Getting The Feel For Touchscreen, Sourcing Tips for Touchscreen MP4 Players

New MP4 Gadget From China

Purchasing a touchscreen MP4 used to be easy, you just needed to select your preferred brand from a dozen options.

This is all set to change with Chinese manufacturers set to enter the market with touchscreen MP4 offerings in the next two years, undoubtedly causing consumers to wonder how to choose a touch screen MP4 player.

Marquee producers used to be the only shop in town for those who wanted their MP4 player to be touchscreen capable, with price-conscious gadget hunters often having to settle for a secondhand iPod iTouch, or Blackberry(or is that crackberry) Pearl. Market analysts say this will soon change.

Market analysts, Global Sources, say makers of Chinese MP4 players will start to offer touchscreen MP4 players within the next two years to grab a larger chunk of the Personal Media Player market.

What will this mean for eBay traders?

This is likely to create a supply of new competitively-priced touch screen MP4 players outside more established brand-names that are still extremely marketable.

Items like this 8GB touchscreen MP4 with camera are already creating a buzz on the Internet with the video above collecting 3000 views in a little under two weeks.

What factors will I need to consider?

Any new technology or new major feature on offer brings new questions to ask and new factors to consider. So whether you’re purchasing a touchscreen MP4 for yourself, or whether you’re sourcing it for an online store or eBay business, there are some extra points to consider on top of those you’d normally think about when buying a MP4 player.

When buying a touchscreen MP4 you still need to ask the same questions you normally would for MP4 Players, plus a few you haven’t thought about before.

Besides the normal questions you ask when sourcing a MP4 player you will also need to think about screen durability, configuration, screen type and the anti-locking functionality.

Durability

When most consumers consider purchasing anything with touchscreen capability the first thing they’re going to ask is how durable it is. This is not surprising when you consider that it will have to serve a dual purpose.

Ask the touch screen MP4 vendor how many touches the screen can take before being replaced (most simple touchscreen MP4 systems should withstand around five million touches before requiring any form of protection).

However, some form of protection for the screen is always a good idea (especially if you are using a stylus with the touch screen MP4 player) and is easily accessible in most electronics stores, and will sometimes come with the player.

Configuration

Does the device have a method of configuration?­ How can you configure it, or re-configure it, so it remains responsive?

When removing the plastic cover fitted to get the device from the factory to your (or your customers’) door make sure to get all the plastic from the sides and corners of the screen to make the touch screen MP4 perform better.

Not all touch screens are alike, with the required purpose, size, durability, responsiveness and price playing a part in which style of screen is used in the manufacture of electronics.

This car DVD player will use a very different system of touchscreen technology to this MP4 player.

Most touchscreen MP4 players and PDA devices tended to use a variation of a four or eight-wire resistive system, which uses wires to track the location of the stylus or finger. Newer touch screen MP4 players, like the iTouch, have started to use multi touch technology, which allows the user to utilize multiple fingers on the surface of the device at the same time.

Ability to Reset

Any PDA owner will tell you devices seize up on a page occasionally and it can be hell to reset them. Check to see how the device you are considering purchasing can be unfrozen. Are there buttons at the top which will automatically take you back to the menu or will you have to take the battery out and reboot it completely?

China manufacturer’s higher capacity flash MP4 players and touchscreen MP4 players offer a fantastic opportunity for eBay traders and online electronic store owners keen to stay ahead of the pack. This may seem a little unnerving but you should be able to mitigate the problems normally associated to being an innovator by doing your research before purchasing or sourcing an item and by dealing with a trusted online wholesaler.