|
Music Machines co
$Price/Memory |
PC
Mac |
Connection |
Size/Weight |
Bottom line |
|
UNReceiver
www.unreceiver.com |
NO |
FireWire |
+_ |
Integrated
broadband
Wireless |
|
Apple iPod
(apple.com/ipod)
$399, 5 GB
$499, 10 GB
|
No{+1}
Yes |
FireWire |
4.2 by 2.4 by 0.8 in. 6.5 oz. |
Best form factor and song access; not as easy to sync with
computers as ads suggest, unless you have latest software.
Officially a Mac-only product; software for Windows PCs took trial
and error. |
|
Creative Labs
Nomad Jukebox
(creative.com)
$230, 6GB
$249,10GB
$399,20GB |
Yes
Yes{+2} |
FireWire
& USB |
4.9 by 2.3 by 1.4 in.; 11.6 oz. |
Vast improvement over original, with longer-lasting battery,
ability to create playlists and super-fast FireWire connections.
Large, but stellar sound and interface. |
|
Sonicblue RioRiot
www.riohome.com
$399, 20 GB
|
Yes
Yes |
USB |
5.4 by 3.6 by 1.4 in.; 10 oz. |
The company that introduced the first tiny, novel MP3 players
offers the biggest and bulkiest jukebox.
Confusing interface and song-transfer process. |
|
Archos Jukebox
(archos.com)
$199, 6 GB $260,10GB
$319, /20GB |
Yes
Yes |
USB |
4.5 by 3.2 by 1.3 in.; 12 oz |
The lowest-priced hard-drive jukebox, the Archos wins in price but
falls down in sound quality and lack of a volume knob. |
|
RCA Lyra
MP3 Jukebox
(rca.com)
$249, /10 GB
$299,20GB{+3} |
Yes
Yes |
USB |
3 by 5.1 by 1.1 in.; 11 oz. |
Decent size (smaller than Rio and Nomad, larger than iPod), can
easily jog with it, but accessing songs without your glasses might
prove challenging; screen is tiny, songs are hard to find because
of odd interface. |
|
e.Digital Treo 10
(edig.com)
$249, 10 GB
$299, 15 GB |
Yes
No |
USB |
4.6 by 0.8 by 3 in.; 9.9 oz. |
For the budget-minded, a jukebox about half the price of the iPod,
and just a few inches larger. Excellent sound and form factor, but
song transfer from PC is difficult and, like the RCA, the screen
is tough to read. |
|
Sonicblue Rio 800
www.riohome.com
$160, 128 MB
|
Yes
Yes |
USB |
3.8 by 2.5 by 1 in.; 2.4 oz. |
A steal for small flash memory full-featured MP3 models compared
with the competition. Can fit only two hours of MP3s, but if
you're willing to record music in the Windows Media Audio format,
can jack up to four hours. |
|
PoGo RipFlash
Recordable MP3 (pogoproducts.com)
$179, 128 MB
|
Yes
No |
USB |
3.5 by 2.3 by 0.7 in.; 2.3 oz. |
Even smaller than the Rio, but works off inferior AAA batteries.
Plan on restocking the batteries often. Also can record voice
dictation to MP3, a cool feature |
