I'm looking to ask for an MP3 player for Christmas. There are several models that I like to look of, but I'm curious as to how much memory I really need. For instance the iRiver clix gets great reviews, but only has a paltry 2GB in it. The still well-reviewed Sandisk e260R has 4 GB, and is expandable, but the interface isn't as good and the volume level is supposed to be weak. I also saw the information on the Meizu m6 player, but am concerned that it's not available locally in the US from a retailer or online source that I trust. Also, the accessory availability on the Meizu m6 seems weak.

I'd really like to know your thoughts, and any feedback on any of these players as well.

memory is a big concern if you use loseless recording for instance
1000 songs at 30g at loseless or 7500 at 128 on a 30 quality
or quantity your choice.

I'm looking to ask for an MP3 player for Christmas. There are several models that I like to look of, but I'm curious as to how much memory I really need. For instance the iRiver clix gets great reviews, but only has a paltry 2GB in it. The still well-reviewed Sandisk e260R has 4 GB, and is expandable, but the interface isn't as good and the volume level is supposed to be weak. I also saw the information on the Meizu m6 player, but am concerned that it's not available locally in the US from a retailer or online source that I trust. Also, the accessory availability on the Meizu m6 seems weak.

I'd really like to know your thoughts, and any feedback on any of these players as well.

I'm getting a black 2gig M6 for christmas. This is after lookin' at other mid-range flash players like the Creative Zen V, Sansa e200 series, and the Cowon U3.

I don't use lossless mp3's, most of mine are VBR192-256. For my needs, i'm constantly changing albums anyway so having a bunch of albums on my player that i never listen to is a waste for me. I can probably fit all the music i want at one time in 1 gig, and have another left over for music videos, and a few tv episodes or something.

Currently the four gig (black or white) is available at miniplayer.info for 209; you also get a silicon case and some other things too i believe. they are based in the US.

i got my 2 gig at houseofdap.com which ships from China, for $139 + $20 shipping.
came with a crystal case and a silicon case.

both are reputable dealers.

The company seems pretty good with firmware updates, although some features (album art, playsforsure) still aren't implemented but will be in the future most likely.

So long as you don't mind shuffling songs back and forth from your PC to the player, 2 gigs should give you a good selection at any one time. If you are a big podcast listener though, it helps to have a gig or so free for that, since the sync function on itunes is an all or nothing deal unless you want to try and manually move them around. I listen to a lot of TV, game, music and firearm podcasts and they can be pretty large, around 30-40 megs for an hour show. So they can rack up fast if a cast is released every week or so. I would try for a 4 gig model if possible, that way you can have 10-12 favorite albums loaded at all times, but still swap out another dozen or so easily.