Anything But iPod

Sansa Clip+ Feature Requests

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:01:45 -0500

The Sansa Clip+ is one of the most popular players on this because it's a very good player with a lot of things going for it. It didn't end up like that without reason, and SanDisk have benefited greatly from being active in collecting user opinions and feature requests over the years. Added software elements like Ogg Vorbis and FLAC support, file/folder browsing and hard related things like a microSDHC slot are all features that have been requested by users of this forum and others. With SanDisk actually paying attention, that means that a lot more people are willing to bring things to their attention, and we have a thread in the forums for that exact reason. Here are some of the features requested in that thread, along with some others. SanDisk, we're counting on you to use this information well, like you've done in the past.

Cyber Monday MP3 Player Deals

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 03:57:52 -0500

Today is Cyber Monday, the biggest electronics sales day of the year. Among various deals are of course a lot of MP3 players and related accessories. Click on through for a list of some of the best deals.

Some of these deals ended November 30

Duracell Instant Charger Review

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:49:21 -0500

While rechargeable players are generally a lot better than their AA/AAA powered predecessors, you might end up stuck in nowhere with a dead battery. Luckily there are battery packs you can carry with you, such as the Callpod Fueltank that Grahm reviewed a while ago. A cheaper, smaller such battery pack is the Duracell Instant Charger.

Compare MP3 Players for Holiday Shopping

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:25:46 -0500

Looking for the perfect MP3 player either for you or your loved one for the holidays? ABI Compare has you covered. Search by specifications or brand and compare up to 4 players side by side. Jump in and compare MP3 players for your holiday shopping.

Update: We are working on fixing some inaccuracies in the database. If you see any please email mail @ anythingbutipod.com with corrections or by posting them in this forum thread.

WD TV HD Review

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:07:53 -0500

The time where home theatre computers and expensive media boxes were the only ways of getting content onto your TV is over, and the market is filled with cheap solutions that will let you play music, photos and videos on your TV. One of the cheapest and most popular such device is the Western Digital TV HD player which retails at around $80 these days. But is it any good?

Audible Review

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:59:29 -0500

Media comes in various shapes and forms. So far I've mostly looked at music services, but as a heavy audio books user myself I couldn't ignore taking a look at some audio books providers as well. The obvious starting point is the service I myself have used for years; Audible.

Make a tiny USB plug for your Sansa Clip

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:01:14 -0500

The Sansa Clip(+) is an awesome player. Small, cheap, yet very powerful and with very good sound quality. unfortunately the 15 hour battery is one of its weakest points, and you might need to charge it a couple of times if you're away for a few days. The cable that comes with it isn't exactly that big, but it could be smaller- here's how you make one that is.

Cowon iAudio E2 Review

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 07:19:39 -0500

I have never been a strong supporter of the screenless MP3 player. It is a niche product for those who want to just throw some tunes on a player and hit shuffle and I never really fell into this scenario. However, I will admit, I had a great time showing off this player because of its slick, modern, and ambiguous design.

Spoiler alert! This is the best MP3 player without a screen on the market. Read on to find out why.

Rhapsody Review

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:00:21 -0500

Buying music isn't the only option these days and you can "rent" it from a subscription service for a pretty decent monthly fee. Rhapsody is one such service that also offers to sell you the tracks as MP3 if you want to keep them. Read on for a review.

Download Zune HD Wallpapers Made by ABI Members

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:15:12 -0500

The Zune HD wallpaper contest in the forums produced some really great looking original wallpapers optimized for the Zune HD. The winner of the contest, ABI member Rom, created a spinoff of the “I’m a PC” Microsoft ad campaigns calling his series “I’m a Zune”. The picture pack features some great looking vector graphics with happy Zune characters. Nice job Rom!

Judging these were a touch call since there were a lot of great wallpapers. The best of the bunch have been added to a downloadable picture pack you can drop right on to your Zune HD organized into folders by the members. Check out these great papers below and download these great wallpaper or browse all of the wallpapers in the Zune HD wallpaper forum.

Philips GoGear Spark SA2925R/37 Review

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:23:29 -0500

Philips is a brand that hasn't gotten much attention on this site in the past, due to somewhat random product numbering, release schedules, retail outlets and generally a rather weird behavior for a MP3 manufacturer. They have some nice players however, especially some of the later models, so it's time to take a closer look at a few of them. First off is the GoGear Spark, somewhat of a competitor to the Sansa Clip+.

eMusic Review

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:38:06 -0500

With Amazon MP3 and iTunes out of the way- the two immediate giants in the music store world- it's time to turn to some of the smaller services. First off is eMusic.

Creative Zen Vision W - a Look Back

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 15:12:45 -0500

Digging though old posts I came across a review I started but never finished dating back to 2006. The photos are even watermarked before we had a logo.

The Zen Vision W was basically a larger version of the Zen Vision:M. They both had a great looking screen and awesome playback of native video. The only difference besides the obvious was that the W had a compact flash memory expansion slot. Though it wasn’t much of an expansion slot since both your music libraries would not integrate with each other. Unfortunately, Creative continues this trend today up to the new X-fi2.

Below are the photos that were prepared for the review back in 2006. How retro…

iTunes Music Store Review

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 03:39:25 -0500

You might wonder what anything with "iTunes" in the title is doing on a site called Anything but iPod. Well, iTunes made the leap from DRM to DRM free earlier this year, and suddenly the biggest digital music store was open for use with any MP3 player- not only the iPod. 11 million songs and international (albeit not global) availability sounds like a killer combination, but how well does it work for non-iPod MP3 players?

Turtle Beach Audio Advantage Micro USB Sound Card Review

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:50:47 -0500

Most on board sound cards are not worth the PBC they are printed on. They are plagued with low quality chips and interference from other internal components. The best solution would be to go with an external fire wire solution. I and a lot of others in our forum use one of the Echo AudioFire series of sound cards. These primary application for this series is professional audio but they make an amazingly crisp sound experience, but for your desktop.

I guess it would be possible to tote around the AudioFire2 but it is not an elegant little device like the Turtle Beach Audio Micro USB sound card. It is small enough to almost be considered a dongle or even a larger headphone jack adapter that will rival the sound quality of the pro audio FireWire sound cards. Though there are a few caveats- read on for the full scoop.