SunnySideUp

Whats the best player?

I want to drag and drop pretty much any file I like onto a device, the PC to see it as a simple external drive.

Want to play MP3 - video and photos ... in any format they may be in.

iPod are a pain in the rear end (well iTunes is, if my daughters device is anything to go by) and I don't want to follow the sheep for no good reason (nice pieces of kit though I'm sure they are).

Do SONY have any offerings? They did have really bad interface software a few years ago.

I have a Philips device, but its just 2Gb and has no video capability.

Would like a reasonable screen size and high quality as my eyes are pretty old now.

Any thoughts?

unclebuck

Plenty thanks. I wouldn't want to post them here though.

coolangatta

So why post at all You make a fool of yourself

Markus

Have a look at the Creative ZEN range of products, they could well meet your criteria.

Movies may need to be converted however. Some players have their own special format, so you need to use their transcoding software to do this.

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

Sansa Fuze. 8GB for about £55 at Argos, quite good, looks like an ipod, has MP4 and MP3 capability as well as photos etc.

SunnySideUp

Cheers all ...... is SanDisk any good? Reports seem varied.

mart360

Gimmie a S!!!


rehashing the old posts pedro...


Mart

hux309

Cowon s9, brand new, only handles jpeg but movie wise it can handle most things the same goes for mp3.

Put it like this, it's currently out of stock, should give you an idea how good it is.

Advanced MP3 Players Cowon iAudio S9 16GB MP3 Player

staffs Mike

Sony do make some fantastically small players. There is a 16GB (can't remember the model) in comet for less than amazon want at the moment but the screen is very small like the player.

I was actually going to recommend the cowon iaudio d2. It's only got 4GB but has a lovely screen and an SD card reader allowing you to stick in an extra 32GB (or less) at your pleasure. It's £96 for an FM radio version or £126 for the DAB version (both of which record the radio if you wish it).

gpssti4

iTrader: (6)

The SanDisk (Sansa Fuze) seems good, my wife loves it, looks like an ipod but at £55 can't be bad! You can also add additional memory with micro SD cards.

jjones

iPod touch, has all of the above and wifi Internet access. I am far from an apple fanboy but these things are great bits of kit. Gen 2 has a built in speaker which is handy for YouTube or whatever.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I am with JJones on this, being quite anti Apple in the Past, I personally have an ancient 40 GB Iriver but the kids have Ipod Touches and they are superb, have a go of one and you see the point, all the complexity is hidden from the end user and the interface is the most intuitive yet devised, not the biggest capacity but quite a bit lighter than the HD players, makes my Iriver look like an old Radiogram.

PaulC72

Zune - by our friends micro$oft

Daughter has one she don't complain so it must be ok

Nido

Can you get any of these that play DivX? That's the main thing putting me off an ipod touch - it won't

davegtt

If someone is to stupid to use an iPod then Creative ZEN stuff is the next in line

what would scooby do

I a creative zen vision:M which is fab, makes ipods sound like a gramophone


however just bought an archos 5 today which promises to sound even better - especially if flac files work on it

hux309

Do not buy a zune, they are currently in a crisis with tons of them locking up refusing to turn on, a bit of a y2k9 clock issue, buggered up a lot of people.

D2 is good but the s9 tops it, it's cowons latest player.

As for ipods pfft, i have a nano, doesn't even get a look in thanks to my new player.

JackClark

All Together Now!: 30GB Zunes Failing Everywhere, All At Once

PaulC72

She has the 80gb and no current reports from that site yet so it may be isolated to the 30gb only which may be version 1?

billyray911

iTrader: (4)

I was bought a Samsung yp Q1 diamond with 16 gb for christmas.Piece of p**s to use and to download video,pics and music.
Uses its own Emodio software which is very easy to get to grips with.
Its all horses for courses though

SunnySideUp

I am loathe to get an iPod ... I know they are sleek and good, but iTunes stinks IMO.

Cowan looks like worth a peek as is Archos?

Coffin Dodger

You don't have to use iTunes, there are alternatives.....

SunnySideUp

Hmmmmmm, I just want it to be seen as another HD attached to the PC .... all that iTunes Syncing crap just gets right on my ****!!

Did have a play with a iPod Touch and they are impressive ...... just everyone has one

hux309

That cowon is like an ipod touch only better in every way bar the apps.

Have a look on youtube, fair few videos of it in action, you won't get better imo.

Most video doesn't need resizing, just throw it on, jetaudio can even convert flash video like youtube and slap it on the player itself.

Oh and it's seen as a hd as well, just open it like a pen drive and you have all your folders.

SunnySideUp

This cowan thing sounds good ..... did I read that you had to buy loads of apps if you actually wanted to do anything useful with it?

SunnySideUp

Just read this about the Cowan, which is a bit disappointing:-

"The bad news - non-standard USB cable! - why do Cowon shoot themselves in the foot like this when they have done such a good job on the player. Other cables for connecting to TV and power adapter are not included. If you want these you have to send halfway round the world for them (at the moment). I wanted to demonstrate the picture on a 42" TV over Christmas (which may have led to more sales) but was unable to - talk about spoiling the ship for a halfpenny of tar. The headphones look like they cost 10p!"

hux309

No it doesn't need apps lol that is a possible bonus at a later date as it used flash just like apple does.

And you are right on the power cables and the tv out but they're coming, put it like this it's only been out since 24th december, yes it's that new.

It uses a next generation amoled screen, a 11" oled screen on ebay will set you back £1300, it's the next generation led and looks stunning.

Cowon don't bother sending expensive earphones, most mp3 players come wtih poor ones anyway, cowon know this so to keep the price reasonable they don't splash out in this respect.

This player has a 500mhz dual core processor, ive thrown on full size xvid files and plays them perfect, a tv out would be great and from what ive heard cowon are working on it, they wanted the player out asap as the competition is fierce in this market.

In terms of sq and pq you won't get any better.

It's the only player ive seen that does what apple can do and betters it.

It uses a micro b usb cable, not the end of the world as you can buy adaptors cheap enough, but it comes with the necessary cable anyway.

here's a small review i did anyway.

Cowon s9 review - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

JackClark

That Cowon looks like a cheap Chinese iPod Touch.

hux309

Funny seeing the ipod is made in china.

Anyway the tv cable is now out, and if you look on ebay cases are making a showing both in leather and silicone.

TV Out Cable for COWON S9

Carrying Case Black for COWON S9, No belt/armband loop

Power adaptor is easy enough, asda sell one with a usb out so you can use your existing cable

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