How Do I Select the MP3 Portable Players That Best Fits My Lifestyle?

There are a wide variety of MP3 players on the market today. To find the right choice for you, you really need to define your needs, your style and your budget.

Start with when and where you'll use your MP3 player.

When and where will you be using your new MP3 player? And, how long do you want to play your music or watch videos between charges?

Looking for an exercise partner? Then choose a very compact and lightweight MP3 player that will simply clip onto your T-Shirt. A player like the tiny Sansa® Clip™ boasts a lot of cool features plus distinctively big sound. The Sansa® Clip™ 4GB model holds up to a l,000 songs as well as an FM tuner with 40 preset channels, plus voice recording with a built-in microphone. It offers up to 15 hours of play time between charges.

Searching for a traveling or couch potato companion? Advanced MP3 players are now really complete entertainment systems that can easily fit in your purse or pocket. With the new Sansa® Fuze™, for example, you can listen, watch and play all day with 24 hours of battery life. You can view your favorite movies or TV shows on the bright 1.9" screen as well as enjoy up to 2,000 songs. It also features an FM radio, built-in voice recorder and photo album capabilities.

Need something that you can take to the playground? Yes, there are MP3 players specifically designed for children. The Sansa® Shaker™, for example, has a built-in speaker to let you share the music as well as two headphone jacks. It's also extremely easy to use - all you have to do is shake it and it will automatically jump to the next song. It also has colorful controller bands for changing and volume control.

What size MP3 Player do I really need?

Size really depends on what you want your MP3 player to do. As we said above, if you want something that lets you easily exercise, then go with a tiny, lightweight clip model. If you want it to do more, then you'll have to go bigger.

A more important issue is the size of your MP3's memory. How many songs do you want your MP3 player to hold? A player with 1GB of memory can hold approximately 250 MP3 songs with a playback time of 16 hours or 500 WMA songs with a playback time of 32 hours. (This is based on a four-minute song at 128 kbps MP3.)

Players are available with a broad range of memory capabilities. The Sansa® e200 Series™ MP3 Players, for example, are available in a 2,4,6, and 8GB models. The 2GB holds 500 songs while the 8GB holds 2,000.

If you have an enormous music collection, you might also want to consider getting an MP3 player with a microSD Card slot such as the Sansa® e200®. This lets you store tons of music and videos on separate cards and then easily switch them as needed. It's available on 2GB, 4GB, 6GB and 8GB models and can be expanded for more storage with the use of a microSD Card!

The more you want your MP3 player to do, the more memory you need. If you want to store podcasts, watch videos and take/store photos, then you really need to go for the maximum amount of memory to give you a comfortable amount of storage.

What's your budget?

When MP3s were first developed, it cost a lot to get very little. Today, top-of-the-line, fully featured MP3s with oodles of memory are much more affordable. The Sansa® Fuze™ MP3 Player with an 8GB memory does moves, music, podcasts, radio, message recording, photos and more yet is available for about $130.

Once you've decided what you want your MP3 player to handle, write down a list of what you need and then start shopping!

What style and color do you prefer?

Today, MP3 players are like cell phones, they come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, colors and styles. Whether you like blue, red, pink, black or silver, you can find your favorite color on everything from tiny clip-on models to those with large display videos.

What accessories are you looking for?

Getting the right accessories helps you to get the most our of your new MP3 player. Memory expansions let you put your entire music collection on easy-to-change microSD cards. Speakers let you share your tunes at a party. Arm bands are great for working out or jogging. Car adaptors let you play your MP3 music through your radio speakers. There are literally hundreds of different accessories to help you enjoy your new MP3 every day, in every setting.