iPod or MP3?

If you are like me, you love the idea of an iPod, but the price scares you off. Some of the older iPods are a little more affordable, like the shuffle, but all you get is music on it. I wanted all or most of the features the new iPods carry, but without the hefty price tag (around $200). Check out my most favorite and reliable website amazon.com. I spent hours looking at all of the mp3/mp4 players they have available. Some call them iPod knock-offs. I don't care what you call it, as long as it works. So, with so many options, what do you choose? Read the reviews. If it says "be the first to write a review" steer clear. What you end up buying will depend on the age of the recipient. My boys are 11, 6 and 4. First of all, none of the devices are indestructible. Just forget that right off the bat. Also, almost all players come with mixed reviews. Read some positive and some negative to get a feel for what people like and don't like about the players they've already purchased. It will give you an idea of what you want and don't want in your player, and what is most important for yours to have and what you can live without. The more features you want on your device, the more you are going to pay. If you want it all, just go ahead and pay for the iPod. It really is the most reliable and has the most features. It has the best support as well. You really do get what you pay for.

So, what did I choose? Not iPods.

For my 4 year old, I went with the Disney Mix Max. I chose the blue one since he's a boy. It has a really cute design and it is simple to use. It had to be charged, but so far so good. I've had no problems sending any tunes or pictures over to it. I have Windows Vista operating system, and the instructions say something about working in Windows XP. I was able to use Windows Media Player and sync everything right over. It comes with earbuds, and they must be used to listen to the player. The videos are a different story. I will post about them later. I sat my son down and explained that he had to be a "big boy" and take good care of his mp3 player. He is doing a good job so far. It really makes him feel like he's just as big as his older brothers. The price tag -about $25. Worth it so far.

For my 6 year old, I went with a Coby. I really didn't need all the bells and whistles, but I wanted it to play music, store pictures and play videos. It can also read ebooks. It has a small, about 2 inch screen, and very few buttons to push. It has a pretty simple design and it's really small. It also comes with earbuds, and they too must be used to listen to the player. It came charged and ready to use. All I had to do was plug in the USB, and the program installed itself. It opens and you just "drag and drop" your files into the box. You have to right click and choose "synchronize." and you're done. Of the three players, it really is the most reliable and easiest to use. It requires the least effort to convert files as well. More on this later as well. The price tag - about $20. Well worth it so far and the one I recommend the most.

For my 11 year old, who is very mature and computer savvy, I thought he would really want all the features I could afford. He's been begging for his own cell phone for some time now. I went with the Pyrus mp4 player for him. It has the touch screen, and plays music, videos, stores and takes pictures, records sound and video, and ebooks as well. I was the most skeptical buying this one. It had the most mixed reviews. It seemed that the player either worked right out of the package or it didn't work at all. I crossed my fingers and hoped. So far, it works. One of the drawbacks is that it comes with a stylus, but no where to store the stylus on the device. I did read this going in, so I was prepared for it. It has also been the most difficult to transfer files, especially videos and ebooks. I'll do another post about how to convert these. We have had good luck with the device so far. It is the only one that comes with earbuds, but they are not required to listen to your files. The sound isn't very loud without them though. The price tag -about $55. I still have my fingers crossed on this one. I am curious to see how long it will last. I know my oldest will take good care of it.