So you’re at your favorite place to buy electronic gadgets, be it online or at your local Best Buy, and you’ve finally decided to get that portable media player you always wanted. The question is; how much media should your new player be able to hold?

the Archos 404 is a powerhouse with integrated camcorder and 30GB of storage capacity

There are several approaches to deciding how much storage you want to get for your hard earned cash investment. One train of thought is to apply the same philosophy you did when you purchased your Mac/PC/laptop. In other words, no storage is too much storage. When you sit down at your computer to work on your various tasks, download music, or download videos, you never want to feel constrained by the limitations of your hard drive. And you may feel the same way about your potential portable media player.

However, just like your choice in a computing device, more storage on your media player means more money at the checkout counter. If money isn’t an issue, then knock yourself out; for the more price-conscious consumer (us wage earners), you may need to find a balance between your needs for storage capacity and the musings of your wallet.

First, think about what type of media you’re interested in carrying around with you. Do you want to be able to purchase the latest downloadable version of your favorite TV show, and watch it on the commute to work? Or do you just need a playlist of your favorite tunes to get you motivated on your morning jog? Generally, video files are going to consume way more space than audio files, so you’re going to need lots of storage to get that latest episode of 24 from the iTunes store.

Sony gives you their video mp3 players in 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB

Also think about the situations in which you will be using your new player. Take into consideration how much time you want to spend swapping media on you player because you need that space. For me personally, I walk everywhere, so I want to be able grab my mp3 player and always be able to find something to listen to for that particular moment. For that reason alone, I need lots of storage because I never know when I want to hear jazz, rap, or rock and roll. However, I’m not interested in watching video while I’m walking (and chewing gum), so a few gigs are more than enough for my usage.

As evidenced by what we do on this site (this is PMP Today, for those just tuning in), new portable media players emerge on the market daily. And with that, it seems the latest player is sleeker, larger (in terms of storage), and has more features than its predecessors. But the most important features are the features that you want, not the features the retailers want to sell you.