Ramblings – Mp3 Players I

Okay, so just like with my ramble for Creative, there are likely to be more than one ramble on this subject. Although I already have a Creative ZEN, ZEN Stone and ZEN Vision:M, I’m looking for a complete all in one player. As a result, I’ll be going through current and future products from Apple, Cowon Creative, iRiver, Microsoft, Samsung and Sony, as to see what they have to offer, in the mp3 player market. By doing a quick pros and cons style points system, I’ll may be able to find that player I’m looking for. (Hopefully) I know, I know, some of you think I have way too many mp3 players already, but still, I feel that having three is a little too complicated… I will get my information from various reliable sources, and determine which player is best of the ones reviewed. So to start off, Let’s kick off with Apple and there insanely-successful product line, the iPod.

The points are just my way of scoring the players under my preference. Otherwise, most statistics are based on the specifications given. Your opinion will likely differ from mine. Also note there is no score for the price as some prices are still as yet unknown. Some information, especially on newer players, is now incorrect/not up to date. Please check my more recent “Ramblings” here.

Apple iPod Nano
Capacity: 16GB +1
Price: $276 AUD (approx.)
Audio Support: AAC, MP3, VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, WAV, and AIFF +7
Video Support: H.264 in MP4 format (up to 640×480) +3
Display: 2″ screen with 64k colour display. +2.5
Battery Life: 24 Audio, 4 Video. +2
Other: Photo viewer +1, Compatibility to games +1, easy to use +1, small and light-weight +1, click wheel +0.5, multiple choice in colours +0.5, flash based memory +1, easy to access accessories and technical support shall you run into problems +5, no drag and drop media -1, media is transferred via iTunes -1, proprietary connection (iPod cable necessary) -1
Total: 22.5

Apple iPod Classic
Capacity: 120GB, 160GB +4
Price: $339 AUD for 120GB (approx.)
Audio Support: AAC, MP3, VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, WAV, and AIFF +7
Video Support: H.264/MPEG-4 in MP4 format (up to 640×480) +5
Display: 2.5″ screen with 64k colour display. +3
Battery Life: 36 Audio, 6 Video. +4
Other: Photo viewer +1, Compatibility to games +1, easy to use +1, click wheel +0.5, easy to access accessories and technical support shall you run into problems +5, no drag and drop media -1, media is transferred via iTunes -1, proprietary connection (iPod cable necessary) -1
Total: 28.5

Apple iPod Touch
Capacity: 16GB, 32GB +2
Price: $419, $549 AUD (approx.)
Audio Support: AAC, MP3, VBR, Audible, Apple Lossless, WAV, and AIFF +7
Video Support: H.264/MPEG-4 in MP4 format (up to 640×480) +5
Display: 3.5″ screen with 64k colour display. +4
Battery Life: 24 Audio, 4 Video. +2
Other: Photo viewer +1, Compatibility to games +1, has Wi-fi +1, internet access +3, easy to use +1, light-weight +1, full touch screen interface +2, flash based memory +1, easy to access accessories and technical support shall you run into problems +5, no drag and drop media -1, media is transferred via iTunes -1, proprietary connection (iPod cable necessary) -1
Total: 32

Cowon iAudio D2+
Capacity: 16GB +1
Price: $319, AUD (approx.)
Audio Support: MP3, WMA, FLAC, WAV, APE +5
Video Support: MPEG-4, WMV, DivX/XviD (when converted). Max resolution 320×240. +3
Display: 2.5″ screen with 16.7 million colour display. +3.5
Battery Life: 55 Audio, 10 Video. +8
Other: Photo viewer +1, can play games +1, touch screen interface with tactile buttons as well +1.5, flash based memory +1, expandable memory with SD and SDHC +3, FM Radio +1, Voice Recording +1, calculator +0.5, Korean dictionary +0.5, not so easy to use user interface -1, more difficult to access accessories and technical support shall you run into problems in Australia -5, no need to install drivers (drag and drop enabled) +1, kind-of proprietary connection (uncommon cable in western world) -1
Total: 24

Cowon iAudio O2
Capacity: 16GB, 32GB +2
Price: $469, $549 AUD (approx.)
Audio Support: MP1/2/3, WMA, AC3, AAC, FLAC, OGG, Apple Lossless, True Audio, APE, MPC, WavPack, G.726, WAV +13
Video Support: DivX/XviD/MPEG-4/WMV/H.264/M-JPEG/MPEG-1 in AVI/WMV/ASF/MP4/MKV/OGM/MPEG/DAT/MTV (up to 1280×720) +10
Display: 4.3″ screen with 16.7 million colour display. +5.5
Battery Life: 18 Audio, 8 Video. +4
Other: Photo viewer +1, full touch screen interface with tactile buttons as well +1.5, flash based memory +1, game compatibility +1, expandable memory with SD and SDHC +3 (not fully integrated -1), FM Radio +1, Voice Recording +1, Speaker +1, Calculator +0.5, NOT easy to use user interface -3, a tad bulky -1, has problems with some said video codec playback -3, more difficult to access accessories and technical support shall you run into problems in Australia -5, no need to install drivers (drag and drop enabled) +1, kind-of proprietary connection (uncommon cable in western world) -1
Total: 32.5

Cowon iAudio S9
Capacity: 16GB +1
Price: $379, AUD (approx.)
Audio Support: MP3, WMA, FLAC, OGG, WAV, APE +6
Video Support: MPEG-4, WMV, DivX/XviD (when converted). Recommended resolution 480×272. +5
Display: 3.3″ screen with 16.7 million colour display. +4.5
Battery Life: 55 Audio, 10 Video. +8
Other: Photo viewer +1, can play games +1, touch screen interface with tactile +2.5, very nice stylish design +1, flash based memory +1, FM Radio +1, Voice Recording +1, Bluetooth capabilities +1, calculator +0.5, easier than D2+ user interface +0, more difficult to access accessories and technical support shall you run into problems in Australia -5, no need to install drivers (drag and drop enabled) +1, kind-of proprietary connection (uncommon cable in western world) -1
Total: 29.5

Creative ZEN X-Fi
Capacity: 16GB, 32GB +2
Price: $299, $449 AUD (approx.)
Audio Support: MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, Audible +5
Video Support: WMV, MPEG4-SP, Divx, Xvid, MJPEG. Max resolution 320×240. +4
Display: 2.5″ screen with 16.7 million colour display. +3.5
Battery Life: 36 Audio, 5 Video. +3
Other: Photo viewer +1, tactile buttons +1, very nice stylish design +1, flash based memory +1, expandable memory with SD and SDHC +3, FM Radio +1, Speaker +1, Voice Recording +1, Wi-Fi capabilities +1, easy to use +1, nice pair of earphones +1, more difficult to access accessories and technical support shall you run into problems in Australia (since they moved out… XD) -5, no need to install drivers (drag and drop enabled) +1
Total: 26.5

iRiver SPINN and P7
Would have been here, but unfortunately, the P7 is unavailable in the US and Australia. The P7 seems similar to the Cowon iAudio 02 in design and looked promising. The SPINN is only available in 4GB and 8GB and is way too expensive, but for the fun of it, we’ll look at the SPINN anyway.
Capacity: 8GB +0
Price: $350 AUD (approx.)
Audio Support: MP3, WMA, OGG, APE, GLAC, ASF +6
Video Support: MPEG-4 SP, WMV (Conversion necessary) +2
Display: 3.2″ screen with 262k colour display. +3.5
Battery Life: 25 Audio, 5 Video. +2
Other: Photo viewer +1, touch screen with tactile +1.5, scrolling barrel navigation +0.5, lightweight +1, FM Radio +1, voice recording +1, easy to use +1, Bluetooth +1, flash based memory +1, slightly difficult to access accessories and technical support shall you run into problems in Australia? -5, drag and drop +1, uncommon USB cable +0.
Total: 18.5

Microsoft Zune 120
Capacity: 120GB +4
Price: $480 AUD (approx.)
Audio Support: WMA, MP3, AAC +3
Video Support: WMV, MPEG4, H.264 (up to 720×576) +6
Display: 3.2″ screen with 64k colour display. +3.5
Battery Life: 30 Audio, 4 Video. +3
Other: Photo viewer +1, tactile buttons and touch pad +1.5, stylish design +1, FM Radio +1, Wi-Fi capabilities +1, easy to use +1, more difficult to access accessories and technical support shall you run into problems in Australia -5, need to install drivers (not drag and drop enabled) +1
Total: 22

Samsung YP-P3 – Details sketchy as not released in US or AUS yet.
Capacity: 16GB, 32GB +2
Price: Unknown as of yet (Not released in Australia yet)
Audio Support: MP3, WMA, FLAC, OGG, AAC +5
Video Support: DivX/XviD, WMV, H.264, SVI (up to 800×600) +6
Display: 3″ screen with 262k colour display. +3.5
Battery Life: 30 Audio, 5 Video. +3
Other: Photo viewer +1, tactile buttons and full touch screen +2.5, very nice stylish design +1, speaker +1 , game compatibility +1, flash based memory +1, an image drawing (similar to paint? +1), subway maps? +0.5, dictionary? +0.5, calculator +0.5, FM Radio +1, Bluetooth enabled +1,  easy access to technical support shall you run into problems +4, no need to install drivers (drag and drop enabled) +1, proprietary connection (specific cable necessary) -1
Total: 35.5

Sony Walkman X-1000 – Details sketchy as still under development by Sony
Capacity: 16GB, 32GB +2
Price: Unknown
Audio Support: MP3, WMA, AAC +3
Video Support: WMV, MPEG-4, AVC +3 (if native video +3)
Display: 3″ screen with 262k colour display. +3.5
Battery Life: 30 Audio, 5 Video. +3
Other: Photo viewer +1, tactile buttons and full touch screen +2.5, Wi-fi +1, internet access +3, FM Radio +1, easy access to technical support shall you run into problems +4, no need to install drivers (drag and drop enabled) +1, proprietary connection (specific cable necessary) -1
Total: 27 (30)

Sony Walkman A720/A820
Capacity: 16GB +1
Price: $275/$419 AUD (approx.)
Audio Support: MP3, WMA, AAC +3
Video Support: WMV, MPEG-4, AVC +3
Display: 2.4″ screen with 262k colour display. +3
Battery Life: 36 Audio, 10 Video. +5
Other: Photo viewer +1, tactile buttons +1, Bluetooth (A820 only +1), easy to use +1, easy access to technical support shall you run into problems +4, no need to install drivers (drag and drop enabled) +1, proprietary connection (specific cable necessary) -1
Total: 24/23

So that’s a basic wrap up of the current mp3 players of 16GB+ capacity that are available in Australia, either in retail or online. The point scoring results these in order from best to lowest of my preference:

Samsung P3 – 35.5
Cowon 02 – 32.5
iPod Touch – 32
Sony X-1000 – 30
Cowon S9 – 29.5
iPod Classic – 28.5
Creative X-Fi – 26.5
Cowon D2+ – 24
Sony A720 – 22
iPod Nano – 22.5
Microsoft Zune – 22
iRiver SPINN – 18.5

Remember, about 95% of these scores are based on “on paper” specifications only, and that really, the actual player may be a lot worse or a lot better than my given order of the best. Each person has there own preference, and just from on paper specs, it looks like I may get the P3 or the S9 with the iTouch and X-1000 in mind as well. It all depends on the price really. As many of the products aren’t available for retail sale in Australia, some products require paying extra due to shipping/middleman etc. I’m also keeping in mind of PDA’s and SmartPhones that also have media playback capabilities. Phones such as the Omnia and the iPhone are examples. I’m still awaiting for my good friend Creative to announce a new product to their line of mp3 players.