Portable MP3--The Revolution Goes Offline

Believe it or not, it wasn't too long ago that record labels tried to outlaw portable MP3 players. With that little bit of nonsense cleared up, you can now enjoy tiny players that let you create custom playlists of all your favorite music and take them with you wherever you go. These solid-state dynamos are skip-free and can often play a dozen hours of music on a single AA battery.

Besides the obvious (i.e. cost, size, etc), there are several key items you should keep in mind when considering your purchase:

• Memory. Say it until your ears bleed! In rough terms, 1 minute of music equals 1MB of near-CD quality music. Many players come standard with a 32MB memory card or 32MB of on-board memory. Make sure that the player you select either comes with 64MB, or can be upgraded to at least 64MB. You'll want a player that can hold at least an hour of music.

  Hey, Big Spender! Got an extra $500-$800 laying around? Mega-memory players such as the PJB-100 and the forthcoming Nomad Jukebox can play more than 100 hours of non-repeating music!
   

• Feature Set. Would you pay $200 for a Walkman that doesn't have an FM tuner? Neither would we. You shouldn't have to sacrifice when you buy an MP3 player. Some units, such as the Nomad II, even have voice recording options built in!
• Speed. To USB or not to USB? There is no question. If your computer supports a USB (click here to learn more) connection, look for a player that supports it. This will save significant time transferring files from your computer to your portable player.
• Compatibility. Macintosh and Linux users beware. MP3 players that will work for you are few and far between. Some manufacturers barely make mention of this on their packaging! The one player that we know works great with Mac is the Rio 500. Mac users should also keep in mind that just because a player is USB compatible doesn't mean that the software will work with your OS. Linux users, resourceful bunch that they are, tend to build their own solutions. To see a few, click here

While most major consumer electronics manufacturers haven't started building MP3 players specifically for the car or boat, there are plenty of smaller companies releasing car/boat solutions--and plenty of reasons why you might be interested in buying one:

• Road Warriors . The same solid-state, skip-free construction that makes MP3 portable players so great for sports makes some car MP3 players even better for boating and off-road driving enthusiasts. There's no road rocky enough and no ocean choppy enough to make your MP3 deck skip even a single beat!
• Long Playing . Think you're pretty cool with your 100 CD changer Take up most of the space in your trunk? Forget about it. Many MP3 car players are only limited by the size of the hard drive you attach to them. Try a 37GB, 10,000-song player on for size.
• Better Features . Unlike the simple track listings in regular CD players, some of the more expensive MP3 car player units not only display full song titles but also let you search for music by artist, song, etc. This comes in handy when you've got several hundred tracks to scroll through.

In Gear: A Primer on Car MP3 players

There are a few main varieties of MP3 car players and a wide array of features from player to player. Be aware that products in this category are still best-described as "early adopter" items. This means that you'll probably need at least a few hundred dollars and some degree of technical expertise (read "patience") before you can get rolling with MP3.

In-Dash. There are two in-dash MP3 car players that we know of. One is the excellent Empeg unit, which is standard in-dash size and removable for easy song updates and theft prevention. The other is the Clarion AutoPC, which, thanks to developers, can now play MP3s from compact flash and CDs burned with MP3s (See our guide to Recordable CDs and Home Players). Both units are in the $1000-plus range, but come with tons of features.
Stand-alone. These multi-component car player packages typically come with a processor, some kind of remote interface with keyboard to control playback, cigarette adapter and audio cables. They do NOT typically come with a hard drive. You will need to pay extra, depending on the size of the drive you want.

The one you pick is really up to your personal budget and needs. In dash units tend to be more expensive and are, obviously, a bigger commitment since you have to remove your current system to use them. Stand Alones are more likely to compliment, not replace, your current car audio system, but they can be obtrusive. It's almost impossible to hide all the cables and components these things run on.

Either way, you'll still be getting in on the coolest thing in car audio since air conditioning.