Four Gadgets That Can Replace Your Music Player

The MP3 player might've made the portable CD player and Sony Walkman go obsolete, but now there are a ton of gadgets that do more or less the same thing: play music. And while some music players have their aficionados, especially Apple's iPod lineup, ditching your music player can mean carrying one less gadget...or one more, depending on how you look at it.

Here's a look at some other gadgets to consider, and what the pros and cons of using them for your music needs are.

Smartphone

Apple's iPhone ($0 - $199 on contract) is basically an iPod Touch with a phone attached. That means it works with iTunes, and has the intuitive music-playing controls that you're probably already used to.

Android-based smartphones are generally seen as having less-intuitive music-playing controls. Google Music, however, lets you sync your whole library on the Internet, and then stream it whenever you like.

Both Android phones and the iPhone have streaming music apps like Pandora and Grooveshark. Just be careful you don't run up your data plan too much, and make sure to buy a microSD card to put your songs on if you're using an Android phone without much internal memory.

Tablet

Most of us don't want to bring an iPad around in our pockets. (Most of us can't fit an iPad in our pockets, either.) The Nook Color ($199), though, has plenty of streaming music apps that work over Wi-Fi, plus you can watch YouTube videos and put songs on a microSD card. It can't sync with iTunes, but it can with Windows Media Player or other music players. And at half the size of the iPad, it's just a little easier to bring with you...or to have music for listening to while you read.

Game console

Sony's PlayStation Portable can play movies and songs, as long as you use Sony's Windows software to transfer them and have a Memory Stick to put them on. The current generation doesn't have a touchscreen, which makes using it a little cumbersome. If you're already bringing it for the games, though, and don't have the whole Final Fantasy collection taking up your Memory Stick, you can always put some songs on it and use it as a media player.

iPod

Isn't the iPod a music player? Yes, but the iPod Touch ($199) is basically a smartphone without a phone. It can run the same apps as an iPhone can, and even make phone calls over Wi-Fi with the right apps. It just doesn't have a phone.

If you're using an iPod Nano or other iPod, the iPod Touch might be a good step up to replace it and some other gadgets, especially if you're not on a wireless carrier that has the iPhone (or if you can't afford an iPhone's data plan).

Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Join the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own shopping guides.