MP3 players are the most popular of music players today. The heir of recordings, cassette and 8-track tapes and CDs, MP3 players are used by music lovers because of its portability. MP3 players can carry up to 8GB of audio files -that is more than a thousand songs one can listen to and what is amazing about these music players is that they are not limited to music files alone, videos, photos and other data can be stored as files as well.

The term MP3 stands for MPEG Audio Layer III, MPEG in turn stands for Moving Picture Experts Group. An MP3 is a tool used to compress music or video data to a smaller side. Although the quality of an audio in an mp3 is comparable to that in a cd, some quality is lost in exchange for the smaller size. The compression allows for easy and faster transfers between mp3 players, computers as well as through the Internet. MP3s players are different from their predecessors, as music players of the past required the actual medium whether in the form of a record, tape or cd in order to play music. Acting more of a storage utility, with mp3 players, there is no longer a need to carry additional items, which results in added convenience.

There a few types of MP3 players depending on how many Gigs it packs and how much you have to pay for it. Flash memory players are the smallest in size and it packs 8GB of music and videos. They also provide the longest running time -a maximum of 28 hours of music. Another type of MP3 player use hard drives that packs up to 80 GB! A mini version is also available. These two however have moving segments, which skip from time to time. Compared to the flash drives, hard drive based MP3 players consume more energy with an average of 20 hours of playtime for audio and a mere 6 hours for your video files. The third one is playing music in CDs or minidisc much cheaper than the other two but much larger in terms of physical size. However, the minidisc skips a lot which is a drag. The fourth type, called hybrid players are MP3 players integrated into handsets to sunglasses.

Mp3 players allow the user to pick their own selection of songs to play without having to buy the entire album. Songs for mp3 players can be found in a variety of places, from ripping cds using software, downloading from various sites or even recording straight from cds or radio stations without the need of a computer. Some mp3 players also feature voice recording, which is also a source of audio.

Today, buying accessories for MP3 players has become as vital as which among the MP3 player breed to choose. Items that allow more portability or convenient carrying are being sold as well as additional batteries for a longer playing time. Portable stereo systems are also available.

MP3 players are brought just about everywhere -either to work or to school or to wherever it owner goes. However, users can easily harm their hearing by blasting up the volume in their ears.

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