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Microsoft's Six Tips For Buying an MP3 Player

Microsoft has posted a marketing page with six tips on buying an MP3 player. As a happy satisfied iPod Shuffle user I shall counterpoint this drivel.

1. Understand the basics.
For the active person, a player that uses flash memory to store music has distinct advantages over a player that uses a hard disk. Simply put, flash memory players have no moving parts, meaning that you can take them jogging and your music won't skip.

Ok we can agree here there are benefits for choosing a flash player. In fact I sold my iPod, to get an iPod Shuffle for the durability and smaller form factor attributes mentioned above.

2. Make sure you're getting all the goodies.
Many portable music players can do more than just play music. Some players have a built-in voice recorder, FM recorder, or stopwatch. And some come with extra accessories like high-quality headphones, a belt clip, or an armband. Because most of these features are included at no additional cost, make sure the device you choose is filled with these fun extras.

More featuritis, feature creep. If I want a swiss army knife device that will clutter the user interface, I would ... well I don't want one. The reason I buy an MP3 player is to ... can you guess? Play MP3s.

3. You'll want a display.
When you have hundreds of songs on your player, you really need an easy way to select your music by artist, album, or genre. This is critical if you want to find that one song or artist you really want to hear. A display also comes in handy when you're looking for your favorite radio station.

Let's attack the shuffle why don't we. A display would of been nice, but cost, simplicity, and form factor makes it a compromise worth having.

4. Let a professional make your next playlist. Having an FM radio lets you put your player on autopilot as you mountain bike, cycle, or rollerblade. And when you're sweating it out on the stationary bike at your health club, you can listen to the program airing on the club's TV. You want to have something that is fun, lightweight, and flexible. And FM radio is a key feature that many players offer at no extra cost, even for less than $100.

A professional pick your playlist? Does this writer even listen to the radio? Filled with same old tired playlists, over and over again. Never mind the huge chunk of commercial air-time rammed down your throat.

5. Pick the right size for you.

Yup, buy as much as you can afford.

6. Don't get locked into one online store. Have you ever been on the hunt for a particular song? Some obscure indie rock tune or rare jazz performance you heard on the radio? You might have to shop at more than one store before you find the song you're looking for. Having the flexibility to choose from over 1 million tracks of music from multiple online music stores such as MSN Music, Napster, MusicMatch, and Wal-Mart can be the key to getting the music you want. Several stores even offer subscription services so you can download all the songs you want for about the cost of a CD each month.

I have no issues being locked into iTunes. It bar-none still offers the best end-to-end experience in a music management and online store combo. If you like crashing programs and ugly user interfaces, go nuts with the competition.