Flash MP3 players don't have the capacity of hard drive-based MP3 players, so you can't carry your music collection of 10,000 songs with you. But MP3 players with Flash memory are usually much smaller and more convenient, and can take more of a pounding. Apple, the industry leader, does make a Flash-based MP3 player, the iPod shuffle. Also dozens of other companies, including Sony, SanDisk, Samsung and Creative, make Flash-based MP3 players. Like the hard drive players, one of the big differences here is the iTunes software. If you've made an investment in iTunes, or plan to, you have to use Apple. If you are mainly transerfing your CD collection to MP3, you can easily use another brand name.
