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For a couple years I had a Samsung Galaxy Player. It was classified as an MP3 player for insurance purposes, as it didn't have telephone functionality, but it was a fully capable Android device otherwise. Essentially it was a pocket-sized mini-tablet.

Unfortunately, I lost it. I'd like to replace it - again without a telephone as I rarely am out of wi-fi range, use my cell phone very little, and don't want to pay data fees. I've been looking around for a while now, but I have not been able to find any similar devices on the market any more, except for a couple devices aimed at children. The only other Android options I've found are smartphones or larger tablets.

My experiences with 2nd hand devices have not been good, so I am avoiding eBay, Craigslist, etc. Thus, I'm asking if anyone knows of something on the market that I'm missing. Are there any general purpose pocket-sized Android devices without built in telephones being manufactured (and targeted at adults)? If so, what are they?

PTBNL
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  • What is a pocket device? Can this (http://www.samsung.com/us/support/owners/product/YP-G70CWY/XAA) be called a pocket device? – Dawny33 Sep 23 '15 at 14:23
  • @Dawny33. Thanks for getting back to me with feedback. Sorry, but I thought "pocket device" was self-explanatory; I mean a device that is small enough to fit in one's (shirt or pants) pocket. It's difficult to say just from a description and specs, but the device you linked to does appear to fit my definition. – PTBNL Sep 23 '15 at 14:34
  • Are you basically looking for an Android iPod touch? What about getting a very cheap android phone, but not activating it? Something like the Moto E. – Cfinley Sep 23 '15 at 14:53
  • Yes, an Android device similar to the iPod is what I'm looking for. The idea of getting a smartphone and not activating/removing the SIM card has been suggested, but I have been hoping to find something without the unwanted functionality. Also, the Samsung I had before was thinner than the equivalent phone version. – PTBNL Sep 23 '15 at 14:59
  • I know of a lot of very small android devices , without phone capabilities, sometimes also called "mini pc´s ) and usually chinese made , In fact I have one at home . see example of one for TV ( with HDMI ) here - But there are hundreds of varients - and I have uses a few in some projects . – Obmerk Kronen Sep 23 '15 at 15:08
  • @ObmerkKronen: Thanks for responding. That looks to be a device dedicated to a special purpose. Also, it's too big to fit in a pocket. I'm looking for something more general purpose, on which I can take keep a calendar, make notes, load apps, etc. – PTBNL Sep 23 '15 at 15:19
  • First of all the MR802 is extremely small . It is just slightly bigger than a standard BIC lighter . Granted, it has no screen. There are literally hundreds of devices that fit your question - problem is , most of them would not be available in the US... ( and I suggest you change the title of the question. you are looking for a tablet type android device. not a general purpose one ) – Obmerk Kronen Sep 23 '15 at 15:36
  • @ObmerkKronen: Sorry, I mis-read the specs you linked to, thinking the MK802 to be 8.8 inches long, not 8.8 cm. If you didn't notice, I did change the title in response to your earlier comment, since you linked to a dedicated purpose device. I state in the body of the question that I want to replace a mini-tablet, so I think most people will understand what I mean. Also, by some definitions I've seen, a tablet has a minimum screen size of 6 or 7 inches, which would be too big for my purposes. – PTBNL Sep 23 '15 at 15:53
  • @PTBNL I cannot find anything that meets your requirements. It appears that there isn't a strong enough market for android powered mp3 players. I read an article awhile ago that had a rumor that even apple was going to stop updating its iPod touch line due to low sales. – Cfinley Sep 23 '15 at 16:55
  • @Cfinley: Thanks for replying. Not finding anything has been my experience, thus I'm asking about it here. It seems weird to me that there's no market for this type of device. I know I'm not the only one who wants something like this. – PTBNL Sep 23 '15 at 17:40
  • Not an answer - I don't use it as a pocket device, but I do run android x86 http://www.android-x86.org/ on an old HP thin client. So there's possibility to have any portable PC device be an android device.

    An 8" windows tablet like the Acer Iconica W3 could do the job, if you can get android installed on it. Many modern tablets use some form of secure-boot with UEFI or bypass the bios completely.

    And even a small tablet is still larger than a pocket device.

     – Criggie Nov 04 '15 at 22:48

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As others have pointed out, most touchscreen Android MP3 players have been discontinued due to the vast majority of people owning smartphones. However, there are a few you can find.

  • This is marketed as a "tablet", but it only has a 4.3" screen - smaller than most modern cell phones. It runs Android 4.0, and has an SD slot to upgrade the capacity (it looks like to 32GB). However, it has fairly slow internals, and does not come with the Google play store, just the Amazon App Store. There are a handful of similar "tablets" avaliable on Amazon as well.

  • There are a couple of Android Sony Walkmans out there, but they are very expensive, because they are aimed at more audiophiles than regular users. There is an older version for sale as well, but it appears to have never been sold in the US and is only avaliable post-import.

I would have to go along with the others and recommend a phone inactivated. You should be able to get an older "flagship" model (e.g. Samsung Galaxy S3/4, LG G2/3,etc) for a couple hundred dollars, or go for a lower-end android for about $100ish. With the decrease in demand for phone-sized Android MP3 players, the options are just not much to choose from.

SSumner
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How about the Sony Walkman NWZ-F886 (German link, can't find it on international homepage)? It is a full Android device minus the phone function.

It’s a low- to mid-range Android device. It has 32 GB of space and should be good for playing music and videos. One bad thing about it… it has a rather low screen resolution (854 × 480 pixels).

I looked up the price of the device, which is quite high (around 300€). To be honest, I would recommend a phone in airplane mode over this, but if you just want a device without phone functionality, this is one of your options.

アリスター
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Juergen
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  • For starters, your link has returned a "File Not Found" error every time I've tried to view it (which is now a few times over a couple hours). As I asked in a response to the other answer, does the Sony run Android? I don't see that in any of the specs I've been able to find on the product. – PTBNL Nov 05 '15 at 22:36
  • The bracket was included into the link, by removing that, the link works. Zhe problem is that I only could find it on the german site. The only english site i found was for the more expensive one: http://www.sony.com/electronics/walkman/nw-zx2 – Juergen Nov 06 '15 at 06:26
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There is quite a list actually, not popular since mp3 player's market is going down, even the latest iPod was at a competitive price (according to apple standards). I'd go with the samsung galaxy player 5, has a better batery life and more functionalities (needed or not) and a microSD extension slot. next would be walkman Z series, much shorter battery life, but the walkman sound quality.

source: http://www.geckoandfly.com/10095/ipod-touch-alternatives-sony-walkman-vs-samsung-galazy-vs-philips-gogear/

Nevertheless it'd be better to get a good phone and ignore the sim fonctions.

Rudra Matroja
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  • Thanks for answering. However, I can't upvote because that article - in spite of a fairly recent date tag - is out of date. The Samsung Galaxy Players have been discontinued, and the "5" refers to screen size (in inches), not the Android version. Does the Sony Walkman run Android? I can't find anything verifying that. Nor can I find much about the Creative Zen and the Philips Go Gear. – PTBNL Nov 05 '15 at 20:27
  • the sony walkman does run android: Sony NW-ZX2 it's insanely pricey(hi-res audio quality marketing) but it is probably the only android based media player. You could find some chinese made no name players but in branded quality players the market is pretty much lost. – Rudra Matroja Nov 06 '15 at 05:54