MP3 player for a kid.

[WanderingJuniper]

My oldest's birthday is coming up. She'll be 9. What she wants is an ipod. An actual ipod is out of the question but I'm willing to look at more affordable MP3 players.

What would be a good affordable/inexpensive option for a 9 year old?:scratch $50 is the absolute max I'd be willing to spend but really kind of need it way way less than that if I also want to buy her some new music to put on it.

[inesperada]

My kids have a Sansa Clip, and dh has a Sansa Fuze. Both extremely affordable, and they have been awesome!

[Hermana Linda]

If you have the CDs, you can put them on the MP3 player. And Amazon always has $5 CDs available to download and they switch their selection monthly.

[Charlie U]

The iPod shuffle (http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/) is only $49. There's no display, though.

[Leslie]

The Sanza Fuse has a small display and the 4GB is around $50. We have four of them among our family, and have been happy with them. They sometimes lock up/go black (unlike my ipod Touch, which has never given me any trouble - iDevices seem built well), but they're easy to fix with a re-set. I googled and found this (http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/Fuze/Sansa-Fuze-is-DEAD-D-E-A-D-No-Power-No-Nada-Help/td-p/108191) and this (http://forums.sandisk.com/t5/Fuze/Sandisk-Sansa-Fuze-4GB-will-NOT-turn-on-ONE-SOLUTION-THAT-WORKED/td-p/137938) on their forums; if you get a Sanza, you might want to keep those instructions handy.

[jrsmama]

I had very bad luck with the Sansa we had - never got it to work. I bought a remanufactured Ipod last year for $100 that works like a charm. You may be able to find a I-something in your price range. :shrug3

[WanderingJuniper]

The iPod shuffle (http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/) is only $49. There's no display, though.
I looked at that today at Wal-mart. It was cool. I want one. :shifty

There is no way that would work for Bear. :no It is soooo small. She would lose it instantly and the histerics and self loathing that would follow from this sensitive critical child would be way too much.

We are for now going to put the CD's we've backed up to the computer on whatever we get.

She was looking at this one (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ematic-2GB-Video-MP3-Player-with-1.5-Screen-Black/10574420) today because she loves lime green. Any opinions on it?

[Leslie]

She was looking at this one (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Ematic-2GB-Video-MP3-Player-with-1.5-Screen-Black/10574420) today because she loves lime green. Any opinions on it?

Ematic - I never heard of it. Does amazon.com sell them? They'd have customer reviews.

Edit - they do have them; they have mixed reviews. And I can't tell which is which - I see them from $30-70, but they all look like the same model to me.

---------- Post added at 04:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:13 AM ----------

What about a refurbished Creative Zen for $30 (http://www.amazon.com/Creative-MP3-BLK-ZEN2GB-R-ZEN-2GB-Refurbished/dp/B001XUY05M/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&qid=1289795133&sr=8-25)? They have better reviews at amazon.com, and the one I got dh years ago is still working. Never any problems. Now 7yo dd is using it. She's dropped it and it still works.

[Hermana Linda]

My boys got Zens. They each got a higher model for about $100 and recommend them highly.

[gpsings]

We got Aneliese a little RCA from Walmart for 29.00.
It takes actual batteries, but she loves it and it works. ;)

[Forsynthianicki]

Does she want to be able to put video on it? 2GB of storage isn't much if you want to put video on. I have a 4GB Sansa Fuze, it has room for an micro SD card which would allow for expansion in the future. If she wants it mostly for music then the price of that one is great. If it does get lost you are not out much and she would likely upgrade to a different one in a few years anyway.

[JessicaTX]

We bought my girls the barbie ones. They were like 25 dollars (well, we got them on sale for 4.99) and held a hundred songs or so. We upgraded one to a sensa shaker and she uses it all the time.

[J3K]

I'm I the only one who read the thread title as "If you give me an MP3 I'll give you my kid" ??

[WanderingJuniper]

:shifty It's the crazy hour before dinner. It's an offer I just might make. :shifty

[Leslie]

We bought my girls the barbie ones. They were like 25 dollars (well, we got them on sale for 4.99) and held a hundred songs or so. We upgraded one to a sensa shaker and she uses it all the time.

You upgraded because the Barbie ones weren't working, or because she wanted more space?

[JessicaTX]

Because she thought it was too little girly =)

[bliss]

We had Sensa shakers and they were CRAP. Broken within weeks of Christmas :cry :mad. After the heartbreak (theirs, because their players no longer worked, and ours, because of what we paid for them :shifty), we got the lovely little $14 WalMart jobs. They are lovely and have lasted almost an entire year (I think dd just broke hers, but she is very careless).

[Heather Micaela]

What were the WalMart ones called? Ds wants his own MP3 despite the fact that mine is full of music that is of his choosing anyway

[bliss]

They are "Element" brand - and I'm not sure which Large Mass Market Retailer we purchased them at - had to be Walmart, Target, or Toys R Us :yes. I think a couple of places have really cheap ones for Black Friday doorbuster type items.
http://www.blackfriday.info/category/electronics-black-friday-deals.html