Low-cost MP3 players?

[Angel-A]

I'm looking to get a new MP3 player that's about $20-$30, but still of good quality. i.e., it works well, won't suddenly cease to fuction right after getting it, case and buttons won't break easily, lasts for a decent amount of time, etc.
So far, I'm looking at these, are they worth buying, have any to suggest?
[Link], [Link], [Link].

[rEDkILLER]

The black one don't have voice recording.
For the rest it's all the same, choose what suits you...

[Weatherlight]

I was actually leafing through a radioshack leaflet and thought about this thread so I took a look at their MP3 player collection and had a revelation: I had no idea which one of them were good.


So there you have it.

[grey wolf]

I'm looking to get a new MP3 player that's about $20-$30, but still of good quality. i.e., it works well, won't suddenly cease to fuction right after getting it, case and buttons won't break easily, lasts for a decent amount of time, etc.

Refurb (r0x0rz) Sandisk Sansa from Woot.com. They come up from time to time.

[Mhaddy]

Aye, for particular models I haven't the foggiest if it doesn't start with "i" though sticking to a good name for the price range you're looking at, should be a safe move. Sandisk = good.

[Cpt.Raynor]

I'm seconding/thirding the support for the Sansa. I bought a refurbished e260 from FactoryDirect over a year ago and I'm still using it. The 4gbs usually run between $30-40 (Canadian) for the older ones that play video. The music player-only ones run for cheaper I think.

Whatever you do though, don't buy one of those Chinese imitation iPods. Just....don't.

[barak1001]

I bought my boys Creative Zen V plus mp3 players about two years ago for Christmas.

They're great mp3 players and are capable of playing video (though only uncompressed video). Mp3 playback is clear and the device reads as a mass storage device in windows, so no need for any special sync software in order to add songs to it.

Battery time runs about 10 to 13 hours on one and they'll take a moderate amount of abuse. Both of the ones I bought for the boys are functional still, though I have had to replace the screen on one after my 14 year old dropped it on the concrete.

You can pick one up for about $40 for a refurbished model. Not sure if that's within your price range, but I probably wouldn't buy my kids a $20 MP3 player, knowing how badly they abuse electronics.

[grey wolf]

I'm seconding/thirding the support for the Sansa. I bought a refurbished e260 from FactoryDirect over a year ago and I'm still using it. The 4gbs usually run between $30-40 (Canadian) for the older ones that play video. The music player-only ones run for cheaper I think.

plus, they can run rockbox.