My Zune HD died.

noir_blood

Or the cable anyways. I've had a Zune since the thing came out and despite the jokes, always loved it. But it's time to move on.
I liked the Zune because of their subscription program and because all I wanted out of it was to play music and listen to my podcasts. Obviously I know there's now multiple subscription programs like Spotify, Groove, etc. But I'm curious if any of them are compatible with an MP3 player. I currently have Groove (since it replaced Zune), and while I can use it on my phone, it eats up a lot of my battery life to stream it. I imagine spotify is the same.

So is there a combination of subscription program/mp3 player out there that I can use?

Iruka

Spotify has the option to download playlists to the device, which can help on battery life. I have it loaded up on an old phone with no cell service, and I use that as my in-house mp3 player/back up for road trips.

localhjay

Yeah Spotify is basically my go-to these days. Making and saving playlists is a snap. My sure, but pretty sure you can import playlists from iTunes so maybe you can sync them from Groove as well.

Ketar

I'd also been using a Zune for years. I had to start using Spotify for work though when I took a part-time job as a trivia host a few months back, and I ended up letting my Zone subscription lapse after years of use since I find Spotify replaces it well enough that I couldn't justify using both services. Just download your Playlists and battery use should be acceptable. I can run music for my trivia shows from my phone for 2.5 hours and use only 10-15% of my battery on a Galaxy S7.

Kyougu

For a while my work banned phones, which was my main way to listen to music, so I looked up mp3 players that could play sub services and there's really nothing out there, at least not cheap.

a5ehren

As far as non-phone players that can run apps, your options are basically an iPod Touch or a smartphone with no SIM in it and the cell radios turned off.

If you wanted to keep using Groove, you can get unlocked Windows Phones for reasonable prices (or the app is available on pretty much everything).

mRahmani

A retired phone is probably the easiest way to go about it. Get something like a used Razer Maxx HD with the extended battery and turn off everything but wifi, should last pretty much all day and have plenty of storage left over to save anything you want to it.

noir_blood

Kyougu wrote: »

For a while my work banned phones, which was my main way to listen to music, so I looked up mp3 players that could play sub services and there's really nothing out there, at least not cheap.

Yeah, that was what I was afraid off.

I hadn't thought of a retired phone though, and I have an old iphone somewhere. That'll be perfect for my needs I think

LoveIsUnity

How can your work "ban" phones out of curiosity?

Wassermelone

LoveIsUnity wrote: »

How can your work "ban" phones out of curiosity?

Probably people playing games or answering calls loudly in cubicles.

Basar

LoveIsUnity wrote: »

How can your work "ban" phones out of curiosity?

Probably working on a project that needed top secret clearance or something. I have a friend who hasn't been able to take his phone to work at all in the past 3 years or so. He works at a defense contractor.

Kyougu

Mortgage industry, so we work with a lot of people's personal info, credit reports, etc.

The ban was technically on phones with cameras, so pretty much any phones. They lessened it to just not having the phone at your desk, so I was able to keep it in my drawer and still listen to music.

Hahnsoo1

LoveIsUnity wrote: »

How can your work "ban" phones out of curiosity?

Most workplaces that deal with confidential projects or personal information ban phones in the workplace, along with USB thumb drives and other ways to sneak data out. It won't stop a determined thief, of course, but you have to put up a facade that you're trying to prevent data theft...

TNTrooper

LoveIsUnity wrote: »

How can your work "ban" phones out of curiosity?

I did data entry for one of those companies that did flu shots at places like Wal-mart and we weren't allowed to take our phones out of our pockets due to HIPAA. They were super strict about it one guy got escorted off by security in under a hour on his first day cause he left his phone on his desk so he could text his friends. He had to unlock and give his phone to the cops so they could make sure he wasn't taking picture or texting credit card #s and stuff.