Ask Engadget: Best tiny MP3 player for exercise enthusiasts?
By Darren Murph 
posted April 10th 2009 1:03AM
posted April 10th 2009 1:03AM
No need to twist your dial -- you really have just stumbled upon this week's episode of Ask Engadget. You know, the place where you can send in your question to ask at engadget dawt com and hope to see it plastered for the world to have a think on. This week we've got one from J.S., so we'll let him take it from here:"The new iPod shuffle is so small you can simply clip it onto your shirt while running or working out. However, I'd never buy it because of two reasons: iTunes and the fact that I'd have to get a new pair of headphones that has the Shuffle controls or use the subpar included ones. So, what's the best small (close to Shuffle-sized) MP3 player for a gym rat like me that doesn't require iTunes?"
We've no doubt that legions of you fitness freaks can chime in here, so next time you take a breather, drop some knowledge in comments below.
I've had good luck with my sansa clip over the past year. It seems to be a winner so far.
+1 for the Creative ZEN Stone Plus w/speaker. I bike a lot in the summer and it's nice to clip the Stone somewhere on the bike and let the music play with no headphones. Slick little device for not a lot of moolah...
The Sansa Clip is by far the best player for active people. I have a bucket full of mp3 players and it's the one I use most when at the gym. Nothing really even comes close in sound quality, battery power, display and durability.
This was a pointless ask engadget. You should have rephrased it to say "Hi, please recommend the sansa clip for me." I never used one but saw this coming from a mile away after the no itunes request.
The Sansa Clip is the only option if you're exercising.
(1) it is cheap
(2) it is small and light
(3) great sound quality
(4) great battery life
(5) nearly indestructable
(6) several gyms i've been to mute their tv's but broadcast the sound for that channel on an FM frequency and the FM tuner on the clip allows you to listen, also gives you some variety if you just want to listen to the radio
(7) ease of use and features like voice recording (it has a microphone too) and it can also record from the FM receiver
Samsung Yp-U series, drag and drop, oled screen, and you don't even need a usb cable if you run out of power at the Gym.
if you can still find it, refurbished Creative Zen Stone w/speaker players go for $17.99 on Creative's website.2G, black or pink.For that price, you get way more player than you're expecting. I have one; I love it!
I stand corrected; $14.99 while supplies last: http://is.gd/rOH4No, I don't frakkin work there; I'm a Creative Zen owner.
+1 Sony W Series
Just for the sake of having no wires and that the ear buds don't slip out of your ears every 30secs. Suitable for every exercise so you can have them on your head when you start and not take them off until you finish. Drag and drop, good battery life and really good sound quality.
and another one for Sansa Clip
Cheap, great battery life, nice oled screen, plays everything, drag and drop, very light and small...perfect for the gym.
Sansa Clip or Apple iPod Shuffle [second generation]
Zen Stone Plus with Speaker 2GB $50
This is just the perfect device, and it comes with a ruberized skin with a clip. The speaker is great for when you just a sick of the earbuds!
+1 Sansa Clip. Got the 8 gigger at WallyWorld last month for $49. A no brainer. Eff Apple.
grate 4 fishing needs cord 4spekers
I really like my Sandisk Clip. It's tiny, light and cheap. It's also produces great sounding audio quality. Better still, it works on Linux and plays FLAC and OGG in addition to it's standard MP3 capabilities. It also does well sorting and separating my music and my podcasts.and can function as a standard USB storage device for transporting regular files as well. Best workout and all around "MP3"/portable audio player I've ever owned.
I personally use an iPod nano 16 gig when I run or lift or anything of the sort though I don't quite know if that qualifies as a "tiny" player.
I need to make a decision soon of which cheap mp3 players to get, need 16 of them. They will be used in training, so all of them will have the same "brainwash podcast" and the units will be updated 3-5 times daily. That's not much different than the normal use, where you have 2 minutes to plug in your mp3 player and get it updated for the next session, but 16 of them might make a difference.
Hi a question about the Sansa clip. will it save songs together as albums?
sanDisk sansa (recert) 1gb at buy.com $14.99 free shipping, that priece rocks.
Absolutely the best smallest player i've bought so far is a Meizu M6. I got it about 2 years ago now and its still in perfect condition - without it, trips to the gym wouldn't be happenin...
Features:
8 GB
mp3 player
video player
FM tuner
picture viewer
Document viewer
Ebook reader
some (crappy i admit) games
Tiny and with an armband, perfectly sized, not to mention, pretty good-lookin.
Take a gander on the meizu website - it was less than $130 when i bought it - and like i said, 2 years later, its my official gym buddy.
I forgot to mention - it has a microphone for recording - used it in grad school to record lectures, and play them at the gym. Since it functions like an external hard drive, you can store docs/files on it as well.