MP3 players let you play music you've either downloaded from the
Internet or "ripped" from your own CD collection.
These players store digital music in their internal
memories or on removable storage media.
You can create your own digital files on a computer using software
supplied with most players. You can also copy music from your
favorite CDs or tapes to digital files--a process known
as ripping or you can download music from the Internet.
In either case you can listen to the files on your computer
or transfer them
to a portable MP3 player so you have music to go.
MP3 is a file format that compresses
music to one-tenth to one-twelfth the space it would take in
uncompressed form. Most MP3 players can also handle the WMA format.
Downloaded songs from contemporary artists typically
cost less than $1 per song, or $10 for an entire album.
Copy-protection measures prevent these songs from being
shared with other people over a network and limits the
number of times users can transfer them to MP3 players or
burn them onto CDs. That limitation is typically three to
10 times, depending on the service.
Major brands include Apple, Sandisk, Archos, Creative Labs, Dell,
iRiver, Panasonic, Rio, Samsung, and Sony. Other, smaller brands are on
the market as well. MP3 playback has also been incorporated into
other handheld portable products, including CD players,
MiniDisc players, cell phones, and
personal digital assistants
(PDAs).
Don't Forget the headphones!
Most of the Players on this page come with standard headphone,
but for really outstanding sound check out these headphones.