Advice on choosing an mp3 player and an ereader

[aravinda]

I have noticed that while studying languages on the computer and phone, I get frequently distracted. I use these devices mainly for listening to audio and reading PDFs. Because of the time sink caused by the distractions and the strain on my eyes staring at the screen, I have been thinking of (1) using an mp3 player for listening and (2) an ereader for reading PDFs. However, finding/choosing the right devices seems to be quite a daunting task with the plethora of devices on the market. So I thought I’d post here asking you for advice.
(1) Mp3 player
For me, an mp3 player needs to have actual buttons (the bigger the better) for play/pause and other main functions and should allow simple drag and drop of audio files. A boombox wouldn’t suit me first, because of the difficulty of managing and finding audio tracks and second, it would be too big to keep on my desk. But if there’s a smaller version with a more sophisticated file management system I would be happy to hear about it. There’s another, non-essential requirement (because I’m not very hopeful it can be fulfilled). I don’t like headphones and can’t keep earphones on for more than two minutes! And I use headphones only if there’re people around me. There used to be small audio players with speakers (phones still do) but now they seemed have gone extinct. But if you know of any such device please let me know.
(2) An ereader for reading PDFs
This is not as important as an mp3 player, but I would love to know what you use or recommend. I already have a Kindle paperwhite but as you know it’s not suitable for PDFs. I’m thinking of a device with a bigger screen with some kind of light for reading at night. The device needs to be optimised for reading rather than for note taking and the availablity of dictionaries in number of a languages is importnat too.
I would very much appreciate your suggestions, recommendations and tips. Thank you in advance.

[zenmonkey]

If you don’t like headphones, get a simple Bluetooth speaker. Connects with your current phone or computer and allows for simple audio output.

If you want physical buttons get a Bluetooth remote for your phone. I use a Satechi remote.

https://goo.gl/images/RSx4Xn

You can find cheaper ones, too.

[Ogrim]

The reMarkable is great for reading pdf files. It is approximately the size of an iPad (10 inches high) and as it is a "paper tablet" you can annotate the documents you are reading, make notes etc.. I have been using it for a year now and I think it is great. Drawbacks: It is expensive and it does not have any backlight so not very suited for reading at night unless you have a good reading lamp by your bed (or wherever you read at night).

[aravinda]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

Can you use calibre to convert PDFs to mobi or whatever? Or maybe it doesn’t do a great job (I’ve never tried myself). I know you also said you wanted a bigger screen too, so maybe it doesn’t matter anyway.

Morgana, yes, you can convert PDFs to mobi with Calibre, if they are not scanned pages (most old books from Archive.org etc are) and if the page layout is simple. The ones I converted came out with the formatting all messed up.

The reMarkable is great for reading pdf files...

Ogrim, I remeber reading of your experience of reMarkable in your log and I almost bought one during a promotional offer. I didn’t buy because it doesn’t have have a built in light and also because I saw a review saying that it’s great for note taking but not as good for reading compared to dedicated ereaders. Maybe I'm just being too fastidious.
Has anyone used other ereaders like Onyx?

But what I want to hear the most about is a good, mp3 player.

[reineke]

Cowon

Drag and drop, hard buttons, long battery life, loudspeakers etc (especially on older models).

For various reasons I am having a deja vu moment here.


https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... =17&t=7887

[Cèid Donn]

I have an old Cowon iAudio U2 "stick" MP3 player that's about 10 years old and still works and amazingly, the battery still holds a charge. Downside: it's about 10 years old and compared to newer models it's skimpy on memory (1GB) and features. I can't speak for any newer Cowon models but I've seen a lot of people recommend the brand over the years.

I also have a Sony Walkman that's about 7 years old. It still works, when I can find its custom charger (it's not compatible with any of the dozens of chargers and USB cables I have collected over the years, so that's a pain). It is the easiest of my 3 mp3 players to organize and customize files and has the best playback features, including speakers. Sadly, from what I read from customer reviews, more recent Walkman models don't let you organize your MP3 files like the older models did, as they are geared now more for streaming services, so I would recommend you avoid Sony for language files.

My other player is a Philips GoGear Vibe. It was cheap, and I pretty much got what I paid for. You have to get familiar with how it organizes the files to make sure you add folders and files in the way that suits how you want to use them, and its own way of creating playlists is a pain, so I just make folders to put the files i want for that playlist in them. So maybe not the best thing, although I make it work because I can't afford something better right now. Also the most annoying thing about it is it doesn't have a power-down feature to save the battery if you accidentally leave it playing, and the battery life isn't quite as good as it could be. So I feel like I have to recharge the damn thing all the time.

I haven't done any serious shopping for a new MP3 player recently so I'm not sure what all is available right now, but I can say that you will mostly like want one that has good battery life and an easy way to organize files, and not one that is just set up for streaming media. Other features you might want to consider is voice recording and speakers, if those things suit your learning needs. Language files tend to be much smaller than music files, so you don't really need a ton of memory unless you want to use the device for videos too.

[reineke]

Russian novels are long. Good players have a MicroSD slot.

[galaxyrocker]

Have you considered going to a Kindle Fire? It can handle PDFs, as well as music and any video you want. It's easy to manage with Calibre as well. And, if it interests you, you can also add the Scribd app to it and read those on it as well (which is why I keep my Fire instead of going to Paperwhite myself). I also believe you can play the audio while reading the pdf, so if you found a recording you can even do both at the same time.

[aravinda]

Thanks for your suggestions, reineke, Cèid Donn and galaxyrocker.

Cowon...

I had a look at Cowon audio players. They have a confusing array of models. Unfortunately, they are quite expensive and hard to find in Australia. And current models don’t seem to have speakers as far as I can see.
Were you thinking of a Cowan like this?
Cowon M2
It seems to have everything I'm looking for and is less expesive than newer models.

...For various reasons I am having a deja vu moment here...

Nothing to worry about, I guess, unless it’s followed by a seizure

[reineke]

Cowon...

I had a look at Cowon audio players. They have a confusing array of models. Unfortunately, they are quite expensive and hard to find in Australia. And current models don’t seem to have speakers as far as I can see.
Were you thinking of a Cowan like this?
Cowon M2
It seems to have everything I'm looking for and is less expesive than newer models.

...For various reasons I am having a deja vu moment here...

Nothing to worry about, I guess, unless it’s followed by a seizure

M2 is the model I recommended in the thread I linked to. It's actually one of their newer models that recycles some of their older/earlier parts like the resistive screen. The newest models are high definition music players that wouldn't make sense unless you bought them for music playback together with a pair of expensive headphones. M2 is still a premium player with superior insides. I recommended Cowon before both here and over at HTLAL.
https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 87#p102026