(ARA) - According to the Consumer Electronic Association’s annual holiday shopping forecast, MP3 players are expected to be one of the hottest selling products this year. But before you purchase one, it’s a good idea to figure out how and why they work.

A good place to start is with a definition -- MP3 stands for Motion Pictures Experts Group Layer 3. It’s a popular digital audio format that reduces music file sizes, making it possible to store a huge amount of music in a portable player. Music can be downloaded from an audio CD or legally purchased from one of the popular online music stores.

“The MP3 format is so popular it has become synonymous with ‘compressed digital audio,’ hence digital audio devices have been dubbed ‘MP3 players,’” says Fred Pinkerton, audio expert at Cambridge SoundWorks. He goes onto explain that most digital audio players support a variety of formats including MP3 and WMA or Windows Media Audio, Microsoft’s compressed digital audio format. Once converted to a format, these digital files are copied onto players the same way you would copy a standard computer file.

Digital audio players fall into two main categories, depending on the storage medium: hard drive or flash memory. Hard drive-based players have the capacity to store thousands of songs -- from 10GB all the way up to 60GB or the equivalent of 20,000 songs; this equates to being able to listen to music continuously for an entire month. Flash memory based players are smaller and less expensive, but have much less capacity. New "micro hard drive" players like Creative’s new Zen Micro ($249.99, www.cambridgesoundworks.com) offer significant storage capability and are as small as some flash memory players.

Smaller than the iPod mini, the Zen Micro holds up to 2,500 songs, compared to the mini’s 1,000- song capacity. The Zen Micro is available in ten electrifying colors, with an ergonomic design that is curved to fit perfectly in the palm of one hand. Featuring a 12-hour removable battery, the Zen Micro overcomes a significant shortcoming of its closest competitor: an eight hour battery that can’t be removed. The Zen Micro also includes a built-in FM radio, and high quality digital voice recording. The face of the player includes a Touch Pad with intuitive vertical scrolling that allows scrolling through music and menus with a natural up and down stroke of the thumb. When you turn on the Zen Micro or touch its Touch Pad, the player illuminates with a mesmerizing blue glow.

Consumers looking for advice on digital technologies can visit Cambridge SoundWorks’ retail locations, log onto the Internet at www.cambridgesoundworks.com or call (800) FOR-HIFI to speak directly with an expert.

Courtesy of ARA Content