MP3 player advice needed

[andrewducker]

My iPod has died.  I need a replacement MP3 player, and for £100 I can get either the 16GB Creative Zen, the 16GB Sansa View or the 8GB iPod Nano.  So that's the Zen or the Sansa for me then!

Anyone got any opinion on either of them?

Comments

[cdave]

Check out the manuals from the manufacturers websites.

The killer feature for me is bookmarking, so I can abandon a podcast/audiobook, listen to some music, and come back to it. Oh, and I want them to work as external hard drives too, since I can't install software on my work machine. In the end I went for a Cowon, which was more than a Zen or Sansa, but less than an iPod.

trustedreviews.com had some good stuff on it.

[perceval.livejournal.com]

DH has a cowon that can play Ogg - really likes it

[pigeonhed.livejournal.com]

As a non-techy non-geek with no spare money I picked up A second hand Creatve Zen 20GB off e-bay for about £55 last year and am quite happy with it.

[pizza.maircrosoft.com (from livejournal.com)]

I find it hard to believe that anyone _needs_ an MP3, still less a £100 one.

Can't help, either, I know nothing about either of the things you mention. I had a (40GB) iRiver once, it was nice, but it fell in a river and doesn't work any more.

[pizza.maircrosoft.com (from livejournal.com)]

er, MP3 *player*.

[andrewducker]

I need something to play music to me in the office - otherwise my thoughts are drowned out by the sound of 60 people discussing things. If I can't clamp something over my ears then my productivity drops like a rock.

I don't _need_ a 16GB one, of course - but if I'm buying a half-decent one it'll cost me at least £80, so it makes sense to go for a 16GB player.

[cybik.livejournal.com]

I like Creative Zens... I have two (one of which is a bit too enormous so it is packed away in a box and the other is tiny and wonderful). They've been reliable (both second hand) and generally good.

[khbrown.livejournal.com]

I've had a 20GB zen for three years or so and have found it a reliable all round player.

[marrog.livejournal.com]

I know it's an outsider but for slightly over that (and possibly less, haven't shopped around) you can get a more recent version of my Philips GoGear, which I've found largely reliable and lovely.

[communicator.livejournal.com]

my daughter has a zen, gets on well with it

[robhu.livejournal.com]

Someone at work has some Zen variant.

It takes longer to bootup / shutdown than Windows.

[johncoxon.livejournal.com]

Zens are crap and nowhere near as good as the iPod line, can't speak for Sansa. Don't understand your prejudice against iPod - mine's been thrown downstairs, dropped, kicked, scuffled and abused and is still working fine so far...I only managed to break the last one by dismantling it...

[andrewducker]

I don't have a prejudice against the iPod line at all - I'm just not willing to pay the same price for 50% of the capacity (or 50% more for the same capacity). My iPod lasted about two years and then died two days ago - it was very good, and I liked the interface a lot, but not enough to pay £50 more for, when the Sansa is consistently getting excellent reviews.

[johncoxon.livejournal.com]

I think that the iPod's far superior build quality, reliability and user interface make it worth the money, and certainly consumer magazines such as Which? Magazine have consistently agreed that the iPod range is the best range of MP3 players available to buy. I believe I've used a Sansa and whilst it was OK, it felt less solid and less usable than the old iPod Nano, although the new ones are still something I've not gotten to grips with yet.

[andrewducker]

Oh, it's definutely better than the Sansa - the question is whether it's 50% better, and for me, that's not justifiable this time round. Were money no object I'd be going for a Touch, but that's just ridiculously expensive in comparison. It's a tradeoff, as with all these things.

[johncoxon.livejournal.com]

But the iPod Nano is shiny, Apple and comes in purple. I don't understand how it's not worth the extra! :P

[andrewducker]

Fortunately I'm immune to the Jobs Reality Distortion Field :->

[johnbobshaun.livejournal.com]

When I was in this situation earlier on in the year I went for the 8GB Sony Walkman. Best mp3 player I've ever owned. Light, sturdy, really good UI and comes with some incredibly high quality headphones.

I used to own a Creative Zen. I hated the interface. I had problems with the drivers. When it died after dropping from my desk onto the floor at work it felt like a mercy kill.

This was an last year's model however. Dunno what they're like at the mo.

[dreema.livejournal.com]

out of curiosity, which one did you go for in the end?

[andrewducker]

Sansa. I've been very happy with it except for a firmware glitch that means it forgets your track location when it auto-shutdowns. Works fine if you shut it down manually though, so I just do that.