Digital Bits Technology Column QnA

Question:

I need a portable audio player that is:
-small and compact
-runs on battery
-plays audio
-has internal speaker system
-can read an audio file from a flash drive.
-or records onto an internal harddisk or flash drive or cd rom
-small
-only needs to have 30-60 minutes of audio
-inexpensive $10-30

Does such a device exist? Want to create a “talking book” for my family history.

Answer:

This is a good question. I see what you’re trying to accomplish, but honestly I don’t see this type of hardware being particularly cheap, certainly not within the $10-$30 price range you’re hoping for. And keep in mind that speakers take a lot more juice to power, so you’re sacrificing battery life by doing so.

However, price point aside, I think the types of units you need are probably something like this:

http://news.com.com/2100-1041_3-6111802.html
http://www.amazon.com/BUSlink-Player-Built-In-Speaker-MP3-SK256/dp/B000BO0ZB4

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