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Sony Walkman NW-E103 256 MB
by tasmin92
My dad brought me the Sony Network Walkman NW-E103 in pink probably about 7 years ago as a christmas present. I have used it on and off since then and it still works perfectly and is in near perfect condition aside from a couple of scratches.
It is only 56.2mm width, 56.2mm height and 19.2 depth and weighs just 26g which ... makes it perfect for being out and about.
It came in a box with headphones, a manual, the SonicStage 3.0 software disk and a USB cable. Unfortunatly you cannot just plug this into a computer and use it for music as the software must be installed before it can be used, however, I remember setting the software up and transferring songs myself so it cannot have been difficult.
It requires one AAA battery and it is very easy to put one in, there are no screws or akward clips although it is very sturdy as I cannot remember the back ever falling off. A full battery should last about 70 hours of continuous playback although this will obviously vary depending on the quality of battery you are using.
This mp3 player can only be used for music as it only has a small screen big enough to fit the name of a song or an option, when changing settings you will need to scroll through them all as you can only see one at a time, the screen does have a backlight and you can change the colour of this and also the time it will stay on for.
It has ATRAC3 and ATRAC3 plus playback, shuffle, repeat, Group function operation, digital sound preset and data compression. Also, using the computer software you can create playlists, and edit music information. It has a high speed data transfer and the sound quality is incredibly good however memory is small, only 0.25gb and no space for a memory card.
It is unlikely you would want to use this for exercising or anything particularly strenuous as there is no clip or way of attatching it to yourself.
The volume is excellent and can actually be turned up incredibly loudly without altering the sound quality.
This mp3 player is no longer available to buy new anymore but they can be purchased from sites like ebay or amazon, the going price seems to be between £5-£20 which I think is perfect if you are looking for something small, easy to use and lasting or something maybe for a childs present.
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Creative Zen Nano Plus 256 MB
by dirtyripper
Before I got an iPod a few years ago, I had the Creative Zen Nano Plus which was my first MP3 player. I recevied it as birthday present, and at the time it cost somewhere between £60 and £70 which was quite a good price at the time for an MP3 player which was pretty good.
It could store up to 256 megabytes which again was ... quite good for an MP3 player of that time, so it can store somewhere between 50 and 100 songs depending on the individual size of each of them. Obviously, if you want to store all of your music on an MP3 player then you are probably better off going for an iPod or a more recent MP3 player which can store thousands of songs on, but this is quite good for putting a few of your favourite songs on then just listening to them on the go. It's easy to add and remove songs as well, by simply plugging it into your computer, opening the corresponding folder and copying and pasting songs into it. It connects to the computer via a cable which comes with the MP3 player.
What I like about the Nano Plus is that it is compact so can be carried in your pocket or in your bag without you noticing it and it's really light as well so it's good for carrying around. Many MP3 players nowadays are quite bulky. It's quite attractive in design, with a shiny black plastic surface with grey buttons and an LCD screen. Because it only has a smalls creen, sometimes finding the song you want to listen to is a bit frustrating as you have to scroll through all the songs before you find it, rather than having a menu like the iPod does.
The sound quality is OK, as you'll be able to hear the songs clearly but I like to listen to music loudly and it just doesn't reach the volume I would like. It takes one AAA battery, and I found the battery life to be quite short which can be annoying on long car journeys, so I always made sure to bring some extras with me. The MP3 player also had a radio which picks up most of the main FM stations, but not all of them. Although small, it's quite durable as it withstood me dropping it many times, and it's a reliable device which lasted a good cou8ple of years of use, and still works after a few years abandoned in the drawer.
For a reliable, lightweight device then it's an adequate product, but it just doesn't have the capacity or sound quality that I would look for in an MP3 player.
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Techsplosion T Classic 256MB
by loopy-lou33
A year or so ago, I bought my husband an ipod shuffle, which was the first mp3 player I had ever bought. Naturally, this spiked the kids' curiosity, and after lots of fun playing with the ipod, my son expressed an interest in having his own mp3 player.
I was a little reluctant to buy another ipod, as they were quite ... expensive, and I wasn't sure whether this would just be a flash in the pan, and the player would end up forgotten at the back of the drawer for a week, so I looked at cheaper options on Amazon. The first thing that hit me was that with mp3 players, you seem to be paying mainly for memory capacity, so I figured that if I bought a player with a limited memory capacity, it wouldn't cost me too much. The Techsplosion T Classic has 256 mb capacity, which equates to about 80 songs, which I felt was more than enough for an 8 year old child. The player only cost about £5, which I thought was a bargain.
The player came in a sturdy box, complete with instruction manual, a AAA battery, usb cable and headphones. The player was made of silver plastic, which had a bit of a cheap feel to it, but didn't look like it was going to fall apart in my hands. The unit is powered by a single AAA battery, which doesn't last long in the unit, so I tend to use rechargeables so that there is always a reaplacement battery to hand. The unit is switched on by flicking the MODE switch at the top of the player. This makes the screen on the player light up several different colours, which makes it really appealing for kids. You are then presented with an on screen menu, which enables you to toggle through several options: Music Mode, Record Mode, Voice Mode, FM Mode, Tel Book, System Settings and USB mode when connected to a PC.
Putting music onto the player is very simple using Windows media player. The unit is basically like a Flash drive and has a cap that comes off to reveal a USB connector that plugs directly into the computer. You can then drag and drop your music files into the player memory. Playing the music is also quite simple. You enter Music mode and toggle through all the tracks, which have their title and information displayed on the screen. The volume is easily adjusted by a small button on the bottom of the player, and the sound quality, though not outstanding, is of an acceptable quality, and my son is certainly happy with it.
The player also has a mode which enables you to record your voice and play it back. This makes it fun for kids to use, and superior to my more expensive ipod, which can't do this! You can also listen to FM radio on the player. For a cheap player, some of the features are quite impressive, such as the equaliser, which enables you to adjust various features of the sound playback. The player also has an inbuilt telephone book, which enables you to add your contacts, but why this feature has been included is beyond me! The player can be set to10 different languages, and the backlight can be adjusted to a single colour or a seven colour loop. As I say, lots of features for such a cheap player!
The earphones are also excellent quality, and a lot more solid than the ipod ones! They fit in the ear comfortably, and the sound is not tinny. I would have liked the player to have come with a clip for easier transportation, but it has no real means of attatching to clothes, and the best you could do is put it in a pocket or attatch it to a keyring fob when on the go. This is a bit of a design flaw, as the obvious point of a portable mp3 player is to take it with you when out and about.
In conclusion, this is a great player for the money, with lots more features than I expected, and actually more user friendly than the ipod shuffle. For a child, this is a perfect mp3 player, as the flashing colours, ease of use, and ability to record your voice are all good features. My son uses his quite a lot and has about 20 songs on there, so the memory capacity is adequate for his needs. I would recommend this player to anyone with kids, or someone who just wants a cheap mp3 player. It would suit kids aged 7 and up.
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