MP3 / Digitial Audio Players..

[hobo]

My iPod is sti working 12 years on though it could do with a new battery 😁

 

[ColinJ]

I am one of these people that prefers items that just do one job I have to admit.

Er, so you don't have an iPhone... You carry a dumb phone for texts and calls, an MP3 player for music, a camera for photos, a Garmin for navigation, and a tablet/laptop for email/web?

 

[wafter]

Is there a problem with preferring to use multiple devices that do the job well rather than one that just-about-gets-the-job-done?

Do you only have one bike?

 

[Mo1959]

Er, so you don't have an iPhone... You carry a dumb phone for texts and calls, an MP3 player for music, a camera for photos, a Garmin for navigation, and a tablet/laptop for email/web?

I have a DSLR for serious photography. Yes, modern phones are fine for snap shots. Half the time I don’t even remember to take my mobile when I’m out and about anyway….and yes Garmin for recording cycles and runs.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Is there a problem with preferring to use multiple devices that do the job well rather than one that just-about-gets-the-job-done?

Do you only have one bike?

I found that I used to run out of pockets, moving to one device made life easier.

 

[tyred]

I have a DSLR for serious photography. Yes, modern phones are fine for snap shots. Half the time I don’t even remember to take my mobile when I’m out and about anyway….and yes Garmin for recording cycles and runs.

I never used to take my phone with me when cycling as that was 'me' time and very much DND.

I have got into the habit of taking my phone as it is a pretty decent camera and less cumbersome than my Fuji bridge camera.

I have actually been toying with the idea of buying a compact camera so I can use that while cycling and leave my phone at home

 

[ColinJ]

I never used to take my phone with me when cycling as that was 'me' time and very much DND.

Why not take it but switch it to 'Aeroplane Mode' so you can't be reached? You could turn it back on in an emergency, or just leave it until you got back.

I have got into the habit of taking my phone as it is a pretty decent camera and less cumbersome than my Fuji bridge camera.

I haven't used my compact camera since buying my Pixel 5 phone. The Pixel's camera is good enough for 99% of what I'd want to do.

 

[Mo1959]

Why not take it but switch it to 'Aeroplane Mode' so you can't be reached? You could turn it back on in an emergency, or just leave it until you got back.

Nobody ever phones me anyway If a real emergency crops up I have a cellular Apple Watch that can make and receive calls and pay for stuff so even less reason to bother with a phone.

 

[wafter]

Cheers all; I guess there's no problem with using a smartphone for eveything if you can live with it; personally I can't as I don't own, nor have the desire to own a smart phone for all the usual reasons.

I do sometimes take the work smartphone with me to take photos; being a reasonable compromise between size / mass and image quality; although the latter is pretty ropey and if I want to take "proper" photos I'll make a special effort to shoehorn a DSLR into the bag. I've considered buying a standalone compact camera just for rides, but tbh I hate them for their lack of control and poor image quality - so might as well just stick with the phone.

Depending on how nihilistic I'm feeling I might sling my dumbphone into the bag for emergencies; disturbance on a ride is a moot point however as I never hear it even if someone does ring. I'm very much about the headspace riding provides but appreciate having the phone should I have to use it.

Finally, a small MP3 player would be preferable to a phone as it's much easier to carry (much smaller) and operate (no going to sleep, easier navigation) plus hopefully a bit less gut-wrenchingly expensive if it gets dropped..

Really the Oakcastle unit I had was ideal for the job; pity it fell to bits after a few months of ownership

 

[the_mikey]

I'm looking for recommendations for a decent, accessibly priced MP3 / digitial audio player please.

I've had a couple of cheapish ones in the past (Sandisk Clip Sport Go which was basic and frustrating to use and Oakcastle MP200 which seemed like a decent product-improved version of the Sandisk but died after about three months and warranty support was refused ).

I'm looking for something small and light, decent sound quality, removable micro-SD storage, preferably external controls (rather than touchscreen), wired headphones are fine. Ideally less than £50 but happy to push the budget up a bit if I feel it's justified.

Seems that the market is full of cheap no-name Chinese offerings (that turn over so quickly they never establish a reputation one way or the other) or hyper-expensive DAP's aimed at Audiophiles that can run to thousands of pounds...

Any pointers would be much appreciated, ta

In general, I suspect the market is overwhelmed by cheap Chinese offerings that perform well enough that there's no market place for anyone offering something that's only slightly better in terms of UI or performance, also consider that a lot of the Chinese devices are all built around similar one size fits all chipsets which means even different brands will simply have the exact same functionality with slightly different cases and displays from brand to brand.


I used to have a neat little Iriver mp3 player that ran on a single AA cell and played mp3's and had an FM radio, but those stopped being made well over a decade ago!

 

[the_mikey]

I found that I used to run out of pockets, moving to one device made life easier.

Most new phones these days don't even have SD card slots for storing mp3s, since the expectation is that you'll use online services instead of storing all of your stuff on the phone, much easier to use Spotify or similar but of course you'll be paying a premium for that.

I'm sympathetic to the OP's situation, but the reality is the cheap Chinese stuff is pretty much all there is left, progress in technology for good or bad has landed us where we are.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Most new phones these days don't even have SD card slots for storing mp3s, since the expectation is that you'll use online services instead of storing all of your stuff on the phone, much easier to use Spotify or similar but of course you'll be paying a premium for that.

I'm sympathetic to the OP's situation, but the reality is the cheap Chinese stuff is pretty much all there is left, progress in technology for good or bad has landed us where we are.

Something else to think about with a new phone, get one with a slot, my current Nokia is about three years old, I presume that if I use something like spotify away from the home wi-fi its a toss up as which runs out first, data or battery.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Something else to think about with a new phone, get one with a slot, my current Nokia is about three years old, I presume that if I use something like spotify away from the home wi-fi its a toss up as which runs out first, data or battery.

Depends on which Spotify you have.

Premium: you can download your music to the phone, so no data usage when away from home.

Also, there are some very cheap SIM only deals out there with good data packages. We have just started a new Vodaphone contract with unlimited calls/ text & 6Gb data at £8.80 pm.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Depends on which Spotify you have.

Premium: you can download your music to the phone, so no data usage when away from home.

Also, there are some very cheap SIM only deals out there with good data packages. We have just started a new Vodaphone contract with unlimited calls/ text & 6Gb data at £8.80 pm.

I'm with Lebara, sim only, monthly contract, 3gb, 1000 texts, I don't send many texts I tend to use messenger and Whats App, and unlimited calls for a fiver. if you are going to download from Spotify then you are going to need the SD card anyway.

 

[ChangFai]

I use a Benjie mp3 player with a 128gb sd card, which works well for me.

Forget what model I have, I think its the X6.