CK Ng

Long bus rides or flights can be an excruciating experience, especially if you have to go through transits. The long wait can drive a person insane. At times like these, an MP3 player suddenly becomes your best friend, mainly because it’s really easy to carry around and you’ll be able to enjoy music and other stuff..

Size Does MatterIn such situations, a flash-based MP3 player would normally meet your needs. But if you are the type of person who has the entire collection of Metallica and U2 songs, all in 320kbps bitrate, 1 or 2GB of storage space just isn’t enough to fit your appetite for music. A hard disk-based player then comes to the rescue. With the ability to accommodate more than 10,000 songs easily, you can even load it up with all the Unplugged albums as well and still have enough space for some occasional Backstreet Boys and N’Sync in case you want to get in touch with your hidden boy band side.

Since the majority of hard disk-based MP3 players are stuck with built-in batteries, it is wise to choose one that can actually last the long hours of playback. The following players that I have listed below are serious road warriors with extensive battery life. I speak with authority because my choices are not based on claimed battery life by manufacturers, but also some serious tests by yours truly. Note that all music playbacks were run through continuous playback with 128kbps files, which means the result may alter depending on users’ usage.

Cowon iAudio X5L (30GB)
A relatively new player to arrive in our shores, this Korean company has been secretly trying to produce iPod killers. Its iAudio X5 series does a decent job in that department, with the X5L’s battery life being their main artillery. With a battery life claimed to last up to 35 hours, our test showed an impressive record that nearly matches what the manufacturer claimed, which was 33 hours of non-stop playback.

Sony NW-A3000 (20GB)
Sony’s latest music jukebox may not have the fancy colour screens found on iPods or iRivers, but nonetheless, its OLED screen not only oozes the sort of coolness not found on other players, it also takes up much less battery compared to colour screens. Sony claims the battery life can last for a good 35 hours if we use its ATRAC3plus formats (which I doubt anyone would), but from the tests with MP3s, it gave us a good 30 hours before it went dry.

Apple iPod Video (60GB)
The 60GB version remains as the mammoth of storage sizes, with no challengers in terms of space from any other brands. Although the storage space is respectable, it doesn’t have a battery life that compliments this feature. With only a battery life rated at 20 hours, our test came back with 18 hours, well below what the other featured players could perform.

Samsung YH-J70 (20GB)
Korean giants Samsung may be turning its head towards its flash-based players, but that doesn’t mean its hard disk-based players should be ignored. The YH-J70’s design stands out from other players in the same category, with an excellent colour screen that will appeal to Samsung brand supporters. Specifications stated an estimated battery life of 25 hours, and our test results came back with scores of approximately 22 hours; a pretty decent record for something so sleek and slim. 

Bottomline
Based on the test on the players mentioned above, you should be able to conclude that a hard disk-based player basically gives you an average battery life of 20 hours. Depending on how often you navigate the player, the level of brightness and contrast you’ve adjusted, you should roughly cut about 30 to 40% of the tested battery life. Don’t miss the next issue as I will be showcasing some of the flash-based MP3 players with the longest battery life. 

CK is hoping for a big price drop with MP3 players. Those who think otherwise can drop him a line at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it