Guest nevawlkalone Posted February 15, 2006 Report Posted February 15, 2006 Are ipods worth all the hype they get? I use my iPAQ to listen to a few tunes on the train journey to work but i find myself increasingly drawn to a dedicated mp3 player. The only problem i have against them is the lack of upgradable size with out having to buy a new one.... ANyone any thoughts? All comments appreciated Cheers M
Guest JamieDow Posted February 15, 2006 Report Posted February 15, 2006 I have the 3rd Gen 20GB standard iPod. I love it, trying not to be sad I have to say (and most iPod owners know what I mean even if they won't admit it :D) It's sexy, it works damn well but it just looks great. :) On a serious note, it's nice to have the portable storage facility as i've really struggled to exceed 15GB worth of Decent music but well worth the look. Can't speak for the Nano's though. The menu system is easy enough to navigate with the wheel and the battery life is good. Get yourself a good case though, that shiny chrome back gets grubby with finger marks :evil:
Guest nevawlkalone Posted February 15, 2006 Report Posted February 15, 2006 3rd gen? Also is it possible to play all the tunes at once...or just particular artists or genre?
Guest JamieDow Posted February 15, 2006 Report Posted February 15, 2006 You can play random tracks with a shuffle, just one artist, genre, album, or playlists. :)
Guest bigmak Posted February 15, 2006 Report Posted February 15, 2006 I bought myself a really small Panasonic MP3 player with SD-card slot. It worked for a couple of years before the contacts finally stopped working. Then there was nothing comparable on the marked and I didn't wan't one of these USB-Sticks. So it happened that a friend of mine sold his 4th generation Ipod with 40GB of memory. I bought it and I loved it. But unfortunately it crashed after 2 years and repairing it would be almost as expensive as a new one. Since I didn't have the money to get a new one I used my SE K750i as Music Player. And it worked well. Small, standard headphones and decent player software with playlist functions. Then it bugged me and I just had to go back to smartphones. And when I got my 8310 I used it as player. But let's be honest: since there are no buttons for the mediaplyer which work in locked mode, there's no way to go to the next song without taking the phone out of your pocket. So I saved some money and bought a ipod with video. It looks hot, it works great and the screen is not too small to watch movies. So can I live without my ipod: no, no, no, never again. Ipod rocks!
Guest nevawlkalone Posted February 15, 2006 Report Posted February 15, 2006 Sweet....THanks for the replies guys....so which one would either of you(r anyone for that matter) recomend?
Guest fluffcat1 Posted February 15, 2006 Report Posted February 15, 2006 So it happened that a friend of mine sold his 4th generation Ipod with 40GB of memory. I bought it and I loved it. But unfortunately it crashed after 2 years and repairing it would be almost as expensive as a new one. A 4th gen ipod is 18 months old at most, being announced in July 2004. Repairs can be effected fairly cheaply outside of warranty via non-apple sources depending on fault, the most common being a bad HDD, but I wouldn't want one out of apple warranty myself. The in-warranty support is fantastic but outside of warranty it's as if you've turned invisible..... Richard
Guest fraser Posted February 20, 2006 Report Posted February 20, 2006 Late to the discussion, but I would not recommend an iPod, unless you value fashion as more important than cost/functionality. If I were to buy a mp3 player, it would need to : - work as a USB drive on any modern PC with no drivers required - allow you to put music on and off without forcing you to use some deliberately-crippled software - allow you to store other data and use as a key-drive. - good battery life The iPod doesn't do the top three, not sure about the last one. The driver thing is a no brainer these days; if it requires drivers it's because they don't want to give you direct access to the drive. It's my drive and I'll do with it what I please!! :) Decent mp3 players will show up as a drive letter under My Computer with no hassle.
Guest mini_man Posted February 20, 2006 Report Posted February 20, 2006 i love my mp3 player! i have an mpeye htc 550 in black its ded sexy! its really small and has a 5gb hardrive! it has so much more stuff than the ipod mini with things like radio and line in. It works straight after you plug it into the pc and appears as a removable drive, I love the simplicity of personal organisation so you can just create folders instead of being forced to edit id3 tags in itunes and better still if you need edit the tags then you can use any tag editor on the internet!! One thing i hate about itunes is that you have to rip your music to the computer and then to the ipod where as i can organise my music while its on the mp3 player and rip straight to it too. The battery life lasted somin like 22 hours which was so gr8, the ipod is just a big commercial rip off and has pointlessly taken over the name mp3 everyone now thinks ipod when they only listen to liike 4 albums, somepeople own cheapo little memory stick ones (gd 4 them) but then think i need an ipod when they havnt even filled there 256mb ones??? my dad got his xclef mp3 (massive but amazing) for £120 and its 30gb and hes only got 5gb left
Guest fluffcat1 Posted February 20, 2006 Report Posted February 20, 2006 (edited) Late to the discussion, but I would not recommend an iPod, unless you value fashion as more important than cost/functionality. If I were to buy a mp3 player, it would need to : - work as a USB drive on any modern PC with no drivers required - allow you to put music on and off without forcing you to use some deliberately-crippled software - allow you to store other data and use as a key-drive. - good battery life The iPod doesn't do the top three, not sure about the last one. The driver thing is a no brainer these days; if it requires drivers it's because they don't want to give you direct access to the drive. It's my drive and I'll do with it what I please!! :) Decent mp3 players will show up as a drive letter under My Computer with no hassle. The ASUS manufactured ipod shuffle using the sigmatel chip does all of the above. The FOXCONN manufactured 'traditional' ipods can be used with sharepod.exe to move music without itunes interferring. As for battery life.... :roll: Richard Richard Edited February 20, 2006 by fluffcat1
Guest darren22 Posted February 20, 2006 Report Posted February 20, 2006 I got the 5th Generation 30GB Ipod video for Christmas. Wow absolutely fantastic. I've got 1,000 music tracks, 1GB of phtos and 5 films and rising on it. Still 20GB left!! The screen is a good size. My only gripe is battery life when playing films, will probably need charger at work. Also loaded some Phoenix Nights episodes for the train journey to and from work.
Guest nevawlkalone Posted February 25, 2006 Report Posted February 25, 2006 Whey....sorry not replied bin on holiday....woooooo Well after this topic,n mmy hols being newar i opted for a black 30gb video ipod and i absolutely love it....i have over 300 songs on it (and counting) and had no problems with the software...miles better than windows media player in my view.... I have been given a patch that allows it to be seen as removeable storage device but it didnt like it so i reset it and dont use it....dedicated storage device for that sort of crap...... the battery life kicks ass......it last yonks coz i had it on charge almost a day and a half before use.... The head phones are just heaven....the bass it thumps out on my heavey metal tunes is just emense...top end is sweet too..... All in all a pleasing purchase and i highly recommend these things to anyone..... Fashion icon or not these things are ace with a good system and accessories to boot Get one.....Get one now if you want a dedicated music player......
Guest fluffcat1 Posted February 26, 2006 Report Posted February 26, 2006 Well after this topic,n mmy hols being newar i opted for a black 30gb video ipod and i absolutely love it....i have over 300 songs on it (and counting) and had no problems with the software...miles better than windows media player in my view.... Damn. I had a 20gb 4th gen colour sitting here with your b-stock qtek 9100....oh well. Makro have a samsung 20gb windows media video player for about £170 + vat I'm thinking of getting - purely to sync with windoze MCE. Have you tried any? Pro's / con's? the battery life kicks ass......it last yonks coz i had it on charge almost a day and a half before use.... Oh dear. You just wait.... :cry: Personally I'd sell it in 9 months while still warrantied and buy another new one. Maybe that's just me? The head phones are just heaven....the bass it thumps out on my heavey metal tunes is just emense...top end is sweet too..... Nah, they're tinny little things - if you like bass, get a set of Shure E2C or whatevers, can't remember the model number but they're about £79 and have squidgy inserts to fit in your ear canal. Plus they isolate you from the outside world and you don't look like a target as you do with the white earphone cord on the street. Haven't got a video ipod yet ( won't fit my alpine car kit )so can't comment on their particular earphones but assume they are apple standard? Richard
Guest mark4130 Posted February 26, 2006 Report Posted February 26, 2006 I love my nano. Its piece of cake to use, is discreet enough to hide about my person, sits nicely on the side of my arm at the gym and it looks damn sexy. Im currently getting 9 hours + before needing to charge the battery which I dont mind at all.
Guest mini_man Posted February 26, 2006 Report Posted February 26, 2006 Well ive broken my mp3 player so I set about ordering a 2gb Memory Card. So now with my 2gb of memory and a lovely Ipod WMP Skin I can be cool and pretend i have an ipod :) If you would like to also be cool like me with my fake ipod you can copy me by bunging the Unzipped Zip file I have enclosed in \Storage\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Player\Skins (just create them if you dont have it). @Mark4130 - now I have a nano too :D ipod_skin.zip
Guest nickcornaglia Posted February 27, 2006 Report Posted February 27, 2006 I personally never got the ipod craze. The idea of listening to any of your music whenever you want is cool I guess and technically the hard drive capacity rocks. But I cant see carrying around yet another device when my phone will give me hours and hours of music without needing to carry something else. iPods themselves are overhyped. There are plenty of players out there that will allow you to do the same thing and more, such as play WMA files. I use Napster so this is VERY important to me...obviously. Though I have bought ipods as gifts, I never felt the need to own one. I did own a Samsung 20GB player once. Built in FM Transmitter. Built in FM radio. Built in Recorder. All without additional Belkin accessories. iPod dominates based on it's name in my opinion...not by what it is selling the public. I see it as someone told everyone the need to carry ALL of their music with them wherever they go. Apple Marketing is creating a need that probably never existed for most. Again, the idea is cool, just not necessary IMO. Load my phone up with 100+ songs and I'm happy enough. Oh did I mention I could also, watch movies, listen to podcasts, View PIM info. Play agames, run useful applications. Oh and it's a phone that can also browse the internet, send/receive text messages, MMS messages and emails and make voice calls. You cant beat a WM phone for a more complete package. One day they'll figure out how to put a larger capacity drive in a PPC or Smartphone and we'll be good to go!
Guest nevawlkalone Posted February 27, 2006 Report Posted February 27, 2006 Damn. I had a 20gb 4th gen colour sitting here with your b-stock qtek 9100....oh well. Richard <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Feel freee to send the qtek through any time soon mate....
Guest mike-oh Posted February 27, 2006 Report Posted February 27, 2006 ...a load of stuff... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> ...which I entirely agree with, every last word!! Thanks for saving me the effort of having to write that myself! ipods are a good idea, but hell my MDA compact with a 1gig SD card (expandable of course) is sooo much better. Oh and not forgetting from the above list, it also acts as sat nav! Needless to say i'm not jumping on the ipod bandwagon. Mike
Guest nevawlkalone Posted February 28, 2006 Report Posted February 28, 2006 (edited) ...which I entirely agree with, every last word!! Thanks for saving me the effort of having to write that myself! ipods are a good idea, but hell my MDA compact with a 1gig SD card (expandable of course) is sooo much better. Oh and not forgetting from the above list, it also acts as sat nav! Needless to say i'm not jumping on the ipod bandwagon. Mike <{POST_SNAPBACK}> THese are a;ll good point gents....but....i DO need most of my music with me as i live for it...i hardly watch telly, id rather listen to music or jam along on my guitar....when i do watch it, its only music channels or for a bit of ass kickery on the ps2..... Yes they are an over hype marketing dream but they are good at what they do...and.....untill a larger capacity ppc is released with decent battery life (goin of comments about the Samsung i300) ill glad go for the iPOD...plus it was the cheapest in its range...with a 20gb samsung one being MORE expensive AND did less than my 30gb ipod video..... And for sat nav...buy TOMTOM 700 and sti it in your car.....simple.... :) Edited February 28, 2006 by nevawlkalone
Guest fraser Posted February 28, 2006 Report Posted February 28, 2006 And for sat nav...buy TOMTOM 700 and sti it in your car.....simple.... :) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Then it gets stolen. You have to remove it when you park if you'd like to keep it. Might as well just use a PPC seeing as you'll be carrying it around. For my next car, I'm likely going to ditch the stereo and hook up my phone for music & satnav. Can walk along with headphones on, get in the car, dock the phone & carry on listening. iPods look great and are really easy to use. That's their only redeaming qualities; for everything else there are far better alternatives.
Guest fluffcat1 Posted February 28, 2006 Report Posted February 28, 2006 Needless to say i'm not jumping on the ipod bandwagon. Mike As the ipod was released in late 2001 I think you'll find it's the PPC phone bandwagon that you've jumped on - the ipod bandwagon left a bit earlier so maybe you just missed it and caught the next service from Tech Central to Consumerville? :) Richard ( 1st Gen 5gb mac iPod still going strong. somewhere.... )
Guest nevawlkalone Posted February 28, 2006 Report Posted February 28, 2006 As the ipod was released in late 2001 I think you'll find it's the PPC phone bandwagon that you've jumped on - the ipod bandwagon left a bit earlier so maybe you just missed it and caught the next service from Tech Central to Consumerville? :) Richard ( 1st Gen 5gb mac iPod still going strong. somewhere.... ) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Well said fluffcat....buyt lets not argue.... Yeah ok so you will have to take it out every time you park, but if you leave your phone somewhere i.e loose it then its a phone,a mp3 player, sat nav not to mention all of your contacts and other personal data gone..... I just think that an iPOD is soo much better than a PPC for playing music as it is specially desgned to do this...plus i've had a few ppc and none of them where the best at playing music..i found a flaw with most of them..... As for hooking up your stereo to your phone...ooo all of a gig's worth of music...all the time....you'd have to get bored of it eventually and then all the mess of cables..if you want all that in your motor get a car pc..... What are the beter alternitives to an iPOD? i cant see them?
Guest fluffcat1 Posted February 28, 2006 Report Posted February 28, 2006 What are the beter alternitives to an iPOD? i cant see them? There are better MP3 players out there than an iPod, and definatley better music players, I just don't think a phone / ppc is one of them... The analogue stages on an iPod are pants ( thin PCB's, minimal track spacing, micron thick copper tracks, no PCB laminate, wrapped in foil = Noise with a capital 'N'. Not music. NOISE. ), there is drive noise on the HDD models, they are fragile and they are *too expensive* for what they are, but they still kick a smartphone's ass for music playback, and I've used / owned *all* gen iPods and most smartphone's / PPC's out there. And I have decent headphones :) The best upgrade you can buy for any of these devices is some *decent* headphones. I don't mean Sony Fontopia et al, something like Sennheiser MX300 are fairly decent in-ear headphones, can be had for about £15 and also come in white. Still only a 3.5mm jack though, so an adaptor will be needed for phone use and no handsfree kit usage. As for better dedicated MP3/ music portable players, Sony still have the TCD100 DAT walkman for $illy mon£y ( I still have a TCD7 that sounds amazing ), b&o do one as well that is supposed to be good, and I have previously used some creative zen units that were good. Thomson's Lyra stuff is also good but mine ( 3 yrs old) is a bit bulky for a 10gb unit - they also administer / invented the mp3 codec so I'd expect good things from their recent stuff, but I don't think there is a true 'audiophile' mp3 player out there? My next purchase will probably be a portable Media Center (sic). Richard
Guest nevawlkalone Posted February 28, 2006 Report Posted February 28, 2006 wrapped in foil = Noise with a capital 'N'. Not music. NOISE. ), <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Most of the 'music' i listen to IS just noise...lol
Guest fraser Posted March 1, 2006 Report Posted March 1, 2006 Yeah ok so you will have to take it out every time you park, but if you leave your phone somewhere i.e loose it then its a phone,a mp3 player, sat nav not to mention all of your contacts and other personal data gone..... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You kidding, right? Risk probability goes up when you add more components. It's much easier for me to not lose my one phone that to keep track of 4 or 5 different devices. Plus, lose data, never! You are syncing your phone with ActiveSync, right? I just think that an iPOD is soo much better than a PPC for playing music as it is specially desgned to do this...plus i've had a few ppc and none of them where the best at playing music..i found a flaw with most of them..... <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes. But there are also many devices far better than the iPod for playing music, and they are mostly cheaper than the iPod. As for better dedicated MP3/ music portable players, Sony still have the TCD100 DAT walkman for $illy mon£y ( I still have a TCD7 that sounds amazing ), b&o do one as well that is supposed to be good, and I have previously used some creative zen units that were good. Thomson's Lyra stuff is also good but mine ( 3 yrs old) is a bit bulky for a 10gb unit - they also administer / invented the mp3 codec so I'd expect good things from their recent stuff, but I don't think there is a true 'audiophile' mp3 player out there? My next purchase will probably be a portable Media Center (sic). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Since Sony added mp3 playback, they are a good option. If you have a Sony camera, you can hook the walkman up to it and it will copy your photos onto it's hard-drive. Useful. The creative ones are pretty good as well. None of this digital restrictions management limiting what you can do with the music you paid for. It's simply a drive and you copy the music onto it. No iTunes, no nonsense. You can carry data and copy it to any PC without needing drivers. Drivers who's sole purpose is to restrict what you can do with your own propetry. Apple obfuscate the file system on the iPod, so even if you hack your way in, the files are inaccessible. Utter nonsense. I buy gadgets for MY use. Not someone elses list of things that they decide to allow me. And on numerous occassions "updates" to iTunes have removed functionality. Apples refusal to allow anyone else to sell iPod compatible media has given them an almost complete monopoly on digital media downloads. Apple only get away with what they do because they are the little guy. If Microsoft pulled these sort of stunts they would be in court faster than you can say "bundled services".
Recommended Posts