Media players
They let you carry
music in your pocket, take still pictures and video, and download apps without
monthly fees for cell service
Music And More To Go
Apple iPod
Touch (fifth generation) 32GB $300, 64GB $400
This model, at far
fight, look likes an iPhone 5 twin; it has the same 4-inch Retina display, a
dual-core A5 chip, and iOS 6. It also gets iPhone’s Siri voice command,
complete with new capabilities to control apps, including allowing posts via
voice to Facebook and Twitter.
The Touch, which has
Wi-Fi capability, is less than a quarter-inch thick and weighs 3.1 ounces. It
also has a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus, support for 1080 video recording
with video-image stabilization, face detection, and an LED flash.
It has 56-hour
playback time for music and very good still-picture and video quality. It uses
Apple’s Lightning connection.
Bottom
line.
The Touch has a
stunning display and very capable cameras but is one of the priciest players on
the market.
Samsung
Galaxy Player 4.2 (YP-GI1C/NA) 8Gb $200
Closely resembling
Samsung’s Galaxy smart phones in appearance, this player has a 4.2-inch LCD
touch screen, albeit one that lacks the resolution of the company’s best phones
it also has a 2-megapixel rear camera and a front camera for self-portraits and
video chats. The Galaxy is slightly bigger than the Touch, at 4.2 ounces.
You can expand the
player’s capacity by up to 32GB via a microSD card, which costs about $20. That
gives you a 40GB player for around $80 less than you’d pay for a 32GB iPod
Touch, which can’t be expanded. This model has very good still-picture and
excellent video quality.
As with the iPod
Touch, the Galaxy Player’s Wi-Fi connection gives you access to your calendars,
e-mail, and social-network accounts; GPS navigation; ThinkFree Office; and apps
and other content from the Android Market.
Bottom
line.
The Galaxy Player is a
fine value for people who prefer an Android device.
Sony
Walkman (NWZ-E475) 16GB $110
This Walkman doesn’t
have a touch screen, but its control is simple and intuitive. Audio playback is
an impressive 49 hours, and video playback is a very good 8.5 hours.
The Walkman’s
Play/Pause button is centered within the directional rocker pad, which is
flanked by a Back button on the left and an Options button on its right. You
also get an FM tuner. The unit is lightweight, at 1.7 ounces.
Bottom
line.
The Walkman is easy to
use, but video and pictures don’t look very impressive on its 2-inch low-resolution
screen.
Music players
These less-expensive
players are primarily for music listening. They have smaller screens than
full-fledged players and they lack apps.
Apple iPod
Nano (seventh generation) 16GB $150
Apple’s midsized
player, at left above, returns to the rectangular shape of the fifth-generation
Nano. The screen has been enlarged to a 2.5-inch multi-touch display.
It weighs 1.1 ounces
and uses the smaller Lightning connector. It offers a solid 37 hours of music
playback time, a very fast startup time, and very good video quality.
Bottom
line
One of the slimmest
iPods ever, the Nano is easy to use
Philips
GoGear Raga (SA4RGA04KF/37) 4GB $40
This diminutive player
measures 2x1.7x0.5 inches and weighs less than an ounce. Ti has more storage
than the Apple Shuffle’s 2GB. Its display is 0.5x0.9 inches. It has an FM
radio, an equalizer, and a volume limiter to protect hearing. The player’s
controls are simple but at slow. The GoGear Raga comes with an adjustable
elastic fabric armband
Bottom
line.
When used with better
headphones its sound quality can be very good, but the controls are sluggish.
