I was planing to buy an mp3 player for a long time. I checked a lot of players including iPod, Creative, Sandisk, Philips, etc and finally settled on Samsung YP-C1Z.
I had the following requirements before buying an mp3 player:
Why did I settle for YP-C1Z only. Here are the reasons:
it met all my above requirements
SRS WOW audio enhancer
many presets including Pop, Jazz, Rock, Classic, etc and Bass booster
recording from FM - directly to MP3 in your set bit rate
can record into MP3 from any audio source. example walkman, TV, CD player, etc or in short any source with audio out or headphone/speaker port.
does not require any software for transferring files (like iPod requires iTunes). It behaves like any USB flash drive. Just plug in and transfer files with Windows Explorer
No internal battery. It runs on single AA battery, with 42 hrs of playback time. So you need not return the player to company when battery stops charging.
intuitive interface, easy to use
4 lines of LCD display
Resume supported. Plays from where you switched off the player.
sporty look, no plastic look and feel.
sound quality is very good
Cons
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a little heavy with battery
no color display
play button a little sensitive. A slight pressure activates the player. So have to keep on HOLD (another feature) to prevent accidental playback
does not switch off when headphone is pulled out (like iPod)
1 GB model comes only in one color