Portable Music Players

Six small music players that deliver big-time features just for runners

May 2, 2007

We've come a long way from strapping clunky, skip-prone CD players to our waists. Pint-size portable music players now keep us company on our runs, storing audiobooks, podcasts, and hours of music. They have enough memory for you to take a French lesson, listen to Car Talk, and jam to your motivational mix during a long training run. While hundreds of digital devices crowd the shelves, these six petite
players cram the most features into the smallest bodies while still lasting as long as you do (sometimes longer).

Sony S2 Sports Walkman NW-S205F
About the size and shape of a Sharpie, Sony's new S2 series is the most fitness-friendly player of the bunch, incorporating a built-in pedometer that also tracks calories burned based on your height and weight. Perhaps the coolest feature for runners is the Music Pacer, which automatically matches the right music to your speed. But the S2, like all of Sony's MP3 players, is paired with Sony's SonicStage software, which is generally clunky and doesn't keep track of workout data from the pedometer or allow you to log your progress. One other thing: The cylindrical design is fancy, but the tiny display is hard to read on the run.
Price: 1GB, $100; 2GB, $120
Estimated Battery Life: 18 hours
Contact: www.sonystyle.com

SanDisk Sansa Connect
It's not the smallest or lightest player in the group, but the Connect is--at the moment--one of a kind. It works in tandem with the Yahoo Music subscription service to wirelessly download music, and share songs and photos (via Flickr) with other users. And if you get sick of your music, you can tune in to Internet radio stations that offer everything from Tupac Radio to Guitar Gods. All of this requires a Wi-Fi network, which makes the Connect perfect for treadmill runners. While you don't get all the extra bells and whistles on the road or trail, this is still a great-sounding running companion, which boasts an iPod-like scroll wheel that won't trip you up when you switch songs midrun.
Price: 4GB, $250
Estimated Battery Life: 15 hours
Contact: www.sandisk.com

Samsung YP-K3
The K3 is skinny and slick like the Nano, but it's dressed up in a shiny finish that collects more fingerprints than CSI. The sound is crisp, even when set to FM radio, but not as loud as the Zen V Plus or Nano. The touchpad navigation is contemporary and cool, but it's impossible to change songs without looking because you can't feel the virtual buttons. The software is simple enough to use, though somewhat bare-bones--there's no support for podcasts, for instance.
Price:2GB, $120; 4GB, $159
Estimated Battery Life: 25 hours
Contact: www.samsung.com

Apple iPod Shuffle and iPod Nano
With their slim profiles and intuitive controls, iPods make for some of the best running partners around. And Apple just keeps making them better: The updated versions of the Nano and Shuffle have much longer battery lives and come with colorful aluminum casings that make them more durable. The redesigned Shuffle is less than half the original's size and so small it includes a clip so you won't lose it. And iTunes continues to be the most complete software available for building and storing music collections. But in terms of bells and whistles, both the Nano and the Shuffle are starting to fall a little behind. While other portable players offer FM or Internet radio, as well as wireless downloads, iPods are standing pat--at least for now.

Price (Shuffle): 1GB, $79
Estimated Battery Life: 12 hours
Price (Nano): 2GB, $149; 4GB, $199; 8GB, $249
Estimated Battery Life: 24 hours
Contact: www.apple.com

Creative Zen V Plus
The Creative Zen V Plus is smaller than the other players here, but it's jammed with enough to keep you entertained no matter how long you run. It boasts an FM radio, photo and video playback, and compatibility with most music download services. The sound quality is top-notch: An equalizer lets you customize the sound, and the loudness is great for moments when you need to drown out the pain. While the internal navigation is straightforward, the tiny plastic joystick used to maneuver through songs or menus is somewhat tricky to handle during a run.
Price: 1GB, $85; 2G, $100; 4GB, $150; 8GB, $200
Estimated Battery Life: 15 hours
Contact: www.creative.com