Super Cheap iPods
"Buying Advice MP3 players
The digital music player continues its evolution from simple audio player to complex multimedia device. Most players come with color displays and the ability to show digital photos transferred from your computer, sometimes with accompanying music. Many also play back movies, music videos, TV shows, downloaded from the Web or videos taken with your camcorder. Some can even make their own recordings from a TV. Some of the latest models can share their content wirelessly via a Wi-Fi connection.
As digital players morph, one thing remains constant: The brand name that's on most of them. Apple's iPod players still account for more than three out of four MP3 players sold. Hardware alone doesn't explain Apple's dominance. While iPods score well in our tests, so do players from other manufacturers, many of which offer capabilities and features that iPods lack. Apple's success rests in part on its creation of a self-contained digital-entertainment system. iTunes, its content-management software, works seamlessly--only with iPods--a fact that's prompted the French government to sue Apple for monopolistic practices. Its online iTunes store offers by far the largest library of online video content, supplementing its dominance over online music sales. Its content includes many exclusives and also offers comprehensive one-stop access to podcasts, the booming (and mostly free) online downloads that offer everything from National Public Radio broadcasts to music-preview shows to weekly self-help recordings.
Recently, iTunes began offering songs from its EMI catalog without any copy protection. The unprotected songs cost 30 cents more than the 99-cent protected versions, but they're recorded at a higher bit rate for potentially better sound. More important, these songs are the first iTunes consumers will be able to share with anyone they like, including those with any MP3 players that aren't iPods (as long as those other players support the AAC format used by iTunes, which many do). EMI will soon be announcing similar deals with other online music stores, including Amazon.com.
Not that all innovative content comes from Apple. Other legal online content sources include BuyMusic, Yahoo! Music, Napster, Real, Sony, URGE, Wal-Mart, and Yahoo. Unlike iTunes, some of these sites also offer subscription-based services that let you fill your PC or player with rented music for a flat $15 per month (the music stops playing if you don't periodically dock your player an Internet-connected PC to confirm your account is in good standing). Downloaded songs from contemporary artists typically cost less than $1 per song, or $10 for an entire album; music videos, hit TV-show episodes, and short films cost $2 each. Players that support the copy-protected WMA formats, like those from Archos, Creative, RCA, and Samsung, allow access to the greatest number of online stores, and, because of the competition, cheaper music. Another WMA-store benefit: BuyMusic, Yahoo! Music, Real, and other sites offer songs at a higher bit rate than the standard 128 kbs, which has the potential to sound better when heard through high-fidelity headphones or sound systems.
Free online music-sharing, still the most popular way for acquiring MP3 music, has been driven underground by a flurry of record-industry lawsuits and a 2005 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. (The justices unanimously ruled that the popular music-sharing site Grokster, as well as similar operations, could be held liable if their networks were used to illegally distribute copyrighted music.) Napster, a pioneer of free peer-to-peer music-sharing, now allows you to stream music free from its (now legal) site, for up to five listens per song.
Before you buy any digital player, be sure your computer can handle it. New computers shouldn't be a problem, but make sure any player you're considering is compatible with your older Windows or Macintosh computer (including its operating system). Keep in mind that some operating-system upgrades can exceed the price of a player. And your computer must have a USB port.
Consider high-speed Internet access if you plan to download much of your music. Also keep in mind that getting started can be tricky with some players. Even if compatible with the player, an older computer might not recognize it easily, so you might have to seek help from the player manufacturer."
This is a report From Consumer Reports. This website is not liable for any content contained herein.