Well, I can't help you with buying an mp3 player since I don't have one, but with regards to copying a cd onto your pc, when I do mine, the software I use(CDex) automatically converts it to mp3. I don't use .wma files coz me winamp won't play 'em :/

I've just bought a 15gb Apple iPod and have to say it is excellent.

The design is fantastic (Apple is way ahead of other companies in terms of design, even with their packaging), and the system itself is excellent. Transfer speeds to the iPod are fast and once on the iPod, songs are automatically sorted into artist, album, genre etc and it's done very accurately.

The iPod comes in 10gb, 15gb and 30gb incarnations, i have the 15gb one and you can fit about 2700 songs on it. The sound quality is fantastic. The 15 and 30gb versions come with a docking cradle and a remote controller bit, but the 10gb version doesn't.

It's not that cheap, but it's the best player you can buy.

Excuse the complete technical philistine that is me, but is that compatible with my pc? Or does it connect to the net itself? All I'm really after is a glorified walkman type thingy - small, cute & shiny that plays stuff I downloaded.

It plugs into your pc and you just transfer mp3s from your computer to the iPod using the provided software. It's compatible with Windows and Mac OSs

I have a 20Gb Creative Zen, which I've copied my entire 400CD collection to, and I still have 5gb to spare.

My one is the original model, with both a USB1 and firewire plug, but the current one just has a USB2 connector.

A newer version is coming in the next few months with a 60GB disk.

anway, as an added feature it came with a backlit remote control with a built in mic and FM radio with 20 presets, oh and you can record from the radio

You can also use it to store data, though you need to use the Creative file manager rather than Windows explorer.

I got mine from Komplett.co.uk

I've been through a fair few of these (curse of being an early-ish adopter). Your main options are as follows:

1. Memory card (Compact Flash, SD, MMC, Memory Stick etc)based.
Pros: Low power consumption, small, very light players due to size of memory cards.
Cons: Cost of memory (ie ~£40-50 for 256Mb CF, ~£60 for SD, £90-100 for Memory Stick).
My first player was one of this type and I found it a major PITA constantly copying/deleting files from a 96Mb card (this was a while ago!). I do now have a 256Mb card I use to play MP3s on my PocketPC PDA while on the tube though.

2. CD-based - basically Discman-type things, you burn MP3s onto a CD-R and play them on the machine.
Pros: Cheap storage (~50p in bulk for a blank CD-R?)
Cons: High-ish power consumption, CD players aren't very good for use on the move ie jogging, gym etc., burning to CD isn't very flexible in terms of organising your tracks together, comparatively heavy.
Not actually ever owned one of these but these were the thoughts that occured to me when evaluating them.

3. Hard disk-based. MP3s are played off the hard disk.
Pros: lots of storage space (my first had 6Gb, my current 40Gb) means less fuss about what tracks you might want to listen to, very good cost/unit storage ratio compared with memory cards
Cons: high upfront cost for player (ie ~£260 for a 20Gb Zen player vs ~£120 for a 128Mb memory card player), battery life not so good, comparatively heavy, navigating through so many tracks can be a pain with just a few buttons and a small LCD screen.
I'm currently on my second one of these, started off with a 6Gb Creative Labs Jukebox and now have a 40Gb CL Jukebox 3 (sold the 6Gb unit to a friend who was more than eager to take it). It suits me very well - I tend to travel a lot so the idea of having pretty much my entire CD collection readily to hand is very nice indeed. I'd like better battery life but the rechargable unit in the Nomad 3's not bad (enough for a long distance flight anyway).

Re: ripping to MP3 vs WMA - was that using Windows Media Player? By default, WMP only rips to WMA. You'll need additional software to rip to MP3 but every player I've had has included a ripper program. FWIW, the CL Jukeboxes play WMAs too.

Re: speakers. The CL Jukeboxes have line-out sockets on them but even if a player doesn't I guess you should be able to plug them into the earphone socket.

My biggest problem is my new car's stereo has no line-in socket and no tape player so hooking up the Jukebox 3 to it is non-trivial. I've experimented with one of those radio transmitter things but the sound quality was pretty awful. My best option is apparently to get a line-in connected to the stereo's CD changer inputs...

Hope this helps...

In terms of players, there are some lovely gadgets out there, but they all come with a hefty price.

Earlier this year I was hankering for a Creative Nomad and then a Creative Zen (the Zen being better for having the 20GB+ drives, and looking rather snazzy).

But recent serching has brought up two new machines: the Archos Jukebox (which is nice enough, does the same thing as the Zen) and now *drumroll* the Archos AV320, which also has a 3.2inch LCD screen for watching DivX films you've ripped from DVD

Of course I don't own any of these so I have no idea about battery life etc, but the idea of a pocket-sized gadget that has a third of my MP3 collection, some DVD films and extra space for transfering files (say maybe CD images) is very tempting. The AV320 also plugs into TVs and hi-fis.

I think the major thing to think about though is, of course: price! What's your budget?


And an addendum: WMA files are supposedly as good as MP3s and still smaller file sizes, but they don't work with as many programs. WinAmp will play them, with a plugin (probably, I haven't tested this theory). I stick with MP3s, ripped at best quality. I use Exact Audio Copy which is straightforward and fast.

(Edited by Cirieno 02/09/2003 12:31)

Ok, almost totally completely confused now so will go away and ponder and think. Thankee for all your helps.