MP3 Player Shopping Tips

Choosing the right MP3 player isn't that difficult, but one player does not fit all. People will want different things from their players.

Choosing the right MP3 player isn't that difficult, but one player does not fit all. People will want different things from their players.

Think about how you'll use the player

. Joggers will almost certainly want a lightweight, flash-memory-based device, since hard drives don't react well to the shock of bouncing around all the time; audio aficionados who want lots of music at their fingertips should keep their eyes on the highest-capacity hard-drive models.

Try your favorite before taking it home.

We can't stress this enough. Make sure you can use the on-screen display to navigate to a specific song, and ask a clerk to show you how to transfer music to the device, if possible. Always bring your own set of headphones to listen to the sound quality of each unit you're interested in.

Get the largest-capacity device you can afford.

Whether you buy a flash- or hard drive-based MP3 player, make sure to choose a model with the largest storage capacity possible. Even if you don't think you'll need it now, you will probably be happy to have it later.

Pay close attention to the user interface.

Does the player's menu system make sense to you, and is the interface easy to use? If you can't find the songs, artists, or albums you want to play quickly and easily, keep looking.

Mind your power options.

While some flash-based portable players use replaceable alkaline batteries, most hard drive-based units feature a built-in rechargeable battery that cannot be easily removed. While these devices can keep going for tens of hours, if you're not going to be somewhere near a power outlet or a computer with a USB port, you might find yourself out of juice with no way to charge the player

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Look for wide file format support.

All players should support the MP3 format; but if you prefer WMA, AAC, or Ogg Vorbis, make sure your player of choice can handle the files.

Consider a player with an FM tuner.

Usually found on flash-based players, this feature isn't essential, but it's a nice addition--especially if you grow tired of your recorded music.

Do you need a carrying case?

Some players come with a small carrying case, others don't. The more expensive and more fragile the player (hard-drive devices are the most delicate), the more likely you'll want a custom-fitted case to protect it.

Shop around, online and offline.

MP3 players are widely available in almost every consumer electronics outlet, and their prices fluctuate. You can check price from a variety of sources before you buy

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MP3 & Multimedia Player Basics And Buying Guide

What is an MP3 player?The term "MP3" is an acronym for MPEG (Motion Pictures Experts Group) layer 3, which is basically a process that allows audio files to be compressed while retaining high quality sound. There are many hand-held devices that will play MP3 files.While the MP3 music format is the most commonly known, many online music retailers have begun to use other formats such as WMA (Windows Media Audio), AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) and AIFF (Audio Interchange File Format). WMA files are often encoded with digital rights management technology, which enforces copyright and licensing agreements and may limit the number of times you can transfer, copy or listen to a file.

Before purchasing your MP3 or Multimedia player, check to see that the system requirements (operating system and RAM) are compatible with your computer. Most MP3 players connect to a computer using a USB 2.0 (Universal Serial Bus) port, allowing for super-fast file transfers, which becomes important if you want to transfer many songs to your media player at one time.

Here are the three main types of digital music players:
1) Hard Drive Player or Digital Jukebox

As their name suggests, hard drive players and digital jukeboxes use mini hard drives to store and manage audio files and, as a result, they tend to have the highest storage capacity (ranging from 1.5GB to 100GB). The Apple iPod is the most popular example of a hard drive or digital jukebox player.

Pros: Large storage capacity allows for uploading entire music collections.

Cons: These players contain some internal moving parts so music can sometimes skip if the unit is bumped or dropped. These devices tend to consume batteries quickly and are usually more expensive than flash memory or MP3 CD devices.

2) Flash Memory Player

Flash memory players store audio files on flash memory cards that are very durable and have no moving parts, making them very resilient with much longer lasting battery life. Because flash memory has a size limitation (ranging from 128MB to 2GB) these devices tend to have a lower storage capacity than the hard-drive based players.
Pros: Amazing battery life and lots of available accessories to help accommodate your active lifestyle.
Cons: Limited storage capacity with the highest per-megabyte cost of all digital media players.

3)MP3 CD Players

These devices are considerably larger than the hard drive or flash memory players because they must accommodate a full sized 5.25" CD (compact disc). These units can play standard audio (the kind you buy at the music store) and MP3 formatted CDs. A standard blank audio CD has a capacity of about 74 minutes of music or, because they're more compressed, approximately 177 MP3-formatted three-minute audio files.
Pros: Can be used to play traditional audio CDs as well as MP3 formatted CD-R/RW discs and are the least expensive type of MP3 player available today.
Cons: Bulky size with limited features. Short battery life due to the power needed to spin the compact discs. You'll need to have access to a computer with a CD burner to create MP3 audio discs if you want to utilize the MP3 playback feature.

How do I choose the right player for me?

While shopping for an MP3 or Media Player try to think about how (and where) you'll be using it the most. There are a few different types of technologies available to choose from. If you're considering players with different storage capacities keep in mind that, on average, one minute of MP3 formatted music is equal to 1MB of storage space. An average song is four minutes long, so 128MB of storage space will hold about 32 MP3s and 1GB will hold about 256 MP3s.

We've separated the following section into three categories to help you find the best MP3 or Media Player for your lifestyle.

Commuter
As a commuter you'll probably be listening to music for long periods of time. You'll want to have a large selection of songs to choose from with support for many different file types and a long-lasting battery. Here are some basic requirements to look for:

Type of Media Player — Hard Drive Player / Digital Jukebox Player
Storage Capacity — at least 1GB
Supported Digital Audio Formats — MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC
Average Battery Life — 16 to 20 continuous hours


Fitness Enthusiast
If you're going to be listening to music while exercising, you'll want to look for a flash memory player. Flash memory players have no internal moving parts, making them virtually skip-proof while maximizing their durability. This also helps keep battery consumption to a minimum, providing you with an incredibly long-lasting playback cycle.Many flash memory players include accessories such as a neck strap or an armband to make them easier to carry while you're on the move. Some models even come with a waterproof case, which will allow you to listen to your tunes while surfing, waterskiing or swimming. If you'd like the option of listening to the radio while you work out, look for a flash memory player that includes an FM tuner.One very important thing to keep in mind is that most flash players do not provide for future memory expansion or upgrades so plan your purchase accordingly.
Here are some basic requirements to look for:

Type of Media Player — Flash Memory Player
Storage Capacity — 128MB to 2GB
Supported Digital Audio Formats — MP3 and WMA are essential, other formats may include ASF, OGG, WAV
Average Battery Life — 11 to 40 continuous hours
Price Range — $50 to over $300


Audiophile
When only the very best sound quality will do, you'll want your music files to be compressed as little as possible. That means you'll need a lot of storage space and you should expect to pay more for digital media players that fulfill your demands. Fortunately, high-end digital media players often provide you with features and functions beyond just the ability to listen to your favorite tunes. Top-of-the-line devices usually include PIM (personal information management) features similar to those of a PDA (personal data assistant). Here are some basic requirements to look for:

Type of Media Player — Hard Drive Player / Digital Jukebox Player or MP3 CD Player
Storage Capacity — As much as you can get. Top-of-the-line models run from 60GB to 100GB
Supported File Formats — AAC, AIFF, WAV, FLAC, OGG, MP3
Average Battery Life — 14 to 20 continuous hours
Price Range — $160 to over $400


Important terms
AAC - Advanced Audio Coder compression creates very high quality audio files. This format is becoming increasingly more popular for music downloads, streaming media and satellite radio.

AIFF - Audio Interchange File Format is a type of compression developed by Apple Computer and is the standard audio format for Macintosh computers and Apple iPods.

AIFF files are QuickTime compatible.ASF - Advanced Streaming Format (formerly Active Streaming Format) is also referred to as Windows Media format and is used for multimedia data including audio, video and photos.

Codec - is an abbreviation for Coder-Decoder. A codec is a mathematical algorithm that is used to reduce the number of bytes consumed by large files with little to no perceived loss of quality.

DRM - Digital Rights Management is an encryption technology used to protect digital products from copyright infringement. DRM can be used to control and restrict the number times the file is accessed, length of use, file sharing, copying, printing and saving. This may be accomplished within an operating system, program software or via the actual device hardware.

FireWire (IEEE 1394) - is a communications protocol developed by Apple Computer and is quickly becoming a standard with Windows-based PCs. FireWire connections are often faster than USB.

FLAC - Free Lossless Audio Codec is a popular type of audio compression that achieves incredibly high quality sound because it does not remove any digital information from the audio stream. FLAC sound quality is said to be exactly as good as the original CD or source recording.

MP3 - is an acronym for MPEG (Motion Pictures Experts Group) layer 3, which is a type of compression used to greatly reduce the size of audio files while retaining good sound quality.

OGG - or Ogg Vorbis, is a patent-free file format designed to efficiently compress audio files while retaining a high level of sound quality.

PCM - Pulse Code Modulation is a process used in converting analog data to digital media.

Podcast - is a combination of Apple Computer's "iPod" and "broadcast". Audio and video programs are published to the internet, allowing you to download the media files for archiving or playback on your computer or digital media player.

USB - Universal Serial Bus is a standardized protocol for transferring data to and from digital devices. The newer USB 2.0 is up to 3x faster than USB 1.1, which will save you lots of time if you're managing large music libraries.

WMA - Windows Media Audio file format is similar to MP3 but includes built-in digital rights management.

WAV - Is an uncompressed Windows audio file format, which provides high-quality sound without using compression. The resulting files are very large - about 10 MB per minute of music.

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How to use MP3

MP3 is the most popular compression format for audio files. In this article, we will take a look at how MP3 works and how you can make your own MP3 files.

Uncompressed audio files are very large. A 1-minute CD quality stereo song requires approximately 10 MB of hard disk space. Without compression to reduce this size, relatively few songs would be able to be stored on a computer hard drive, and compact devices like portable MP3 players would not exist, or would cost thousands of dollars.

The same one-minute audio file can be encoded in MP3 format and only require about 1 MB of disk space. This amazing reduction in file size is accomplished by discarding some of the audio data that is outside the hearing range of the typical listener. An MP3 file will sound almost as good as the original CD but the file size will be about one-tenth.

There is a balance between how much audio data can be removed and the quality of the sound. The most common MP3 compression uses 128 kilobits per second (kbps), but many people claim there is a noticeable amount of distortion at this setting. For people with critical listening requirements, 160 kbps is the minimum setting – it produces files which are slightly larger than 128 kbps but the sound is closer to CD quality. Lower settings such as 96 kbps or 64 kbps introduce noticeable noise into the audio. They are suitable for spoken voice recordings but not for music.

You can encode your own MP3 files using any of the hundreds of software packages on the market today. Many of them are free, and you can use them to rip music from CDs and encode them to MP3 in one step. To decide which settings to use, start by encoding a piece of music you are familiar with. Save three files - 128 kbps, 160 kbps and 192 kbps, and then compare the original CD to these three files. This simple test will help you choose which setting is suitable for your own listening requirements.

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SC Free Video Converter : The Preview

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Cell Phone Battery Tips

Cell phones have become a part of daily life. They are a necessity and come in handy when you\'re on the run, on vacation or just out and about. In spite of all the advantages, cell phones are useless when the battery is dead. A few safety precautions can help a cell phone battery stay charged longer.

Always purchase a battery from the company that manufacturers the model of the phone you own. Make sure that you are purchasing the right battery to guarantee that it will last. If the replacement battery is counterfeit, it could lead to all kinds of problems. Reconditioned batteries are useless. They are, for the most part counterfeit and might cause a lot of damage. All major manufacturers of cell phones have their own websites where they provide advice to customers who are not sure of what battery they need.

If you use a lithium ion battery make sure it doesn\'t come in contact with other metals, as the ions might be disturbed leading to a defective battery. Jarring a battery by dropping your cell phone can cause damage even if the phone looks unharmed. Extreme weather conditions can also spoil batteries. Heaters, ovens, stoves and other hot items can cause a battery to overheat or melt. As with other electronic equipment, cell phones should never get wet. This directly affects the circuit and the battery and causes them to rust.
A used battery must be disposed of properly. Do not crush or throw a battery into a fire. This could lead to a major accident because the battery could explode.

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Cheap Cell Phone Deals

Cheap cell phone deals are everywhere, and if you know how to spot the best from the rest, you can score a couple of good deals like a phone with great features, and a mobile plan with the best rates. Here are some tips.
Know what you need. Most of the cellular phone features can be over the top, and if you just need a phone to make calls, you can do away with these features. Do not sign up for wireless Internet, for example, if you don\'t need to check your emails. The cellular phone company may charge you a few dollars monthly just for subscribing to special promos even if you don\'t use them, so do not sign up for discount long distance rates, if you rarely make them. Sticking to the basics can keep your cell phone deals cheap, so never subscribe to any service unless you absolutely need it.

Get the most out of the cheapest deals. Why settle for an inferior phone if you can get more? Competition is forcing cellular phone companies to offer everything at low rates – even their handhelds. Compare cheap cell phones before you buy any. Look at handy extras like conference call capability, call holding and barring, speakerphone, and a built-in FM radio or digital camera.

The cheapest cell phone deals are still prepaid deals, which are great for students and other people who want to limit their monthly phone bills. Prepaid are much easier to manage – you only use up what you\'ve already paid for, so you don\'t risk big monthly bills. Prepaid packages also allow you to move from one cellular service provider to another without the hassle of paperwork. If you find one service unsatisfactory, you simply switch until you find the best one for you

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Digital Cameras – Quality Vs. Size

When looking to purchase a new digital camera there is always the debate between size and quality within the range of your budget. No matter what the budget, the choice will have to be made between a smaller size, more portable camera and a higher resolution camera with more features. Making the choice between the two is simply a matter off considering what the camera’s purpose.
Digital camera users who plan to use a camera for simple point-and-shoot purposes will want to focus their budget on a small, portable camera. These individuals are most likely using their camera to document travels, family events, and personal experiences for their own memory. The photos don’t need to be or a super high resolution because they will not be blown up to poster size, but will remain 4 x 6 or 5 x 7 in a frame on the mantel. It is important to consider that when size is traded for quality, while the photos will be higher quality, users may be less inclined to take photos as the size of the camera becomes a hindrance to taking it along for the fun.
Photographers who are more interested in the end product will want to sacrifice size for a higher resolution camera or one with more features and/or accessories. The bulkier high-resolution cameras or digital SLRs will be the better choice for users who are taking artistic or professional photographs. Even the amateur artist, will want to invest in quality over size to produce the kind of photos that can be enlarged to show detail. Cameras used for professional shots, whether to be displayed in a portfolio, brochure or website, will also need to be of higher quality, and it will be worth hefting the extra weight to get the higher-end photos.
Knowing the type of photographer you are, will help you make the right choice in cameras. When you have an idea of what characteristics are most important to you, take the time to shop, read the reviews, and compare the various cameras in your price range.

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