Jasmine France, Senior Associate Editor April 1, 2009
In the world of MP3 players, not unlike the world of fashion, one day you're in; the next, you're out. If you're a passing feature fad, that is. While certain functions have gained and retained traction--playlist support, album art display, photo-viewing capability--many have fallen by the wayside. (Remember the micro hard drive?) One such feature is integrated line-in recording, which allows you to record directly to the MP3 player from another audio source, such as your computer or home stereo set-up. Line-in has enjoyed brief surges in popularity since the inception of the MP3 player, but is currently somewhat difficult to come across. We're attempting to make it a bit easier by rounding up some of our favorite devices that offer the extra. Some of the players below, such as the CC Witness, even have a silence-detection feature that will automatically split tracks as you record.
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| Price | Pricing not available |
As shown: $59.99
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As shown: $79.99
| Pricing not available | $165.62 |
| CNET editors' rating | |||||
| Average user rating |  | ||||
| Review date | July 19, 2007 | August 13, 2007 | June 20, 2006 | February 27, 2007 | October 28, 2008 |
| The Bottom Line | The Cowon iAudio 7 beats the industry heavyweight iPod Nano in price, features, battery life, and sound quality. The user interface could use some refinement, but all-in-all this is a very impressive MP3 player. | The Toshiba Gigabeat U is one tough, classy player that nails all the right features at a great price. | The Creative Zen V Plus is a superb choice for anyone looking for a compact and feature-filled flash MP3 player with great sound quality. If you're looking for a more sophisticated design (or have large thumbs), look elsewhere. | If you can get on board with the Cowon D2's PDA-like touch screen interface, the reward is great-sounding audio, a smorgasbord of features, and a fantastic battery life. | The C. Crane Witness AM/FM MP3 player is expensive, has some questionable interface issues, and doesn't have a lot of the bells and whistles of most modern MP3 players, but if you must have an AM tuner and the ability to schedule radio recordings, this is the device for you. |
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| Features | |||||
| PC interface(s) supported | Hi-Speed USB | USB | Hi-Speed USB | Hi-Speed USB | USB |
| Flash memory installed | 8 GB | 2 GB | 2 GB | 4 GB | 2 GB |
| Digital player signal-to-noise ratio | 95 dB | Info unavailable | 92 dB | 95 dB | 45 dB |
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 1.4 in x 0.7 in x 3 in | 1.4 in x 0.4 in x 3 in | 1.7 in x 0.6 in x 2.7 in | 3.1 in x 0.7 in x 2.2 in | 2.2 in x 0.6 in x 4.0 in |
| Weight | 2.1 oz | 1.5 oz | 1.6 oz | 3.2 oz | 0.2 lbs |
| Battery technology | Lithium polymer | Info unavailable | Lithium ion | Lithium polymer | Lithium polymer |
| Mfr estimated battery life | 60 hour(s) | 20 hour(s) | 15 hour(s) | 52 hour(s) | Info unavailable |
| Software type | Drivers & Utilities Cowon jetShell Cowon jetAudio | Drivers & Utilities Windows Media Player 10 | Creative ZENcast Organizer Creative MediaSource Creative Media Explorer | Cowon jetAudio VX Cowon jetShell | Drivers & Utilities |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
| Buying choices | Pricing not available | Pricing not available | Pricing not available | Pricing not available | |
