New phone and mp3 player required! What's the best option?

[Touring Mars]

My beloved iPod is struggling a bit - it's already been for surgery to repair the earphone jack socket and now the battery life is starting to go as well. Sadly, Apple (in their infinite wisdom) have stopped producing the iPod classic, and there is practically nothing on the market that comes close to replacing it, but I do need a replacement. I currently have between 80-100 GB of content stored on it, but realistically I don't need that much - maybe as little as 32GB would suffice for a replacement player.

But, now my phone has decided to pack up as well - it's still OK, but part of the screen is damaged - unsurprisingly it's right in the middle i.e. the point on the screen that every website and app on Earth seems to direct you to. Anyway, I now need a new phone as well, but I don't want to 'upgrade' to a more expensive contract - I'd be quite happy with a sim-free phone that doubles up as a quality mp3 player as well.

The only other consideration is that I'd prefer Android as an operating system, but I'm not that fussy about it since I use Android on my tablet, but use Windows elsewhere. My budget is negotiable, since replacing the iPod would have been around £170, and my phone cost me £50 (second hand), £200 is a reasonable estimate.

Any tips??

 

[Saidur_Ali]

I would get this: Link

Seems a performance bargain if you get it at the offer price and has free delivery.

 

[Grayfox]

A android with an SD card will be fine.

 

[Saidur_Ali]

@Touring Mars , if interested in the phone mentioned, should be going on sale in 10 minutes: Link

 

[RX-7_FD3S]

I would get an iphone 5. I know you said you would want to go to android but you probably have your ipod on itunes ?

A good things with an iphone 5 is that you could directly import all your playlist and stuff. Sure there's tool that convert itunes list into android but it's not working really well usually.

If you dont want a iphone, then maybe a xperia Z1 compact ? With a 64go memory card you're good for a long way. Plus I like the walkman feature, brings nostalgia And the water proof is a nice plus when you're in the rain or something you can still take pics, answer your msg and all without having to fear that your phone will burst into flame ^^

 

[acascianelli]

Used iPhone 5 or 5C, not sure if a 5S would be in your price range. I'd get at least a 32gb model. I know I sold my old 32gb iPhone 5 for like $250USD.

 

[Touring Mars]

Does anyone have any recommendations for apps/software combinations that allow me to make playlists and manage my music files on an Android phone, but using a PC?

I used to use iTunes and it was a simple case of just attaching my iPod to my PC and using iTunes to do everything - however I cannot find a combination of android app and PC software program that lets me do the same thing on an Android phone.

Any recommendations would be appreciated!

 

[Robin]

Does anyone have any recommendations for apps/software combinations that allow me to make playlists and manage my music files on an Android phone, but using a PC?

I used to use iTunes and it was a simple case of just attaching my iPod to my PC and using iTunes to do everything - however I cannot find a combination of android app and PC software program that lets me do the same thing on an Android phone.

Any recommendations would be appreciated!

Because of the ability to manage your music library on the phone itself it has negated the need for software on the computer side. Off the top of my head I cant think of any for Andriod, the only company that really still does this with smartphones is Apple. If you were buying a dedicated MP3 player (people still make them) then yes you could still find dedicated PC software to manage the music.

Generally (around the late 00's) there was feeling against needing software to do this and drag and drop became very much favoured (then you sort it out on the device). However, there is Google's Play Music Manager which kinda does what you want but it actually puts all your organised music in the cloud to stream to your phone. So you would continue to organise everything in iTunes then send it through to the cloud.

www.androidcentral.com/uploading-and-downloading-music-google-play-music#manager

 

[coryclifford]

If just a small MP3 player, see if you can fin an old Sandisk Clip.

And now that I've looked up Sandisk, to be sure of the spelt write, on Amazingon, yeah, still available.

It's the, not an Apple, tiny Shuffle, and cheap.

(Wait, nevermind me, I missed the phone app action...)

 

[baldgye]

Does anyone have any recommendations for apps/software combinations that allow me to make playlists and manage my music files on an Android phone, but using a PC?

I used to use iTunes and it was a simple case of just attaching my iPod to my PC and using iTunes to do everything - however I cannot find a combination of android app and PC software program that lets me do the same thing on an Android phone.

Any recommendations would be appreciated!

I was in this same problem, but your kind of screwed.
Android is horrible really horrible at managing music libraries above what Winamp can really provide. I ended up simply sticking with an iPhone and trying to sync everything manually through iTunes.

But the only solution I could come up with for Android was to set up my Winamp to monitor my music folder(s), use iTunes to manage my music and make sure the files were compatible and then shoot that over onto my phone. If Winamp didn't have an issue neither did my phone. I ditched my Samsung phones for iPhone's after less than a month or so of using them, but I could use Apple Music on my Samsung, but I can't remember if this worked for ONLY Apple Music subscription music or offline too.

 

[Touring Mars]

Because of the ability to manage your music library on the phone itself it has negated the need for software on the computer side.

This does appear to be the case, but I still find it hard to believe that one cannot manage a music library on an Android device through a PC interface - it is infinitely easier using a mouse and a PC rather than trying to do everything on a phone.

-

I've all but given up on my android phone as a decent device for managing my music. After manually constructing a bunch of playlists - a task that takes minutes on iTunes (well, before they made iTunes horrible too) can literally take hours on the phone... but my playlists are/were valuable to me so I figured it was worth the time investment. And then the app crashed and my playlists were gone... well, the playlists are still there but they are all empty. The only good that came of that was that I am now listed in the Guinness Book of Records for the World's Loudest Expletive. Anyway, from that point onward I started looking into how I could make playlists/manage artwork etc. using my PC rather than having to do it manually on the phone, but to no avail.

Ironically, my trusty old iPod (which has been on its last legs since 2015) is still working, albeit it is reduced to non-portable status, but making playlists on that is frustratingly easy compared to the nightmare that is my phone. What was worse is that there wasn't even a decent mp3 player on the market to replace the iPod other than the iPhone (which I don't want... I'm happy with an Android phone that doesn't cost a fortune to use), but now I am looking at a Sony Walkman which will hopefully be managable via a PC.

 

[baldgye]

This does appear to be the case, but I still find it hard to believe that one cannot manage a music library on an Android device through a PC interface - it is infinitely easier using a mouse and a PC rather than trying to do everything on a phone.

-

I've all but given up on my android phone as a decent device for managing my music. After manually constructing a bunch of playlists - a task that takes minutes on iTunes (well, before they made iTunes horrible too) can literally take hours on the phone... but my playlists are/were valuable to me so I figured it was worth the time investment. And then the app crashed and my playlists were gone... well, the playlists are still there but they are all empty. The only good that came of that was that I am now listed in the Guinness Book of Records for the World's Loudest Expletive. Anyway, from that point onward I started looking into how I could make playlists/manage artwork etc. using my PC rather than having to do it manually on the phone, but to no avail.

Ironically, my trusty old iPod (which has been on its last legs since 2015) is still working, albeit it is reduced to non-portable status, but making playlists on that is frustratingly easy compared to the nightmare that is my phone. What was worse is that there wasn't even a decent mp3 player on the market to replace the iPod other than the iPhone (which I don't want... I'm happy with an Android phone that doesn't cost a fortune to use), but now I am looking at a Sony Walkman which will hopefully be managable via a PC.

I spent many an hour trying to get Foobar to work even closely like iTunes, but alas, it's like Ubuntu... great if your a software engineer, but ***** for the rest of us.
One thing I've also found, nothing, nothing I've ever come across can create automatic playlists... this is a feature I used (until Apple broke it) extensively, Genius playlists too... but both have been stripped out of Apple Music and don't exist anywhere else.

If you've given up on Android and don't want any kind of iPhone (you could get an old iPhone, and have some fun with it), then I would very much recommend refurbishing your iPod. You can buy replacement parts for everything from the wheel, battery and screen (even mobo I think). I think I've even seen blue-tooth modded onto a Classic before... but yeah, I wouldn't invest in Walkmans as the software is ****.


For reference, when I was in the same position I was looking at ~£500 mp3 players and external amps and even for the super high end the PC software to support them and even the on-board software is just all kinds of ****. For me the pinnacle was the Zune with the OG software, but iTunes playlist functions killed it dead. If they are really a big thing for you, Id simply refurbish your existing iPod, buy a bunch of spare parts in-case they become scares(?) down the line and boom, that ****er will last you till you're 70


Edit: I think when I get some time, I'm going to dig out my old dead iPod Classic and slap an SSD in it

 

[Touring Mars]

Some food for thought there - I was worried about the Walkman having crap software...

My iPod has already been 'fixed' once but I fear that it is beyond my wherewithal to refurbish it without spending a fortune on it... I'm operating on the principle that it still does what I need it to do at home, so I might as well not risk killing it completely.

I have resisted the iPod touch for the sole reason that it is vastly inferior to the original iPod... at least the original iPod has physical buttons, meaning that you can control it (at least pause and skip anyway) without removing it from your pocket. It sounds trivial, but this is a major annoyance to me, having to log in to my phone every time I want to skip a track.

The reality is that smartphones have killed the mp3 player

 

[baldgye]

Some food for thought there - I was worried about the Walkman having crap software...

My iPod has already been 'fixed' once but I fear that it is beyond my wherewithal to refurbish it without spending a fortune on it... I'm operating on the principle that it still does what I need it to do at home, so I might as well not risk killing it completely.

I have resisted the iPod touch for the sole reason that it is vastly inferior to the original iPod... at least the original iPod has physical buttons, meaning that you can control it (at least pause and skip anyway) without removing it from your pocket. It sounds trivial, but this is a major annoyance to me, having to log in to my phone every time I want to skip a track.

The reality is that smartphones have killed the mp3 player

If you google about, you can built your own iPod Classic for less than the cost of replacing it, with OEM parts.

 

[Robin]

This does appear to be the case, but I still find it hard to believe that one cannot manage a music library on an Android device through a PC interface - it is infinitely easier using a mouse and a PC rather than trying to do everything on a phone.

I've all but given up on my android phone as a decent device for managing my music. After manually constructing a bunch of playlists - a task that takes minutes on iTunes (well, before they made iTunes horrible too) can literally take hours on the phone... but my playlists are/were valuable to me so I figured it was worth the time investment. And then the app crashed and my playlists were gone... well, the playlists are still there but they are all empty. The only good that came of that was that I am now listed in the Guinness Book of Records for the World's Loudest Expletive. Anyway, from that point onward I started looking into how I could make playlists/manage artwork etc. using my PC rather than having to do it manually on the phone, but to no avail.

Oh I agree, unfortunately because the average consumer became more of a streamer and held less of a home stored digital music collection drag and drop for the odd song here and there became the defacto method. Drag and drop does have it's benefits (I hate having to use iTunes to put one song on my shuffle!) but it's certainly not good for organising an extensive music collection properly.

Having a desktop program to sort everything and then when it's ready sync it across is a joy. iTunes back in the day was a excellent piece of kit, arguably and crucial to the iPod's success as the device itself. Even WMP was excellent working with portable devices that supported it.

Ironically, my trusty old iPod (which has been on its last legs since 2015) is still working, albeit it is reduced to non-portable status, but making playlists on that is frustratingly easy compared to the nightmare that is my phone. What was worse is that there wasn't even a decent mp3 player on the market to replace the iPod other than the iPhone (which I don't want... I'm happy with an Android phone that doesn't cost a fortune to use)

What's wrong with your iPod Classic? Has the battery gone, if so that can be replaced reasonably easily. I have a 4G Classic and replaced the battery a few years ago. Are they any other issues with it?

...but now I am looking at a Sony Walkman which will hopefully be managable via a PC.

Some food for thought there - I was worried about the Walkman having crap software...

I would say that a Walkman does sound like the ideal solution for what your after if you don't need streaming apps. Sony are literally the only ones now producing good MP3 players that aren't all in the expensive audiophile bracket. As far as I'm aware they still use PC software (Music Center). Sony had a bad wrap for the quality of the software they used for their players back in the day, Sonic Stage... *shudders*. I don't think it's anywhere near as bad now but it would be worth downloading it first and having a play to see if it's tolerable.

https://musiccenter.sony.net/en/

The site does look janky but the Sony website does link to it,

www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/articles/00186624

I have resisted the iPod touch for the sole reason that it is vastly inferior to the original iPod... at least the original iPod has physical buttons, meaning that you can control it (at least pause and skip anyway) without removing it from your pocket. It sounds trivial, but this is a major annoyance to me, having to log in to my phone every time I want to skip a track.

You can control the tracks and volume from the headphone cord controls but yeah a dedicated player with buttons is better.

 

[Touring Mars]

I would say that a Walkman does sound like the ideal solution for what your after if you don't need streaming apps. Sony are literally the only ones now producing good MP3 players that aren't all in the expensive audiophile bracket. As far as I'm aware they still use PC software (Music Center). Sony had a bad wrap for the quality of the software they used for their players back in the day, Sonic Stage... *shudders*. I don't think it's anywhere near as bad now but it would be worth downloading it first and having a play to see if it's tolerable.

https://musiccenter.sony.net/en/

The site does look janky but the Sony website does link to it,

www.sony.co.uk/electronics/support/articles/00186624.

Great idea, thanks 👍

 

[Shaun]

@Touring Mars I have a walkman and Music Centre on my PC. Admittedly I haven't had it for a long time but if you wish ask and I can test stuff for you.
I can't say off the top of my head how well it handles playlists as I've never created one in my life on any device though I know the function is there. I'm old school and tend to listen from an album from start to finish.

FWIW the sound quality blows away any smart phone I've used in comparison especially when I connect it to my headphone amp.

 

[Touring Mars]

@Touring Mars I have a walkman and Music Centre on my PC. Admittedly I haven't had it for a long time but if you wish ask and I can test stuff for you.
I can't say off the top of my head how well it handles playlists as I've never created one in my life on any device though I know the function is there. I'm old school and tend to listen from an album from start to finish.

FWIW the sound quality blows away any smart phone I've used in comparison especially when I connect it to my headphone amp.

Thanks for the kind offer 👍

I wasn't really considering the sound quality aspect, though yours is the same kind of Walkman that I'm looking at too - I find that my choice of headphones makes a huge difference (I religiously go with Sennheiser in-earphones which always sound great).

Can you transfer/play songs purchased from iTunes on it?

I've also heard that making playlists is a pain, but I wonder if they mean on the device itself (as making a playlist on any mp3 player itself is a pain) or via the PC? I'm used to making playlists on my PC so that would be handy to know if it is relatively easy.

 

[Shaun]

Thanks for the kind offer 👍

I wasn't really considering the sound quality aspect, though yours is the same kind of Walkman that I'm looking at too - I find that my choice of headphones makes a huge difference (I religiously go with Sennheiser in-earphones which always sound great).

Can you transfer/play songs purchased from iTunes on it?

I've also heard that making playlists is a pain, but I wonder if they mean on the device itself (as making a playlist on any mp3 player itself is a pain) or via the PC? I'm used to making playlists on my PC so that would be handy to know if it is relatively easy.

If I don't get back to you within a day or so if I don't give me a nudge via PM or this thread, I've got a few things to do.
Anyway a quick try of making a playlist on the PC and transferring it to the device is super easy.
I'll check up on the iTunes question. 👍

 

[Touring Mars]

@Shaun I met a mate of mine for a beer tonight and we got talking about mp3 players etc. as he treated himself to those new Apple earphones (which look amazing!) - it just so happened that we were in a bar about 100 yards from Argos that has the Sony Walkman I wanted... my mate said 'why don't we finish these beers and go for a pint somewhere else, and you can buy that Walkman as we go past Argos?' So I now have a Sony Walkman mp3 player It's tiny, but it looks great - plus I'm looking forward to testing out this 'Hi-Res' audio. It pretty much ticks all the boxes, even if it can't play iTunes stuff... I've got a soft spot for Sony anyway so I'm pretty happy with it already

 

[Touring Mars]

OK, so in the cold light of day, I can see what the problem is with the Sony software...

I can't seem to figure out how to see what files are on the device and as such I can't create playlists from files stored on the flash drive. I am used to iTunes and being able to manage files on the device, but that doesn't seem to be the case with this device... ironically, it is the total opposite to the problem with using an Android phone insomuch as everything needs to be done on the PC (including storing files), and playlists need to be manually transferred over (unless I'm missing something!) - but since all my files are already on the device, won't transferring them again mean lots of duplication?

Fortunately, Winamp appears to have come to the rescue as it allows me to create playlists directly on the device from either the device hard drive or the flash drive (where all my files are) - it's still a bit clunky but at least it works, and I've already made a bunch of playlists. The Bluetooth connection also seems a bit sketchy - I could connect to a wireless speaker but can't control the volume (whereas my phone can control the volume on the same speaker) and it won't connect to either my laptop or my Mac at work, which is frustrating - but it's not a deal breaker. The FM radio is a nice touch and I'll probably use that, but one major thing that appears to be missing is a search function. Also, the max volume is lower than what I am used to, but it is just about acceptable depending on the material I'm listening to.

All in all, it does what I want it to do, so I'm pretty happy - I wish, however, that Winamp worked with my phone, as I can't see any reason why it doesn't.

 

[Outspacer]

Also, the max volume is lower than what I am used to, but it is just about acceptable depending on the material I'm listening to.

Apparently that can be resolved: https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SonyNWDestTool

Disclaimer: I haven't tried it, still on the fence about whether to go for an A45 or put a new batt and flash into my iPod Video (which does all of what I want).

 

[Crash]

From the brief look at your comments, it seems like you still really like your iPod Classic other than its non-existent battery life. Have you thought about buying a replacement battery and opening up the iPod yourself to swap it in?

 

[Touring Mars]

From the brief look at your comments, it seems like you still really like your iPod Classic other than its non-existent battery life. Have you thought about buying a replacement battery and opening up the iPod yourself to swap it in?

Yeh, I have - but I'm working on the principle that it does at least still work, which is better than what might happen if I decided to 'repair' it myself. However a mate of mine has fixed his own iPod before and so I might let him have a go at fixing it. I suspect though that there is something more seriously wrong with it than just the battery, since a charge would last for hours provided you didn't touch the navigation wheel - but skipping tracks or using the wheel to browse files would kill the charge very fast.

The Sony Walkman player is good though - there's one or two things about it I don't like, but ultimately it does what I want it to do.