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MP3 players with the best battery life

Has the daily ritual of recharging all your portable devices become so loathsome that adding one more gadget to the list might just make you snap? Or maybe your extreme, jet-setting lifestyle requires a portable music player that can run for over 40 hours without a recharge? Well, you've come to the right place. We've assembled this list of our favorite long-haul MP3 players, all of which are capable of a week's worth of casual usage without a recharge.

Leading the pack is the Sony S-Series Walkman, which received our Editors' Choice award and pulled off 38 hours of music playback and 8.7 hours of video during CNET Labs testing. If you can live without the integrated noise-canceling of the Sony S-Series, the E-Series Walkman also offers great battery life.

For an MP3 player with tons of features and music format support, check out the beautiful and versatile Cowon D2 and its 50 hours of continuous music playback.

The MobiBlu B153 (also known as the C153) may not be much to look at, but it offers the utterly unbeatable battery time of 153 hours of music playback. The B153 is tough to track down in stores, however, so you'll probably need to order it direct.

Last, but certainly not least, are two MP3 players that need no introduction. The iPod Touch, despite its remarkable thinness, boasts an impressive 36 hours of audio playback and 6 hours for video. For those of you willing to sacrifice a little sexiness in favor of storage capacity, the 120GB iPod Classic also offers 36 hours of audio and 6 hours for video.


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Product name Sony NWZ-S738F Walkman (8GB, black)
Sony NWZ-S738F Walkman (8GB, black)  
Cowon D2 (4GB, red)
Cowon D2 (4GB, red)  
Sony NWZ-E438F Walkman (8GB, black)
Sony NWZ-E438F Walkman (8GB, black)  
MobiBlu B153 (2GB, black)
MobiBlu B153 (2GB, black)  
Apple iPod Touch (second generation, 16GB)
Apple iPod Touch (second generation, 16GB)  
Apple iPod Classic (second generation, 120GB, black)
Apple iPod Classic (second generation, 120GB, black)  







Review date September 17, 2008   February 27, 2007   October 01, 2008   May 26, 2006   September 11, 2008   October 01, 2008  







CNET editors' rating 8.7 out of 10 8.7
Excellent
8.3 out of 10 8.3
Excellent
7.5 out of 10 7.5
Very good
7.3 out of 10 7.3
Very good
9.0 out of 10 9.0
Spectacular
8.0 out of 10 8.0
Excellent







Users' rating Be one of the first to rate this product! 9.4 out of 10 9.4
Spectacular
Be one of the first to rate this product! 8.0 out of 10 8.0
Excellent
Be one of the first to rate this product! Be one of the first to rate this product!







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Review summary Thanks to excellent sound quality, integrated noise-canceling functionality, and several smart music sorting options, the Sony S-Series Walkman is a superb choice for music aficionados. If you can get on board with the Cowon D2's PDA-like touch screen interface, the reward is great-sounding audio, a smorgasbord of features, and a fantastic battery life. The Sony E-Series Walkman is a great value. It's an excellent option for anyone looking for an easy-to-use MP3 player with a pocketable design, a long battery life, handy features, and solid sound quality. MobiBlu's B153 isn't the most stylish MP3 player on the block, but if you're looking for an ultra-long-lasting device with plenty of features, it may be just the ticket. The second-generation iPod Touch includes features that are light-years ahead of the competition, its design has improved, and its price has finally come down to earth. The iPod Classic refines the formula that put the iPod on the map. Few can match its combination of storage capacity, battery life, and intuitive user interface.







Product series See all products in this series See all products in this series See all products in this series See all products in this series See all products in this series See all products in this series







My Products
Basic Specs
PC interface(s) supported USB Hi-Speed USB Info unavailable Hi-Speed USB Info unavailable Info unavailable







Flash memory installed 8 GB 4 GB 8 GB 2 GB Info unavailable Info unavailable







Flash memory form factor Integrated Integrated Integrated Integrated Info unavailable Info unavailable







Dimensions (WxDxH) 1.7 in x 0.3 in x 3.5 in 3.1 in x 0.7 in x 2.2 in 1.7 in x 0.4 in x 3.3 in 2.6 in x 0.8 in x 1.8 in Info unavailable Info unavailable







Weight 1.6 oz 3.2 oz 1.8 oz 2.3 oz 4.1 oz 4.9 oz







Resolution 240 x 320 360 x 240 240 x 320 128 x 64 Info unavailable Info unavailable







Battery technology Lithium ion Lithium polymer Lithium ion Lithium ion Lithium ion Lithium ion







Product type Digital player / radio Digital player / radio Digital player / radio Digital player / radio Info unavailable Info unavailable







Color Black Red Black Black Black Black







Sound output mode Stereo Stereo Stereo Stereo Info unavailable Info unavailable







Width 1.7 in 3.1 in 1.7 in 2.6 in 2.4 in 2.4 in







Depth 0.3 in 0.7 in 0.4 in 0.8 in 0.3 in 0.4 in







Height 3.5 in 2.2 in 3.3 in 1.8 in 4.3 in 4.1 in







Sound effects Clear Bass , Clear Stereo BBE , Mach3Bass , MP Enhance Info unavailable SRS WOW Info unavailable Info unavailable







Equalizer factory presets Pop , Jazz , Heavy , Custom , Unique Pop , Jazz , Rock , Vocal , Normal , Classic Pop , Jazz , Heavy , Custom , Unique Pop , Jazz , Live , Rock , Normal , Classic Info unavailable Info unavailable







Digital player (recorder) AAC , MP3 , WAV , WMA , Protected WMA (DRM) MP3 , WAV , WMA , FLAC , Ogg Vorbis , MPEG 1 Audio , MPEG 2 Audio , MPEG 2.5 Audio AAC , MP3 , PCM , WMA MP3 , WMA , Protected WMA (DRM) Info unavailable Info unavailable







Digital player signal-to-noise ratio Info unavailable 95 dB Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable







Mfr estimated battery life Info unavailable 52 hour(s) 45 hour(s) 153 36 hour(s) 36 hour(s)







Software type Info unavailable Cowon jetShell , Cowon jetAudio VX Napster , Microsoft Windows Media Player 11 Drivers & Utilities Info unavailable Info unavailable







Amplifier response bandwidth Info unavailable 20 - 20000 Hz Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable







Radio Info unavailable Info unavailable FM: 87.5 - 108 MHz FM: 76 - 108 MHz Info unavailable Info unavailable







Device type Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Portable media center Portable media center







Key multimedia features Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Digital audio player , Digital video player , Digital photo viewer Digital audio player , Digital video player , Digital photo viewer







Display type Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable LCD 3.5 in LCD 2.5 in







Supported audio formats Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable AAC , Protected AAC , MP3 , MP3 VBR , Audible 2 , Audible 3 , Audible 4 , Apple Lossless , AIFF , WAV AAC , Protected AAC , MP3 , MP3 VBR , Audible 2 , Audible 3 , Audible 4 , Apple Lossless , AIFF , WAV







Video playback formats Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable H.264 , MPEG-4 H.264 , MPEG-4







PC interfaces Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable USB 2.0 USB 2.0







Included accessories Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Info unavailable Earphone , USB cable , Dock adapter , Polishing cloth Earphone , USB cable , Dock adapter







Product name Sony NWZ-S738F Walkman (8GB, black)   Cowon D2 (4GB, red)   Sony NWZ-E438F Walkman (8GB, black)   MobiBlu B153 (2GB, black)   Apple iPod Touch (second generation, 16GB)   Apple iPod Classic (second generation, 120GB, black)  







Full specifications Full Specifications Full Specifications Full Specifications Full Specifications Full Specifications Full Specifications







Price range Check latest prices
$159-180
from 8 stores
Check latest prices
$n/a
from 0 store
Check latest prices
$100-134
from 7 stores
Check latest prices
$n/a
from 0 store
Check latest prices
$275-320
from 12 stores
Check latest prices
$220-250
from 12 stores










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