Conclusions

I know that many may strongly disagree with this particular article.  Take it for what it is.  It is merely an attempt at educating the public on such products and at least open their eyes to what is really out there.  Don't get me wrong, the Ipod and the Zune are great products that will suit the needs of many quite well.  However, many simply are not aware of the alternatives out there.  This is what this article is about.  It is not putting down a successful product, but rather inform many that you do not necessarily need to stick to Apple or Microsoft when deciding on purchasing a quality MP3 player.  Take the time and do some research in order to make an informed buying decision.  You may come across a product offering additional features out of the box for much less of your hard earned money.

Despite all the great alternatives I've showed you here, most of the companies that make these products all need improvement in many areas if they plan to stay in the game.  I personally feel many don't put forth enough effort to make their product stand out and capture the interest of many.  I'm not only referring to design, but their marketing techniques as well.  There's absolutely no need to mimic a particular product in order to gain the interest of many.  Just make it an impressive and unique product and promote it they way it should be. 

There are plenty of options out there and some may get a bit confused as to which device to go for.  Many may think that sticking with a larger company is best.  This is not always true!  Be careful!  My experience is that many larger companies have too much on their plate and don't have the resources or simply refuse to focus on the long term support of a digital media player.  To them, this is just another product.  Yes, they may release an impressive product, but what good is it if they won't commit to supporting it and improving it?  The impressively designed HDD6330 (reviewed here) is a perfect example of this.  Stick with a respected manufacturer that primarily focuses on such a product and don't just assume an Ipod or Zune is the best choice based on all the media hype.

I leave you all with some useful information you may want to make note of before considering the purchase of such a product.

• Know its capabilities - Take the time to research what the product does offer and find out if it has the features you are looking for.  Plenty of products, like the Ipod, fail to include a number of features out of the box.  You may find yourself spending more money on accessories that will enable a particular feature, some of which are already offered in a number of alternatives for less money.

• Determine how you will use the player - Do you plan on using it to store your primary music collection?  Will you want all your music to playback on any device?   Are you aware of the consequences of purchasing music from download services?  Be wise with your money...you may regret certain choices later on.

• Know its file support - Will the player support all the files you will load into it?  Is your music collection encoded in a format other than MP3 or WMV?   Be sure the player you choose supports all the files you will transfer to it and be prepared to batch convert files if needed.

• Know its maximum storage capacity - Will you need a hard drive or flash based player?  How large is your collection and how quickly do you plan on expanding it? Be sure you get a player that will handle all you will transfer to it.

• Stick with a company you know will offer long term support - This is very important.  You want to stick with a company that primarily focuses on such devices.  A larger company doesn't necessarily offer peace of mind!  You want a product that will offer firmware updates regularly to correct or improve the product, as well as software updates that will work well with your system, even after you upgrade your operating system.

Questions?  Comments?  Discuss them here...