Digital Trends

 
Radio Tuner

Many players today allow you to tune in local radio stations while you are out and about. This is a nice alternative for when you grow tired of your music files, want to tune into a TV show playing on one of the gym's televisions or need a quick fix of NPR. A nice bonus on some models: you can record FM broadcasts and play them back later.

File Formats

Multiple music formats exist for digital audio players and not all are supported widely in the market. Depending upon how you have archived your music on your computer, it's important to note what file formats are supported. Most likely, if you used a main stream program like Real Player or Windows Media Player to copy your music, you may have your files saved in the popular MP3 format. MP3 files by default tend to be the most widely supported by music players, with virtually all of the major hardware manufacturers making their players compatible with it.

It is important to note that if you are using Windows Media Player, you may be using the WMA format instead of MP3. WMA, created by the folks at Microsoft, has a very similar audio quality and takes up slightly less space. While not as commonly supported as MP3, WMA has none-the-less found its way into the data chips of a lot of MP3 player makers.

Apple's industry-leading iPod players play both MP3 and AAC formats. AAC features CD-quality audio in smaller file sizes than MP3.

Other players also support uncompressed formats such as WAV and AIFF. While these formats are true CD quality, the file sizes are quite large and restrictive.

File Storage

Besides being able to store music files, several companies have designed their models to allow you to store and transfer other file types such as office documents, pictures and even programs. The ability to store non-music files is a very attractive option for many buyers, and many manufacturers are incorporating this feature into their players.
 
Display and Navigation

Depending upon how many audio files you transfer to your player, trying to find the one you want can quickly become a headache. Two factors can come into play here when deciding on how to handle this.

The display screen itself is an important thing to consider. Is it large enough for your viewing needs, especially if you have poor eyesight? How well does it display outdoors and under the neon lights of the gym? If it has a backlight, is it bright enough to help you see?

How you actually navigate through the music on your player's screen is also a big deal. Most players can read the associated text information, called the ID3 tag, you save when you rip CDs and present it for you on demand. But if the data which is most useful (such as the song name, artist and length) is not immediately accessible, you may become frustrated having to scroll.