MP3 Players? What you need to know
By Nicholas Newman Editor www.oxfordprospect.co.uk
WHAT are they?
To those considering buying an MP3 player, here are a few hard facts about this new gadget. Well, MP3 players are mini hard drives designed to store and play audio, visual and data files. You can download such files direct from your PC or purchase them via the internet. At present there are three popular types of MP3 player on the market – pocket sized devices, those fitted into mobile phones and CD players that can play MP3 formatted CDs.
Software
Downloading MP3 files
The advantage is you can carry your music collection in your pocket by converting all your recordings into MP3 file format. MP3 formatted files compress traditional recordings to a twelfth of the space used on a traditional CD. This means an MP3 player with a 1 GB memory size can store some 250 songs or the equivalent of listening to a 12 CD Version of a Harry Potter audio book ? so plenty to listen to when out jogging.
Problems over compatibility
Currently there is no agreed standard between manufacturers and recording providers for MP3. This means that if you purchase a song from Apple?s I-Tunes, you will be able to listen to it on an Apple I-Pod, but not on a Sony MP3 player. To check if the recordings you plan to download will play on your player, check out CNET?s Music Compatibility Wizard
What else can you listen to?
The BBC is now making available for you to download free, its plays, music and programs, to play at a time convenient to you. For listeners to audio books, you can now purchase or rent specially formatted MP3 CDs, which means you only need to carry around one MP3 disk.
Hardware
Pocket MP3 Players
Currently there are two main types of pocket MP3 player on the market, those designed for the occasional listener, with a recording storage capacity of 1 GB or less, and those with a memory of 2 GB or more for the music professional. Some are no bigger than a broach, while others are the size of a pack of post it notes.
All the ones I looked at were powered by rechargeable batteries and were quick and easy to download, so – the main problem was making a decision which song or audio book to record and listen to.
1 GB or less MP3 Pocket Players
Apple I-Pod Shuffle comes in two versions:
? 512 MB stores 125 songs price
