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MP3 Players: An Overview

On the heels of portable CD and mini-disc players, MP3 players, also called digital audio players (DAPs), were first developed in 1997. While DAPs can play several types of audio formats, including several proprietary file types, MP3 is a common and popular digital compression format for audio files. As a result, DAPs are often referred to as MP3 players.

Types of MP3 Players
Since their development 10 years ago, MP3 players have evolved dramatically. MP3 players are now available in three main types:

Flash-Based Players: This type of digital audio player holds digital audio files on an internal or external piece of media equipment, such as a memory card. Due to technology limits, such devices can't store large amounts of data. They are often restricted to holding anywhere from 128 MB to 8 GB of data.
Hard Drive-Based Players or Jukebox Players: These types of MP3 players read audio files from an internal hard drive and have storage capacity ranging anywhere from 1.5 GB to 160 GB. With such capacity, these players can store thousands of songs and can display photos and videos. The iPod, developed by Apple, is an example of a hard-drive-based player.
MP3 CD players: An MP3 CD player is a player that can play audio files from a CD-ROM disc as well as files from an audio CD.

How to use MP3 Players

Once you have downloaded music and audio files, you can replay them at any time and listen to them using headphones. In addition, you can connect your MP3 player to external speakers using the appropriate adapter cord, so you can play your music on your home stereo system or on your car stereo.

With the growing popularity of MP3 players, their use has expanded beyond just playing music. Some MP3 players also include FM radio tuners and voice-recording capabilities. In addition, some people use their MP3 players to store and replay other audio files, including audio books and podcasts, radio-like programs that you can download from the Internet.

Audio Formats

In addition to the popular MP3 format, digital audio players can also play other audio file formats including:

Advanced Audio Coding (AAC)
Music Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)
open source formats, such as Ogg Vorbis, FLAC and Speex
Waveform Audio (WAV)
Windows Media Audio (WMA).

If the MP3 audio format is used to store files on your MP3 player, then 64 MB of compressed audio data will provide you with 1 hour of music. An MP3 player with 1 GB of memory can hold 240 songs, or the equivalent of approximately 20 CDs.

MP3 Players and Brands

While Apple's iPod is the most widely recognized and best-selling digital audio player, there are dozens of other brands and models available. Top picks, each of which feature 30 GB of memory, include:

Cowon iAudio X5L: great-sounding, starts at $250
Creative Zen VisionM: high-capacity iPod rival, ranges from $219 to $274
Philips GoGear HDD6330 Jukebox: stylish and packed with features, ranges from $175 to $250
Toshiba Gigabeat: compact and easy-to-use, ranges from $185 to $230
Zune: intuitive interface and solid playback performance, ranges from $200 to $280.

Where to Get Music for Your MP3 Player

Many users load music from CDs onto their MP3 players by copying music tracks onto their computers and uploading them to their MP3 players. Music downloads are also available on the Internet. Free music downloads are readily available by mainstream artists, as well as by alternative or unknown artists.

Alternatively, music can be purchased on a pay-per-song basis or through a subscription service, where users essentially rent music for a given time period. Some of the many music download providers include Music.Download.com, MP3.com, the iTunes Store, Napster, Rhapsody and ArtistDirect.com. Per-song prices average 99 cents, while subscriptions range from $9.99 to $19.99 per month, depending on the number of music downloads you want.

MP3 Player Accessories and Extras

Many MP3 player accessories and extras are available to users. Some MP3 accessories include:

armbands
battery packs
belt clips
car adapters and chargers
cases
docking stations
ear bud and earphone options
external speakers
games
rechargeable batteries
user-created playlists.

MP3 Battery Life

Battery life should be a key concern for anyone who is planning to purchase an MP3 player. An estimate of battery life should be listed in the product specs of most MP3 players.

For those on the go, select a player that has a rated battery life of 20 hours per battery charge. While a good hard-drive based player will last at least 20 hours, a quality flash-based player may play up to 40 hours.

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