Music Players on the Cheap
Hard Disk music players have a way to go before they can be considered cheap, but the prices are coming down all the time. Copy cat manufacturers may not supply the kudos or cool of an iPod, but their price tags can often be their main attraction.
Two hard drives on Advanced MP3 Players currently come in at very pocket-friendly prices. The XClef HD-500 and the L1 are both 20GB players that cost £100 less than the iPod 20GB. The XClef is the cheapest at £169, while the L1 comes in at £189.
Both players offer pretty comparative specs to the iPod – although both are heavier, with the L1 weighing 190kg and the XClef coming in at a hefty 260g. The battery life of the XClef is quoted as 22hours, while the L1 is the same as the iPod at 8 hours.
Although there’s no vouching for the quality of these players, the price is what interests us most about them. Surely it can’t be long now before a 20GB player can be had for under £100? While the iPods may be more resistant to price drops than others, with so many cheap unknown brands appearing on the market, we’re expecting to see the costs come down considerably.
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