Well I'm about to getting a M3 after I've read all you guys discussing every advantage and drawback of it. I wonder if it has an anti shock function just like all the MD's do? I just hope that after a careless dorp it still survives.
As the M3 uses flash memory(and not HDD), it should survive drops(well, it's not designed to getting dropped lol). I have dropped my once and nothing happend.
If you want to protect the M3 a bit extra, buy a silicone case.
There's no anti-shock function. Since it's flash based it will survive better than a HD player, but if you drop any type of electronics you run the risk of breaking it...just the way it is.
There are several posts that confirm that the player will handle drops based on user experience, but every situation will be different, and someone else's may crash and burn with a similar drop episode.
MDs are spinning discs with data being read by a laser. the "anti shock" function is because vibrations can sometimes cause the laser to lose it's place.
the M3 is flash based and has no moving parts. in fact, the "anti shock" function on MDs is achieved by storing X seconds of music into memory. all of the data stored on the M3 is in solid state memory already, so you can consider it "anti shock".
that said, minidisc or flash based players are not meant to be carelessly dropped unless specifically marketed as such.
I'm more concerned about the screen's durability; with that said, I'll add to this thread by asking; how do you think the silicon/crystal casing would do in a 5-foot drop freak-accident (as I mentioned in the anythingbutipod forums)?
Never the less, it looks like an excellent player; I'm thinking of getting the 8gb package at JTCelectronics. Yarrrrr.