Good tunes while you exercise and sweat hard in the gym or on the trail can often help to push you a little farther. If your portable digital audio player is fragile however, it can decide to quit before you do and put a real damper on your pace. To get the best workout, you need a player which can keep up with you via a rugged design and non-movable parts. It probably wouldn't hurt to be cool looking also and perhaps offer some features to help you track your progress towards the gold medal.
1. Sony S2 Sports Walkman
The Sony S2 Sports Walkman, available in 1GB or 2GB memory storage sizes, can hold a maximum of 1,350 of your favorite tunes. This sleek looking MP3 player comes with an armband so you can make the most of your workout without needing to place your player down. Workout friendly features include a calorie counter which displays data based upon weight and length of workout, target goals so the music shuts off when you hit the right moment, a stop watch, water resistant and running and walking playlists which play based upon your movement speed. You get up to 18 hours of playback on a rechargeable battery as well.
2. Oregon Scientific MP121
The Oregon Scientific MP121 is a MP3 player with 512MB of memory, which is good enough to hold up to 16 hours of MP3 or WMA music files. Sports friendly features with this model include a waterproof design which is also shock resistant, a built-in pedometer with functions like a distance calculator and calorie counter, a stop watch, a pace counter and included waterproof stereo earphones. Other features include a built-in rechargeable battery with 10 hours of battery life, a three color backlit display, a built-in FM radio and USB 2.0 support for high speed file transfers.
3. RCA S1000
The RCA S1000 has 512MB of memory, which is enough to store up to 21 hours of your favorite tunes. This player, like other sports friendly gadgets, is water resistant. Sports specific features include a stop watch and lap counter as well as a step by step pedometer. The S1000 is capable of playing MP3 and WMA music files as well as Audible audiobooks. Other features include support for subscription based online music services, a built-in FM radio with record function, a multi-line LCD display which can be flipped so its viewable at different angles and up to 18 hours of battery life on one AAA battery.