It’s therefore, important to understand that no two people look for identically the same thing when shopping for a PMP, just like any other consumer device. Therefore it’s important to understand that manufacturers position products for a particular audience. Therefore what’s good for your neighbor might not be good for you. With this in mind, the most important piece of advice we can give you is to get a practical hands-on of the device you intend to purchase. Touch it, use it, play with it – stores like Tata Croma, Reliance Digital and E-Zones are ideal places to get a hands-on experience. Once you find you like it, then you can purchase the device from the store giving you the best price, or even online if you prefer to do so. This advice holds good for most MP3 players, and especially touch-based ones, where the interface needs to be intuitive and suit your usage patterns. One of the worst things you can do is to buy an MP3 player on the basis of its features or specifications, without using it, or at least trying it out first.

 

However there may be some circumstances when you are forced to buy something you have not seen/used. In such cases you must use your judgment. These points should come handy:

 

1) Video or not: This is perhaps the most important choice you will make. Remember, if you are pretty sure you will not be viewing photos or videos on your device and you do not want a display to interface with the device, you are better off with a non-display based device. Additionally, if you don’t need a display, why pay for it? The audio component of a non-display PMP will be better than a display-based one, given the same price. Many people spend a little to buy a video-based PMP, only to discover they don’t use the video playback feature at all.

 

2) Additionally, if you’re shopping for a video PMP, you need to check out the display before you purchase it. The colours and contrast should be up to the mark, as should daylight legibility. It’s important to check this out before spending any money.

 

3) Storage space: This is another important parameter. Are you only going to be using your PMP for FM Radio? If so, a 2 GB player will suffice. Do you need to lug around 10,000 lossless files? You might need to look at a hard drive-based device, or even one with a lot of flash memory that would be much costlier. Some PMPs also offer expandable storage by offering SD and microSD slots in which you can slot in a memory card and have more storage. This type of expansion is a powerful tool indeed, for you can add a 16 GB card into a 4 FB player and get a size of 20 GB – a huge plus, especially considering the falling price of flash memory. When fixing on a size, define your current size requirement and double it for a decent amount of future proofing. Generally look for at least 8 GB of storage space, although if you must carry around lossless files, and you have a massive music collection, you might need a hard drive based MP3 player. In such cases look for something that has at least 60 GB of storage space. Even those who need to carry movies with them will need more space, although if you carry around 5-6 movies at a time, along with music, a 16 GB player will suffice. It’s easy to go overboard here – our advice is not to buy dramatically more space than what you need.

 

4) File Formats: When shopping, remember that file formats are very important. This is because this is one feature that cannot be upgraded, unless the manufacturer chooses to add support for a codec in a system update. So if a PMP cannot play .FLAC files (for example), chances are, it won’t be able to play files of this format. For people looking at a PMP to view videos, you need to pay close attention to the video codec’s supported. Likewise, audiophiles will be interested in the playback of lossless files such as .FLAC and .ape. Obviously, no player will support many lossless formats, but in general, one format is all you need, as you can rip your CDs to that format for use on the PMP. In general, Cowon is one brand that includes support for .FLAC files. Apple players do not support .FLAC, instead Apple chooses to use their own lossless format called Apple lossless or .ALAC. In general, for an audio PMP, MP3 support will serve 95 per cent of all users. Video PMPs will support .AVI and .MPEG4 files formats.

 

5) Battery life: Battery life is an important consideration too, especially for people who are always on the move and need to listen to music and watch videos on the go. Trekkers, people going for long walks, traveling without access to a charger are some of the usage patterns that warrant a beefy battery rating. Additionally, even if you have access to a charging point, in office for example, it’s quite annoying to have to keep charging your MP3 player. Most PMPs have a specification that states the number of hours of playback between charges. Also look for the battery rating, although, this specification is seldom mentioned by manufacturers.

 

6) FM Radio: A very useful feature for those who want to enjoy music on the radio and also for those interested in the latest news. FM Radio players are very popular in India, and most MP3 players include this feature.

 

7) Other features: Some people want their MP3 player to double as a PIM i.e. personal information manager. Many MP3 players today have such functions, including setting reminders for tasks, creating memos, organizing contacts and so on. Some higher-end MP3 players also feature Bluetooth connectivity, through which you can sync contacts wirelessly. Additionally, MP3 players like the Apple iPod Touch support Wi-Fi and come with an inbuilt browser. Some people might also want to use their MP3 player to record audio or voice i.e. as a voice recorder. Many PMPs have this function, and it hardly adds to the price.

 

8) Touch-screen: This is not really a feature. Rather, a touch-screen is more of an interfacing element. However, people love touch-screens on the sheer show-off appeal. Many feel that a touch-screen is a gimmick, but anyone who has used an Applie iPod will testify to the fact that the interface is most appealing and interfacing with the device is a whole lot of fun. That being said, a touch-screen based MP3 player, will be costlier than a non-touch one. So choose carefully – is audio quality more important, or a funky device?