Choosing new advanced high capacity mp3 player

[ugn]

Hello,

I decided to buy something new for listening music and I need your advice.
Currently I have FSC Loox 718 PDA, where is broken jack connector.
The player with I used there (PocketMusic) is quite full featured like winamp. My collection is on 32GB CF card there.
So I looking for some device with similar features (supporting all common formats,folder playing, organizing playlists,etc.) and device with
enough capacity (40GB+ - slot needed). I primarily search among MP3 players, because often they have smaller form factor and longer battery time. Currently I dont require so much video, apps and wifi capabilities. But I like to have good UI with good responsivness. Definately I want to stay away from proprietary solutions from apple and microsoft.

From MP3 players, Cowon j3 32gb got my attention. Other options often have smaller capacities without memory slot.

Im not sure in case of j3, because price is quite high and its very close to some cheaper PDAs. So I asking, Is cowon j3 worth the price or its better in my case to stay with PDAs and buy new PDA instead ? Or is there some other options in MP3 player/other devices, which suits my requirements ?

Thank for your advices.

[CrowdAds]

[rickysio]

PDA's will have poorer battery life than a dedicated PMP.

You could try the Cowon D2 if you want a cheaper player - but I'm not sure how much cheaper they are now.

[rickysio]

Actually it depends. The Vibrant/Captivate (T-Mo/AT&T) has 16GB internal storage, the Fascinate (Verizon) has 2GB, so if he's stuck on Verizon he'd have a hard time getting 40GB+ of storage.

[ugn]

The device with phone part is redundant for me, because already have basic phone and I dont need to combine phone with mp3player (same battery, interrupting music when someone calls, etc.).
Also I would like to add, that I from central europe, thus Verizon and other devices/services provided in USA is not options because of availability.

I also looked on D2(+) before J3. But if I compare d2 and j3 16gb version, the price of d2 is like 3/4 of j3, so there are not so much difference. And 32gb version and loudspeaker is plus.

I will further investigate sandisk and samsung.

[rickysio]

Sansa Fuze, Sansa Clip+ all max out at 8GB of internal memory. To get 40GB, you'd need pricy 32GB microSDHC cards. (Unless you get the Dealextreme microSDHC to SDHC adaptor - covered in an ABi article quite some time ago.)

[The DarkSide]

A Cowon J3 32gb + 16gb microSD card will bring you up to 48gb of capacity. There is a 32gb microSD card available, but the pricing is currently unrealistic for it. The SQ, battery life, and general usability of the player is wonderful. Plus, there's no phone included to increase the cost.

[rickysio]

If PDA functionality isn't a requirement, do consider the J3.

If it is, get a cheaper player (like the Fuze) and a couple of SD cards, and get a PDA along with it.

[rickysio]

Not really. European Galaxy S units only have 8GB/16GB internal memory, and don't have more storage.

[ugn]

PDA functionality (except for audio/video) isnt requirement, because I will leave my current pda for apps and so on.
But I would like to be sure, that I dont miss any music functionality from PDA apps. Because you cant change music player application on dedicated PMP like on PDA.
Is there any user who has experience with transtition from pda/smartphone music app to dedicated mp3player ?
I looked that there is possibity to use RockBox on Fuze. Is there any significant difference in ease of use, functions and features between RockBox and J3 native "OS"?

[EggyCuppy]

the j3 native support offers some special effects like bbe+, after rockboxing the fuze can match the j3 for audio quality, the j3's main advantage is it can have larger onboard storage and can support many video formats.

[rickysio]

Originally Posted by ugn

PDA functionality (except for audio/video) isnt requirement, because I will leave my current pda for apps and so on.
But I would like to be sure, that I dont miss any music functionality from PDA apps. Because you cant change music player application on dedicated PMP like on PDA.
Is there any user who has experience with transtition from pda/smartphone music app to dedicated mp3player ?
I looked that there is possibity to use RockBox on Fuze. Is there any significant difference in ease of use, functions and features between RockBox and J3 native "OS"?

I have used an Xperia X1, a N900 with their's assortment of media players (X1 runs WinMo and N900 Maemo 5), and I find a RB'ed Clip+ perfectly satisfactory. YMMV, though.