Decide what to buy | the Reevoo.com blog, featuring news on TVs, cameras, laptops, mp3 players & other gadgets, shopping tips and deals, reviews and more

MP3 players have long since stopped being a luxury and become an essential.  As more manufacturers have started competing with Apple’s dominent iPod clan, we’ve seen players so small you could accidentally inhale them and a raft of new features, from the sensible (internet capability and audio enhancement) to features with a more niche appeal (waterproof players*).

Another advantage of the current ubiquitousness of MP3 players is a sharp drop in prices.  While the first iPod would have set you back around £240 for the 5GB model, you can pick up a 4GB model for as little as £25 these days.

With this in mind, here is our guide to some of the best MP3 players under £50

Best in class goes to the Sansa Clip 8GB.  Although these can be bought for as little as £35, they don’t scrimp on features, with a microphone and FM radio - unlike even top of the range iPods. Four colours are available and each has a built-in clip, like the popular iPod Shuffle. 8GB will hold around 2000 songs in MP3 format.

The Philips GoGear Vibe 4GB gives you a colour screen for photo viewing, a microphone and FM radio.  Very conveniently, this player charges through a USB connection to your computer.  From £38, the 4GB model will hold 1000 songs.

You can even get your hands on an iPod or under £50: the 2GB model of the newest generation of Shuffle is being sold at £40-45 by a range of shops.  Apple claims this is the world’s smallest MP3 player - an achievment made possible by moving the controls from the player to the headphone cord and replacing a screen with a voice-over telling you the artist and title information.

*(If the mention of a waterproof player at the start of this article grabbed your attention, take a look at the Nu Dolphin: 1GB storage, waterproof heaphones and special straps to hold it to your goggles for £49)

With more and more people ditching bulky CD collections in favour of the music on their computers or MP3 players, the popularity of the traditional Hi Fi is being overtaken by new music gadgets.

If you’ve got money to spare, a killer multi-room music system can be acheived with media streamers by the likes of Sonos and Philips.  A more practical solution (and simpler to set up) solution is iPod speakers: just plug your MP3 player in or slot it in the dock, and press play.  Another advantage of these devices is their flexibility: friends or family just need to plug in their MP3 players and suddenly you can listen to a whole new range of music.

Everyone’s heard of Bose’s SoundDock and, with regular updates, there’s a lot to like in their range (the Portable, starting at £322, the Original now down to £128, the Mark II from £219 and the top of the line SoundDock 10, at a hefty £699).  Here are a range of other MP3 speakers from lesser-known companies that are worth considering.

Student Sound System

If you just want something small enough to fit in a student room and cheaper than a round of drinks, take a look at the Logic 3 iStation Traveller, from £10.  This battery powered speaker is light on features, but has surprisingly good sound quality for its size, according to reviews.  An average rating of 8.6/10 indicates owners were pretty happy with this pocket-szied device.

If your loan can stretch a little further, consider the Gear4 HouseParty, with nearly 4 times the wattage and a rating of 8.9/10 overall, which costs from £50 upwards.

Style-conscious

Most ipod docks follow a well-worn design track, mainly variations on a theme set by Bose’s classic devices.  Of the few to diverge from this pattern, the Gear4 Blackbox does so with most aplomb.

The Blackbox is a sleek, piano-black cube, with a red LED clock face showing through the surface and a dock on the top.  Very well-rated for design, it falls down a little on sound quality and ease of use, but still makes a drop dead gorgeous kitchen or bedroom clock/dock.

Audiophile

There’s a bit of a caveat with this category, as any audiophile worth his/her salt will tell you that trying to get great quality music from compressed audio files (like MP3s) is about as likely as.

Having said this, if you just want to get the best sound you can from your MP3 Player, you should look at the Logic 3 Valve80.  This classy-looking amplifier/speaker set recharges you iPod while it plays, and comes with a remote that allows you to navigate through your iPod music library.  The sound quality garners high praise from owners, scoring 9.0/10.  Drawbacks include being on the large size and quite pricey, starting from £277.

If you’re serious about sound quality and happy spending a little more in pursuit of it, you could do little better than combining a Fatman iTube with a pair of high quality Hi Fi speakers.

In a move sure to infuriate the Daily Mail, the EU is proposing a limit on the maximum volume of portable music players.

While Disgruntled from Tunbridge Wells and their like are probably already sharpening their pencils to write to the editor, it is worth pointing out that this is only a proposal at the moment and what is proposed is only an overide-able default.  So if you love your music really loud, you’ll can just switch the upper limit off.

The idea behind this new setting is a good one.  Research has shown that as many as 1 in 10 people are risking hearing damage.  Listening to your ipod at 80 decibels can cause this kind of damage when you listen for over 40 hours a week, but notch the volume just a little higher (to 89 decibels) and the damage begins after as little as four hours.

Younger people are particularly at risk of this kind of damage, according to Meglena Kuneva, EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner.  This isn’t just because they tend to listen to more music at louder volumes, but also because they are generally unaware of the risks.  By the time hearing damage starts to show, it is years too late to do anything to stop it.

A step ahead of the game, later this month Griffin are releasing MyPhones, headphones specially designed for children with a fixed upper volume limit of 80 decibels.

So what is a safe volume limit?  Decibels are a bit of an abstract measure unless you’re an audio specialist, but this chart from Floorscan Acoustics, sound-proofing experts, should help you get a handle on different volume levels.

Girl with headphones: http://www.flickr.com/photos/flattop341/ / CC BY 2.0

Across the country, freshers are packing up textbooks, gap year souvenirs and enough clothes so they won’t have to do any laundry til Christmas.  If you - or your son or daughter - is in this situation, be sure to leave enough room in the car for the electronic kit that’s indispensible to student life.  You’ll need a laptop and a kettle, of course, but it’s the other stuff that will really make your time at Uni.
Here is our list of the top 5 gadgets you can’t do without:

iPod/MP3 Player Speakers

There isn’t enough room in most halls of residence for a big hi-fi system, but a set of iPod speakers will fit in perfectly.  An added advantage is that any visitors can plug in their mp3 player, and most ipod speakers are small enough to move around - perfect for parties.

There are options to suit any budget, but the pick of the crop are the Sony SRSGU10P, from £55, rated at 9.6/10 by people who actually own it, and the top-of-the-range Bose SoundDock, rated 9.2/10 and costing £128 upwards.

Digital Camera

Whether it’s for recording your best memories or working out what you did last night, a digital camera is essential.  Ideal student cameras are small enough to fit in a pocket, with a flash and good battery life.  Remember that megapixel count isn’t everything - see our Digital Cameras Buyers’ Guide for an in-depth guide to getting the best camera for you.

Nintendo Wii

It’s very important not to overwork yourself during your first few weeks at Uni - or for the rest of the time.  The energetic games are almost as good as going to the gym (especially if you get the Wii Fit as well) and will come in handy breaking the ice with your neighbours in halls.

Memory Stick

As surprising as it seems, students are required to do some work.  Make this part of student life as painfree as possible with a large-capacity USB stick - 2GB should be enough for all your notes and essays.  Not only can you keep all your work to hand, but this also acts as a back-up if anything ever happens to your computer.  Keep your work doubly-safe by backing it up online with a free service like Google Docs or Dropbox.

Insurance

Once you’ve bought the gadgets you want to take to uni, be sure that you’ll still be able to bring them home by buying some insurance.  Student accommodation is frequently a target for opportunistic burglars - and most students don’t have enough available money to replace a broken laptop or a lost mp3 player.  The National Union of Students recommends Endsleigh Insurance, whose special students contents insurance covers laptops, phones and other gadgets as well as everything from your bike to your winter coat.  It even covers your possessions on the journey to Uni and when you leave them in your student accommodation over the holidays.

A couple of visitors to Reevoo.com have emailed us recently asking for some help finding earphones that don’t fall out of their ears, or that actually fit in their ears in the first place.  The majority of earphones seem to be made in a one-size-fits-all way, despite the fact ears vary as much as any other part of the body.  In fact, there are so many unique variations of ear size and shape, that ear-recognition was put forward as a rival to fingerprinting by crime specialists in the 19th century.

If you’re struggling to find a comfortable fit for your delicate shell-likes or big lugs, or you just can’t seem to keep your headphones on in the gym, here’s a quick guide to the best earphones for small ears and large.

Option 1: Headphones

It might seem obvious, but the simplest way to stop the damn things falling out/not fitting in is to swap them for heaphones that sit on top of the ear.  There are a lot of reasons why people prefer earphones to headphones, but newer models of headphone have adapted to work around lots of these disadvantages.

If lugging headphones around is your concern, there’s a range of headphones that fold flat for greater portability.

If price is your concern, there are headphones from only £4.

If you’re concerned about blocking out other noise, noise reducing or noise cancelling headphones exist to do just this - some actually block noise better than earphones.

Option 2: Earclips

If you don’t fancy switching to headphones, you could try earphones with an earclip, also known as a sportsclip.  These wrap around the outside of the ear a little like the arms of a pair of glasses, and are usually found on ’sports’ earphones.

Philips make a couple of earphones with earclips that have garnered top ratings from Reevoo reviewers: the SHS3200 is rated at 9.2/10 and costs £5 at the cheapest.  The SHS8000 comes in a little more expensive at £12, but is also top rated, with scores of 9.1/10 overall.

Option 3: Adaptable size earphones

Neither of these ideas sound any good?  Luckily, certain headphones manufacturers have come up with a much simpler solution: their earphones come with different sizes of inserts to suit different sizes of ear.

See a range of headphones that come with different size inserts here.

Here’s the latest bargain, the Panasonic DMR-EZ28E, down to £152 with FREE delivery at 24 Electric!

First we brought you vouchers integrated into the price comparison tables, now we’ve gone one better.

We’re very happy to have the first Reevoo-exclusive voucher code - save 5% on everything at Advanced MP3 Players, like this Sony X series walkman mp3 player.  You’ll find this discount all over Reevoo and at the bottom of our Advanced MP3 Player voucher page.

We’re hard at working looking for more exclusive discount codes for Reevoo.com visitors, so watch this space.

The iPod in all its various forms is the indisputable king of the portable media player market: more than 200 million have been sold since they first launched in 2001, and it’s estimated that over 70% of the mp3 players sold in the USA are iPods.  (Source: The Guardian Technology blog 1 & 2)

But the tide might be beginning to turn: for the very first time Apple has seen a fall in iPod sales.  There are certainly plenty of competitors for the iPod’s crown, many of them offering features not available on Apple’s player.  Let’s take a look at the 5 coolest features on offer.

1. Radio
It may sound prosaic, but having a radio in your player opens up a whole new range of listening possibilities, whether it’s following the progress of the cricket or discovering new music from your favourite DJ.  FM radio MP3 players have long been common outside the Apple fold, but now you can also get mp3 players with DAB radio for a better quality radio signal.



2. Waterproof
Work-out music doesn’t have to be just for dry land.  Aquatic expert Speedo makes the sturdy 1GB Aquabeat player, while New Universe makes the Dolphin Touch, a tiny waterproof mp3 player with a touchscreen, 4GB storage and FM radio.

3. Sonic search
Sony’s iPod Shuffle competitor, the NWZ-W202, boasts ‘Zappin’ technology that allows you to to search through the songs on your device by listening to the first few seconds of the chorus.  If that isn’t enough to sway you, the design of the NWZ-W202 is pretty nifty too.  Sony have miniaturised the workings of the player enough so that the whole device is incorporated into the headphones.

4. Wind-up battery
Not just for the eco-conscious, the Revolution Eco media player means you’ll never be stuck with a dead battery and no music.  One minute of winding gives you enough power for 45 minutes of music - and the generator can also act as an emergency mobile charger. The Eco also plays videos and FM radio and can record radio for later listening.

5. Dancing light-show
Perhaps not the most useful feature, but certainly a lot of fun.  The Sony Rolly twists, moves and flashes different coloured lights in time to the beat of the music playing out of its in-built speakers.  If nothing else, it’s inspired a massive (and often very funny) YouTube following.

And if none of these features grab you, be assured that more conventional PMPs are catching Apple up in offering iPod-style features.  The Sonix 7 incorporates an ebook reader,  the Sony S series walkmen and E series walkmen let you watch downloaded iPlayer content, and the premium Archos media tablet range do pretty much everything the iPod Touch can.

And what does the future hold? The Sun has one suggestion: mp3 players embedded in breast implants.

The only problem with buying yourself a great new gadget, or fitting out your kitchen with up-to-the minute appliances is what to do with the things they replace. Disposing of old electricals can be a bit of a headache and they often end up gathering dust at the back of a cupboard or in the attic.

At the moment, over 75% of old electricals end up in landfills, polluting the soil. Every year Britain produces enough electrical waste to fill Wembley Stadium 6 times over. And this mountain of junk is growing - Britain produces 5% more electrical waste every year.

The irony is that over 85% of the materials that make up electrical goods are recyclable, and recycling them has never been easier. Here’s our quick guide to the right way to get rid of old TVs, kitchen appliances, gadgets and mobile phones.

What can I recycle?

If your product has a plug or a battery it can probably be recycled.  Double check by looking for the crossed-out wheely bin symbol somewhere on the product case or manual.

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With the sun at last seeming to be showing signs of being here to stay, we thought it would be a good time to highlight some MP3 players that you’ll be able to take with you as you enjoy various sporty activities.

To be a truely go-anywhere MP3 player, the most vital feature is that the memory - where the songs are stored - is a solid state flash drive, rather than than a hard disk. If you’ve ever tried to go jogging with a hard drive-based MP3 player, like an iPod Classic, you’ll know that it doesn’t take long before skipping becomes a problem. Flash-based memory is a lot more durable, but the disadvantage is that it costs more per megabyte, so storage sizes tend to be between 2 and 32 GB. For the active listener that’s a trade-off that’s worth making. Check out the Sony NWZS639F or Apple’s new iPod Nano.

Another key item for allowing you to get on with your run without worrying about your MP3 player is a clip so you don’t need to bother having the device knocking around in your pocket. And of course the smaller the better. The Apple iPod Shuffle is very compact, with a durable clip built into the aluminium body. The latest model is voice activated too, making it easier to control on the go.

Or for true comfort on the go, take a look at this wearable MP3 player/headphones combination from Sony:

Depending on what your favourite activities are, you might also want to look out for a waterproof model. You probably wouldn’t want to go swimming, but from mountain biking to waterfights, it’s as well to be prepared. Swimsuit specialists Speedo have entered into the MP3 player market with their Aquabeat Waterproof MP3 player, or you could try SwiMP3 player (geddit?).

Whatever you’re up to this summer, there’s no reason you won’t be able to bring your favourite music with you!