Category: Garage Sale
Two years ago, I was given a Zenstone mp3 player for my birthday and loved it. It was simple to use and didn't require any special software. I just copied and pasted my songs or even folders and it worked! Then, it got wet and no longer worked. So I bought another player, also from Creative. This time, it was the Muvo T100. This had the exact same functionality as the Zenstone but could hold 4gb instead of 2gb. I found it on Ebay for $14 and some change and adored it. I seriously have no idea what happened but it's no longer working. When I plug it in, the computer won't recognise it and it won't charge.
So I need another player. But I can't find this one anywhere! If anyone is willing to sell me either a Zenstone or, preferably, a Muvo T100, for under $50, please let me know. If you have another player that works the same way, or if you know of one, please tell me, since there might be something out there that I'm missing. No Apple recommendations please. I want real buttons, a cheap price and easy useage. Thanks.
I would go for olympus; they have easy to use, low priced, low quality but we can forget that, mp3 players and high quality recorders. I have an olympus dss player (I can't sell it), but it works well enough to play some music. No tts on this particular model, and it is still mostly a recorder
1. Craigslist.
2. Ebay.
synthesizer101: The kind of player that I'm seeking is so simple that it doesn't need text to speech. There are no menus and no difficult options. There is only play, pause/stop, previous song, next song and change folder. Unfortunately, there is no previous folder but anyway. LeoGuardian: I checked Ebay first but they had nothing. But thanks for the idea of using Craigslist! I'll be going to Atlantic City with Grandma, on the bus, and would like to be able to listen to music along the way because it's a bit far from us. Alternatively, I could look for a Walkman with all analogue controls and an am-fm tuner so that I can have the best of both worlds, my music and the radio. But I need to find my tapes or to make some new ones. I have a ton here that can be recorded over or that are blank, so that shouldn't be a problem. Maybe, I could find a book or two to bring as well. Hmm. The advantage of an mp3 player is that it's really small and I can change songs at whim, both in the sense of playing them and in changing which songs are actually on the machine.
Well then, the dss player should work for you. I'm not sure how it costs, but it's good enough to use for that kind of work. It has five recording folders, a music folder with a podcast folder in it, an audible books folder, and recorded prompts for menu options. It's ok.
That sounds like it will cost way more than $50 and it appears to be more complicated than I wanted. Does it require special software and can you simply copy and paste in your own folders? I'll check it out, since I'm now curious, but it does seem like more than what I need. Is there another screenless player out there? That might be more along my lines.
Ok, well it doesn't require software. There are quite a lot of players like that at
speak to me.
I even think they have an mp3 player that is just a set of headphones with the stuff in it. I haven't used any of this stuff.
Ooh cool! I'll have to check it out. I actually saw the headphone kind when looking for screenless ones. It was only 2gb but was selling for about $18 at one place and $15 at another with free shipping. It might do as a temporary fix.
I'm not sure how you tried to enter the link but it didn't work when I clicked on it. I'll Google it.
I just searched the catalogue and couldn't find the product that you mentioned. The closest that I found was an mp3 player that holds 1gb. It was definitely priced right but I'd need to buy at least two of them to even make it worth something. But I found alot of other neat things over there and I'll definitely be going back to see what else they have, as soon as I take care of this and a few other necessities.
will sell you my iriver for 25 dollars it is 20 gigs and comes with rockbox already on.
Woe! Uh... Alot! of music and a hugely cheap price! I really wasn't looking for something that complicated, but that that price? I'm a bit speechless right now. Are you sure that you didn't mean 2gb? How does it work as far as functionality and ease of use?
I forgot to add that many of my songs were ripped from cds and simply say things like Track 1, track 2 etc. Most of these are not common cds, so there would be no way for me to look up the information. A large number of my songs were also taken from Youtube and many of them have titles written in Greek. This is why it's easier for me to simply create my own folders etc. If the player has a synthesizer that can't read Greek, I can't choose the song that I want to hear in many cases. Just thought I'd throw that out there.
Why not just buy a new Zin Stone? It's still available?
Really? I thought that they stopped making those! That's weird, that the Zenstone is still available but the Muvo T100 is almost unfindable, especially considering that the latter holds more information. Anyway, huge thanks. I'll do a search for it.
The device I was talking about accepts SD cards, and came with a 2gb one. People have used up to 16gb cards with it. Was the item you saw the flash drive mp3 player? That sounds cool if only they could make a 2gb, 4gb, or even an 8gb one. I think it'd be really cool to have an 8gb flash drive mp3 player with u3 system on it. Now that'd be cool!
Ah, gotcha. I actually use regular compact flash cards, and have heard that some mp3 players use those, but don't know their size limits. I have two 4g ones so I could easily use one for music and buy another if needed.
Well, if I had a huge bunch of money, I'd get the Walkman Professional WM-D6C. Here's a review on Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqR6yHkm5C0
I've never heard of any recorder with this amount of features. Even Wikipedia says that this is one of the highest quality walkmans ever made. When they say professional, they're not kidding! It records on metal cassettes, chrome cassettes and standard cassettes. It has noise reduction and all sorts of controls for just about everything, from the type of cassette being played, to recording volume and probably more that I'm forgetting. And the sound! If those speakers I'm hearing in the video are built in, all I could say is wow! My mouth is watering... Me want!
Uh, back to the real world now. I found at least one 2gb Zenstone for $9 and $5 shipping but it won't arrive until after the 18th. I need it before the 19th so that I can take it with me on the bus. I'm also trying to find info on other screenless players. I might take that IRiver one but need to research it first. Maybe, I should just look for one of those really basic walkmans that don't cost from $100 to over $400. Under $20 would be fine. I bet that thing is too complicated for me in any case...
Go to a local Walmart, or Best Buy, or Radio Shack and get it now! It won't be 9 bucks, but you'll find simple. Smile.
Really? cCool! Simple is exactly what I want. I'll search on their sites to see what they have. Both stores are near us too, so that helps.
Yes. Simple. Plug it up and it becomes an extra drive so you copy your files you want to that file, unplug it, slap some headphones on, and listen. Lol
What brands should I be seeking? Do they just sell the Zenstones or are there others?
Have you tried amazon.com? I love that site because their reviews and prices are great. Plus if you have and .edu email address (basically if
you're a college student), you can get a year of Amazon Prime which allows you to have FREE shipping on anything that ships through Amazon or Amazon Fullfillment.
I love that site. I am also interested in a "simple" MP3 player.
I had an account with them but no longer have the e-mail address which is associated with it. I can't change it on their or even make a new account due to capcha issues, since there is no audio alternative. Their page has also become a bit harder to use in general. So I've lost alot of respect for them. I'll probably be forced to ask someone sighted to help me and then I'll look and see what they have.
You can change it. Call them and they'll help you. Also you use firefox right, so get the add on that solves the caption. webvisum? Creative, or the people that make the Zen are the simplest. I happen to thing Apples are simple too, but get a Zen, or Creative is the brand title.
Oh, as far as that goes, I remember you stating Tifinisa you having a max, so voiceover should work very well in Itunes.
I hate ITunes with a passion. As I've said, I'd rather simply copy and paste my own folders. Plus which, I don't have a Greek synth on the Mac and many of my songs have Greek titles. Let's not even get into what happens when I save a file with the Mac in Greek and try to read it with Windows. I also have files taken from cds and that are simply named track 01, track 02 etc. and I have no way of getting the actual names of the songs, since they're uncommon and some of the cds aren't even made anymore.
Yesterday, I went to wallmart.com and searched for Muvo T100 and Zen Stone and got nothing. So there goes that store. I could have typed in Creative but they also make players with screens that are more complicated and I didn't want to get tangled in that mess.
Again you must go to the store. Even some players with screens are simple to use as far as what you want to do. At the store, specially Best Buy you can touch them and put on headphones and see how they work. I'll find you simple and post it here.
Okay here are the Zen's. Remember go to the stores to touch them.
• ZEN MX
Built with SD card expansion slot and plug-and-play capability, the ZEN MX functions both as a media player and a storage drive.
• ZEN Mozaic EZ300
Featuring easy plug and play and a powerful built-in speaker, make your own personal statement with the uniquely designed ZEN Mozaic EZ300. ZEN Mozaic EZ100
Featuring easy plug and play, simply drag and drop your songs into the ZEN Mozaic EZ100 conveniently.
Thanks so so much! I'll see if someone could take me to the store so that I can try these. The second sounds good, since I don't use sd cards, but it sounds like the first also has internal memory. Unfortunately, neither of these said anything about how much they hold. Ah well, I can look them up on Google now that I have some models. *smile* I also looked up ones that use compact flash cards but they appeared to be too complicated.
You can get SD cards on Amazon for about 3 dollars up to about 20 depending on how much storage you want.
Okay I have located the exact player, or one of them you wish. Creative Zen Stones can be had new or used on Amazon.com. If you use bing search engine and type in Zen Stone MP3 player, or Creative Zen Stone you'll get a wide list of other places it is still available. Amazon had a 2 GB model with speaker and radio for 89 new and 39 used. They had some 1 GB models as well, cases, cables, and other products related to the Stone. I did not check all the other places, because I am not looking for one, but their was an extensive list. The newer models I posted will do the same thing and are better due to the features being updated even for your uses, but if you must have a Stone then you now have your sources. Good luck.
Thanks! Yes, that and a good price. I think $89 is really steep for something like this but $39 is nice. Not sure what you mean by features that would serve me, since my requirements are really low, but if the newer ones are cheap and just as simple, I'll consider them. I also remember what you said about actually going to a store and checking these out and plan on doing that if I can. In the meantime, I'm buying a Sony WM-FX323 Walkman from EBay. It actually has more features than I was seeking but in a really good way, as they're all beneficial and wonderful for such a low-priced basic item. I've been doing alot of research on Walkmans and learned many interesting things about their history. I'd still like one that records, but I think this one will hold me over until I get back. I'm really glad that the newer machines from Creative and Sand Disk are just as easy to use as the Zen Stone and Muvo T100. The latter is still not on EBay. I think they all disappeared!
Not meaning to veer off topic, but wouldn't a Victor reader stream from humanware be simple enough to use? What about the NLS player for books? Just also wondering, is Greek hard to speak and learn?
Matthew
The music playback quality on the victor reader stream is quite poor. So, if you are an audiophile, I'd avoid it for music at least. If you want something for daisy book/text file reading as well as listening to music/podcasts etc, the booksense is a better choice. also, you get a built in radio on the xt and the new one I believe, which can be handy. I don't own either at this point but have experience with both. I use my IPod touch for everything these days.
To Matthew: The Victor reader stream is fine but I'm not sure of the cost. I just need it for listening to music, and again, can it read Greek? It's not worth getting a talking product if it speaks jibberish when trying to read my songs. Also, can I just copy and paste or do I need to use special software? I want to keep this simple. Many people say that Greek is difficult to learn but I disagree, at least for the informal Dimotiki. Katharevousa, which is mostly a written language and which is used rarely today, is far more difficult. I'll probably be starting that towards the end of the year.
To guitargod1: I'm used to music taken from 78s from the 20's through the 40's. Some is digitally remastered and sounds great but the rest isn't and sounds like it comes from the records themselves. Even when I listen to English stuff from the 50's through the 70's, I've never been an audiophile. It has to sound really bad to annoy me. But oddly enough, I have perfect pitch, so when that's off, it drives me nuts. That's actually what happened with my new/old walkman. I need to take it to a sony dealer and see if it's out of alignment or if it really was made like that. As for my books, they're either on tape or they're text files. If I get anything audio, it's mp3s of audio books from Youtube so I don't need the daisy stuff. I prefer analogue tuners so the radio wouldn't do me much good. I also dislike touchscreens so IPods are out. The Booksense also probably costs more than I'm willing to pay for this. I want something under $100 if it's just for music. I actually put up a thread on needing a text re ader if you're interested. I found one that seems cool and reasonably priced and that also handles mp3s.
http://www.zonebbs.com/boards.php?t=23593
Thanks to both of you fory your sugg estions. If nothing else, they show that these things are available.
um... not all Ipods are touch screen!, the shuffle well the older one are not, something to think about. yes I know you said no Itunes but there is a program or some programs that will let you drag and drop on a Ipod.
That's interesting and both of these facts actually make me interested! They're probably cheaper now, since they're older. I wonder how much they can hold and which models do I need to review or will typing in "IPod Shuffle" be enough?
I once had an old IPod shuffle, and it was pretty nice (2005 model). Anyway, it broke after a couple of years of use and I used it as a flash drive, until my sisters took it. Now I have no clue where it is.
Yes, you can simply copy files onto it. It had a gig of memory, and no screen or tts at all. All that was there was play/pause, volume, and next/previous track. You also had a switch that toggled off/on/on with shuffle play.
That sounds great, except for the fact that you couldn't switch between folders and at 1gb, I'd need to get at least four of them to contain my current collection, more if I found extra stuff, which I've been doing.
Oh, forgot to say that there was one that was double capacity, but I didn't have it.
I thought I had solved this? Guess not. I was the one that said the program that allows you to drag and drop your music on to an Ipod is Windows. XP Vista, even 7. I can do it right now. Easy to use, but I thought you said you wanted a Creative, and I found that, but you went with the Sony, and no you can't have that repaired, because it could be the disc you listen to not the machine?
I've tried the tapes in other machines and all play them correctly and I've also tried using new batteries and get the same result. So I think it's the machine. In any case, the Sony was a temporary fix. While it's great to have a truly small tape player around, I still want an mp3 player.
I guess Tiffanitsa was under the empression she had to use Itunes fore every I device not sure. While this is understandable sense Itunes if the focle point of apple it does not mean you have to use Itunes on every I device.
The I pod video models, which you can still find second hand pretty cheap, do not use touch screens. They have a click wheel with tactile buttons. As far as size, they range from 20gb to 80gb. also, you can install rockbox, which is free firmware with an onboard screen reader. With that, you can simply drag and drop as the Ipod shows up as a generic hard drive on any computer. no ITunes needed. In addition, you can preserve your exact folder structure you create on the drive, and, use it as an external hard drive for any file type while still using it to listen to music etc. I setup a few Ipod videos with rockbox over the past few years and it works very well. It's a solution that one could accomplish for one hundred or less if you really hunt around. If you want more details, either reply on here or pm/e mail me as I'm not on here a lot.
Very interesting! I thought click wheels aren't actually wheels but those flat things that you have to hunt around on the unit to find. I saw one once and didn't like it. But the rest sounds nice, assuming that Rock Box is multilingual. You say it's a "video IPod". So does that mean that I could create videos with it and upload them to Youtube?
No. The Ipod video line were the first IPods to support video file playback. It is simply a music player. No camera, no microphone, no apps, no wireless, or any of that. The one I owned for a couple years was very stable and the build quality is fantastic. and to answer your other question, yes, rockbox is multi lingual. Regarding the click wheel, it is flat, but, you can feel where it is, and the circle button in the middle of it, which is usually the enter button. The surface of the wheel is not glossy so keep in mind that you could always put on something tactile if that would help you.
But an I pod is easy as it stands. You connect it, it becomes drive d e f or whatever, you find the music you want, hit the alt key, arrow once over go up to copy, hit the inter key tab until you make sure the I pod is selected, or if not choose the folder, and that is the I pod and once it's set you repeat. Simple. I Pods are also easy to play. Big button in the middle. Press the top it plays, press the bottom it stops, left it goes back right it goes forward, middle it pauses. Need more volume you brush your fingers right like turning the dial up, or brush them left like turning the dial down. Easy. She said she could not find a zen stone, and that she wanted to replace it, so if you read I located that exact player, and Creative players that work like it. I don't think this is difficult. Yes the program suggested for the I Pod is nice, but it's not necessary, as you pointed out. Another way is to locate the track you want, press applications key arrow up to send to, right arrow, down arrow until you find the I Pod and hit inter. Bam.
well, rockbox would be required if she wanted to navigate the contents with its screen reader and change settings etc. and, we're both talking about the Ipod video, older Ipods... The current line doesn't have the tactile controls unless it's the shuffle. The current shuffle does have voiceover, but for the money, you could get a second hand video with much more storage space.
So are you saying with my iPod Touch, I could drag music to the empty folder and then find it from the iPod and play it? How is this? I thought iTunes was the only way to transfer music and get it to play.
Yes. I Tunes is not the only way.
I have ITunes on both my mac and pc so can't try that. However, keep in mind that as far as updating the OS and loading apps onto your touch and other tasks, you will need ITunes just the same. It also depends if we're talking about windows or mac OS x...
I have nothing against I Tunes, I like it much, but if you have a lot of music, then buy an I Pod you can put that music on your player without I Tunes. Their are even other services that will sync your I players, phones, MP3 players and such, such as Napster, Windows Media, and some others. Like must of these products like the Zune, their software programs are going to be way simpler to use, but these can be used with other programs just fine. If I have an Apple, then I'd use I Tunes period, but with a PC you have choices. Even with an Apple you can get other service now, but Apple products work best with Apple programs.
I think the easiest way is just to copy and paste. It's fast, requires no extra software and works across platforms, provided your player does.
that's where rockbox is great. You don't need to worry about a third party music management application and you don't need to worry about OS compatibility etc. Also, it works on many mp3 players, past and present models, not just on the Ipod video line.
Today, I was reading the daily Blind Bargains e-mail and saw a site with totally accessible mp3 players. Out of curiosity, I went there to see what they had.
http://www.talkingmp3players.com/specials.html
They have several designs, all by Sansa. At the time of this writing, the Clip and the Fuse are available. When I began this post, I was only seeking a simple mp3 player without all the luxuries. I was also concerned that, if it talked, it wouldn't be able to read my Greek files, though that was eliminated here when I learned that Rock Box, at least, is multilingual. I guess it couldn't hurt to have a recorder and an fm radio, though I do prefer an analogue as opposed to a digital tuner, presets etc. and I do want to keep the price relatively low. In any case, can someone explain the VoiceBox utility? This is, I belive, what will make Rock Box speak in Greek and other languages. They say that it's supposed to let you use the voices on your computer to read the files. But I'm not sure how this works. Does the player always have to be connected to the computer when using the utility or are the voices then installed on the player so that you can use them wherever you go? Aside from that, the most important feature is that I can simply copy and paste without any extra software, which is what I wanted all along.
I liked how they had both 4 and 8gb players. I was considering getting the 4gb one for $75 and just buying a 4gb card for $11 but it might make more sense to get the 8gb one for $95. Both of these prices are more than I originally wanted to spend, but to be fair, there's a lot more here than what I was first seeking. The clip seems really light and small but it only has 15 hours of battery life as opposed to 24 for the Fuse.
If I were to get a player from another site or person, how difficult is it to actually install Rock Box? To anewheart0910: Is your offer for the IRiver for $25 still available? How is the battery life on it? What other good players can you guys recommend for use with Rock Box, keeping price, tactile buttons etc. in mind?
As a side note, this wasn't in today's e-mail. It was a few messages back and I was catching up on things that I missed.
I'm bringing this back to the top incase someone missed it, because I'm sure that the questions in post 57 can be answered by several of you. Thanks for understanding.
Rockbox installation is not hard, you just need to be sure you follow the steps. Now that they've made the bootloader easier to install, you should be able to be done in ten minutes or less.
Thanks. At least this answers a part of my questions, and a very important one at that, since I can probably find a much cheaper player! How does the Voicebox program work?