GOTY 2010 - MP3 Players

Mp3 players (or Digital Audio Players) don’t really evolve every year. There might be a few changes in terms of design and audio quality, but nothing much really stands out apart from that. Anyway, there are quite a few people who still desire a no-nonsense player which lasts long enough and is easy to carry. We're going to help them out by listing the three best mp3 players that came out in 2010.

Sony Walkman NWZ-W252 – The player you need to have

Walking the GOTY-2010 carpet

That’s right, the Walkman W252 is the player of the year! There’s nothing that can actually beat the uniqueness in design and the build quality. It can carry up to 2GB of songs which roughly translates to 400 tracks, giving you enough in terms of variety when it comes to your routine workout. Talking about workouts, the earphones fit in comfortably and won’t harm your ears. And oh yes, what’s unique about this player is that it can sustain all types of moisture, body or otherwise! The player is charged through a mini USB port which also acts as file transfer interface. The W252 is priced at Rs. 4,990 which is quite appropriate.

Zebronics Zebmate 20 – Next best

A big surprise for those expecting a big name like Apple or Creative, the Zebmate 20 is a no-frills DAP that plays music files the way a good obedient mp3 player should. A battery life of 14 hours is something that comes in very handy when you have to travel a long way.  At a price of Rs. 1,600 for 2GB and Rs. 2,000 for 4GB the Zebmate 20 is priced quite right. To conclude, it doesn’t have the best interface, neither is it associated with a big brand, but does it really matter as long as it does the job well?

Apple iPod Shuffle – Last but not the least

Ah okay, so we did add in an Apple product after all. Overall the iPod Shuffle looks good, plays well, has a decent storage capacity of 2GB and comes for Rs. 3,200 which is quite nice for an Apple product. The only mess up is the bundled earphones which sound terrible. Pairing the iPod Shuffle with a good pair of earphones should do the job and last but not the least, you end-up being an Apple owner!

The spec sheet below will give you a brief idea of what each player actually features.

Click to enlarge

Well, that is the list of the three best Mp3 players of 2010. We've got PMPs coming next though, so stay tuned.