Sample Article, originally published at FutureShop.com

Contrary to common belief, the Internet’s single most popular search term is not sex or travel. The word that surfers type most frequently into their favourite search engine is “MP3.” This fact represents the phenomenal success of the popular digital audio format that has all but eliminated the need for CD players and spurred massive copyright battles in the process.

So what exactly is MP3?

This term stands for MPEG1 layer 3, a new audio format that has quickly become the standard for digital music. MP3 files are digital, obtained from the Internet or created from your own CD collection. The MP3 format compresses audio files to about 1/10th their original size with no discernible loss of quality. These features have made it a popular choice for online distribution of music and have produced an explosion of sites that let you upload, download, store and play your music online. If you plan to listen while you work at your computer, simply download a software “player” from a site like MP3.com. But to enjoy your music on the go, you'll need a portable MP3 player that stores and plays these same audio files.

Portable MP3 players eliminate the need for a computer or CD player, allowing you to enjoy your favourite tunes anywhere. People love the ability to create custom playlists of their favourite songs. You can take Oscar Petersen or The Barenaked Ladies with you jogging and there won't be any skipping because MP3 players have no moving parts. Players are compact and battery life is long (some players will run on one AA battery for ten hours or more).

How MP3 Works

How do portable MP3 players work if there are no moving parts and no CD to insert? First, you download MP3 files from the Internet onto your computer's hard drive, where they consume anywhere from 3 to 5 MB of disk space each. Alternatively, you can use a shareware software program to convert your own CD tracks to MP3 format. When you are ready to transfer the MP3 files to your portable player, you connect the device through one of your computer's ports and use the player's software to upload the music into the player. There, the compressed, digitized music is moved to a chip that de-compresses it and encodes the file for playback. Finally, the bits are converted into an analog signal that can be output through the device's speakers.

How to Choose an MP3 Player

Dozens of products are available, each sporting differing features and functionality. This abundance can make it hard to determine which product is the best match for your circumstances, let alone which represents the best value for the dollar. Not to worry! Read on for the information you need to choose the player that's right for you.

Key Features

Colourful, sleek and elegant, MP3 players come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes and styles. They are available in a range of bright primary hues or metallic space-age finishes, and most are small enough to slip into a hip pocket. Although players vary in specifications, there are some standard features you need to consider in order to properly evaluate price and performance:

Computer Platform: You need to connect your MP3 player to your computer in order to download music. Make sure the player you select is appropriate for your computer platform. More choice is available for the Windows platform, although Rio, Pontis, i-Jam, Samsung, Iomega and Creative Labs have offerings that work in the Mac environment and some Rio and Pontis players also support the Linux environment.

Internal Memory: MP3 files are stored in the player’s internal memory, sometimes called flash memory. The more memory you have, the more songs you can store. Capacity varies, but most portable MP3 players will hold from one to four hours of music. (Remember that MP3 files are about 1/10th the size of original CD audio files.) MP3 players typically come with 32, 64, or 128 MB of flash memory. Almost all feature additional slots for removable storage. Other players feature built-in hard drives with capacities ranging from 6 to 81 GB. These are often called jukeboxes. Not only can you use such devices to store your digital music collection, they can do double duty as portable hard drives. Copy files and take them with you for easy uploading through the USB port of any computer. Be aware, however, that since these devices have moving parts, they may be more prone to skipping and more vulnerable to wear and tear.

Removable Memory: For additional capacity, most MP3 players allow you to store your music on external memory devices such as SmartMedia or CompactFlash cards. These popular storage options are widely available and comparably priced. SmartMedia cards come in 8 to 128 MB capacities and CompactFlash cards come in 8 to 512 MB.

Interface: MP3 players connect to your computer through a USB, parallel, or serial interface. Some offer both parallel and USB connections. USB is definitely the way to go. With transfer rates of up to 12 Mbps, a USB connection offers many times the speed of the older parallel port interface. Before you buy an MP3 player with USB support, however, double-check to ensure that your computer has this type of interface. USB is integrated into Windows 98 and later versions and most new computers and peripherals are configured with this type of interface. In the Mac world, the iMac, iBook, PowerBook and Power Mac G4 feature USB support.

Headphones: Although small headphones (called earbuds) are usually bundled with your player, be aware that these may not produce very good sound quality. Many people prefer to replace them with something better in order to enjoy “CD quality” music.

Display: Most MP3 players feature a backlit LCD display that shows song titles and playback options, including the unit's battery charge status. Many players feature standard CD player functions such as repeat or random play modes and a graphic equalizer function that lets you select a rock, jazz, pop or classic sound.

Optional features

Once you have identified the primary features you require, take a moment to consider some of the optional functions that these devices may support. Some portable MP3 players, for example, may support other sound formats, such as RealAudio or the more highly compressed WMA format (see below for significance of this). Other optional features may include: a stereo FM tuner, a built-in microphone that will let you tape meetings or record conversations, a car adapter that lets you play MP3s through a normal cassette deck, even an electronic organizer that allows you to store phone numbers and other information.

Price

Price varies with features and manufacturer. Expect most portable MP3 players to range in price from approximately $150 to $500 Canadian. At the top end of the scale, look for at least 64 MB of onboard storage, USB connectivity, support for multiple audio formats, and extras like an FM tuner, graphic equalizer, and car cassette adapter. Also at the top of the price scale, you’ll find Creative Labs Nomad, Archos, Kanguru, and Neo jukeboxes, and other players that double as portable hard drives.

Top

Well known brands

Since Diamond Multimedia won the right to market its Rio MP3 player in the recording industry's landmark case against the manufacturer, numerous companies have flooded into this lucrative market. These include Creative Labs, AudioVox, RCA, Philips, Frontier Labs, Samsung, Sony, iJam, i2Go, Sensory Science and dozens more.

The rapid convergence of digital technologies is reflected in many of the newer MP3 offerings. Digital storage manufacturers like Iomega, Kanguru and Archos have introduced MP3 offerings with proprietary built-in or removable storage. Olympus has released a hybrid voice recorder/MP3 player, and Kodak, Polaroid and Fuji have introduced crossover digital camera/MP3 products. Even Intel has entered the fray, with its highly-rated new 128 MB Pocket Concert audio player.

Top

New Frontiers

In the MP3 world, convergence is the buzzword. MP3 technology is quickly being integrated into CD and DVD players, enabling music lovers to play MP3 files they have copied onto CD-recordable disks. Already, you can buy MP3-enabled palmtops, cell phones, digital cameras, pagers, even wristwatches. You can install an MP3 dashboard player in your car. Look for this trend to continue, but be aware that the MP3 format itself may ultimately be eclipsed by the emerging WMA standard. WMA - an audio file format introduced by Microsoft in 1999 - fits roughly twice as many minutes of CD-quality music into each megabyte of memory as does MP3. WMA has not yet achieved market dominance, but if you wish to avoid replacing your player a year or two from now, you may want to look for an MP3 player that also supports WMA. Similarly, the emerging SDMI standard may affect your future ability to enjoy certain MP3 songs. See the next section for details.

Top

Is MP3 Legal?

Despite the objections of the recording industry, the MP3 format in and of itself is not illegal. It is legal to create MP3 files for personal use and to download and play MP3s where copyright holders have granted permission to do so. However, it is illegal to copy music in MP3 format to trade or distribute to others without permission of the copyright holder. This activity is at the heart of the recent Napster ruling and numerous other lawsuits involving this audio format. The Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) is a recent measure taken to prevent copyright infringement by tagging new music released on CD with a hidden “watermark.” SDMI-compliant MP3 players can play both standard MP3 files and the newer SDMI audio files. At this time, the SDMI specification is still evolving, although some manufacturers have released SDMI-compliant players. Make sure that the MP3 player you choose complies with this standard if you wish to play newer copy-protected music. It’s coming, whether we like it or not.

Top

Where to Get MP3

With the demise of Napster’s free music-sharing service, you may be wondering where to obtain MP3s for your new player. Illegal MP3 sites still abound online, but there are also many legitimate sources of music, including popular download sites like MP3.com, eMusic.com, and RioPort.com.

Top

Summary

MP3 is no longer a brave new world, but the de facto standard in digital music. The explosion of interest in this audio format has led to a rich array of choices for consumers, an abundance that can make it tough to select the right product. To determine which player is right for you, consider: a) your budget, b) how much memory you can afford, c) type of interface available on your computer, d) emerging audio formats, and e) which, if any, optional extras you desire. Look for products that combine the features you require within the price range you can afford and that are likely to grow with you over the next year or two.

Top