Best MP3 Player Running + Listening to Podcasts: Is there something that will work with my NPR podcasts in iTunes that I can run with?
412585
I have the exact same problem, my 2nd Gen just broke and the new shuffle appear to be worthless. Some people recommend buying a reconditioned 2nd Gen from Apple but they appear to be out of stock. Not sure where to turn! Ipod Nano is popular but heavier than I'd prefer. Bring back the 2nd Gen Apple!
564863
A really good MP3 player that I have come across is the SanDisk Sansa e280 8 GB MP3 player. It is a little more expensive than most (I think new it's about $149.99, may be cheaper), however it lasted me about 7 years. It probably would have lasted me longer, except a friend borrowed it and left it in the rain. It is a pretty high quality player. Now on to the itunes issue. Itunes has basically made it so that you can't download music from them onto something that isn't apple, except a desktop computer. I received an itunes gift card once and did not own anything by apple. I downloaded itunes onto my computer easily and then bought a few songs. I did a lot of research and tried and tried to sinc the music onto my MP3 player, but nothing was working. Finally, I tried to download my songs onto a disc, which worked. Then I proceeded to upload that disc onto a different media player (Windows Media Player) on my computer that allowed me to download songs onto my MP3 player. All in all it was a very frustrating and difficult process. If you want to avoid the frustration of having to deal with itunes, I would just get an apple ipod, ipod touch, or something that apple allows itunes to download to. If you really want an MP3 player I would recommend the one I highlighted above.
165
Get ANYTHING except a ipod and you'll have no problems syncing or transferring mp3s. I recommend getting a cheap $20 player, so when it breaks(and it will) you're not out a crapload of money. Also, you don't have the problem of itunes deleting your music like it has been known to do.
1851464
This player doesn't support shuffle and iTunes sync you have to covert iTunes to mp3. With Itunes you rent your music and it is protected. I believe that it will only work with non-protected music files, hence the MP3. I would suggest using a free iTunes to MP3 converter like Koyote or Fre:ac. This will solve your problem.
1028633
I have used Itunes, Itrip and Pandora for music while using the Iradar app. All have worked well. I am not familiar with Radio 1, but if it is just a music interface t should not be a problem.
1335255
I use Winamp to organize all my MP3 files and playlists and I am able to drag and drop them very seamlessly to my MP3 player. It's fast and best of all FREE!
2145850
We have not done that, but my husband believes he saw that it would connect with ITunes in the documentation. We use it to connect with Internet radio stations all over the world primarily for listening to folk music. It works great for that. Very easy to switch our preprogrammed stations. I hope that helps.
554824
This player doesn't have it's own software, so you can use whichever media program you like, I suppose. I don't use WMP or iTunes, but I've used it with Media Monkey, Musicmatch, Amarok, and a couple of others.
1631221
itunes isn't compatible with most mp3 players...just ipod and a couple of others. I would suggest to download your music onto your player using windows media
225616
Hey thank you very much for your info. Is there any better MP3 players? Like which ones?Thank you once again!
80522
I had to update my car stereo with one that has a MP3 jack. Without that MP3 jack my stereo couldn't play podcasts from my iPhone or music from my MP3 player (not necessarily iPod).
193633
I love my Audiozilla converter. i only use it to convert wma to mp3 so I can't help you any further than that. sorry!
1068688
I've never used iTunes. I primarily play music via my SamSung Note II with a couple players, including 2Player although now and then, I also use Media Player from my laptop and "play to" my speakers.
1687475
I just wanna say, for the record, that you really should be able to do this. Frankly, I'm not sure I'm gonna hang onto this thing if it doesn't handle podcasts more gracefully. It's slick... but it seems crazy that it can't just automatically subscribe. Presumably, this'll change as more third party apps become available, but we'll see...
101470
I use my mp3 exclusively for audiobooks. I'm a real junkie and listen nonstop all day when I'm not at work. The first one I bought was a Zen V. It had issues, but improved when Creative came out with new firmware. After using it for a year, the battery would no longer hold a charge. There was no way to replace the battery. So I decided to look for a player with a user-replaceable battery and bought a Zen Micro. It worked fine for a few weeks, then it broke and Creative said they could not repair it. I decided the battery was more of an issue than the bookmarking, so I bought a Sansa e250 v2. I've had it for about a month and it's great. Better than either of the Creative players. But it doesn't have bookmarking. Rockbox wizards are working on a new version that will work with the Sansa e250v2, so I'm hoping that will give it bookmarking capability. The resume playing works really well with the Sansa (unlike with the 2 creative players). Since I only listen to one book at a time and don't listen to music, the only time bookmarking is really an issue is when I transfer or delete books when the player is connected to my PC. (I have a Gomadic wall charger to recharge the battery at night.) I'm really not sure about the full time stamping. My library changed from netLibrary to Overdrive. Overdrive breaks audiobooks into multiple files instead of having one really large file like NetLibrary, so that hasn't been an issue. In 2006 a survey showed that 25% of the adult US population listens to audiobooks. It's really stupid that mp3 manufacturers continue to ignore our needs when the technology and software already exists to provide every player with full time stamping and bookmarking. If just one of them would come out with a reliable player with a user-replaceable battery and those features, they would probably rival iPOD overnight. If Sansa would respond with a firmware update to provide those features, the e200 series could be that player. Instead, they foolishly continue to ignore the pleas of audiobook listeners.
1041505
Protip: No player (as far as I am aware of) requires proprietary software.Proof? I have an iPod nano sitting on my bed, now, that has music loaded onto it, none of which was loaded using iTunes. I used MediaMonkey. If your proprietary software forces you to buy new versions of songs you already have, then scrap the software, because chances are, it's not actually proprietary.
1116545
I have two Sansa players and have been very happy thus far. Owned an older Zen model, most unhappy, and because they've never had an FM radio, refused to purchase an Apple player.