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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?

EXPERT REVIEW

MP3 players have gone through evolutionary changes ever since they were introduced in 1998. The time lapse has made them smaller and smaller in size -- and at the same time, has increased their capacities exponentially. The most initial MP3 players arrived with a meager 32 MB memory. And now, we can find them with capacities as large as 160 GB.

These players have hit the Indian market and taken it by storm. Since almost everyone can afford them now, anywhere you look, you can see people using them right then. Right from the cheap Chinese models to the ever-popular iPods, they've found their way into Indian pockets of all sizes.

But these standalone players are now facing the heat due to cell-phones and other MFDs (Multi-Functional Devices) featuring MP3 playback capabilities. Nevertheless, I believe MP3 players will survive the competitive market for at least a few years -- before these MFDs become advanced and affordable, when carrying a second device will become redundant.

To compare them, we're going to categorize them into 4 price brackets, ranging anything between Rs. 2000 and Rs. 15000.

USER COMMENTS

you didnt even hint at players from iaudio & iriver

by amrit, noida, on Nov 01, 2007 10:35 PM, Report abuse Reply

yea dude..where are the Cowon/iAudio players?? I was thinking of either getting a Cowon or iriver..can anyone suggest a good piece for around 10-12k? I just contacted them and they were offering D2-4gb for much less now...

by sid, bombay, on Nov 03, 2007 10:55 AM, Report abuse

iRiver E10 is great sounding HDD player with 6 GB and all the features in the world. Must be less than 10K. Not sure if it's available in India. Pls check www.iRiverindia.com

by Madan, Pune, on Nov 06, 2007 02:29 PM, Report abuse

How about Microsoft Zune 30 GB ?available for 100$ on buy.com

by shriniket, mumbai, on Nov 06, 2007 08:44 AM, Report abuse Reply

IT is time demand.

by Javed Usmani, Bilaspur, on Nov 05, 2007 12:28 AM, Report abuse Reply

IPhone 8GB avlbl for 17k in Grey market Blr

by Minhaj, Bangalore, on Nov 03, 2007 08:52 AM, Report abuse Reply

howz it possible!?!? iPod 4 GB sells at $ 399 = Rs. 16000 if we do the simple conversion, besides, its smuggled, so price increases drastically upto 20000-25000. and u are saying that 8 GB model sells at 17000, not possible

by pa1, mumbai, on Nov 03, 2007 02:27 PM, Report abuse

Same price in Mumbai too.... With software locked removed too.

by Ranjit, Pune, on Nov 04, 2007 07:01 AM, Report abuse

pa1, you probably don't know that apple has reduced the price of 8GB model to $399 recently and they also have stopped manufacturing 4GB model.

by Subhajit, Kolkata, on Nov 04, 2007 08:01 AM, Report abuse

wow! What a Guide of MP3 it is , go ahead, we are behind U!

by Rajesh Kumar, Shimla, on Nov 03, 2007 10:13 AM, Report abuse Reply

u have the specs for creative zen vision M and put the picture for zen vision W ??? wtf ?

by Tarun, Pune, on Nov 02, 2007 06:01 PM, Report abuse Reply

Is the YES PMP available in India? Its the one with touchscreen at good price. Why is the ZUNE not in the list? What about the Creative Zen Plus mentioned as "available" in one of the TT articles recently..?

by Chandra, Chennai, on Nov 02, 2007 05:33 PM, Report abuse Reply

sansa kahan hain , it doesnt have anything except that overhyped buiscuit of apple

by humano, noida, on Nov 02, 2007 03:49 PM, Report abuse Reply

Are the prices inclusive of all taxes in Mumbai? Are they available from authorized Apple resellers at this price?

by Ramanadhan, Mumbai, on Nov 02, 2007 09:34 AM, Report abuse Reply

Excellent guide!

by Satheesh, Bengaluru, on Nov 02, 2007 08:51 AM, Report abuse Reply

Great guide on what to buy according to your requirements. But i want to ask one thing - is this guide based on what is available in India? if not then you missed out Archos 605 wifi, great PMP. one more thing, many of these gadgets are overpriced in India and lack cust. support, for instance, a creative Q5 costs $350 in US and 26,000/- in India.

by su30mki, Delhi, on Nov 01, 2007 09:53 PM, Report abuse Reply

Yes, this guide is particularly created with the Indian consumer in mind. And that is the same reason we've not mentioned the Archos 605 since it is not yet officially available in india. And yes many gadgets are overpriced but then it is due to the fact that they are imported and have to bear the import duties and other taxes which increases the final selling price in India. Thus, there's no point in comparing US prices to Indian ones.

by Rohan Naravane, TechTree Test Labs, on Nov 01, 2007 10:04 PM, Report abuse

nice guide Rohan!! keep it up.

by sachin, goa, on Nov 01, 2007 09:44 PM, Report abuse Reply