MP3 player, also well known as digital audio player has become a staple of our gadget life. There are many brands of MP3 players on the market today. So, which MP3 player are the most suitable for you? That's where this MP3 player guide comes in.

Basically, there are 3 types of MP3 player based on capacity: -

1. Hard drive MP3 player

- highest capacity
- largest in size
- heavy
- often labeled as an "Jukebox MP3 player"
- has moving parts
- example: Apple iPod video, Sony Network Walkman NW-HD5

2. Micro hard drive MP3 player

- use smaller hard drives
- lighter than hard drive MP3 player
- lower capacity than hard drive MP3 player but higher capacity than flash memory MP3 player
- example: Apple iPod mini, Creative Labs Zen Micro

3. Flash memory MP3 player

- smallest in size
- lowest capacity
- very light
- has no moving parts
- often labeled as an "portable MP3 player"
- example: mobiBLU Dah 1500i, Apple iPod nano


What should you concern when you want to buy a MP3 player?

1. Use / Purpose
a) MP3 player good for travel
Hard drive MP3 player is good for people traveling or away from computer for an extended period of time, where they can't transfer music files from their computers. Micro hard drive MP3 player is another option for travel since it is slightly smaller and lighter than hard drive MP3 player. Flash memory MP3 player is also popular for travel if you do not mind to listen to the same music.

b) MP3 player good for sport / jogging / gym
Flash memory MP3 player is good for people exercising and jogging since it is very light. No moving parts for Flash memory MP3 player make it ideal for sport.

c) MP3 player good for home use
Hard drive MP3 player is good for listening song in living room. It is suited to be connected to external speakers.

2. Connectivity
There are two main options to transfer files from your computer: USB or FireWire. USB supported by both PCs and Macs whereas FireWire is supported only on Macs. For PC users, they need to ensure that the MP3 player support USB 2.0 which is faster than USB 1.1. Most of the MP3 players on market today are support USB 2.0.

3. Display screen
Majority of MP3 players have LCD screen. Some MP3 players have color screen instead of dull black and white screen. The main things to consider are all the information such as battery level, song name & elapsed time are easy to read.

4. Compatibility
PC or Mac compatibility. Mac users should ensure the MP3 player can support Mac since some MP3 players can only support PC.

5. Battery
MP3 players come with either rechargeable batteries (some can be charged via USB port) or disposable batteries.

6. Music format
Music files can be one of several types of formats, such as MP3, AAC (Advanced Audio Coding), WMA (Windows Media Audio) and Ogg Vorbis. Ogg Vorbis is a completely open, patent-free, professional audio encoding and streaming technology with all the benefits of Open Source.

7. Functionality
Some MP3 players have extra features such as voice recorder, FM radio, FM recorder, image viewer, video player.

8. Memory capacity
Most of the flash MP3 players come with 256MB, 512MB and 1GB. For hard drive MP3 players, they have gigabytes of storage capacity. If you would like to store many songs or CD collections in one, hard drive MP3 player or micro hard drive MP3 player is a better choice for you.
 

What is an mp3 and How Do You Download It?

Music downloads. It’s something you hear about all the time. In the newspaper, on the news you watch every evening. But what is all of the fuss about? What is an mp3, and why has it started such a revolution?

Mp3 stands for MPEG Audio Layer 3. It’s a way of taking tracks from a music CD and compressing them to a format suitable for sharing over the internet without sacrificing quality. Because of this, people download music from the internet all the time, sometimes illegally.

Downloading music legally usually requires that people pay for the right to listen to and have the song on their computer. There are many sites on the internet that provide this service, most running under a dollar a song. Some have restrictions, like only allowing the song to be played on one computer, and others don’t. A simple search for “music downloads” on the internet will give you a list of sites for you to evaluate and try for yourself.

Downloading music for free, on the other hand, can be considered an illegal practice since it is, in essence, stealing the song from the artist. If caught, the consequences can be as minor as an email stating to stop or as severe as your being sued for millions of dollars for theft. Mp3s are available for free download, mainly through peer-to-peer programs, like Limewire or WinMX. Mp3s are simple to find using these programs: just type the name of the song you’re looking for in the search bar and press enter. You’ll be offered many choices of who to get the song from, since by using a peer-to-peer (better known as P2P) program means you’re getting the song straight from another person via your internet connection. Choose one, let it download, and play it right on your computer.

Music downloading isn’t as hard as it sounds, and it’s extremely simple to do!