The Motorola MOTOACTV

The MOTOACTV is currently the top ranked MP3 player on alaTest, beating out the similarly priced 8GB iPod Touch. The MOTOACTC comes in 8GB and 16GB versions and has a design similar to the current generation of the iPod Nano, featuring a square touch screen interface. Unlike the iPod Nano, though, the MOTOACTV include GPS connectivity, making it great for an active lifestyle.

The Sony Z-Series Mobile Media Player

Sony’s Z-Series is a direct competitor to Apple’s iPod Touch. Available in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB models, it’s actually a bit more expensive than the iPod touch, but it has been very highly reviewed for its audio quality and large vivid display. The current Z-Series is fairly new, so it’s hard to say how long the praise will last. For the time being, it’s ranked on par with the iPod Touch.

The Sony E-Seires Walkman

The E-Series Walkman competes with Apple’s 5^th generation iPod Nano (which is actually the most popular of the Nano series). Because of the 5^Th gen’s rarity, it has gotten quite expensive, making the E-Series’ $80 starting price quite attractive. It’s every bit as effective of a music player as the Nano, and even plays video, but at nearly half the price.

The Cowon J3

Cowon is a slightly lesser known brand, but they have been producing quality MP3 players for years. The Cowon J3 has an excellent AMOLED display and the best battery life in its class. Storage is expandable via MicroSD slot, which is a rarity amongst quality MP3 players and makes for a great value. Its only real limitation is its somewhat cumbersome interface.

The Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0

Out of all of the MP3 players we’ve listed so far, the Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0 is the only one that can compete with the iPod Touch in all categories. Because it runs the Android operating system, it has access to the huge list of Android apps (just like the iPod Touch and Apple’s App store). The screen is large, storage is expandable via MicroSD, it has front and rear facing cameras, and it even includes GPS. It’s not any cheaper than the iPod Touch, but it definitely makes for a compelling alternate.

Apple’s iPod line remains the MP3 player of choice, thanks largely to Apple’s iTunes store, but even that is quickly changing with Amazon MP3 and the introduction of Google Play which both offer a similar experience to iTunes. The competition is sure to become even more heated as additional Android powered media players make it to the market. We’ll definitely keep you posted on their progress, or you can check out the MP3 Player ranks on alaTest.

Most Smartphones also offer a full multimedia experience, allowing playback of not only music, but video as well. Where Smartphones fall short is battery life. Many MP3 players can last over 30 hours, while Smartphones have trouble lasting through a full day, potentially leaving you without a phone for the latter part of the day. This can be especially bothersome if you rely on your Smartphone for phone calls, email, or texts.

Portable Media Players (PMPs)

Portable Media Players (PMPs) offer a middle ground between Smartphone and MP3 player. The iPod Touch, for example, is a PMP, and is currently the best selling MP3 player, due to the fact that it gives you full access to the Apple App Store and nearly all of the functionality of an iPhone, minus the monthly costs. Similar Android devices are also on the rise, like the much anticipated Samsung Galaxy S Wi-Fi edition. Microsoft’s Zune HD is also very popular, with excellent playback features like HDMI output, integrated FM Tuner, and significantly cheaper price than the iPod Touch.

The major turnoff for PMPs is their price, many costing hundreds of dollars. If you expect to use all of their features, it’s perfectly worth it, but if all you’re after are some good tunes, there are plenty of MP3 players that cost far less than $100. PMPs also unfortunately suffer from some of the same battery troubles as their Smartphone brethren. Running large touch screens and processing hardware powerful enough for high quality video causes battery life to suffer. The difference is that when your PMP dies, you can still use your cell phone.

Traditional MP3 Players

If all you want to do is listen to some music, traditional MP3 players are the route to take. Forget all the bells and whistles; all you need are a few buttons, a screen large enough to sort through your songs, and enough storage space for all your favorite music. The 6^th generation iPod Nano is a popular choice, but many find it a bit too prissy and prefer the slightly larger but more familiar 5^th generation. Though at around $150, both are at a fairly steep price, leaving the display-less iPod Shuffle as the only sub-$100 Apple MP3 player. For those willing to forego the Apple logo, though, there are many great options at very appealing prices. SanDisk’s Sansa Fuze and Sansa Clip are both extremely affordable, but for just a bit more, Sony’s Walkman NWZ-E354 will give you better sound quality and a few more features.

Which Would You Chose?

Personally, I’m content using my Smartphone as my MP3 Player, but if I were the type who listened for hours of music every day, I’d have to go for either the 5^th Gen iPod Nano or Sony Walkman. I can still use my Smartphone for all that PMP stuff the Nano can’t do. Feel free to voice your opinions in the comments below.

Top Sellers: MP3 Players

MP3 players take the crown this year for top selling consumer electronics. The best selling MP3 player: Apple’s 4^th generation iPod Touch, and it’s not all that surprising, considering that the iPod Touch has been in the top spot of our MP3 Players for quite some time now. It seems that the iPod Touch’s inclusion of the iTunes App Store was the driving source behind its strong sales. iPods lacking the App Store, such as the Nano and Shuffle, weren’t particularly strong sellers this year as people chose cheaper alternatives, like the Sansa Fuze. The Zune HD also sold well with those who don’t care for the taste of the Apple Kool-Aid.

Runner Up: Digital Cameras

Similar to the MP3 player sales, there was a very clear dichotomy in digital camera purchases, with the majority of sales being either expensive SLRs or cheaper point-and-shoots. The midrange digital cameras were not a big seller. The best selling SLR was Canon’s EOS Rebel T2i, one of our highest ranked Digital SLR Cameras. The best selling Compact Digital Cameras really were scattered across the board, but the majority were sub-$100 cameras.

Bronze Goes to: Blu-Ray Players

For the past couple years, the falling prices of HDTVs have let them dominate the holiday sales figures, but this year, things were a little different. It seems many people already owned an HDTV now and felt it was time to transition fully into the HD era. This of course led to Blu-Ray Players making it among the third best selling electronics of the 2010 holiday season. The drop in price also helped as well, like Sony’s BDP-S470 internet connected Blu-Ray player going on sale for just over $100.

Other Strong Sellers

Advertising appeared to work out very well for some products this last holiday season. The Kindle‘s aggressive attack on Apple’s iPad resulted in excellent sales for the Amazon e-Reader. The Xbox 360 saw a strong bump in sales, thanks largely to the brand new Microsoft Kinect motion based controller, which absolutely dominated in gaming related sales.

Of course, if you really want to get technical, gift cards were actually the number one selling item this last holiday season, and by a very wide margin. Roughly 75% of shoppers bought at least one gift card. That’s several billion gift cards sold world-wide. To put that into perspective, very few electronics sell more than a million units over the holiday season, but hey, who’s counting?