Before I go about making a major purchase ($100+), I generally ask myself two questions:<\/p>\n
Today I find myself drooling over portable mp3 players, unable to decide whether I really<\/i> need one, or if it is just an object of desire…sometimes it’s just so hard to tell.<\/p>\n
Yesterday I told myself that the only reason I would ever need something like an iPod would be to carry around my entire music collection, otherwise my CD player works just fine. Then today I was running and realized that it sure would be nice if I could have 4-5 gigabytes (a few thousand hours) worth of music docked on my bicep. Music sure does make the run go faster, and as I begin training for a marathon<\/a> I realized that it might be a good time to purchase an ultraportable music player that will hold a good amount of music.<\/p>\n The two objects of desire are:<\/p>\n The iPod Mini is great because they sell so many accessories for it, including the iPod Mini Armband<\/a> which will allow me to attach the machine to my bicep, just like I wanted. Also, Apple claims that this device has 25 minute skip protection, which is the best in the business, I think. Also, the iPod’s interface is quite clearly the best in the business, which does mean something to my HCI\/Designer sensibilities…is it possible that I would go with a lesser quality product just because it has more features?<\/p>\n The Zen Micro has damn near a million features, some that I would appreciate, including FM radio, a removable 12 hour battery (compared to the iPod’s 8 hour non-removable), and a 5GB hard drive (compared with the iPod’s 4GB). However, I can’t find an armband made for the device and the website makes no mention of skip protection. <\/p>\n If anybody has advice about these, please fill me in!<\/p>\n So, to answer my questions: How will said object change my life?<\/b> By the way, am I an idiot for ruling out the iPod 20GB<\/a>? It also has skip protection and is only $50 more. I’m not sure if I could strap it to my arm, however. Perhaps I’ll save some money and try out a *brand new* iPod Shuffle<\/a>. It may turn out that that’s exactly what I’m looking for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Before I go about making a major purchase ($100+), I generally ask myself two questions: Why do I need the object of my desire? How will said object change my life? Today I find myself drooling over portable mp3 players, unable to decide whether I really need one, or if it is just an object […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n
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\nWhy do I need<\/i> a portable mp3 player?<\/b>
\nSimply because it will make my runs all that much easier, plus it will be nice to carry around a sizeable chunk of my music collection when I’m bopping around campus, going on road trips, or flying about the country. <\/p>\n
\nThis question is a little more difficult to answer. It won’t affect my day to day life in a meaningful way…I’ll be able to carry around more music, but to be really honest, when I’m at school I’m generally either in class or sitting at a computer, which allows me to simply stream music from the ‘net. It will help me when I’m not at a computer, and may motivate me to continue running, which is meaningful. Perhaps I can give myself some incentive to buy one of these for myself…some goal which, once surpassed, will free me to give myself a gift. If I could only think of a good goal…<\/p>\n