

With the iPhone came the iPod touch, effectively an iPhone without the "phone" part, using a touch screen and iOS to expand the idea of the iPod far beyond music. The iPod started with a hard drive, a spinning wheel, and an unimpressive screen, and evolved from there until Apple's next big game changer, the iPhone. It looked cooler and stored a lot more songs than its non-Apple competitors, and its white earbuds (precursors to today's AirPods) were something of a hip status symbol. Then along came the Apple iPod in 2001 to redefine and popularize the concept of the MP3 player. The MP3 player, along with Napster, was viewed as the downfall of the recording industry, and even Metallica got involved in lawsuits that now seem quaint, if not ridiculous, in an era when music is more often subscribed to than actually purchased and owned. It sold quite well, and the RIAA panicked, fearing that devices like the Rio would be used to share "stolen" files. Regardless of which model was truly first to market, the 1998 Rio PMP300 (Opens in a new window) was, for all intents and purposes, the first MP3 player of importance. A History of the MP3 PlayerĬhances are you don't remember the first MP3 players on the market-either because you weren't alive, or because you didn't own one.

#Mp3 player walmart portable
And if you're willing to spend some serious dough to get your lossless audio in a portable player that works with your awesome headphones in this era of headphone jack-less phones, then yes, you probably want to consider a dedicated portable music player. In other words, the MP3 player in 2019 is a device for audiophiles. They aren't particularly rugged devices, with the exception of waterproof earphones with built-in storage, like the JBL Endurance Dive (Opens in a new window).įor the most part, the people who will actually benefit from a portable music player in 2019 probably all have a few key traits in common: They buy music files, they prefer high-quality file formats, they rarely use streaming services (except for maybe Tidal), and they likely have some very nice wired headphones. If you're looking for a gym-friendly music source, it's hard to make a truly compelling argument for MP3 players. To quickly answer the question of whether you should buy a dedicated MP3 player, the answer is: Maybe. With smartphones and tablets occupying the space in pockets and bags that was once reserved for iPods, the MP3 player has adapted to become a very different beast for a very specific kind of user. But this once-ubiquitous device from the early aughts is now niche, to put it mildly.
#Mp3 player walmart how to
#Mp3 player walmart Pc

