I Need some MP3 Player Help

wolf · 05-25-2011, 04:50 PM

I have a cheap 2Gig MP3 player. It's extraordinarily basic, and cost around $15 including the shipping, I think.

Anyway, I've started walking (yay me!) and I want to be entertained while I do it.

I headed off today with my MP3 player and a VERY long audiobook. The print edition (large format paperback) is 930 pages. Each segment of the audiobook is about an hour and a half long.

My cheap little MP3 player is dandy.

But what it doesn't do is recall where I stopped listening.

With a four minute song, this is not a big deal, but fast forwarding through a half-hour of content takes a good bit of time, and it's a hassle.

I'm not at the point where I can trudge around for the whole 90 minutes.

Can anyone who has a better MP3 player offer me any suggestions as far as a player that either has a faster way to navigate within a large "song" or will hold my place until I'm ready to start again?

BigV · 05-25-2011, 05:14 PM

likely your cheap mp3 player doesn't have this functionality. I have a cheap one too (several in fact) and I don't think any of them will return to the point in the song where I left off. Some of the more "intelligent" ones will remember what song it was, and that is good enuf.

Is it possible for you to hack the mp3 files into smaller chunks? Total Recorder can do this kind of trick if I remember correctly.

wolf · 05-25-2011, 05:22 PM

I had considered "chunking" the book, but that's just too much like work ...

(My original plan had been to chop it into cd sized chunks and just use a CD player)

Mine may keep it's place if I pause it and then let it turn itself off. I'm experimenting.

I'm also going to try to load the book onto my phone and see how it handles the pause/play element. It has to do better, and I'll just have to be more mindful of the battery charge before heading out. At the very least the player on the phone should have some kind of slider bar so it will be easier to find my starting point than on the MP3 player.

DanaC · 05-25-2011, 06:07 PM

You could probably pick up a second hand ipod nano 2nd, 3rd or 4th gen for between $30 and $90. They recognise where you left off on audiobooks. Not sure if 1st gen did.

I love my ipod nano. I have a 5th gen, and it is just so user friendly. You can set it to shuffle tracks when you shake it, or lock it so it can't jump tracks. There's even a pedometer for when you're walking. 4th gen has that feature too, but don't know about earlier models.

wolf · 05-25-2011, 07:24 PM

I am actually considering an iPod nano, but don't want to jump into anything costly just yet. I do have a change basket that I can take to a coin counting machine if I really decide to go through with something like that. The nano is just so cute and tiny!

DanaC · 05-26-2011, 07:04 AM

Much as I hate Apple...I do love their stuff. Particularly the i-pod. My 5th gen nano just feels like a gorgeous little sliver of well-designed tech. From an aesthetic point of view, their stuff is in a class of its own.

[eta] This is the one I have. What a simple and elegant design it is.

They're Satan, but in his seductive guise :p

HungLikeJesus · 05-26-2011, 08:50 AM

I have the same one. My battery life doesn't seem very good.

I didn't know there was a built-in pedometer. How do you get to it?

DanaC · 05-26-2011, 09:02 AM

It's in extras I think.

Just checked and it isn't in the 4th gen as I had thought. Comes in with 5th gen.

HungLikeJesus · 05-26-2011, 10:40 AM

I think I have the 4th generation Nano.

BigV · 05-26-2011, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HungLikeJesus

I have the same one. My battery life doesn't seem very good.

I didn't know there was a built-in pedometer. How do you get to it?

by walking

mbpark · 05-29-2011, 11:40 AM

Don't you have an Android phone? You shouldn't have to carry two devices.

There's an MP3 player built in. If you want one with different functionality, there's many available on the market, kind of like how many of the popular Linux apps from years back were MP3/video players as well.

For $10, you can get a decent sized MicroSD card and put everything on that.

I still have a 2nd generation 32GB iPod Touch for my car MP3 playing needs.

HungLikeJesus · 05-29-2011, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HungLikeJesus

I have the same one. My battery life doesn't seem very good.
...

I just finished running a battery test - total run time was 23 hours and 35 minutes, so I guess it's fine.

wolf · 02-07-2012, 06:51 PM

Never posted a follow up to this ... problem was solved by a friend who I explained the issue to ... two days later a package from amazon.com arrives with a Sansa mp3 player. It holds it's place properly, and if I screw up, it's fast forward is actually FAST.

Flint · 02-07-2012, 10:02 PM

Tail Post: smash it with a hammer.

That's my go-to post for every thread from now on.

Rhianne · 02-08-2012, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolf

Never posted a follow up to this ... problem was solved by a friend who I explained the issue to ... two days later a package from amazon.com arrives with a Sansa mp3 player. It holds it's place properly, and if I screw up, it's fast forward is actually FAST.

I missed this thread.

I ♥ my Sansa Clip

I use it pretty much exclusively for audio books.

05-25-2011, 04:50 PM	#1
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I Need some MP3 Player Help I have a cheap 2Gig MP3 player. It's extraordinarily basic, and cost around $15 including the shipping, I think. Anyway, I've started walking (yay me!) and I want to be entertained while I do it. I headed off today with my MP3 player and a VERY long audiobook. The print edition (large format paperback) is 930 pages. Each segment of the audiobook is about an hour and a half long. My cheap little MP3 player is dandy. But what it doesn't do is recall where I stopped listening. With a four minute song, this is not a big deal, but fast forwarding through a half-hour of content takes a good bit of time, and it's a hassle. I'm not at the point where I can trudge around for the whole 90 minutes. Can anyone who has a better MP3 player offer me any suggestions as far as a player that either has a faster way to navigate within a large "song" or will hold my place until I'm ready to start again? __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

05-25-2011, 05:14 PM	#2
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	likely your cheap mp3 player doesn't have this functionality. I have a cheap one too (several in fact) and I don't think any of them will return to the point in the song where I left off. Some of the more "intelligent" ones will remember what song it was, and that is good enuf. Is it possible for you to hack the mp3 files into smaller chunks? Total Recorder can do this kind of trick if I remember correctly. __________________ Be Just and Fear Not.

05-25-2011, 05:22 PM	#3
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I had considered "chunking" the book, but that's just too much like work ... (My original plan had been to chop it into cd sized chunks and just use a CD player) Mine may keep it's place if I pause it and then let it turn itself off. I'm experimenting. I'm also going to try to load the book onto my phone and see how it handles the pause/play element. It has to do better, and I'll just have to be more mindful of the battery charge before heading out. At the very least the player on the phone should have some kind of slider bar so it will be easier to find my starting point than on the MP3 player. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

05-25-2011, 07:24 PM	#5
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	I am actually considering an iPod nano, but don't want to jump into anything costly just yet. I do have a change basket that I can take to a coin counting machine if I really decide to go through with something like that. The nano is just so cute and tiny! __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

05-26-2011, 08:50 AM	#7
HungLikeJesus Only looks like a disaster tourist Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: above 7,000 feet Posts: 7,208	I have the same one. My battery life doesn't seem very good. I didn't know there was a built-in pedometer. How do you get to it? __________________ Keep Your Bodies Off My Lawn SteveDallas's Random Thread Picker.

05-26-2011, 10:40 AM	#9
HungLikeJesus Only looks like a disaster tourist Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: above 7,000 feet Posts: 7,208	I think I have the 4th generation Nano. __________________ Keep Your Bodies Off My Lawn SteveDallas's Random Thread Picker.

05-29-2011, 11:40 AM	#11
mbpark Lecturer Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Carmel, Indiana Posts: 761	Cell Phone? Don't you have an Android phone? You shouldn't have to carry two devices. There's an MP3 player built in. If you want one with different functionality, there's many available on the market, kind of like how many of the popular Linux apps from years back were MP3/video players as well. For $10, you can get a decent sized MicroSD card and put everything on that. I still have a 2nd generation 32GB iPod Touch for my car MP3 playing needs.

02-07-2012, 06:51 PM	#13
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	Never posted a follow up to this ... problem was solved by a friend who I explained the issue to ... two days later a package from amazon.com arrives with a Sansa mp3 player. It holds it's place properly, and if I screw up, it's fast forward is actually FAST. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

02-07-2012, 10:02 PM	#14
Flint Snowflake Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dystopia Posts: 13,136	Tail Post: smash it with a hammer. That's my go-to post for every thread from now on. __________________ **************** There's a level of facility that everyone needs to accomplish, and from there it's a matter of deciding for yourself how important ultra-facility is to your expression. ... I found, like Joseph Campbell said, if you just follow whatever gives you a little joy or excitement or awe, then you're on the right track. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Terry Bozzio**

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