Mp3 Player Zone

Offering a whole new array of organization activities and fun distractions, Apple’s iPad is a strange but addicting mixture of practical usage options with way more fun than should be allowed at work. The beautiful wide display is as simple as it gets – the touchscreen completely negates the need for any additional external buttons, leaving you with no option but to get your hands on the crystal clear picture and manipulate it to your heart’s intent. The Apple name comes hand in hand with quality in build and features, and the iPad certainly continues this tradition admirably, with everything running smoothly and intuitively.

For the more practical users, there are plenty of great features. A thorough calendar option with the ability to view more than one calendar at a time makes multi-tasking easier than it’s ever been. Storing your contacts is easy and thorough, even including the option of tapping an address to automatically open a map. The map feature itself is put to brilliant use, offering both high resolution satellite images, topographical maps, and a street view. One more press of your finger will get you step by step directions from your current location, operating as a map and GPS all at once.

If the practical features aren’t enough to sell you, maybe the plethora of fun usage options will turn your head. Videos on the iPad are startling in their clarity, offering a great viewing experience no matter where you are. An easy to read iBook feature offers more educational choices, and a seemingly endless app store has a little bit of everything you might be missing for easy purchase. The music player is really standout for Apple fans, presenting itself as really an only slightly watered down version of iTunes. This creates immediate familiarity and access to your entire library without any problems. Whether you’re thinking about the iPad for work or fun, the real question is why are you hesitating?

With a gorgeous 3.7 inch AMOLED display with 800 x 400 pixel resolution, there is nothing unattractive about the Viliv P3. Add to that overall package the incredibly slim, 9.8 mm thick design and you have a beautifully designed PMP that could easily pass as a high end smart phone. In fact, it sort of leaves you wondering why it isn’t a phone as well. (Although truth be told that might make it too complicated for some people? Sometimes simple is better.)

Still, the picture certainly can’t be criticized, and a super fast operating system that has Windows CE dual-boot capability as well as Android makes it undeniably tempting as far as PMP devices go. A 720 pixel TV out option allows for even more usage options, and an impressive internal memory of 32 GB means that you’ll have plenty of space for all of your multimedia needs. If for some reason, that’s not enough storage for you, the easily accessible micro-SD slot on the bottom offers even more expandable options. Wi-fi connection allows a user to even be more plugged in than ever before. If you’re an incurable media addict, the Viliv P3 is a great option. It will have you rocking out to music and videos.

If you have one of these MP3 players, we’d love to hear what you think. It may not be the most popular mp3 player on the market, but it’s at the top of the pile for many people. If you’re one of the many who love it – or even one of the few who don’t like the Viliv P3 – we’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. It’s easier than you think.

Offering a barebones media player at a fraction of the cost of the higher end iPhone, the iRiver E100 is a decent alternative for consumers who just want a no frill media experience. Being compatible with several different audio formats like MP3 and WMA audio as well as BMP, GIF, JPEG, and Xvid photo and video formats makes it an appealing option for those who object to Apple’s proprietary format technology.

Compatibility with a microSD card means that your storage options are easily expandable. Other highlights include a comparatively impressive FM tuner with the allowance for several preset channels as well as a recording option that produces decent quality files.

Unfortunately, the problems with the lower end product match its lower price tag. Sound quality through this player is definitely subpar, with distortion being a pretty major problem at higher volumes.

What’s worse is the messy, counter intuitive control panel. While similar products in this price range would hold a huge appeal for the user who’s not very technologically inclined, the awkward controls make this an awkward user experience. Buttons often don’t perform the functions that you assume they should and frustrating set backs will quickly be enough to turn off a casual media user.

Like any other product, the iRiver is a study in trade offs. In this case, you get an extremely low budget product, making it a media player that won’t break the bank. Of course, this means that you’re going to be sacrificing a fair amount of sound quality and a logical menu design. It’s ultimately up to you to decide whether the lower pricetag is worth it.

Leave a comment below to let me know if you think the monetary savings makes the design quirks more palatable.

Finally offering a bit of substantive competition to the iPod Touch, the Creative Zen X-Fi2 offers a plethora of usage options with a slick, smooth user interface and design that’s almost impossible to resist. The 3 inch, touch sensitive LCD screen positively beacons users to take a closer look, and once they do, it’s all over.

The slick images provided by the player’s display of 262,00 colors makes graphics sharp and brilliant. The longer length and wider depth make the device more appealing to use for video functions than it’s fellow off brand counterparts. What’s more, the landscape orientation makes the Zen X-Fi2 unique among media devices, offering a wider view of the menu and any visual programs you run.

Creative offers support for several different formats of both audio and visual files, as well as being able to display pictures. The included radio and external speakers mean that even casual channel surfing is an option, and fun usage features like the alarm clock, calendar, and audio recorder make this device more than just a throw away accessory. The new direct TV-output capability means that even more usage options have opened up, making the overall experience something easy to fold into your daily life.

Even better, an allowance for a microSD card means that the possibilities for this MP3 player are seemingly unlimited. Being preloaded with a fair amount of content is a fun and unexpected bonus that makes the Creative Zen X-Fi2 a great alternative to the iPod Touch.