MP3 players and iPods: changing the music world! The world of music changed with the discovery of MP3 players and iPods. Earlier people had no choice if the radio stations kept on fading in and out as one is driving. However all that changed with MP3 players and iPods. Now you can listen to your favorite music at any time you wish to.

You can select your favorite music or show on the digital media player. All this can be done with a touch of a button; you don't need to adjust the radio settings anymore.

These devices made jogging and exercising all the more fun. You can listen to your favorite music as you sweat it out at the gym. Some of them may even allow you to check your mileage as you run. Exercising will become less boring when you are listening to your favorite music. You can even watch your favorite video on the media payer. MP3 players and iPods can brighten up your day and make it livelier.

These can also be of great help in case you play some kind of sport. You can record all your moves in this and later you can watch it. This will help you to improve your game.

You need to consider a few things before you buy an iPod or a MP3 player. You need to ask yourself few questions in order to decide as to what you really want.

" Whether you want an iPod or a MP3 player? You should have your preferences cleared out.

" You should also decide about the size of the device you are going to buy. You want a pocket sized one or a huge one?

" Choose the player or the iPod according to the type of display you are looking for.

" You want a small or a big memory device? Go for huge storage capacity if you want to store videos and pictures.

" Always pay attention to battery life of the player. Also think about the type of batteries you want for the player and buy it only then.

" If you have a favorite color, buy the player in that color.

" How much money do you want to spend on the music player?

" Always consider durability, sound quality, design, cost and other things while you are buying an iPod or a MP3 player.

" What special features and accessories does the device have?

The size of the player actually depends on its capabilities and features. More the features, more is the size of the player. These media players are very convenient to carry.

These can be very small and light weight.  The system requirements for MP3 player or iPod are:

For PC: Intel® Pentium® II 350MHz, Microsoft® Windows® 98 SE, ME, 2000 or XP or AMD K6®-2 450MHz processor.

Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later, USB port.

There can be some extra system requirements like Windows Media Player, USB 2.0 compatibility, internet connection and CD-ROM drive.
You can store a huge collection of videos and photos in your iPod or MP3 player in case it has a huge memory. Up to 10,000 songs and videos can be stored.

The storage capacity or memory is measured in bytes. More the memory, more the number of videos, songs and pictures you can store. A player whose memory is 512 KB can store up to 120 songs. A 30 GB player can have up to 10,000 songs in it. Given below are the capacity for MP3 players and iPods.

" 512MB player can store from 120 to 350 songs.
" 1 GB player can store from 250 to 500 songs
" 2 GB player can store from 480 to 500 songs
" 4 GB player can store more than 1000 songs
" 5 GB player can store music of more than 166 hrs
" 6 GB player can store up to 1500 songs
" 8 GB player can store up to 4000 songs
" 20 GB player can store from 5000 to 9000 songs
" 30 GB player can store up to 7500 songs
" 40 GB player can store up to 10,000 songs
" 60 GB player can store up to 15,000 songs

Expansion slots are also available with some players. They are used for installing additional memory using a removable memory cards like SD card, Multimedia card, Compact Flash and many more. It is very easy to install.