Portable Media Players at a Glance
There used to be a time where we would have portable music devices to carry around our music with us. Some of us would get to carry portable radios to listen to local radio stations. We even enjoyed having boomboxes to enjoy stereos and cassette players. We would then see the advent of portable cassette players. Later, you could take your fancy compact discs with your portable CD player. We would eventually see the advent of MP3s and MP3 players.
Some of the more popular portable media players include the likes of the Sony Walkman. The Walkman would be successful with cassette tapes and then later MP3s. Also finding popularity were the line of PMPs from Sandisk like the Clip and Fuze. With Wi-Fi becoming a thing, there were even PMs such as the Sandisk Sansa Connect and the Microsoft Zune. So this meant you could listen to Internet radio stations on your PMP if you were in a place with WiFi access.
What many consider the Gold Standard of portable media players is the iPod. The iPod would revolutionize the way we carry around music. The classic iPod would exist between 2001 and 2022. It would see four different models in its time- Classic, Nano, Shuffle, and Touch. I wasn't fortunate enough to buy or afford an iPod in my time. At one point, I wanted to get one of the iPod Nanos for music and video. I even once considered the iPod Touch until I found something else. Another key to the iPod Touch was in its ability to play iOS games without needing an online connection. The iPod Touch would be a device for those who want to enjoy the perks of an iPod but without the phone functionality of the iPhone.
Even with the iPod Touch and the iPhone gaining popularity, some other companies wanted to make Android a thing. One such company to put forth an Android-powered portable media player was Samsung. Samsung made four versions of their Samsung Galaxy to exclusively play media and Android apps. All of their Samsung Galaxy Players were designated by their screen size- 3.6, 4.0, 4.2, and 5.0 models. There was even a model exclusively in South Korea which America never got- the Samsung Galaxy Player 5.8 player. I think there was also a seven-inch one also only in South Korea, but don't hold me to that.
Today, a lot of any portable media is stored on our smartphones. Either we have our own media stored on them, or we may have them stored on certain memory devices like SD cards. Feel free to try to carry as much media as your device will allow.
Revisiting Portable Media Players I Owned
Now for some of the portable media players I used to use.
RCA Lyra.
^ from: eBay - This was the first portable media player I remember owning- the RCA Lyra.
My first real portable media player was an RCA Lyra. I don't know which model I had specifically, but it is the RD1021/1071/1075 series. This device allowed you to put on as much as between 64MB to 128MB of music with the top of the line model. This was a very good MP3 player for me... except for one thing. That thing is the program you have to use to put music on it, a crash-happy, trash application called Musicmatch. Still, for what it could do, it served me to listen to my music on the go. Of the devices I feature, I think this is the only one powered by batteries you must replace.
Sandisk Sansa Clip.
^ from: QVC - This previous model Sandisk Sansa Clip was great to have and so convenient to enjoy hearing music.
I felt so liberated when I picked up a Sandisk Sansa Clip around 2008 or so. No more of that janky trash Musicmatch to put on music. This MP3 player can be charged through a cable connected to your PC. In fact, you could put on songs simply through Windows Explorer. The Clip had beautiful sound quality whether listening to local radio or MP3s. The one I had was a blue Sansa Clip with 2GB of storage. Going through songs was not a painstaking process. Saving radio stations wasn't bad either. It served me well in my final semester in Community College. Later, I'd be sad because this device would not update my collection of songs or fully charge. So I needed something better down the road for my music consumption.
Sandisk Sansa Fuze.
^ from: eBay - The Sandisk Sansa Fuze offered great sound quality for radio and personal media.
It was a happy time when I got a Sandisk Sansa Fuze. I got a red Fuze with 4GB os space (maximum was 8GB). I liked the pretty color display. Previously, I had one of these to watch videos on the go. However, I don't think I ever got to put videos on it or see too many of them. If you had a microSD card, you could increase the storage of your Fuze.
Samsung Galaxy Player (3.6 Model).
^ from: Amazon - The Samsung Galaxy Player 3.6 is my first Android device of any kind I owned.
I wanted an iPod Touch when I felt like I wanted something better than my Sandisk Sansa Fuze circa 2012. I felt like I was finally able to own my first Apple product of any kind. I then learned of Android. I then learned of the Samsung Galaxy Player series and Android. I thought the Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 would be perfect for me. Back then, though, my finances would only allow me to get the 3.6 for the time. While the iPod Touch is infinitely better than the Samsung Galaxy Player 3.6, I was still happy to by a refurbished one on Amazon. This device was the first device where I got to take pictures, play music and video, and use a handful of compatible applications and games. I was still happy with my Amazon purchase and utilized its picture taking abilities. I could fit in a microSD card for some more storage. I could also charge it through a USB cable and not need to have a PC on to power it.
Samsung Galaxy Player (4.2 Model).
^ from: Amazon - The Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 was nearly perfect for me at the time.
My dream portable media player was finally in my possession! The Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2 really served me well from picture taking to using applications. It felt much better than the 3.6 and had overall better specifications than the 3.6 model. Slowly, I wasn't regretting getting an iPod Touch or even a classic iPod using this Samsung Galaxy Player 4.2. Like the 3.6 model, you could put in a microSD card for some more storage.
These were about the portable media players I remember most using and liking.
Portable Media Players Since Smartphones
Ever since getting my first smartphone, I am reminded that the Android portable media players I used did not have the phone capabilities. I still prefer having a portable media player apart from my phone. I want my smartphone to be just that- my phone. Even still, I do not want to rely on my smartphone to be my carry-around computer. I do think my smartphone basically is a fancy portable media player... with phone features.
It's sort of the inescapable reality as far as media consumption goes these days. So even if you don't want your smartphone to be this all-in-one device, you almost basically have to accept it as your all-in-one device handling everything from calls to messages to all of your applications and games. Again- this is old-fashioned me speaking.
Portable media players aren't going to go away entirely; but if you still prefer a portable media player for your media consumption, you can find a lot of them on the cheap these days. Or you may have to elect getting a smartphone but without using the phone features, getting a phone plan, or a SIM card for it. Just be sure to enjoy portable media players for what they are and what they provide.
Have you any memories on portable media players? I shared mine with all of you. I appreciate you being part of this throwback! If you enjoy my work, please Subscribe/Follow my blog(s) in any capacity if you love my work and want to support me any way you can. Share my blog post(s) with others if you enjoy my work. Thank you for reading! Take care and be well.
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