Let’s face it – not everyone has over $200 to shell out for a MP3 player with a huge hard drive and a designer label name. There are plenty of quality players out there, created by well known companies, which can fulfill the music need without breaking the bank. Most players under $200 use flash memory, which means they hold far less music then your typical iPod. The tradeoff though is you have money left in your pocket to purchase music online or in the stores to transfer to your player.
1. Creative Zen Mozaic
If you like not the idea of owning a MP3 player which looks garden variety, you might want to take notice of the eye-catching Zen Mozaic from Creative. This player, which does sport a body similar to other MP3 players, stands out because of its cool and functional mosaic keypad. It is available in several body colors, hosts a colorful 1.8-inch display and lets you share music with others via a built-in speaker. Other features of note include a built-in voice recorder, up to 32 hours of audio playback, FM radio with 32 station presets and support for video playback as well as digital photo displays. Connectivity is via USB 2.0.
2. Creative Zen X-Fi
A wonderful 2.5-inch viewing display. Specially enhanced sound improvement technology. Bundled with quality in-ear earphones. These are just a few of the top reasons to consider the Creative Zen X-Fi. You get a lot of quality for the inexpensive dollar with this player, including a lightweight 2.4-ounce body, 8GB of internal memory to hold up to 2,000 songs, up to 36 hours of rechargeable battery life, a built-in speaker, support for a variety of audio formats and an equalizer with eight presets. There's also the ability to view digital videos and pictures, listen to FM radio and increase the memory capacity with SD/SDHC cards for more music storage.
3. SanDisk Sansa Fuze
The Sansa Fuze from SanDisk is a very straight forward MP3 player which is 0.3-inches thin and offers you up to a full day of audio playback. It comes in five color choices - including silver, black, blue, pink and red - and offers up to 8GB of internal memory for storage, which is expandable via microSD/microSDHC memory cards for more music storage. It comes with a 1.9-inch color screen, plays video clips and lets you view your favorite digital photos. There's also your obligatory voice recorder, FM radio with 40 presets and support for digital audiobooks.
4. Sony Walkman NWZ-E436
The Walkman NWZ-E436 is one of Sony's thinnest ever, measuring 5/16-inch in diameter. A lot is packed into the nice looking body of this player, including a bright 2-inch screen, battery life of up to 40 hours, support for a variety of video file formats, a graphical user interface which is colorful and included high-end earphones. Several colors and storage sizes can be chosen from and a unique feature with these players is one which analyzes the beats-per-minute of the music to create channels of similarly grouped tunes for a more customized listening experience. There is also, of course, a FM radio.
5. Microsoft Zune 16GB
The Zune 16GB is one of Microsoft's more slim MP3 players, sporting enough memory to hold up to 4,000 songs, 25,000 digital photos or 50 video hours. The major claim to fame for this Zune is its built-in wireless functionality, which lets you connect your wireless home network to transfer music to it. You can also wirelessly share songs with others around you who also own Zunes, with certain exceptions for legal reasons. This player, offering up a 1.8-inch display, also can download audio and video content to it when connected to a computer which has been purchased through the online Zune Marketplace. You can also buy music wirelessly.
Top 10 MP3 players for less than $100
MP3 players don't have to be expensive to be good, and I can prove it. I scoured CNET Reviews to find the best MP3 players that can be purchased online for less than $100. The results are fairly impressive, and certainly much more exciting than the ones we were able to compile for this same feature more than two years ago--you gotta love cheap flash memory.
All the devices that made this top-10 list pack at least 2GB of storage, scored at least a 7.0 out of 10, and were (for the most part) reviewed within the past two years (so they're not totally outdated). Each player also offers two or more of the following characteristics: good sound quality; a stylish, compact design; advanced features, such as an FM radio or recording capabilities; and an impressive battery life. Of course, the best part is that none of them will break the bank. The pricing for each player is current as
of press time and applies to new products--no refurbs here!
10. Creative Zen Stone Plus (2GB, green) - TIE
OK, so we couldn't manage to narrow it down to just 10 choices, which means you get a bonus pick in the form of the Creative Zen Stone Plus, an ultracheap player with a cute, compact design.
Editors' rating: 7.0
Lowest price: $49.95
Bottom line: For those who want a super small and cute MP3
player that offers more than just simple music playback, the Creative Zen Stone Plus fits the bill nicely.
10. Sony NWZ-B105F (2GB, black) - TIE
There will always be a place in the world for a small, affordable, durable, intuitive MP3 player with great sound quality--witness Sony's gym-worthy NWZ-B100F series.
Editors' rating: 7.0
Lowest price: $59.95
Bottom line: If you're looking for an affor
dable, utilitarian MP3 player to take on the road or to the gym, the Sony NWZ-B100F is a solid solution with awesome audio quality.
9. Meizu Mini Player (4GB, black)
The Meizu Mini Player is the classic underdog story: a relative unknown from
Editors' rating: 7.3
Lowest price: $79.95
Bottom line: The Meizu Mini Player is a quality MP3 player with a sleek design, good sound, and useful features, but fans of DRM-hawking music stores should steer clear.
8. SanDisk Sansa Clip (2GB, ice blue)
Thanks to its position as a memory chip manufacturer, SanDisk
is a master at cost competing in the portable audio space. The Sansa Clip is the perfect example of this mastery.
Editors' rating: 7.5
Lowest price: $54.04
Bottom line: The SanDisk Sansa Clip is an incredible value that's set to edge out the competition with a
user-friendly interface, gym-worthy design, and great sound quality..
7. Sony NWZ-S616F (4GB, red)
Sony's come a long way in digital audio, and the road hasn't always been smooth. The NWZ-S610 series marked the beginning of the great Walkman comeback, thanks to its competitive pricing, excellent performance, sleek design, and the fact that Sony finally got rid of SonicStage and ATRAC3.
Editors' rating: 7.7
Lowest price: $93.46
Bottome line: The Sony NWZ-S610 series Walkman doesn't bring anything striking or new to the table, but
that doesn't change the fact that it's a quality MP3 player with nice extras and a killer battery life. Plus, Sony got rid of SonicStage--the best news ever.
6. Samsung T10 (4GB, black)
The Samsung T10 might be the sleekest player on this list; it's certainly the only one with built-in Bluetooth,
allowing for seamless connection to stereo-wireless headphones--a must for haters of cord clutter.
Editors' rating: 7.7
Lowest price: $64.96
Bottom line: The Samsung T10 won't satisfy audio purists, but users who value lots of features, a fun interface, and a player that will turn heads should give it a look.
5. SanDisk Sansa Fuze (4GB, red)
The Sansa Fuze may be a bit of a Nano clone with it's slim design and circular control wheel, but it also sounds good, offers plentiful features, comes in several bright color options, and is cheap as all get-out
Editors' rating: 7.7
Lowest price: $81.50
Bottom line: The SanDisk Sansa Fuze is a great value--a slim design, simple interface, plentiful features, memory expansion capability, and solid sound quality all come with an easy-to-swallow price tag.
4. Creative Zen Mozaic (4GB, black)
As a long-awaited refresh to the Zen V line, Creative released the Zen Mozaic, a uniquely-designed device with the company's signature sound quality and feature offerings.
Editors' rating: 7.7
Lowest price: $79.99
Bottom line: The Creative Zen Mozaic offers great bang for your buck as far as MP3 players go: you get super sound quality, a boatload of features, and a cool interfac
e--all wrapped in a funky design at an ultralow price.
3. Sony NWZ-A815 (2GB, white)
The glorious return of the Walkman as a true contender in the MP3 player market was ushered in by the NWZ-A815, the first Walkman to ever win an Editors' Choice award.
Editors' rating: 8.0 (EC)
Lowest price: $79.95
Bottom line: The Sony NWZ-A810 offers a fantastic display, a sleek design and interface, and a stellar battery life--plus, it's one of the few MP3 players that sound great right out of the box. Users looking for the whole package (sans radio) will be pleased.
2. Creative Zen (4GB)
The Creative Zen may not be the coolest-looking MP3 player out there, but it offers exceptional value for the money. Plus, the gorgeous 2.5-inch screen makes it a reasonable option for portable video as well.
Editors' rating: 8.3
Lowest price: $79.99
Bottom line: We're hard-pressed to find anything not to like about the Creative Zen. It's a fantastic option for anyone looking for a great-sounding, pocketable MP3 player with an excellent, video-capable screen and plenty of extra features.
1. Creative Zen V Plus (4GB, black)
The cute and pocketable Zen V Plus has topped many a list. It's packed with features and continues to offer impressive performance, even in the face of more recent competition. It's still an excellent option for anyone looking for an ultracompact player. Get it while it lasts!
Editors' rating: 8.3 (EC)
Lowest price: $87.99
Bottom line: The Creative Zen V Plus is a superb choice for anyone looking for a compact and feature-filled flash MP3 player with great sound quality. If you're looking for a more sophisticated design (or have large thumbs), look elsewhere.
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