China's cheap-as-free Ainol V3 MP3 players

While not the most attractive or featured-filled of their kind, there's really no arguing with the price on these DAPs. The 512MB version of the Ainol V3 retails for a mere $50 (in China, of course), and packs in MP3, WMA, WAV and OGG codec support, a 1.3-inch screen running at 160 x 129 for a bit of photo viewing or text reading, FM radio, USB 2.0 and a most welcome miniSD slot. There's also a rechargeable battery included that should last up to 8 hours, and the V3 manages to squeeze it all into 0.5-inch thick enclosure. If 512MB plus whatever miniSD sticks you have lying around isn't enough storage, you can always jump to the 1GB version for $69.

[Via Anything But iPod]

[Lloyd @ Aug 13th 2006 9:11AM]

Nice, i wouldnt mind getting one of these

btw, erm, how do you say 'Ainol'? :P

[Brian Pinard @ Aug 13th 2006 9:14AM]

"Cheap-as-free" is a bit of an exaggeration. Still, it is pretty darn cheap for an mp3 player with those features.

What's the matter, can't say Ainol? ;)

[Anton @ Aug 13th 2006 9:35AM]

Oh thank god Im not the only one who sees something wrong with the name.

[ben @ Aug 13th 2006 9:46AM]

incidentally, im in Beijing in the HaiDian area, and i have not seen any.


how much is it? $50 RMB or USD?

[Graham @ Aug 13th 2006 10:06AM]

I have a south korean player.. the Software fucked for me
Everyting still working thou...but i hardly know waht i can do with it..apart from play music and viddys

[Intrepid @ Aug 13th 2006 10:18AM]

I wonder if it has WMA-DRM (playforsure) support?

[Will Dashwood @ Aug 13th 2006 10:20AM]

So how can we get hold of one of these? Will it ever hit UK shores?

[aadil @ Aug 13th 2006 10:23AM]

Now that's what might be considered as an Ipod killer. Well, it might punch the Ipod out of breath for a second or two that is. The price is a great bargain too.

Anyway, the Hello Kitty mp3 player rules my heart. ;)

[PeteC @ Aug 13th 2006 10:50AM]

I'm not buying something called ai-nol, what's next the Any-ma?

[daniel @ Aug 13th 2006 11:25AM]

"1.3-inch screen running at 160 x 129"

funny, never seen that resolution before. isn't it 128?

[lifesux @ Aug 13th 2006 11:34AM]

to ben
it's 50 US$, about 400 RMB, the cheapest MP3 player would be around $20-30. but maybe you could find some price tags even more attractive, say...10 bucks? lol...

[Wael @ Aug 13th 2006 12:22PM]

Sweet Deal. I want one.

[Brian @ Aug 13th 2006 12:57PM]

If only it was "Plays for Sure" compatible.

[Tibwolf @ Aug 13th 2006 2:00PM]

"Enjoy Life Enjoy Ainol"

Taken straight from the site

[Rasmus @ Aug 13th 2006 5:39PM]

They actually have some pretty good prices on that website, imp3.net for Ainols mp3 players, now the only question is.. what's the difference between the V3, the V60 and the V80 ?

They look pretty much the same and all have almost the same prices. Too bad I can't read chinese..

[diulei @ Aug 13th 2006 7:18PM]

Ainol...I chuckled when I saw that too. But I'm pretty sure the "ai" part is pronounced like "eye". You never know though, hehe.

[wow @ Aug 13th 2006 8:21PM]

Wow, this player is awesome! I would definitely buy one, especially because of the OGG support.

[Faisal @ Aug 13th 2006 9:01PM]

great!! Now i'm going to be playing with a Wii anytime soon AND I want Ainol. awesome!

[Zizone @ Aug 13th 2006 9:19PM]

maybe their sound quality is not up to our standard...

[ben @ Aug 13th 2006 9:45PM]

the cheapest ive seen is around 200 rmb, so, lifesux, you are right.

i picked up one of those fake nanos. its great. does video in AMV format (lame!), plays mp3, has radio, pictures, phone??, and does like 50 other languages.

[Oregonboy @ Aug 13th 2006 10:25PM]

YES!! Homestar plug!

[Shadyman @ Aug 14th 2006 12:16AM]

I don't know what's worse, the name Ainol, or the fact that their site is *entirely* images?

[Anthony @ Aug 14th 2006 5:45AM]

You people make me sick - with all the companies in the uk and the usa which are outsourcing their manufacturing china, we should be avoiding their products not digging for their cheapest stuff. They flood the market and they damage our economies but still people buy their cheap rubbish - i really don't understand why.

[ben @ Aug 14th 2006 8:17AM]

Anthony, i can tell you right now that i would prefer to have a fake nano that a real one.
First, it was cheaper. It cost around 35$ and does more than the apple nano can.
While your point is valid, how many of us people will fly over to buy one of these? it makes more sense to just buy a nano.

[Liu Li @ Aug 14th 2006 12:43PM]

Shanghaiist tells where you might be able to buy one of these:

http://www.shanghaiist.com/archives/2006/08/15/engadget_likes_1.php

[carbonize @ Aug 15th 2006 3:54AM]

Everytime I do a search on ebay.co.uk for Ainol it returns the results for aino and says aino in the search box. Do Ebay have something against Ainol?

[Kip HT @ Aug 15th 2006 8:18AM]

You call that cheap?????

I saw mp3 players yesterday for 38.5 usd.

512MB and they are tiny. About as big as a lolipop (the candy bit)

Colour screen. Text viewer. Picture Viewer.

Seriously people, it is cheaper to fly here to hong kong and do shopping than to buy stuff in america. Do all your christmas shopping here. You would probably save a fortune.

[joel @ Aug 17th 2006 1:23AM]

Yeah, I picked up a fake nano (4GB) in Shenzhen for 180rmb (US$22.5)with cover. It has more features but does crash occasionally and there is no support. I've had it for 3 months and wonder how long it will last. Very cheap though and I've been very happy with it so far.

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[George @ Jan 30th 2007 3:46AM]

Here is where to get Chinese MP3 and MP4 players at the lowest China market prices:
Chinavasion.com Electronics Wholesale

MP3 Players:
http://www.chinavasion.com/index.php/cName/mp3-players

MP4 Players:
http://www.chinavasion.com/index.php/cName/mp4-players

[robert @ Jun 3rd 2007 9:58AM]

Chinavasion.com is fake, they sell the cheapest to very high prices...

[George @ Jun 4th 2007 2:41AM]

They're not fake. They're a wholesale company in China. Used them before and delivery is ok.

[Guderss @ Aug 16th 2007 12:50PM]

Check out the Ainol V2000 its a 'iPhone" type design, but check how many formats it can play and it has a LTSP TFT Screen!!!!

http://www.mp4nation.com/products/index.php?PID=V2000