Can anyone tell me what's the difference between the two mp3-cd players from Philips which are named EXP401 and EXP411? They seem to have similar specs, but the price on Amazon is less than half for the latter. I've had my eyes on this for a while now since it's a cheaper alternative to ipod and minidisc.

EXP411
EXP401

Well, the cheaper one (411) has longer battery life.

Small differences check here.

EXP401

EXP411

Thanks for the link. Seems like an awfullly small difference for half the price... 3 mW output instead of 5 mW. Now I just have to find it for about same price around here... or some way to bounce it out of US. Too bad they don't ship overseas...

Where has the AAC-support gone?:

* Playback of MP3 (32-320 Kbps) and variable bitrate

The 401 came out first and reportedly had a lot of bugs. The 411 is the same thing with most of the bugs fixed. I have a 411 and it works well. Battery life with the single AA isn't great, but it's easy to carry an extra AA. The sound quality is pretty good and it has decent volume compared with so many of the wimpy portables you find these days. Doesn't skip at all. It's not much lighter than a full-size CD player, but a lot easier to fit in a pocket.

EXP411 $30 closeout or something at Outpost, fyi. This uses 8 cm discs. Plays VBRs.

It can use AAC, it's in the Amazon description and in the "manual" (2.4 mb) - but note that it's not the MPEG4 format. "AAC format: ISO 13818-7 MPEG-2 (low complexity profile), stereo, ADTS and ADIF header, AAC bit rate ≤ 160 kbps"
product spec sheet

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/3684905

As noted, it's a variant of the 401, so if you're googling for info look for exp401 too.
Amazon EXP401 etc

NiMH rechargeables are the way to go for those who use batteries vs. the AC adapter (included).

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