As to the invention of the phonograph, I think we’ll go with the 19th century, OK folks?
So Pretty and luring in lots of buyers but these imported phonographs are well known for poor quality, incorrect speed, heavy tone arms with cheap needles. Check the Amazon reviews of each one. Looks like they also break a lot. Good luck unloading this sorry lot!
Can you recommend a better version with similar functionality - battery-operated, rechargeable, USB interface to digitize cassettes & records?
Why go through the expense and time of digitizing cassettes and records? For lower quality? If you already purchased cassettes and records, you can actually download MP3 versions legally (if you can find them online) because you have the right to have a backup copy for your own personal use. Why? Because you’ve already paid royalty fees the first time you bought the cassette or record. See About Piracy - RIAA for details.
Ahhh…but the question is where? Limewire fizzled about a five years ago and my youthful charges are in the habit of itunes/amazon downloads.
As for converting to digital,in general these are pretty much vinyl eaters so if you’ve got a rare, out of print but scratched to hell LP you want to copy, have at it.
Most use a ceramic cartridge (think 1960’s record player).
If you still own a decent turntable there are a number of add-ons to bridge the line (or tape) output of your preamp/receiver to a pc.
But, if you’ve got stacks of old wax and no where to go, making a scratchy copy beats sitting around reading the liner notes wishing you could listen to is.