4 years ago I invested in my first MP3 player. I purchased online a 1GB micro-drive player from RIO. This device was perfect for what I needed. I could load up 100+ songs on the device and listen to commercial-free music where ever I went.
Early last year, that microdrive quit working. I guess dropping it on the ground a few times was a really bad idea. This was unfortunate, because I found several authors had started podcasting their books for free. Now I had a better understanding of what I wanted in a player.
For a replacement, I had these requirements:
- Bookmark functionality - Listening to a 1 hour audio book, you don't want to have to fast-forward through 45 minutes to get to were you left off.
- Flash memory - preferrably with a SD memory chip option. My workstation at home, and my corporate laptop both have a SD slot. Using SD, allows more flexibility and infinite expandability.
- Inexpensive - I wanted to keep this under $100. Lose it? Buy a new one.
- Flexibility - I had heard that the iPOD required you to download from iTunes (only). I wanted a device that would support downloading from any source.
Based on this criteria, I started shopping. I checked Target, Wal-Mart and Best Buy to see what was available. I found that seldom do MP3 manufacturers advertise 'bookmark' functionality on their devices (like the RCA Lyra). As this was key to my search, I went to searching on the web for brands sold locally.
Personally, I like using PriceGrabber.com for their search, and review options. I can filter down all my options in one search field and get the best reviewed products. Plus they often have links to sites with free shipping!! (Almost as good as buying it locally!).
Decision Time
I ended up purchasing another RIO device. I knew the RIO devices had the bookmark functionality, plus the Forge 256mb Sport, has a SD memory slot. I also loved the idea that it used standard AAA batteries, so I wouldn't need to purchase a separate charger for my car. I did purchase a bunch of rechargable AAA batteries and so far, the device has performed wonderfully. I download files to my laptop, use the internal SD slot to put them on the SD chip, then listen!
