Mini-Music Mania

I converted most of my music cd’s to MP3 years ago so that I could take my music on extended trips. I even succumbed to saving some music to the (evil) WMA (Microsoft) format, but a personal MP3 player was something that I had never thought necessary. After all, how much music could you put on a personal MP3 player, I questioned. I’d tried MP3 mobile phones –a little kludgey I thought. The loss of fidelity always seemed unacceptable also.

Here in the Middle East where listening to the car radio can be akin to driving through rural South Carolina on a Sunday afternoon, I finally gave in to using an FM modulator which broadcasts my MP3s on an FM frequency on the car radio. Long ago, I’d tried one to play CDs from my Walkman on the car radio--before CD players in vehicles became the norm. A crowded FM band, early technology, and a desire for higher fidelity soon relegated that modulator to the junk drawer. Now, thanks to fewer FM radio stations, better technology and personal hearing loss, the new FM modulators seem pretty decent.

With the new FM modulator, I realized that even a measly 64 MB SD card actually held a fair amount of music and a 4 GIG memory stick was overkill unless your music tastes change each day. This knowledge coupled with my new habit of going to the gym to work off some road warrior midriff accumulation sent me on an MP3 player search. The number of available small MP3 players is endless but the best choice for a gym workout always brought me back to the iPOD Shuffle--a small device with a built in clip to attach to your shirt, hat or other clothing without pockets.

For a person who resisted using Microsoft WMA format for more than a decade, buying into the Apple digital music rights with proprietary iTunes wasn’t going to be easy. Nearly ready to cave due to the perceived design superiority of the Shuffle’s “clothing clip” I stumbled across the TouchMate Mini Shuffle in Carrefour, a big grocery hypermart in Dubai. Clearly a copy (the sincerest form of flattery) of the iPod Shuffle, my new Mini Shuffle holds twice the music at 1/4th the price and Best of All, NO requirement for Steven Jobs iTUNES and all the hassle that goes with it!