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Disturbing the peace: MP3 players with speakers
Donald Bell,
Senior Editor
August 29, 2008
At first I wasn't sure how to feel about the trend of MP3 players with built-in speakers. The sound quality of these small, embedded speakers is always lousy and harsh, and ripe for abuse on a crowded bus.
Sure, these things can be a public nuisance, but there are also plenty of useful purposes for MP3 players with built-in speakers. For instance, a dirt-cheap MP3 player like the SanDisk Sansa Shaker works great as a portable white noise machine for infants--I know first-hand. We've also found that the speakers built into any of the Creative Zen players offer a convenient way to listen to podcasts or audiobooks out loud over breakfast. If you just need to kill some time, the speakers built-into the Samsung S5 are a lifesaver when you've misplaced your headphones.
Camping, hiking, biking, picnics, and beach bumming also make great opportunities for a little background music without the worries of tangled headphones. So, whether you're out for a jog, or caught in an obnoxious music duel on a packed subway car, picking up one of these noisy MP3 players may come in handy.
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| Price | Check Prices | Check Prices | $59.95 | $129.99 to $199.99 |
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| Review date | August 06, 2008 | March 07, 2008 | April 18, 2007 | August 08, 2008 |
| The Bottom Line | The Creative Zen Mozaic offers great bang for your buck as far as MP3 players go: get super sound quality, a boatload of features, and a cool interface--all wrapped in a funky design at an ultralow price. | The Samsung S5 is an MP3 player with a fun interface and excellent sound quality; the screen is a bit small, but this player is still a great choice if you want to share your tunes at the drop of a dime. | If you want to get your children started on digital music at a young age, the Sansa Shaker provides a great way to do so: it's inexpensive, simple, and acts like a toy. | The Creative Zen X-Fi's plastic design leaves a little to be desired, but that doesn't detract from the fact that the player is an incredible value overall: for an extremely competitive price you get a boatload of features and great sound quality. |
| Similar Products | Compare more products | Compare more products | Compare more products | Compare more products |
| Features | ||||
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 1.6 in x 0.5 in x 3.1 in | 1.9 in x 0.7 in x 3.8 in | 1.6 in x 2.8 in x 1.6 in | 3.3 in x 0.5 in x 2.2 in |
| Software type | Drivers & Utilities Creative MediaSource Creative ZEN Media Explorer | Drivers & Utilities Samsung Music Studio | Info unavailable | Creative Centrale Drivers & Utilities |
| Resolution | 128 x 160 | 176 x 220 | Info unavailable | 320 x 240 |
| Mfr estimated battery life | 32 hour(s) | 25 hour(s) | 10 hour(s) | Info unavailable |
| PC interface(s) supported | Hi-Speed USB | Bluetooth Hi-Speed USB | USB | Wi-Fi Hi-Speed USB |
| Flash memory form factor | Integrated | Integrated | SD Memory Card | Integrated |
| Flash memory installed | 2 GB | 4 GB | 1 GB | 16 GB |
| Battery technology | Lithium ion | Lithium polymer | Info unavailable | Lithium ion |
| Weight | 1.5 oz | 2.8 oz | 2.6 oz | 2.4 oz |
| Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications | Full specifications |
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