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General discussion (archive)I want to buy a portable media player...(19 posts)(19 posts)
(19 posts)
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Posted October 02, 2013
...but as I know zilch on the subject, all I have to go on is that I want it to play 720p quality video and have a reasonably big screen. Also, I have to stress that I CAN'T buy stuff online. (Except steam games T_T) Going by what's available in my area, the best (affordable) options seem to be the iPod touch 16GB 4GEN and the aforementioned Vita.

The iPod costs 249€ and the screen looks great, but I was told I'll be forced to install iTunes on my PC in order to make any of my media usable on the device, which is a really big minus for me.

The Vita comes bundled with an 8GB memory card but, practically, I don't need more than that to get through the day. It costs 199€ and has a bigger screen, which I have yet to take a long proper look at. I plan to of course, but all the stores that let you try out the handheld only let you play games on it and I don't know if there would be a difference in the video quality when watching movies. (No previous experience with OLED) I don't plan on playing any games on whichever of the two I end up getting.

I'm currently leaning towards the Vita. Unfortunately websites of different retail stores say different things - and I'm an idiot that can't find accurate feature lists for either device online.

-Which has the better quality screen for video files?
-Will the Vita force me to use any programs similar to iTunes (or can I simply drag and drop files in the appropriate folders)?
-Are there any freeware programs I can use to convert my media to something the Vita can play? I think Audacity will cover me for audio, but what about video files?
Post edited October 02, 2013 by ashwald
Posted October 02, 2013
Would you not consider something like :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=tablet+nexus+7&tag=googiehydra-21&index=aps&hvadid=30716319750&hvpos=1t1&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=600025885383227434&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_1l2vzc6nvj_b

My wee girl has one and its great for games etc. and an ereader.
Posted October 02, 2013
It depends on where your home is because it's rare to find them in non-specialist retail stores, but if you can get your hands on a Cowon J3, it's a great media player that supports practically every audio format you could think of and most video formats as well. You can even get it to play Apple formats with a couple tweaks. Here's a very comprehensive review: http://anythingbutipod.com/2010/11/cowon-j3-review/

Don't let the name of the website give you the idea that they're just crazy; it's dedicated to exploring all sorts of media and audio players outside the ubiquitous iPod. If you decide to explore it, there's even a little comparison page where you can look up all the specs of different players.

Good luck!
Posted October 02, 2013
Wow, both of those look good! And I hadn't even thought of tablets. Haven't seen the Cowon anywhere though. I'd probably have to try asking around at the smaller stores if they deal with the company's products so as to order one for me, but first I need to find someplace that's actually trustworthy. Still, that website is a good read and will definitely come in handy . ;)

The Nexus is thankfully much easier to find. 32GB and 199€ like the Vita. I'll check it out in the weekend, hope the screen lives up to my optimism. XD

Thank you both! :)

Anything I should especially be careful about regarding protection from malware on android platforms or will everything be fine as long as I don't use the tablet to go online? (I'm sensing studying in the near future)
Posted October 02, 2013
Uhm, if you're about to spend that large an amount of money, why not just buy a decent smartphone instead?
Posted October 02, 2013
id probably just buy some decent android tablet.
Posted October 02, 2013
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Wishbone: Uhm, if you're about to spend that large an amount of money, why not just buy a decent smartphone instead?
I like my current phone. It's one of those 'abuse me all you want I can take it' models. I can wave it around when I go trekking without fear it might get damaged. I also like not having all my eggs in one basket, even if it makes me kind of weird by modern standards. XD
Post edited October 02, 2013 by ashwald
Posted October 02, 2013
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ashwald: ...but as I know zilch on the subject, all I have to go on is that I want it to play 720p quality video and have a reasonably big screen. Also, I have to stress that I CAN'T buy stuff online. (Except steam games T_T) Going by what's available in my area, the best (affordable) options seem to be the iPod touch 16GB 4GEN and the aforementioned Vita.

The iPod costs 249€ and the screen looks great, but I was told I'll be forced to install iTunes on my PC in order to make any of my media usable on the device, which is a really big minus for me.

The Vita comes bundled with an 8GB memory card but, practically, I don't need more than that to get through the day. It costs 199€ and has a bigger screen, which I have yet to take a long proper look at. I plan to of course, but all the stores that let you try out the handheld only let you play games on it and I don't know if there would be a difference in the video quality when watching movies. (No previous experience with OLED) I don't plan on playing any games on whichever of the two I end up getting.

I'm currently leaning towards the Vita. Unfortunately websites of different retail stores say different things - and I'm an idiot that can't find accurate feature lists for either device online.

-Which has the better quality screen for video files?
-Will the Vita force me to use any programs similar to iTunes (or can I simply drag and drop files in the appropriate folders)?
-Are there any freeware programs I can use to convert my media to something the Vita can play? I think Audacity will cover me for audio, but what about video files?
If you're just after media, and specifically video, have you thought about an Archos? I have had a 605 wifi and an Archos 5 Internet Tablet; both have bigger screens than an iphone and are good for video; you can even sideload iplayer on to them (admittedly not helpful if you're not in the UK!)
Posted October 02, 2013
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Wishbone: Uhm, if you're about to spend that large an amount of money, why not just buy a decent smartphone instead?
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ashwald: I like my current phone. It's one of those 'abuse me all you want I can take it' models. I can wave it around when I go trekking without fear it might get damaged. I also like not having all my eggs in one basket, even if it makes me kind of weird by modern standards. XD
Fair enough. As long as you know what you're doing ;-)
Posted October 02, 2013
Yup, a halfway decent tablet seems to fit the bill. You can get those with mobile Internet (sold separately, no idea how that works where you live) so you can look things up online instead of carrying everything on the onboard memory.

Many tablets also include the option of using MicroSDHC cards. They are ubiquitous and, nowadays, fairly inexpensive: I got a 32GB card for about 20€ from a corner computer store.
Posted October 03, 2013
Go get Vita. At least you can grab good video games for it (Like the Vita version of Rayman series and Mighty No.9 and Shantae and....) and it is basically a good all around device.
Posted October 03, 2013
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ashwald: Anything I should especially be careful about regarding protection from malware on android platforms or will everything be fine as long as I don't use the tablet to go online? (I'm sensing studying in the near future)
Well, if you confine your apps to purchases from Google Play Store and have something like Avast Mobile, it should be fine, try not to use "cracked" stuff, y'know, basic PC security common sense.
Posted October 03, 2013
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ashwald: Anything I should especially be careful about regarding protection from malware on android platforms or will everything be fine as long as I don't use the tablet to go online? (I'm sensing studying in the near future)
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F1ach: Well, if you confine your apps to purchases from Google Play Store and have something like Avast Mobile, it should be fine, try not to use "cracked" stuff, y'know, basic PC security common sense.
I don't know if forced adware is considered as malware, but lots of Android freeware games downloaded from Google Play seem to install all kinds of adware to your system tray etc., which is kinda irritating. I'm getting fed up seeing some constant international lottery ads in my Android system tray, and not even sure which app/game exactly installed it, and whether uninstalling the game(s) will uninstall that adware as well.

A bit like Windows freeware apps quite often include all kinds of irritating extra plugins and taskbars to your browsers, but at least on Windows they normally offer you some way to reject the irritating add-ons. I don't recall seeing such options when installing Android freeware.

So, if you don't want to be infected by adware, stay mostly away also from Android freeware, even from GooglePlay. HumbleBundle Android games seem fine, they never seem to install any kind of extra crap to the system.
Post edited October 03, 2013 by timppu
Posted October 03, 2013
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F1ach: Well, if you confine your apps to purchases from Google Play Store and have something like Avast Mobile, it should be fine, try not to use "cracked" stuff, y'know, basic PC security common sense.
avatar
timppu: I don't know if forced adware is considered as malware, but lots of Android freeware games downloaded from Google Play seem to install all kinds of adware to your system tray etc., which is kinda irritating. I'm getting fed up seeing some constant international lottery ads in my Android system tray, and not even sure which app/game exactly installed it, and whether uninstalling the game(s) will uninstall that adware as well.

A bit like Windows freeware apps quite often include all kinds of irritating extra plugins and taskbars to your browsers, but at least on Windows they normally offer you some way to reject the irritating add-ons. I don't recall seeing such options when installing Android freeware.

So, if you don't want to be infected by adware, stay mostly away also from Android freeware, even from GooglePlay. HumbleBundle Android games seem fine, they never seem to install any kind of extra crap to the system.
It's actually worse. They keep downloading stuff to advertise to you and they keep tracking your activities. I'm not surprised if some of them upload our data and sell it.
Posted October 03, 2013
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RedRagan: It's actually worse. They keep downloading stuff to advertise to you and they keep tracking your activities. I'm not surprised if some of them upload our data and sell it.
You mean Google? :)

In this case I am discussing separately the privacy concerns (by Google etc.) and all the extra crap that will clutter your system due to certain freeware.
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General discussion (archive)I want to buy a portable media player...(19 posts)(19 posts)
(19 posts)