which small HD Mp3 should I buy?

[adampom]

I see the main competitors as the iPod mini and the Creative Zen, and out of these I definitely think the iPod wins. I dont want a radio, and have heard the zen has a couple of design faults.
What are the other best options that I might have missed?

And also, anyone have an iPod mini? could you tell me how many songs you ACTUALLY can have on it? If I lower sound quality a bit could I fit nearer 1500 on a 4gig one?

[liamss]

i had around 920 on mine on the 4bg one! Id say you could fit around 1200 if you lowered the quality!!! ;)

[ilprincipe]

iRiver H10 is supposedly one of the best "small" HD-players out there...

Check out www.iriver.com (official page) and www.misticriver.net (community)...

[Memzee]

Yeah. iRiver is a good but understated brand. Many people don't seem to have heard of them unless they're 'techies', but I've noticed some adverts on billboards recently.

The H10 is a great little player - 5GB, Colour screen, FM Radio, same browsing method as the Zen touch (I think), and it's available in about 5 colours.

I'd buy one myself, but 5GB is nowhere near enough for my music collection. :-/

[ilprincipe]

Memzee,
yes,it's very similar to Zen Touch (browsing method)...

Only downside is the price,but quality costs something... ;)

Btw,there is supposed to be a 10 as well as 20GB version of the H10 coming out soon(er or later) (don't get confused with the names :D)...For more information check out that community page I posted before,MisticRiver.... :)

[Memzee]

Just saw the 20GB version on the website this morning.

I've had my MP3 player for a year now, and starting to think about an 'upgrade' to colour screen for viewing photos and movies. The Sony HD-5 looks good, but I can't work out whether the screen is actually colour, or that you can just change the colour scheme.

I'm basically looking for something that's as small as my M3, with an in-line remote (preferably with display) and good battery life.

[adampom]

I just feel like I dont actually need a colour screen because I don't really envisage wanting or needing to put pictures on it.
Also, It just doesnt look as good as the iPod, I'd usually rather go for the better kit rather than the more popular commercial product, but something about the iPod mini just makes my heart melt :love:

Think my only real question is shall I get a 4GB or 6GB?

[liamss]

Go for the 6GB, with the improved battery and the coloured writing on the click wheel, and more storage space, might aswell for an extra £40 or around that!
also any bugs that might have been will have been fixed!

[ilprincipe]

Memzee,
yes,it's really nice...
Sony is ok as well,although I don't like the "keypad" at all on the newest one... (HD-5)

adampom,
go for the 6 GB (in green,at least my choice ;))...

[liamss]

i had the green, and when ever i told everyone they were shock because it sounded bad, but i reckon its the best colour, its a wellll nice green!

[ilprincipe]

liamss,
yes,you're right..It sounds awful,but the first time I saw one in real life I completely changed my mind... ;) If only they'd make the "big" iPods in that colour as well...6GB is nowhere near enough for my music collection... :D

[liamss]

id definately get one of them!! i think the 20gb= ones are really big compared to the Mini, when i first took the mini out of the box, i was shocked it was so small!

[adampom]

thing is, a mini wont hold all of my music...I'll have to chop and change, but for the sake of the size, I think its worth it.

[Memzee]

adampom, the iAudio M3 is in between the size of the iPod mini and the big iPod, with 20GB memory, you might want to consider that. It also has a better battery life, SRS surround sound and an inline remote with screen too. And an FM Radio that I don't really use that much.

[Seanjuan]

I would like something that holds most of my music, however I realize even with a vast collection on my computer I only listen to a small amount of it consistently.
It looks like maybe I will go for a smaller player, like a 6 gig. Which ones support drag and drop song loading? Long battery life?
(no #*%& proprietary software please!)

[ilprincipe]

Seanjuan,
I think the iRIver H10 (5GB) supports this...It got some software with it,but I think (not sure though) that you can drag&drop without it as well and listen to the music afterwards... (you can drag&drop with iPod as well,but you can't listen to the songs then)

[KOM:AT:IK]

when you have the iPod mini in your hand you will love it and just wait for the reactions of people when they see it, they dont even have to know what it is and they will love it, there is something in the retro hi-tech design of the apple.

considering the size of the hardrive, its 50 bucks increment, so dont buy that "value for a GB" crap, buy what is best for you, if you dont need the extra 2 Gigs, dont throw out the 50 bucks and invest in an accessory instead, that is a marketing trick, making you shop for more, till you die a paesants death :D

u say u wont fit your entire collection onto a mini, so u can safely buy the 4 GB version if the money is the issue here (remember, the 2nd gen ipods come crippled included accessory wise, so u may need to invest some extra cash into those). u dont really have to go for extra low sound quality to fit EVERYTHING there, make use of the update (sync) feature of the iPod-iTunes combo, make some playlists and just sync the ipod accordingly ;) there must be a gross of songs you listen to the most (some 500) and have the rest (500 or 1000) for moody songs :) enjoy

[miltk]

i'm waiting for the toshiba f10k or s.
don't know if it uses id3 or folders like the gigabeat 21.

[christol]

What player you should buy depends entirely on your needs. Will you exercise with it? How many songs do you expect to keep on it? Etc. Here's a link to a test which will pick the best player for you:
http://www.thedigitalbeat.com/mp3s.html. The site also has some decent side-by-side comparisons and reviews of the leading players. Good luck!