Name the device!

Kurt_ · Post by **Kurt_** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 12:28 pm

I'm looking for a new electronic device. I don't have anything in mind. Here are some of the restrictions:

- Preferably under $100-$150
- MUST play mp3s.
- Playing some basic games would be cool, too
- Must not break after 1-3 years like iPods do.

I was thinking of maybe buying a cellphone that can do these crazy things too (although I wouldn't be using a service plan, I wouldn't be calling anyone with it

. I may, in the future, need a cellphone, as I might be out a lot more than I am now. We all know how th future tends to get very different from our thoughts and plans very fast) It doesn't need to do ALL of these things.

- GPS
- Basic Camera
- Web Browsing / MSN

Any ideas? Do you think buying a phone without a plan is a good idea if it meets the requirements?

nightwheel · Post by **nightwheel** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 1:01 pm

Tapwave Zodiac

I don't own one but I've heard some good thing about them. It's a system simular to a GP32. But a quite bit more powerful. It runs Palm OS. But is more geared towards Gaming, Playing MP3's, Playing Videos. It also has internet browsing capabltiys. There are a few on ebay going on ebay for less than your requested price range.
Here is the search results page I got when i searched the Tapwave Zodiac on Ebay: http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dl ... category0=

Sir Games-A-Lot · Post by **Sir Games-A-Lot** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 7:52 pm

Franklin eBookman 911:

http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-EBM-911- ... B00004WHFN

Harshboy · Post by **Harshboy** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:02 pm

JXD 301

MP3 Player
MP4 Player
Plays NES, SNES, SMD, GB, GBC, GBA and Neo Geo roms

$120 to $140

Post by **bicostp** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 8:02 pm

Get a 3rd or 4th gen iPod off eBay and either upgrade the hard drive or mod it to run on AAs, or you can get an 8 gig refurbished 2nd gen Nano for $150.

Seriously, they're not as crap as they're hyped to be.

Or you can go for a Sandisk device, but avoid the mXXX line. They're crap.

tom61 · Post by **tom61** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 9:45 pm

Pocket PC PDAs come to mind, you can get one for less than a $100 with WiFi built-in that can play MP3s, basic games and emulators, and have very good life span. Additionally, you can browse the internet and IM in MSN. GPS and camera can be added to some of them fairly cheaply.

Post by **CronoTriggerfan** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:11 pm

Harshboy wrote:JXD 301

MP3 Player
MP4 Player
Plays NES, SNES, SMD, GB, GBC, GBA and Neo Geo roms

$120 to $140

NO. I've bought about 5 chipod mp4 players from various sites, and though the standard mp3 players function fine, all the multimedia players (two of which were JXD, one that exact model) die very easily with firmware bugs, compatibility issues, ridiculously large video files, and clunky GUIs. Besides, it only emulates NES with even minimal compatibility, SNES and up is just so slow you'll wanna shoot yourself!

I say go with an old(er) PDA running a pocket version of Windows. Some very nice ones will run you far under $100, they play videos, listen to music, use expandable media cards, have tons of apps, run games and emulators, and most even have built-in wifi, or at least support wifi SD cards. They're probably the most bang for your buck.

By far the best is the iPAQ RX1950 by HP. Just look at the features and you'll see what I mean. After that, look at the price. Try not to drool.

CTFan

bacteria · Post by **bacteria** » Thu Nov 29, 2007 10:14 pm

I was going to say Ipaq! The sound from my project (GBA speaker) is rather good! You can get refurbished more modern ones cheaply, and also do GPS and internet.

Valium · Post by **Valium** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 5:26 am

CronoTriggerfan wrote:
Harshboy wrote:JXD 301

MP3 Player
MP4 Player
Plays NES, SNES, SMD, GB, GBC, GBA and Neo Geo roms

$120 to $140
NO. I've bought about 5 chipod mp4 players from various sites, and though the standard mp3 players function fine, all the multimedia players (two of which were JXD, one that exact model) die very easily with firmware bugs, compatibility issues, ridiculously large video files, and clunky GUIs. Besides, it only emulates NES with even minimal compatibility, SNES and up is just so slow you'll wanna shoot yourself!

I say go with an old(er) PDA running a pocket version of Windows. Some very nice ones will run you far under $100, they play videos, listen to music, use expandable media cards, have tons of apps, run games and emulators, and most even have built-in wifi, or at least support wifi SD cards. They're probably the most bang for your buck.

By far the best is the iPAQ RX1950 by HP. Just look at the features and you'll see what I mean. After that, look at the price. Try not to drool.

CTFan

A review of the thing said it plays all the systems perfectly, except for the Sega Mega Drive and the GBA. The Mega Drive only needed to be played with no sound though.

bacteria · Post by **bacteria** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 5:34 am

PDA's are not ideal as gaming devices, they are not designed for it.

For playing MP3's, emulators, durable (quite) you could far worse than getting a GP2x, look on E-bay, the MKII models are going at a good price now. They can't do GPS and they don't have a camera or internet, but are great game devices which also play movies and clips and audio (MP3 and other formats).

Valium · Post by **Valium** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 5:59 am

The Archos 604 Camcorder is on Amazon for $160. It does everything you want in an Mp3 player, except the games, and a few things the phone will do.

Plus, its a Camcorder, and if you buy the dock, its a DVR.

Kurt_ · Post by **Kurt_** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 3:45 pm

Hmm...

Maybe I just want something to play music.

Sooner or later I'll need to get a laptop for school, and if I get a social life (I'm trying! It might be working!) I'll probably need to buy a cellphone. In that case, I can get one that I can hook up to my laptop for GPS, right?

That really only leaves something I can throw in my pocket and listen to when I don't want to lug things around, as a cellphone will be able to play games plenty good. And I can probably buy a music phone.

So, what mp3 players can you guys recommend for less than $50, $30 or less would be awesome. I'm hoping for a few gigs of capacity, not major. Think 3-5 discographies.

Harshboy · Post by **Harshboy** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 5:36 pm

$30 will get you a 1 GB iPod Nano ripoff.

$50 will get you a non-Chinese ripoff MP3 Player around 2GB - Like the Creative Zen Stone Plus

Anything more than $50 would be a decent iPod or Zen, or maybe even a Zune. If you check woot.com a lot, you could pick up a 30GB Zune for around $80 when they are selling Zunes.

Sir Games-A-Lot · Post by **Sir Games-A-Lot** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 6:27 pm

For pure audio, one of the best out there is the Cowon iAudio 7.

Highlights

- Tiny

- Massive LiPoly battery rated at 60 hours

- plays back: MP3, Ogg, WMA, WAV, FLAC

- high quality audio

- UMS support

- Jet Audio is an excellent media manager for those who are not inclined to organize by folder.

Kurt_ · Post by **Kurt_** » Fri Nov 30, 2007 6:36 pm

I don't know. I want something for really cheap.

I have an iRiver H10 5 gig. It works, kind of.

When you load the firmware on to it (the system files get erased seemingly instantly after it copies them to the hard drive to reload the firmware), it does nothing. I know it copies them to the hard drive before it tries to load them.

I also know that it won't format the hard drive (it fails to format with the program, but works with windows explorer format).

I'm thinking dead hard drive. I got it for free, and it's in excellent cosmetic condition, especially for it's previous owner (a guy who jams controllers into the port at different angles until it goes in.)

It's a ST1 drive, like the zen I broke, but it's not the same connection, and I was kind of rough with swapping the hard drive boards on top, they're bendy and I think I bent something and destroyed a connection. How would I figure out the type of connection, and where can I find a hard drive for this thing?