| 1. Have you ever been driving somewhere | | | | Installation is simple; the card simply |
| listening to your favorite radio station and | | | | pushes in and clicks into place. |
| all of a sudden the station is nothing but | | | | |
| static or fades in and out? Quick, grab your | | | | 4. Via the USB 2.0 connection from your |
| iPod or Mp3 player! Now, you have your | | | | computer, you can transfer your favorite |
| favorite music or sport at your fingertips. | | | | tunes from a music website to your iPod or |
| | | | MP3 player in as little as a few seconds. |
| You can choose your favorite show or music on | | | | IPod or MP3 players have a wide compatibility |
| your digital media player at a touch. No | | | | with many online subscription and |
| more trying to adjust the radio or be | | | | pay-per-download music services. Some iPod |
| distracted from watching the traffic. | | | | and MP3 players are "PlaysForSure" |
| | | | compatible. When purchasing your player, look |
| 2. With an iPod or MP3 player along, that | | | | for this logo on the packaging. Any music |
| much needed exercise, whether its at the gym, | | | | download service displaying the |
| jogging or just staying home to exercise, | | | | "PlaysForSure" logo will work. |
| will not seem so boring. Some players allow | | | | |
| you to monitor your mileage while you run. | | | | 5. Display screen size is a personal choice |
| The time will go faster when you are | | | | and can be as varied as the players |
| listening to your favorite music, sport or | | | | themselves. Screens can be as small as a |
| watching a video on your digital media | | | | 4-line graphic LCD, similar to a calculator, |
| player. Put a spring in your step while | | | | to as large as 3.6" color high-resolution LCD |
| cleaning your home or shopping by listening | | | | with 320 x 240 pixel resolution. |
| to your favorite tunes. | | | | |
| | | | 6. You can press a button and transfer an |
| 3. Your iPod or MP3 player can brighten your | | | | entire CD to your player in as little as a |
| day, regardless of your activity. | | | | few minutes using the USB 2.0 connectivity |
| | | | from your PC. |
| 4. If you play sports, for fun or | | | | |
| professionally, you can record your "moves", | | | | 7. "MP3" might be the buzzword, but it's not |
| then analyze them to see if you are following | | | | the only digital music file format out there. |
| through or need to make some adjustments. | | | | Fortunately, most online stores and digital |
| | | | music players support a full range of digital |
| What to consider before you purchase an iPod | | | | file formats. Here are the more popular |
| or MP3 player | | | | formats in use: |
| | | | |
| Ask yourself these questions: | | | | · ATRAC3 which stands for "Adaptive |
| | | | Transform Acoustic Coding 3", WMA, MP3, ACC |
| 1. Do you want your iPod or MP3 player solely | | | | (used only used by the Apple(R) iPod (TM) ), |
| for music or for others things as well? | | | | and WAV/AIFF |
| | | | |
| 2. What size iPod or MP3 player do you want? | | | | · There are many additional file formats |
| | | | used by the MP3 and iPod industry, not all of |
| 3. What kind of display should you select for | | | | which are listed here: |
| your iPod or MP3 player? | | | | |
| | | | · MP3, WMA, WAV and DRM are audio formats. |
| 4. What memory or storage capacity do you | | | | |
| want? Do you want to only play music or | | | | · Display formats are JPEG, BMP, TIFF, |
| store pictures and videos as well? | | | | GIF, and PNG. |
| | | | |
| 5. Depending on the investment you make in | | | | · Image formats and AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, |
| your iPod or MP3, it may be upgradeable to | | | | MPEG-4, MPG, MPE, VOB, DAT, ADF, QuickTime |
| future formats and features. | | | | MOV and WMV video formats |
| | | | |
| 6. What about battery life for your digital | | | | 8. Docking cradles, power supply, AC adapters |
| media player? What type batteries do you | | | | and cables, belt clips, personal speakers, |
| want? Disposal of batteries is dependant on | | | | headphones/ear buds, cases, car FM stereo |
| the state or principality you live in. | | | | transmitters, lanyards, sync adapters and |
| | | | management software are some of the |
| 7. Do you have a favorite color for your | | | | accessories available with iPod or MP3 |
| player? | | | | players |
| | | | |
| 8. Is price a factor when purchasing an iPod | | | | Additional considerations are: digital |
| or MP3 player? | | | | audio, micro-photo, FM transmitter, PC |
| | | | compatible and voice recorder. Depending on |
| When shopping for an iPod or MP3 player | | | | the iPod or MP3 player you purchase will |
| consider sound quality, durability, ease of | | | | determine which options are available and |
| downloading music, cost, benefits and design. | | | | work for you. Options like digital audio |
| | | | enhances the sound quality. Micro-photo |
| What functions, features and accessories are | | | | players can take and display photo images. |
| available? | | | | Some players have voice recording options |
| | | | while others are PC compatible. You can also |
| Features and capabilities will increase or | | | | get players with FM radio receivers allowing |
| decrease the size of your player. Digital | | | | you to tune in your favorite radio station. |
| media players are very portable going | | | | |
| anywhere with you. | | | | 9. Some players have vertical touch pads to |
| | | | make navigation easier than ever. These are |
| They can be as small as a pack of gum and | | | | micro-sized and curved to fit your hand, |
| weigh less than a car key. Depending on the | | | | allowing for enjoyable pure ergonomic comfort |
| capabilities will increase or decrease the | | | | and bliss. |
| size. | | | | |
| | | | 10. Removable, rechargeable batteries are |
| 1. Various iPod or MP3 player system | | | | used in iPod or MP3 players, some use |
| requirements are: | | | | lithium, rechargeable Lithium-ion or lithium |
| | | | polymer rechargeable type batteries, while |
| · PC: Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 98 SE, ME, | | | | others use alkaline batteries. Depending on |
| 2000 or XP, Intel(R) Pentium(R) II 350MHz or | | | | how you plan to use your player will help you |
| AMD K6(R)-2 450MHz processor | | | | decide how much battery your will need. A 16 |
| | | | to 24-hour playing time is a good length of |
| · Macintosh: USB port, Mac OS X 10.2.8 or | | | | time before needing to recharge. Recharging |
| later (Mac OS X 10.3.4 or later recommended | | | | your iPod or MP3 player can also be done in |
| for use with low-power USB ports) | | | | various ways, with either car chargers, wall |
| | | | chargers and/or the USB port on your |
| Additional system requirements can be: | | | | computer. |
| Windows Media Player, CD-ROM drive (for | | | | |
| installation and import or playback from CD), | | | | 11. If you get tired of your stored music, |
| USB 2.0 compatibility and Internet | | | | tune in to your favorite radio station with |
| connection, (broadband suggested). | | | | the built-in FM radio. As many as 32 preset |
| | | | stations are available on some iPod or MP3 |
| 2. Large memory in your iPod or MP3 player | | | | players. Some players have games already |
| enables you to store thousands of songs for | | | | loaded, while others allow you to download |
| music on the go plus thousands of photos and | | | | games for playing, as well. |
| videos. From 120 songs to 10,000 songs, | | | | |
| photos and videos. | | | | 12. Use the recording feature for |
| | | | multi-function convenience or record music |
| Memory or storage capacity is measured in | | | | from the FM tuner. With the built-in |
| bytes. The more bytes, the more songs, | | | | recorder in your iPod or MP3 player, you can |
| photos or videos you can store. The K in 512 | | | | record your baby's first words, the interview |
| KB stands for kilobytes or 1,000 bytes, and | | | | at the office, or anything else that is |
| 512 KB player can store around 120 songs. | | | | important to you. Record messages to |
| The G in 30 GB for gigabytes or a million, | | | | yourself and play them back later, never |
| 1,000,000 bytes. A 30 GB player can store up | | | | again forget that anniversary gift!! |
| to 10,000 songs. Below is an example of iPod | | | | |
| and MP3 players and their song capacity. As | | | | 13. Personal organizers including daily tasks |
| you can see, the size of the players is as | | | | list, contact list and calendar; which easily |
| diverse as what they can hold. | | | | syncs with Microsoft Outlook, are available |
| | | | on Ipod and MP3 players with hard drives |
| Flash or Hard Drive Based on 4 minutes per | | | | instead of flash drives. |
| song | | | | |
| | | | 14. Make your ears happy!!! Enjoy skip-free |
| 512MB - - -120 to 350 songs | | | | playback, with custom equalizer and pre-set |
| | | | EQ settings, this lets you get your music |
| 1GB - - - - - 250 to 500 songs | | | | just the way you like it - there are settings |
| | | | for acoustic, classical, disco, house, jazz, |
| 2GB - - - - - 480 to 500 songs | | | | new age, pop, rock and vocal at the touch of |
| | | | a finger. |
| 4GB - - - - - 1,000 or more songs | | | | |
| | | | 15. Ipod and MP3 players fit on your arm, in |
| 5GB - - - - - Stores 166 hrs of music | | | | your pocket, on your belt, just about |
| | | | anywhere. Some digital media players weight |
| 6GB - - - - - 1,500 songs | | | | as little as 0.8 oz. The lightweight of the |
| | | | players makes them as portable as your |
| 8GB - - - - - 4,000 songs | | | | lifestyle demands. |
| | | | |
| 20GB - - - - 5,000 - 9,000 songs | | | | 16. The price of a digital media player |
| | | | ranges from $100 to $300 depending upon the |
| 30GB - - - - 7,500 songs | | | | features and memory capabilities you choose. |
| | | | Digital Media players come in a wide range or |
| 40GB - - - - 10,000 songs | | | | prices - the price range is dependant on what |
| | | | features and capabilities you get. Ipod and |
| 60GB - - - - 15,000 songs | | | | MP3 players' general price ranges vary from |
| | | | up to $100.00 to $300.00 or more. |
| 3. Some players have available expansion | | | | |
| slots. Expansion slots are integrated | | | | 17. Digital media players come in many colors |
| receptacles for installing additional memory | | | | and a wide variety of colored cases. You can |
| via a removable memory card (Secure Digital, | | | | make them as distinctive and personal as you |
| Multimedia Card, Compact Flash, etc.). | | | | are! |