MP3 players - advice needed please!

[Mrs C.]

Having successfully completed the CRUK Race for Life last month, I`m trying to keep up the running and have decided to buy a small, inexpensive, clip-on-able MP3 player to while away the time spent plodding round the Mile.

Does anyone have any suggestions - one that won`t break the bank and that is really easy to use???

I want to use it for music mainly, but podcasts and audiobooks are a possibility too.

[J.R.]

Too advanced for me, Mary, though Jan does use one !

[bluegrunt]

Accept no imitations.

http://www.apple.com/uk/ipodshuffle/

[LongGone]

The iPod Shuffle has a 2GB capacity. If you need more, then the Nano comes in 8 and 16 GB versions. All can handle music, as well as podcasts and audiobooks.

[Mrs C.]

Too advanced for me, Mary, though Jan does use one !

Mary????
a senior moment John!!

[englishangel]

It's OK if you are running around CH but I would caution anyone who is not in a safe environment against running with headphones in. You can hear neither a pursuer (human or canine) nor traffic.

[bluegrunt]

The iPod Shuffle has a 2GB capacity. If you need more, then the Nano comes in 8 and 16 GB versions. All can handle music, as well as podcasts and audiobooks.

Indeed - my iPod shuffle currently has 151 songs and 17.9 hours of music - enough for even the slowest circuit of the Mile! Good point about the traffic, but if you're running in a safe environment there's nothing like a good tune to keep you going.

[J.R.]

The iPod Shuffle has a 2GB capacity. If you need more, then the Nano comes in 8 and 16 GB versions. All can handle music, as well as podcasts and audiobooks.

Is that similar to the Harlem Shuffle ??

[LongGone]

It's OK if you are running around CH but I would caution anyone who is not in a safe environment against running with headphones in. You can hear neither a pursuer (human or canine) nor traffic.

I only use a earphone in the non-traffic-side ear

[fra828]

Aplologies if I upset people here, but I strongly believe that mp3 players should be legally banned for drivers and cyclists and any other road users; how can anyone using one concentrate and be properly aware of the traffic? And of course there was that tragic case of the jogger at CH only a few months ago.

[Mrs C.]

I couldn`t agree more!
Only yesterday I drove past a woman cycling along the main road here, - no helmet , and earphones in both ears .
And she wasn`t a youngster either!
Further along the road was a family group of 6 - 2 adults, 4 children aged between around 4 - 10, all on bikes and not a single helmet between them
And on my return journey was a runner with earphones, on the wrong side of the road (ie NOT facing oncoming traffic)
Don`t these people realise how dangerous it is?

I rarely stray off-site when I`m jogging - and haven`t cycled on a public highway for years!

[bluegrunt]

Aplologies if I upset people here, but I strongly believe that mp3 players should be legally banned for drivers and cyclists and any other road users; how can anyone using one concentrate and be properly aware of the traffic?

Well you haven't upset me, but I'd hate to live in the sort of country which might consider legislating against something like this. I think that people should use their own judgement, and suffer the consequences of their actions. And I see you have included drivers - does this mean that you would remove radios and CD players and such from cars?

And of course there was that tragic case of the jogger at CH only a few months ago.

I'm sorry I'm not aware of this story.

[fra828]

Aplologies if I upset people here, but I strongly believe that mp3 players should be legally banned for drivers and cyclists and any other road users; how can anyone using one concentrate and be properly aware of the traffic?

Well you haven't upset me, but I'd hate to live in the sort of country which might consider legislating against something like this. I think that people should use their own judgement, and suffer the consequences of their actions. And I see you have included drivers - does this mean that you would remove radios and CD players and such from cars?

And of course there was that tragic case of the jogger at CH only a few months ago.

I'm sorry I'm not aware of this story.

But their actions impact on others if there is an accident. No I wouldn't remove radios and cd players from cars, I listen to the radio when driving-it's the ear/headphones thing I'm trying to get at as the wearer could be unaware of other sounds.

[J.R.]

It all depends on how far you want to promote the 'Nanny-State'.

Legislating against I-Pod use etc., is probably taking things a bit far. Common sense is the key here.

After all, deaf people are quite entitled to drive and they fully realise the extra vigilance they need.

Whilst on the subject of cycling, I do seriously wish local authorities and the police would treat cycling on the pavement with more concern than they already do. I was sitting in the window seat of my 'local' yesterday afternoon, which overlooks South Street Dorking and witnessed a male, (NOT a youth, but a man of around 25), cycling at full speed on the pavemnent as if he was already late for an appointment. This was presumably so he could cycle AGAINST the flow of the traffic on a one way street. I hate to think how serious it would have been had he struck someone, especially a child or senior-citizen !

That's my rant for the day !

[englishangel]

Just don't get me (or husband) started on cyclists.

I drove into London yesterday evening to pick up my daughter from walk (as I do fairly frequently, and going down the Holloway Road at 9.45 pm (so half an hour after sunset) and I counted 5 cyclists without lights - those were just the ones I saw.

Yesterday morning I was turning left into Beaconsfield station when a bike rider (on one of those little fold-up ones) swung across the road in front of me, without indicating.

Husband's office overlooks a busy junction in central London and cyclists frequently cycle across the red lights. He looked out one day and there were 20 lined up at the red lights! Looking again he saw that 2 were bicycle cops!

Regarding the headphone thing, deaf people are used to being deaf and devise other strategies to compensate, wearing headphones is temporary and you don't have those strategies.