Flash Drive or MP3 Player? Which should I get?

If you know much about flash drives, you probably know that they are basically like little hard drives, only smaller in size and in space. I remember just a few years ago when 64mb flash drives were over $30, and now, for that price, you could get one or more at over 8 times that size for that price!

MP3 players have also been a large hit in the electronics market. I am not just talking about the iPod or the Zune. I am also talking about generic ones, like the ones on the site www.tigerdirect.com, which I mentioned of in the previous post. These usually range from about 512mb to 4gb.

One may ask, "Which is the better deal?" And that is a good question. It basically all comes down to what you need. If you are a business person, and need to take files to many locations, especially large files, I would recommend a flash drive, as you would be able to get more space for less money. On the other hand, maybe you simply need to transfer a few files, and maybe want to listen to some music or radio shows. Then, in that case, you might be happier with am MP3 player. Now remember, MP3 players are merely flash drives that have audio playback capability. Here is a simple reference to look at when in the market:

MP3 Player

• Plays music and audio files
• Transports data like a flash drive
• Sometimes a little bigger
• Less space for more money

Flash Drive

• More space for less money
• No audio playback capability
• Usually more water-resistant
• Faster and Easier

Basically, it all depends on what you want. One recommendation I would make is not to buy an MP3 player, used for music and audio only, over 12gb. The average music file is around several megabytes, so you could fit about 250 files on an MP3 player that holds 1gb. My question is, "How many times do you want to go all the way to the end of the list just to listen to one song?" and "How many songs/shows do you really need?" More space is not really necessary, but if you use the drive for data and audio, go for the larger sizes. Enjoy your new MP3 player!
Zach S

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