Get U3 for Jogging?

[bcatwilly]

Newbie here, never owned an MP3 player yet. I was going to order a U3 last night before I saw that Cowon had a new player coming. Since exercise/jogging was something I was considering for one, does the U3 make more sense than the iAudio 6 or any HDD based player? Sorry, very new to this.

[ibez]

well esentualy yes. Flash players last longer and the U3 design is pretty hawt. but an Hd player nowadays would proabably do the same as flash your choice :)

[cygig]

just OT a bit, what about the new Hi-MDs?

[bigbabydaddy1968]

I don't know the answer to your latest Q, but as to OT ramblings from the likes o' me:

I own an iRiver H320 ATM (a 20GB HD-based player and I lovelovelove it) and have used it for lighter workouts (trail biking, jogging) without a problem. I've also heard from numerous other users of same that they have used it and other HD players for everything from jogging to snowboarding without damaging the player (the H320 has a thick rubber pad protecting the HD, though). They can even survive a good drop--I saw a story of one user who dropped his from about 6 feet onto asphalt and the player still works perfectly (but it bears some scars, as you might imagine ;)).

HOWEVER, because of the delicacy of the moving parts, HDs are highly susceptible to irreparable damage from getting knocked around (even lightly) if it happens at the wrong moment. I would strongly recommend using a flash-based DAP for working out. I ordered the U3 for that very reason (well, that and the fact it looks way cool and supposedly sounds incredible). It should be here in the next couple of hours (BTW, I'm giddy with the anticipation!).

BBD

DISCLAIMER: The above represents the experience and anecdotal knowledge of one user and should not be construed in any other way. Results may vary. BBD is not valid in TN, FL, MI, AZ, and TX. CA residents add a pinch of salt to whatever BBD posts. Follow BBD's advice at your own risk.

[lifeisogood]

ooooohhhh,
Bigdady is here too,
welcome!!!
what iaudio do you own?

[bigbabydaddy1968]

Well, I just got my U3 a few days ago and it's impressive, so far! The screen is shockingly crisp and bright and the sound: wow! Nice.... The UI is gonna take some getting used to, but more or less intuitive. I think I'd have no trouble if I'd never owned another DAP before, but it's not like navigating the player is hard or anything.

And it's very nice to be here, lifeisogood. Thanks!

BBD

[Vlad Tepes Drac]

Haha im the one that uses my M3L snowboarding. I have it in my breast area of my jacket and lots of the time when i hit jumps or something I fall and almost all of the time its onto my front, or rolling on the ground or something. And so far my M3L hasnt skipped a beat on that.

However, one time I tried jogging with it, i put it into my back pocket of my basketball pants. Wasn't a good idea. Because there was nothing essentially holding it down it did skip quite a bit, well not really skip but obviously hard drive was reading at wrong places and stuff. So since then I havent really tried any alternative, (which is why i dont do lots of jogging/running, boring as hell if you dont have music :P)

but the thing is that HD players have moving parts...bla bla bla...so its not really recommended to use them in a fashion that involves lots of continous movement of the player itself.

I'm also considering getting a U3 just for that reason, I want something I can do lots of physical activity with, something that wont break easily, and something that is compact/light. I do lots of breakdancing and sometimes in the gym they dont let us use the room with the cd player so i think it would be awesome to break with mp3 player.

In conclusion, I say go for the U3, or U2 if you dont feel like you need the video and colour screen. But I dunno, I found that when I try workout (or even sometimes when im snowboarding) with my M3L, i still worry that i might break it. Its always on the corner of your mind you know. I think having a u2/3 will give assurance that it wont skip or break even when you're doing something intense. Since noone wants to break an expensive toy.