Portable, Economical, MP3 player + Data storage

[tuxfan]

I am looking for a portable MP3 player to be used while exercising.

Must have: Standard headphone jack. Will attach to speakers as well.
Capacity: Even 1 GB is ok, but more the merrier
Budget: Under 5k. But lower the better.
Display: Basic track info is enough
Brand: Any good, except iPod
Warranty: At least a year

Will be great if it has one or more of these:
FM, Memory Card Slot, equalizer, recorder, speaker, Data storage

Any suggestions? Thanks.

UPDATE:
How's this?
*cgi.ebay.in/Transcend-650-4GB-MP3-Player-with-One-Year-Warranty_W0QQitemZ380090768386QQcmdZViewItemQQptZIN_MP3_Players?hash=item380090768386&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A1|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318

 

[kalpik]

Hey Ashish! Good to see you here. And yes, the Transcend ones are really nice and value for money. You answered your own question i suppose

 

[tuxfan]

Huh? You are here right now?



Any other good model? Creative? Samsung?

Standard headphone jack is a must for me and I can't see it mentioned anywhere on the link or on Transacend site

 

[kalpik]

Hmm.. No.. Im not here right now Dont know about other brands, but transcend is nice. Let some others also reply if they have better suggestions. But yeah.. The standard headphone jack is there on all MP3 players, so you dont need to worry about that

 

[tuxfan]

Phew! Thanks for confirming about head-phone jack

I read some good reviews about Transcend 650. Seems to be the right choice so far.

I found a thread in this forum where people recommended 850 over 650. Is it worth the extra bucks? I don't need anything to view pics/movies. Need for just music.

 

[Pathik]

You should easily get a Creative Zen 4 GB under 5k. Nice, compact and with Video too.

Or try the Creative Zen Stone plus.

 

[tuxfan]

Pathik, if I skip the video functionality, I will have to pay less.

Alternatively, I will get some more space in the same price.

My needs are very simply. It should be a flash based memory (no moving parts, so no problems while I am on my treadmill) and it should have a standard head-phone jack so that I can even attach it to my speakers. I am not going to watch any movies on such small screen.

UPDATE:
Being fond of gadgets has it's own flip side. You land up spending more than you decide

Pathik you are right. I have fallen for Creative Zen 4 GB. It seems to have great set of features at 5800/-
*cgi.ebay.in/Creative-ZEN-4GB-MP3-M...ptZLH_DefaultDomain_203?hash=item180316027723

The fight is on. My gadget love vs. my miserly instincts Let's see who wins finally!

 

[moshel]

Sandisk sansa clip is good... Rs. 2500 for 4gb...

its got editors choice on abi

CNet

 

[x3060]

@pathik ....good to see you as a mod mate , never knew.

 

[RandomNumber]

Please do update us on the purchase you made and what your views are on the purchased item since I'm caught in the same decision fork.

 

[tuxfan]

I have postponed my plan. But Creative Zen 4 GB looks to be a good option.

Around 6k cost, good screen, good size, expandable memory (SD Card), FM, etc.

 

[krazzy]

For around 5k you can also get the Cowon iAudio U5. I have it with me now and I can say that it is absolutely awesome. If you just want audio without image or video playback you can choose this player over the Zen and save some money.

 

[tuxfan]

Drawbacks of Cowon iAudio U5 over Creative Zen

- Bad screen
- No memory expansion slot