Portable Audio/Video Player Buying Guide

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Portable Audio/Video Player Buying Guide

Rohan Naravane, Nov 01, 2007 1610 hrs IST

Diwali time is just around the corner. How about gifting yourself an MP3 player?

Sub-3k Range:

This is the range where one can expect capacities of at least 1 GB (a bare minimum these days) or even expect a little more, include a standard OLED or monochrome LCD display (some may not even have one), and other basic functionalities.

Transcend T.sonic 630 2 GB - Rs. 2730

T.sonic 630 is an updated version of the popular T610 player from Transcend. It is a very versatile MP3 Player that not only plays the usual MP3, WMA, and recorded WAV music files, but also WMA-DRM10 (subscription music). Beside this, it has several impressive additional features. Its body has good build quality and a smooth finish. Its white text (4-Line) OLED Display can be easily viewed in direct sunlight. Navigation is simple and user-friendly. The player has a small body frame and weighs a meager 30 grams.

The player has an FM radio and recording via its built-in microphone and a line-in device. There's a dedicated button for one-touch recording and you can schedule your recordings as well. With respect to sound, it has 6 preset equalizer settings along with a customizable equalizer mode. It's powered using a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery and when fully charged, supports over 15 hours of continuous music playback.

To quote the negative aspects of this player, for one, the maximum volume of the device is not too loud. Also, the data transfer rate is not fast enough for a player that features USB 2.0 support. Plus, the default pair of earphones that Transcend provides in all its players could have been better.

The player currently retails for around Rs. 2700 for the 2GB variant, making it a pretty sweet deal. And my personal recommendation would be to spend a few hundreds extra on a pair of better earphones for a boost in audio quality.

Creative Zen Stone 1 GB - Rs. 2500

The Zen Stone highlights its USP (read: simplicity) in its design very strongly. This tiny, ultra-light (20 grams) player comes in 6 different colors, and has the footprint of a glucose biscuit. The no-screen concept is not really acceptable to me personally, but its absence may not matter to people who like to be surprised while they're listening to music. But I appreciate the presence of its multicolored LED located on the face of the player that provides the user with vital information like battery level, song incompatibility, player status, and more.

The Stone has the usual navigation buttons on its face and sides. It supports USB Mass Storage mode for convenient drag-and-drop of songs into the player. The uploading transfer rates weren't that great. The sound quality is comparable to that of an iPod Shuffle or the Mobiblu players. FM Tuner is absent. In real life situations, the player lasted for just over 9 hours, giving you around 3 hours of daily listening.

The player's price has now come down to an acceptable Rs. 2500. Simplicity and good sound quality is what constitutes this one -- so the choice is up to the buyer.