There are three main types of digital audio players : 1. MP3 CD Players , 2 .Flash-based Players - These are solid state devices that hold digital audio files on internal or external media, such as memory cards. Due to technological limitations, these are relatively low-storage devices, commercially ranging from 128MB to 6GB. 3. Hard Drive-based Players or Digital Jukeboxes - Devices that read digital audio files from a hard drive. These players have higher capacities, ranging from 1.5GB to 100GB, depending on the hard drive technology.
MP3 player is no more than a data storage device with an embedded software application that allow users to transfer MP3 files to the player. MP3 players also include utilities for copying music from CDs or Web sites and the ability to organize and create custom lists of songs in the order you want to hear them. This list of songs is called a "playlist". The MP3 player is the convergence of many technologies. Alone, none of its components are revolutionary, but together they create an unprecedented consumer product. In addition to storing music, the MP3 player must play music and allow the user to hear the songs played. To do this, the player: Pulls the song from its memory, Decompresses the MP3 encoding, Runs the decompressed bytes through a digital-to-analog converter, Amplifies the analog signal allowing the song to be heard .
