MP3 player as a gift... but which one???

[GregUofMN]

Hi all--

I'm in the process of getting together gifts for my wedding party. My fiancee is making hair/make-up bags with Aveda products for all the girls. All of the guys work out so I'm putting together gym bags with Nalgene bottles, towels, flip-flops, Men's Heath subscriptions and mp3 players. But I don't know which player to get.

I would like to get them all mini iPods, but unfortunetely my mp3 player budget is about $50 for the groomsmen and about $75 for the best man.

One groomsman has an iBook, but the rest of them use Windows. I was thinking about getting the guys $10 iTunes gift cards from Target therefore, I want to get a player that would be compatible.

Any ideas???

Thanks,
Greg

 

[t300]

Hmmm....One 40gb iPod, and lots of headphone jack splitters.

 

[jxyama]

One groomsman has an iBook, but the rest of them use Windows. I was thinking about getting the guys $10 iTunes gift cards from Target therefore, I want to get a player that would be compatible.

only iPod and iPod Mini work with iTMS. so don't bother getting iTMS gift cards unless you are getting them iPods (no) or they were planning on getting iPods.

for $50-75, you don't have much choice in mp3 players. you are basically limited to 64 to 128 MB flash based ones, capable of playing mp3/wma.

if i were you, i'd get a nice set of jogging/workout compatible earbuds for that amount - it would be far more useful than crappy mp3 players. let them get their favorite mp3 players on their own but earbuds will be useful with any devices they already have or they get in the future. (and it's about the good price range too - you will be able to get some nice earbuds for $50-75.)

 

[Steven1621]

gift certificates to ITMS would be a rather nice idea

 

[jxyama]

accidental post.

 

[Rockhopper]

Hi all--

I'm in the process of getting together gifts for my wedding party. My fiancee is making hair/make-up bags with Aveda products for all the girls. All of the guys work out so I'm putting together gym bags with Nalgene bottles, towels, flip-flops, Men's Heath subscriptions and mp3 players. But I don't know which player to get.

I would like to get them all mini iPods, but unfortunetely my mp3 player budget is about $50 for the groomsmen and about $75 for the best man.

One groomsman has an iBook, but the rest of them use Windows. I was thinking about getting the guys $10 iTunes gift cards from Target therefore, I want to get a player that would be compatible.

Any ideas???

Thanks,
Greg

I've never used one, but the Nike MP3 players (by Philips) are specifically designed for athletes which appears to be kind of the theme you have going in your gifts. The 64mb ones are available at overstock.com for around $60. The 128mb ones are about $20 more. They look pretty nice and come with headphones, an arm band and a remote. Check them out here.

 

[jxyama]

I've never used one, but the Nike MP3 players (by Philips) are specifically designed for athletes which appears to be kind of the theme you have going in your gifts. The 64mb ones are available at overstock.com for around $60. The 128mb ones are about $20 more. They look pretty nice and come with headphones, an arm band and a remote. Check them out here.

i owned the 128 MB one for a few days but returned it... it's very well built and stylish, but lacks repeat/random play option. that was a killer for me.

also, the magnets they used to control the wires were quite strong and a bit unnerving. i don't really like to have magnets floating around any sort of electronic devices.

i don't really recommend it.

 

[thirteen1031]

CD Players instead?

I would like to get them all mini iPods, but unfortunetely my mp3 player budget is about $50 for the groomsmen and about $75 for the best man.

One groomsman has an iBook, but the rest of them use Windows. I was thinking about getting the guys $10 iTunes gift cards from Target therefore, I want to get a player that would be compatible.

I know MP3 players would be cool, but have you considered just getting them portable disk players? This would be well within the budget (around $40-$50 for a pretty good one), go with the theme, and be useful for the gym (hey, you never know when the ipod is going to go down or freeze or just need to be charged because you forgot--and you need to bring out that cd player for the gym!)--and you could include a disk or two you've burned of "groomsmen's favorite hits." A personal memento of being groomsmen, music that means something to y'all.

In addition, seeing as portable disk players are relatively cheap, you could toss in a gift cards ($10 each?), particular to each groomsman. That way, you have the best of both worlds. They all get the same--but they also each get a gift card special to them. That way, you can get the iBook guy an iTunes card, but get the movie buff a Blockbuster card, and the guy who likes to read a Barnes & Noble card.

You get the idea. An MP3 player is a cool idea--but unless someone gives you a great deal on them, I'd go for either portable CD players or little armband radios. Don't worry, they won't be disappointed. You've got a great idea here, and they're going to love these gym bags.

Oh, and congrats on getting married!