Mp3 players are all the rage because you can pack eight hours or more of music you like, in any order you like, onto a device that is so compact (see picture) and reliable, for incredibly low cost.

I have seen 128 meg versions for $25. Most models have a built in FM/AM radio, and microphone so it can also be used as a voice or music recorder, or for file storage. Yes, you can store photos, and computer files on these things.

For those who are not in the know, an mp3 player is basically a flash memory device with a small lit up menu display, plus controls. Because it uses solid state flash memory, it can be made small and compact.

It also means that it does not suffer jumps and skips as the old CD walkmans did, when jogging or walking. The mp3 part of the name comes from the use of mp3 audio compression technique, which packs hours of playable music onto these devices.

A creative 256 meg version, which cost $99, can store up to eight hours of music. The displays on these things are small, and older people may need a good set of glasses, or a magnifying glass to read the thing. That's the price you pay for miniaturisation.

One of the girls in the family received one as a Christmas present. So I experimented with it to see what it could do. I found that the ear piece headset it came with was tinny and uncomfortable, so I plugged in a pair of really good Sennheiser headphones, which greatly improved the sound, so I started to dance around to the music.

At this point it was confiscated. I was told it wasn't cool to be using such a large headset and besides, my dancing was atrocious!

Well so much for the younger generation's opinions, as it turns out, a lot of other people feel the same way, and now there is a cottage industry on the Internet, creating small quality credit card sized headphone amplifiers to attach to your mp3 player, so you can plug in good quality headphones.

OK, my dancing may not be the best.

A couple of tips if you're purchasing an mp3 player, make sure the headset jack is not recessed, because if you do want to use a good headset, you may need to use an adaptor plug and it wont fit into the recessed socket.

Shop around, there are some great bargains out there. Look for a model with a well lit display, and easy to use controls, preferably with FM/AM radio and voice recording features.

Also try to get one that allows you to use other compression types, like ogg. A lot of free music sites on the Internet use ogg compression instead of mp3.

You can also buy car adaptors that allow you to use the mp3 player through an FM channel on your car stereo. Great because you can play hours and hours of the music you like, without having to change the CD!

Peter Daley: The family may disagree, but I would class myself as an great dancer.

sccc@sccc.org.au
Info Line 07 5492100