converting my whole library - now I'm stuck - though there are options. I copied my entire library onto a separate hard drive and hooked it to another computer without itunes. It played the songs that I had copied from CD's but not the songs I purchased form itunes. There is conversion software available - lots of it - do a google search on 'convert itunes music' and you will be inundated with advice - but the more I read the more I become confused and know that for now, Steve Jobs will have at least one customer for a while longer (although I have been very happy with my 3G 20GB iPod - I've had it for almost 3 years now and once I changed the battery with an aftermarket replacement it has been fine, but still too heavy for backpacking)
Uncle Silly
04-12-2006, 05:38
No - no itunes on anything but an ipod unless the device says it is compatible. I made the mistake of converting my whole library - now I'm stuck - though there are options.
Not quite true! You ARE right that the stuff you bought from Apple (the ITunes Store) won't work (as well as any songs stored in M4A/AAC format). Any MP3s in your ITunes library, however, will work fine.
ITunes can export songs to any hard drive folder. Most (all?) of these USB MP3 players will be recognized by the operating system as a removable hard drive. Windows will give it a drive letter. Macs put an icon on the desktop to indicate it's available. You just tell ITunes to export the songs to that location. (I'm not an ITunes guru -- maybe just select the songs you want to copy, and drag them to a folder window on the device?)
Alternately, you can just find where ITunes keeps the actual song files on your system hard drive, and copy them to the device from there (or use the device's software to copy them for you).
Caveat: This just puts the songs on the device; it doesn't tell the device they're there. Some devices need you to use the software that comes with it to tell the device about the song files so it can play them. And make sure they're MP3 files, or that the device can play whatever they are (ITunes seems to like M4A files; Windows Media likes WMA files). If you're ripping your own CDs to fill your library, you can tell ITunes to make MP3s by default instead of using the AAC/M4A encoding. This will help with non-Apple devices.
Does any ITunes-user know if ITunes will let you export songs to MP3? I think it'll let you burn an MP3-disc... I'm wondering if that's a way to convert your M4A/AAC files to MP3 for use with this player...
I copied my entire library onto a separate hard drive and hooked it to another computer without itunes. It played the songs that I had copied from CD's but not the songs I purchased form itunes. There is conversion software available - lots of it - do a google search on 'convert itunes music' and you will be inundated with advice - but the more I read the more I become confused and know that for now, Steve Jobs will have at least one customer for a while longer (although I have been very happy with my 3G 20GB iPod - I've had it for almost 3 years now and once I changed the battery with an aftermarket replacement it has been fine, but still too heavy for backpacking)
Oy. Yeah, that's a whole 'nother discussion. You're right about it being too heavy for backpacking. Feel free to PM me with questions about moving your library and I'll try to help.
judypudy
04-23-2006, 22:56
hymn-project.org/jhymndoc (http://hymn-project.org/jhymndoc) will convert itunes purchased songs to mp3 as long as you haven't upgraded to itunes 6.0
MedicineMan
04-24-2006, 01:12
no mention of ipod?
also, anyone have an mp3 player that is waterproof?
Hi Med Man - My wife has the IShuffle and the kids have the Pods - BUT - If I'm out for a solo 4 or 6 day hike, I'm going to need a player that I can swap out the batteries, enable me to use it all week.
Rob
hikerjohnd
04-26-2006, 20:13
If I'm out for a solo 4 or 6 day hike, I'm going to need a player that I can swap out the batteries, enable me to use it all week.
Rob
Agreed - if apple comes out with an ipod in any form that runs on AAA batts, I'll buy in a hearbeat. I love my ipod, but it stays home on hiking trips because the charging equipment weighs more than the ipod.
Agreed - if apple comes out with an ipod in any form that runs on AAA batts, I'll buy in a hearbeat. I love my ipod, but it stays home on hiking trips because the charging equipment weighs more than the ipod.
Please explain why AAA batteries are so important. Are you sitting on a pile of em? I don't get it.
Please explain why AAA batteries are so important. Are you sitting on a pile of em? I don't get it. I don't have an I Pod, but my Dell MP3 player is only rechargable. There is no option to use batteries to power it. I'm guessing that people want the function and capacity of thier favorite player with the ability to power it with removable batteries.
Oh, and AAA batteries are the smallest and lightest for that application.
Folks, if you are going to listen to music over 4, 5 or 7 days, and have no way to "recharge", you have a player that can swap out batteries to keep playing music. Ipods have a built in battery - no use on the trail once the batteries are dead.
AAA, lightest - then it's just a matter of which player has the best options and will play the longest per battery.
Footslogger
04-29-2006, 09:57
Oh, and AAA batteries are the smallest and lightest for that application.
========================================
AAA's are the lightest but my IRiver runs on a single AA cell. All things considered I would suggest going that route. Even if you do carry an extra battery as a back-up you'd be ahead of the game. With the newer AA Lithium batteries I can go several weeks, listening to music on and off during the day, before I have to replace the battery. Whenever I'm in town or at a hostel I can generally pick up another AA (either Alkaline or Lithium) so I never carry more than one spare with me.
'Slogger
Please explain why AAA batteries are so important. Are you sitting on a pile of em? I don't get it.
Personally, I like having my battery powered gear (headlamp and MP3 player) to use the same size battery (AAA) so my spare battery(ies) are interchangeable.
There is a lot of info on mp3 players at http://reviews.cnet.com I've been reading the reviews on WAV players there. Do any of you have the Cowon iAudio U2 player?
hikerjohnd
04-30-2006, 11:06
Please explain why AAA batteries are so important. Are you sitting on a pile of em? I don't get it.
For me, yes I am sitting on a pile of em. I have 12-4pks of lithiums. On the other hand, they are lighter than AA and ounces count. All of my electronics have to run on AAA - I am not going to carry three of four different kinds of spare batts - the weight adds up too quickly. If my headlamp dies, I know the batts from my GPS and my MP3 player will work in a pinch.
Thanks to ALL!
I'm looking at getting the best deal I can on....
the Sansa M250 or 260!!!
I'm checking out a couple on Ebay... Some stores have nice rebates -
We'll see -
Thanks to everyone who responded.
Hey, maybe we should keep this thread updated with all the new players that we buy or learn about.
Thanks again - Rob
Uncle Silly
05-25-2006, 00:16
btw, for those who like DIY electronics, you can make a USB battery charger for your MP3 player. mount it in an altoids tin or something similar. works with iPods, iRivers, or just about any other USB-enabled player. the parts will cost you like $5 (if that) and you can run it on any battery you like. AAA, 9v, whatever (the differences will be in how much charge it will give vs how much they weigh / easy they are to find).
do a google search on "altoids usb ipod charger" -- pics and schematics are all over the place.
NINpigNIN
05-25-2006, 12:14
Agreed - if apple comes out with an ipod in any form that runs on AAA batts, I'll buy in a hearbeat. I love my ipod, but it stays home on hiking trips because the charging equipment weighs more than the ipod.
Apple makes an adaptor for the iPod shuffle that allows it to run on AAA batteries (link (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wo/3.RSLID?mco=5430752B&nplm=M9759G%2FA)), and Belkin makes a battery adapter for regular iPods (link (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wo/6.RSLID?mco=1028B69&nplm=T6714LL%2FA)), but that one uses 4 AA batteries so the weight would probably be a bit much.
Also, there are a few products available I've found on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=br_ss_hs/103-5017585-1527032?platform=gurupa&url=index%3Dblended&keywords=iPod+solar) that will allow you to use solar power to recharge your iPod, iPod shuffle or iPod nano.
For the issue of converting music bought from iTMS to mp3, why not just burn the songs to a plain old regular audio CD and then use that to rip them back in mp3 format. I^H (err, I mean "some guy I know" in case Apple is watching this...;)) have done this successfully several times in the past.
I can't vouch for the quality of the product, but it seems like a good deal. Today on http://www.woot.com you can pic up the iRiver T10 512MB MP3 Player w/FM Tuner and Voice Recorder for $50 + $5 shipping - $10 mail in rebate = $45 total. I thought the battery life of 45 hrs on one AA battery was pretty good.
If you haven't heard of woot.com before, they offer one product per day until their inventory it gone and then the post a new item the next day (midnight). Hence the slogan, "One day, one deal".