Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

[Unmasked]

I've recently found myself in dire need of an MP3 player after a year without one. I've had an old Samsung mp3 player, an iPod and a Zune. I disliked the iPod simply because of iTunes, and my Zune's screen cracked the day after my warranty expired.


I now find myself searching for a decent non-Apple music player, which is alot more difficult than it sounds. Apple has quite the advantage in the music department, technologically, at least. However, I refuse to deal with iTunes, so hopefully I can find a decent one. I'd preferrably not have a Zune as they're even more expensive than iPods.

Anybody have some advice for me?

[judgejudy]

Re: Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

i've heard nothing but good about creative zen's

[Burns11]

Re: Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

Cowon S9
Samsung P3
Creative X-Fi2

If you, like me, aren't interested in video, touchscreen, etc: Sandisk Fuze or Clip+

[Bruins]

Re: Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

You don't have to use iTunes to use an iPod.

http://alternativeto.net/desktop/itunes/

[judgejudy]

Re: Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

I don't understand the hate on iTunes, I think it's great.

[Beantown]

Re: Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

I don't understand the hate on iTunes, I think it's great.

I don't either.

OP, care to explain what about iTunes you hated?

[bkfount]

Re: Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

I personally find itunes annoying, and don't even want it on my computer. Do they even offer the program without forcing you to install Quicktime? That's as worthless to me as Real player.

I just use a sansa mp3 player. It's drag and drop right onto the mp3 player, and it'll sort songs by artist and album if they're tagged with the info. There's even a site full of mp3 player reviews from the perspective of ipod haters..

http://www.anythingbutipod.com/

[Unmasked]

Re: Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

I don't either.

OP, care to explain what about iTunes you hated?

To be honest, I just hate everything with an Apple logo on it. The main issue I have with iTunes is all the software it requires you to download and how it forces you to convert all of your files to "Apple-friendly" files. I'd rather not feed the monster that is Apple so I refuse to buy an iPod.


I'm currently looking at the Samsung P3 - any known complaints or issues with it?

[judgejudy]

Re: Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

if you're using any format other than mp3 or flac (which isn't supported by itunes but can be easily converted to mp3) then you're crazy

[SuperBowlNachos]

Re: Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

i've heard nothing but good about creative zen's

I had the creative zen micro since 2004. Has worked well and although it's not fancy, it's perfect for me. Even in '04 it has touch sensitive technology(not screen buttons)

Software is amazing that I have. Can either use a program or drag and drop using file explore.

This is all on an older one, can't tell about the new ones.

[bkfount]

Re: Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

if you're using any format other than mp3 or flac (which isn't supported by itunes but can be easily converted to mp3) then you're crazy

some people want better quality than mp3. It also doesn't hurt that larger storage capacity players are getting cheaper, so it's not like you have worry about the larger file sizes much. Ogg and FLAC are supported by a range of products, so there's options for everyone. I personally like the option to use these formats however.

[Eton Rifles]

Re: Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

how big of a player do you need it terms of GB's?

[judgejudy]

Re: Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

some people want better quality than mp3. It also doesn't hurt that larger storage capacity players are getting cheaper, so it's not like you have worry about the larger file sizes much. Ogg and FLAC are supported by a range of products, so there's options for everyone. I personally like the option to use these formats however.

Using a lossless format isn't practical for a portable player. If you have one with tons of space, chances are you got it so you could have as many albums as possible. A whole cd in Flac is gonna be at least 500mb versus a v0 mp3 rip which will be maybe 100mb max and the loss of quality isn't noticeable to most.

[Burns11]

Re: Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

Using a lossless format isn't practical for a portable player. If you have one with tons of space, chances are you got it so you could have as many albums as possible. A whole cd in Flac is gonna be at least 500mb versus a v0 mp3 rip which will be maybe 100mb max and the loss of quality isn't noticeable to most.

500MB would be towards the high end of the spectrum, you'll get somewhere between 350 to 500MB with FLAC.

Personally I use Ogg Vorbis for all my stuff on my Fuze and I use Kenwood Lossless on my Media Keg, mostly because it only supports MP3 and AAC. I don't really use the Media Keg much, since it doesn't hold any more music than the Fuze because of the codecs, but I do still use it when I want to use higher end headphones.

[elgreazy1]

Re: Looking for a non-Apple MP3 player, suggestions?

I own a Samsung T9 and I've been happy with it since day one. The software that comes with it basically sucks, but you can sync it up to WMP or Zune software.

The only downside to it is that it doesn't have a timer/stopwatch on it so I can't time myself when I go for long runs, but I don't fault the product for it. But, I've used it everywhere: long runs -- even in light rain, trips, at school, at work, etc and it's survived for the past 3+ years.