Before purchasing a digital audio / portable MP3 player, find out if the player also doubles as an external hard drive.

Why is this important?

If the digital audio player requires special software to copy music to the player, you may be locked into that piece of software forever. Thus, you won't be able to take advantage of the capabilities found in other software to help sort your digital media. If your digital audio player doubles as a hard drive, copying files to the player is as simple as dragging and dropping the files from the desktop.

Another benefit if your digital audio player doubles as a hard drive - you can use it to store other types of files, such as photographs, documents, small games, or more. Instead of using floppy disks, ZIP disks, CDs, or other removable media to transfer files between computers or archive information, you can just use your digital audio player, saving you time and money with this added convenience.

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