1. FLASH (EMBEDDED) MEMORY PLAYERS: These are the smallest and lightest of the MP3 players and contain no moving parts, making them ideal for bringing on trips, using while exercising or performing other strenuous physical activities. These players can range from about MP3 / MP4 Player Watches the size of a pack of gum to slightly smaller than a deck of cards. Typically, the best flash memory players weigh about 2 ounces. They have a smaller storage capacity than hard drive players.

One minute of MP3 music takes up about 1 megabyte (MB) of memory. The storage capacity of the latest flash memory players can hold up to 8 GB of music. This translates into about 2,000 MP3 songs. If you don’t need or want to have your entire music collection available to you at all times, and are satisfied with just having your favorites available to you, then this type of MP3 player is a good choice. Some models also offer video and photo capability and their batteries can last up to 28 hours. The advantages of flash memory players lacking moving parts, are that they are relatively energy-efficient and more durable. Depending upon their features, they can support a battery life ranging from 20 to 50 hours.

2. HARD DRIVE and MINI-HARD DRIVE PLAYERS: These are larger and heavier than Flash (Embedded) Memory Players. Hard Drive and Mini-Hard Drive Players range in weight from about 0.3 ounces to just over 6 ounces. These players contain moving parts, MP5 Players which can be a disadvantage because a jolt may cause the player to skip. Excessive, repeated jostling can shorten the operational life of the player. To compensate for this, you might want to purchase a player that has anti-shock buffers or anti-skip protection. These players offer considerably more storage space than flash memory players, holding from 8 GB to 80 GB of music. This translates into about 20,000 MP3 songs. If you are looking for a player that can hold your entire music collection, this is the type of MP3 that is best for you.

These are also the best players for holding photographs, data and video and for allowing podcast recording. However, you should keep in mind that these features along with the hard drive consume more power. For Portable MP3 Players music playback alone, some batteries will last anywhere from 8 hours to 20 hours and for video playback, up to 6 hours. Playing video will drain the battery much faster. You could also consider Mini-Hard Drive Players which are not only smaller in size and storage capacity than the traditional hard drive players, but are also lighter. However, like the hard drive players, they also contain moving parts making them more susceptible to damage and they also contain less memory than the traditional hard drive players, usually up to 8 GB.

3. MP3 CD PLAYERS: These are a type of CD players available that play both MP3 files and other digital files, that is, they can read both CDs and CDs of MP3 files. It is necessary to have a CD burner if you plan on buying an MP3 CD player. The MP3 files have to be burned to CD-R/RW discs from your CD player in order to be used in the MP3 CD player. If you have alot of burned CDs and don’t own an MP3 player, then these players are a good option for you. When compared to flash memory players and hard-drive players, MP3 CD players are cheaper and are much larger in size, but due to their moving parts, they skip when jostled.