What portable Audio/Video or MP3 device do you use?

[DaveTN]

I’m looking for an MP3 player to listen to at work. I don’t want to spend over about $100. I’m not interested in an IPod because of the proprietary BS and the price.

I think this is what I would like…

Minimum of 8GB internal storage

Memory card slot

Voice recorder

FM

Built-in speakers

Plays all standard formats of audio and video. Although it doesn’t appear that any will play the .mov that my Canon 60D creates?

I don’t use any music services, I just load from CD’s and files I already have.

Here is what I am looking at now…

Creative Zen X-Fi

http://us.store.creative.com/ZEN-XFi-with-Wireless-LAN-16GB/M/B001CB0RSG.htm

Sandisk Sansa Fuze

http://www.sandisk.com/microsites/sansafuzeplus/index.html

What do you guys use?

[MikePapa1]

I use my iPhone now, but before I used a Sandisk and loved it.

[Raoul]

Toshiba Gigabeat.

Edited November 21, 2010 by Raoul

[mav]

I was using my Motorola Android with some of the Motorola Rokr S9 bluetooth headphones. Now that we have switched over to AT&T at work, I am using my Blackberry Torch with the above headphones. Its not great, but it does what I want it to as far as a mp3 player goes.

[BigK]

Before I got an iPhone, all I'd ever have was a Sandisk. I think they are awesome. The last one I got was an e280 it has all the features you listed. I liked it so much, I got 2 refurbs of the same model for my kids. They are all still working after 4 years.

[Oh Shoot]

I've got a little 2 gig Sansa audio files only/FM radio player, the first one they made I think.

Has been a piece of junk, loses settings, files, just cuts off sometimes for no reason, etc.

Serves my limited needs , but hopefully they've gotten more reliable.

- OS

[Links2k]

Sorry, but I am a IPOD kool-aid drinker. Droid for video. Good luck in your search.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Wife doesn't like hi tech or complicated gadgets. I got her a Philips GoGear Vibe at Walmart for less than $100. Can't recall the exact price.

It is a tiny little gadget that does audio, tiny postage stamp videos, tiny postage stamp picture storage, and FM Radio. It is surprising how useful the tiny pictures really are-- She can show pictures of kid or pets on the gadget, and you can tell good enough what you are seeing if you hold the gadget close. Sounds fine. The OS is not too wonky.

The only OS bug I've noticed is a couple of times I heavily edited the contents with the thing in USB hard drive mode, and the file system got confused. Had to erase it and load everything in fresh. But it doesn't take that long to load everything in fresh from the computer, so wasn't that big a deal. Maybe they have fixed that bug since. Got wife's unit a couple of years ago. She likes the Philips GoGear Vibe just fine. I ripped all her classical CD's to it, and she listens to it almost daily.

I have an iPod touch (got it for programming) and it works OK, but I really don't like the capabilities too much. I will use it occasionally, but I don't like iTunes, and do not like having to use iTunes or Windows Media player to load up external devices. Would rather just have a gadget that loads up like an external hard drive or USB thumb drive.

I had a couple of those Archos players (French company). I really liked the price versus features. The OS was nice and there were several addons that could be used with the player. I liked Archos lots better than iPod Touch. Unfortunately, neither one of them lasted more than a couple of years before going dead. They were not real expensive, but they were expensive enough that two years was too premature death to get the money out of it.

Edited November 22, 2010 by Lester Weevils