Sound Quality
The Griffin iTrip offers reasonably good sound quality for a transmitting device. The original iTrip ran off the iPod’s power so didn’t offer the same standard of audio, whereas the iTrip auto runs of the car power and has enough guts to transmit the signal.

Charger
Another reason the iTrip Auto is so convenient is that it charges your iPod while it is plugged in. You don’t need to worry about your iPod running out of juice either, as the iTrip will keep your battery fully charged at all times.

Transmission
Like most FM transmitters for MP3 players, the iTrip Auto is extremely straightforward. Simply pick the station you’d like the iTrip to broadcast to, and tune your radio to it. It is that simple.

Less Portable
Because of the charger, the iTrip Auto is not as portable as older models. Unfortunately, you will need the charger to keep the transmitter and iPod fully charged for your trip.

The Verdict
Overall, the Griffin iTrip Auto is a good buy for those who want continuous music while driving. If portability is not an issue for you, the iTrip Auto is ideal.

This Samsung MP3 player has superior sound quality, especially when compared to others in the same price range. The Samsung P2 also has a long battery life – around 20 to 30 hours of use – depending on how much you use the touch screen interface.

Using the touch screen interface itself is pleasantly simple, however has a few notable flaws. For example, the manufacturers default setting enables you to make a circular motion on the screen but this can be tedious after a while. This Samsung MP3 player also requires you to swipe from right to left when moving across a screen. This seems counterintuitive, but is easy enough to pick up.

The video player in the P2 Samsung MP3 Player is not perfect, but the video quality is good enough. To view videos, you need to convert them using Samsung’s included software, but this is fairly standard and not too time consuming.

The P2 Samsung MP3 player can be on the expensive side, but is worth it for the additional features. It has an FM radio tuner and Bluetooth capabilities. The Bluetooth feature is especially useful in conjunction with a Bluetooth headset or for interactivity with your Bluetooth car radio.

The sleek and compact design of Zune MP3 players is the first sign of its quality build. The Zune has smooth, straight lines and minimalist features, making it more attractive than the iPod.

The versatile, simple interface is both attractive and effortless to use, making it ideal for first time MP3 player buyers. It is simple enough to use with innovative touch controls and twist navigation by means of the new intuitive Zune pad, making browsing your pictures, music and videos pleasantly simple.

Zune MP3 players utilise wireless technology to share files, music and video with other Zune users. The Zune MP3 player community is focused on sharing. You can share and create a music profile, invite friends, post comments and visit member pages on the Zune network. This integration between an MP3 player and social networking environment makes it easier to discover new songs and share your musical passions with others.

iPod Shuffle
If you don’t mind your playlist eternally on random and no LCD screen for a song title, the Shuffle may be the best iPod for you. The shuffle is ideal for fuss-free music on the go for up to 12 hours per four hour recharge cycle.

iPod Nano
The iPod Nano can do virtually everything the iPod classic can do, but is smaller and lighter in weight and lower in storage space. The nano has three storage capacity sizes including 2GB, 4GB and 8GB models. It is the best iPod for those who want the ability to watch video on their iPod without having anything too bulky.

iPod Classic
This is the best iPod for those who want to have their entire music collection at their fingertips, no matter where they may be. The latest iPod Classic model comes with a whopping 120GB of storage space but a larger price tag.

iPod Touch
The iPod Touch is like a scaled down version of Apple’s iPhone without the mobile phone capabilities. You may not be able to make calls but you can browse the internet with WiFi connectivity and listen to your tunes all on this stylish, touch screen device.

Headphone Design

Headphones come in four basic designs including sealed, open, canal phones and ear buds. The best headphones style for you largely depends on how much you are willing to spend.

Sealed Headphones: those heavy, clunky headphones that keep outside noises out and inside noise in. If your plan is to crank your tunes without disturbing those nearby, these are the way to go. Sealed may be the best headphones style for you if you are keen on maximum sound quality.

Open-Air Headphones: these are lighter and have better sound quality but won’t block out outside noise. They are also reasonably comfortable but aren’t as sturdy as sealed headphones. Open-air headphones may be the best headphones for those don’t want to use ear pieces but do not like the chunky sealed style.

Canal Headphones: these are the smallest of the different headphones and fit into your ear canal without the need of bands or clips. They seal off your ears to block outside sounds and provide excellent sound quality. They are the best headphones for you if you want something portable but with good sound quality.

Earbud headphones: although they are not the best sound quality, earbud headphones are light and comfortable if you find the right set to fit your outer ear. They are reasonably inexpensive and very portable and may be the best headphones for you.

The device itself is compact in size with dimensions of 3.1 inches by 1.8 inches by 0.3. It is attractively designed and appeals to consumers because of its easy-to-swallow price tag. While cheap pricing has made the Sansa Fuze a big contender in the MP3 player market, SanDisk are still tweaking their new offering to make it even better.

The Sansa Fuze is a slim device with a high-quality feel and a number of colour options. It boasts both MP3 playback and FM radio tuning, flash memory in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB options as well as support for most audio formats including WMA, FLAC, WAV, Ogg Vorbis, MP3 and Audible.

Of its few flaws, the Sansa Fuze has a proprietary dock connection that is not ideal, a confusing interface and dull screen.

Overall, the SanDisk Sansa Fuze comes off as a bit of an iPod Nano wannabe but offers plentiful features and is far cheaper. It is great value with a slim design, simple interface and solid sound quality.

Pay-Per-Download Sites
You can choose to get your MP3 music downloads by paying per download to obtain it legally, in a high quality format and with the option of full customer service and technical support in case of a problem. These extensive music libraries include the latest songs by the latest artists and are well organised and searchable. However, Pay-Per-Download music sites are the most expensive.

Illegal Free MP3 Music Download Sites
Some websites operate illegally to allow mp3 music downloads free of cost. These sites are often poorly organised as they offer over P2P networks and thus they have no control over the illegal, corrupt and virus infected files on the network. Using these sites requires you to download certain software that can infect your computer with spyware and adware.

Monthly/Yearly Subscription MP3 Music Download Sites
These websites will enable you to download mp3 music online without a restriction on the number of songs downloaded or a charge per song as long as your subscription is still current. These sites are 100 per cent legal and offer professional customer support, however they have DRM technology. This means that your ability to transfer the files to portable players and other computers is limited, and you are unable to listen to the files once your subscription expires.

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Design: as far as looks are concerned, the iPod Shuffle wins hands down. The Sansa MP3 player is twice the size of the iPod and comes in a range of bright and attractive colours.

Format Support: The Sansa MP3 player doesn’t have a chance in terms of format support when you put it up against the iPod. The iPod supports MP3, WAV, AA and AIFF while the Sansa MP3 player can only support MP3, WMA, WAV and A.

Usability: the Sansa MP3 player wins this round with its ability to make on-the-go playlists with no need for a special USB connection, unlike the iPod Shuffle that misses out on both counts.

Sync support: the iPod is picky in that it cannot be modified using any other media player. The Sandisk MP3 player, on the other hand, can be used on any machine and synced with windows media player or real player.

Price: Sansa MP3 players are almost always cheaper than iPod Shuffle, so it truly depends on where you shop.

This bite-sized MP3 player from Philips comes with an affordable price tag (US $49 for 2GB or $59 for 4GB) with a number of useful features with a unique design.

The compact Philips GoGear Spark is Philips’ attempt to rival Apple’s iPod Shuffle – the microscopic wearable MP3 player. Unlike the iPod Shuffle, the Philips GoGear Spark is an itty-bitty MP3 player with more than just basic features. The Philips GoGear Spark has a reasonably 1.5-inch OLED colour display, whereas other miniscule models tend to only offer either small, monochromatic displays or none at all.

One drawback of the Philips GoGear Spark is that it is not strong in the way of features. It offers support for only a few formats including MP3 and WMA but is not as accommodating as its competitors. Unfortunately, the Philips GoGear Spark also has low storage capacity which is not ideal for those who have a huge playlist on the go all day.

However, apart from these few flaws, the Philips GoGear Spark is a snazzy little wearable MP3 player that offers a well-rounded balance of features, usability and style.

Sony was the traditional leader of the portable music market with its Walkman, but the market has since been flooded with demand for the Apple iPod. Consumers are demanding more mobile entertainment through video and internet on top of music, and Sony MP3 players are evolving to meet these demands.

The latest Sony MP3 players seem like they could give the iPod something to worry about. The Sony NW-A 800 range is a lot slimmer than its NW-A 1000 predecessor, measuring only 1cm thick. The NW-A 1000 was also relatively unsuccessful with its Connect Player music management software, the NW-A 800’s are stocked with Sony’s SonicStage (a rival to Apple’s iTunes).

In general, Sony MP3 players come in a range of different storage types. Sony MP3 players are either hard drive players or flash memory players, and both are in the affordable price range of between $100 to $300.