iPod alternatives for Mac Video

iPod alternatives for Mac Video Transcript

>> Ever wonder what would happen if you connected a non-iPod mp3 player to a Mac? [ music ] ^M00:00:20 Okay, so connecting your Zune to a Mac won't bring around the end of the world. In fact, the worst thing that can happen is this. Nothing. I'm Donald Bell, senior editor for digital audio and mp3. And on today's Insider Secret we're taking a look at non-iPod mp3 players that do work with a Mac. [ music ] ^M00:00:51 Microsoft Zune, as you've already seen, is not one of them. In the world of iPod alternatives, some mp3 players work for Mac and some don't. The trouble is most iPod alternatives don't advertise their Mac compatibility. So you can never really tell which devices are gonna work. Fortunately we review a ton of mp3 players here at CNET, and testing it out with my MacBook takes just a few minutes. Some of my current top picks are the SanDisk Sands of Fuse, pretty much any SanDisk player is gonna be both Mac and PC compatible. I'm also a big fan of the Sony NWZ S710F series. This is the Sony series that includes noise cancellation technology built into the earphones. The Cohen iAudio 7 and Cohen D2 mp3 players are really great. Any Cohen mp3 player is also gonna have this Mac and PC compatibility built into it. For portable video players, the Arco 605 Wi-Fi is both a Mac and PC compatible player, it also works with Linux systems. And last but not least is the little SanDisk Sans Clip. Now why would you want to use a non-iPod mp3 player with your Mac. Some people are looking for more features, such as an FM radio, custom EQ settings, and extra file format support that's just not found on the iPod. Other people want to save some money. A player like the two gigabyte SanDisk Sans Clip can be had for around fifty dollars. So to use an iPod alternative with the Mac, simply connect the player to your USB port, and look for a new hard drive icon to appear on your desktop. Open up the drive, and usually see a folder marked music. Drag and drop your music files into this folder, wait for them to copy over, and then just eject the drive. Some of the Sony mp3 players we recommended have a difficult time un-mounting from your Mac without instantly re-mounting again. We recommend them anyway because they're fantastic players with great battery life, AAC file support, and sound quality that outstrips the iPod. As a workaround, you can either shut your computer down before disconnecting the player, or just yank it out and keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't corrupt any of your files. I'm Donald Bell, telling you to think different, and try an iPod alternative with your Mac. ^M00:02:49 [ music ]