iPod Touch: The 3 best alternatives
If you like the basic idea of the Ipod touch, but prefer other operating systems, you have a few alternatives. We have examined three devices with MP3 function for you.
Alternative 1: Sony NWZ-A15 - elegant MP3 player without additional functions
You can buy the Sony NWZ-A15 for just under EUR 150. In comparison to the iPod Touch, you have to do without touchscreen, WiFi, apps and video playback. For this, the NWZ-A15 has programs such as ClearAudio +, Clear stereo and Clear Bass, which should significantly improve the audio quality.
- Battery life: Sony advertises the NWZ-A15 with a battery life of up to 50 hours.
- Storage capacity: 16 GB of music or other data can be packed on the MP3 player. The memory can also be expanded with a memory card.
- File formats: The Sony MWZ-A15 supports all common file formats, including FLAC.
Alternative 2: Sony NW-ZX2 - expensive, high quality and best sound quality
If you're ready to dig deeper into your pocket for music enjoyment, consider the Sony NW-ZX2. The 128 GB variant currently costs around EUR 1, 005 and is undoubtedly considered a premium product. The Sony NW-ZX2 is controlled via a 4 "touchscreen and runs on the Android operating system 4.2 - so you can, for example, download music directly from the Google Play Store. Sony justifies the impressive price with the best possible audio quality. It is therefore clear that this device is aimed primarily to audiophile users.
- Battery life: The battery of the Sony MP3 player is said to provide up to 60 hours of continuous playback. In the CHIP test linked above, we came up with still acceptable 45 hours of continuous sound.
- Storage capacity: You can load a whole 128 GB of music onto the NW-ZX2. If your music collection is even larger, you can expand the memory with a micro SD card.
- File formats: The Sony NW-ZX2 plays MP3, WMA, FLAC and Apple lossless files, among others.
Alternative 3: Huawei Ascend G7 - the smartphone all-rounder
All features of the iPod Touch and much more: Of course you can use all smartphones such as the Huawei Ascend G7 as an MP3 player. This harbors A. the advantage that you can use all additional features such as mobile internet, video playback, telephone function. Thanks to the 5.5 "display, the Ascend G7 is completely multimedia-compatible - YouTube films and games are a pleasure here. For comparison: The screen of the iPod Touch is only 4 inches in size. Of course, it also does a cheaper smartphone. The best cell phones up to 111 euros can be found in our price comparison.
- Battery life: The Ascend G7's 3, 000 mAh battery promises a standby time of 600 hours. So you should be able to enjoy a few hours of music playback with the display and flight mode switched off.
- Storage capacity: The classic - 16 GB of storage that can be expanded with a memory card.
- File formats: Android can take full advantage here - in addition to all common formats, you can also play high-quality FLAC files without any problems.
The conclusion: expensive and noble, cheap and good or suitable for everyday use
- If musical perfection is a priority for you, the Sony NW-ZX2 is the best choice. This offers the highest audio quality and also has WLAN and touchscreen. To do this, you have to dig deep into your pocket
- If access to the Internet is not so important to you, the NWZ-A15 is recommended. This does not need a touchscreen, plays music in very good quality and is reasonably priced.
- If it has always bothered you to lug around several devices at once, you should use a smartphone. Here you have all functions for on the go and - of course - you can also listen to music.
In the next article, you will read how to convert your music CD into an MP3 format for your player.