How 'Bout Them iPods?

[iggy880]

Well, I've wanted an iPod for a while, and recent fluxuation of seeing them at school, and hooking them up to PC's, plus using my aunts a lot over Tanksgiving break, and falling in love with the interface and features, and finally the desire to bring pod casts with me, rather than sitting at my PC to listen has almost convinced me. Only problem is to get my glorius red iPod Nano (http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/red/) it would be a Christmas gift, and due to the price, plus the fact I have 3 other siblings, and one of which are in college, and we're helping with tuition for, makes the budget limited, and it would mean I either get that, or multiple other good stuff, like games and so on. So the question is do you guys feel it's worth getting instead of multiple great stuff and games? I mean my current mp3 player works fine, aside from annoying battery replacement and draining, plus as I have 75+ songs and more space, I don't have a menu to organise, or find what I want really. Som again, I trust you guys on these sort of decisions, and your opinion counts, so let me know.

[Xielos]

Ok, well I voted Yes without reading the whole post. Yes if you don't already have an mp3, but in your situation, I'm gonna have to change my vote to no.

[iggy880]

I'll take you as in between. By the way, I'm gonna vote the third choice, just not to sway my own vote, and watch your opinions.

[The Icy One]

Hmm.. I wouldn't get a Nano myself, price wise it's better to go for the normal 80Gig I think it is now? ..I mean I payed 400$ for my 60Gig and now theres a 80Gig for 350$.. so.. yea, much better deal. So.. I can't really vote since my vote is..

"Don't get a Nano, go for the big one."

[Alumette]

I didn't vote but here's my opinion:

I don't dislike my iPod (I got a Mini a few years ago for Christmas). If you're going to get an iPod, get the biggest one you can. My Mini filled up completely in a matter of weeks. I am a music whore, however; so I really don't think there's a digital music player out there with enough space on it for me. :)

Since it was a gift, I'm not going to gripe. I'm grateful to have it and I do enjoy it--I listen to it during my prep and plan periods, mostly. However had the purchasing decision been mine, I would have either gone for the biggest iPod I could get my hands on, or, more likely, a different brand of mp3 player, like a Creative Zen, simply because I find dealing with Apple's proprietary file type to be onerous.

I'm also of the opinion that if I want to watch a movie, I want to see it on a big screen, so all that movie and video capability on a portable media player seems like an unnecessary extra to me. My medium of choice is music, so I'd want a player that is primo for playing, organizing, and storing music files, and the other features could be absent in my case and not be missed.

Some things I don't like about my iPod (bearing in mind that it is only a Mini and it's already positively ancient at over 2 years old):

1. I wish there was a way to switch the backlight feature on without having to use the little dial thingy. Like if there was a switch. Since the dial thingy controls everything, and I can't tell which menu I'm on unless I have light nearby, basically the only way to turn the backlight on is when I don't need it. This may have been fixed/changed/rendered unnecessary by the new iPods now (I haven't kept up much with theire developments), since the iPods I see now seem to have a ubiquitous backlight.

2. I wish there was a way to control the volume besides the little dial thingy, and also that there was a way to control the volume without having to have a song playing (i.e. to turn it up or down ahead of time). Sometimes I'll switch from speakers to headphones, and the volume will be really loud and I'll get an unexpected blast to the brain and I have to wait a few seconds for the screen to shift over to the "now playing" mode or whatever before I can turn it down. Most unpleasant.

3. More space! Again, this was something I had little control over since my iPod was a gift, and I can't really blame Apple for it. I mean, it is called the "Mini." But I guess I want to echo Icy's advice: go for the big one! It will fill up faster than you think.

4. The proprietary file extension and highway robbery that is $1/song. I don't mind paying for music, but with an iPod you're basically railroaded into using your file extension which pretty much means you have to buy your music from them, since Apple won't partner with subscription services. That said, with Apple you own the songs you pay for; with subscription services you just are "renting" the license as it were and if you ever cancel your subscription you have to relenquish the songs (I'm not sure how this works but I had a copyright attorney explain it to me and that's the essence of it as I understand it). Even if you are able to come across mp3s by means other than a subscription service, there is always the business of having to convert it to the iPod format, and that can be onerous, particularly if you love building your music collection as much as I do.

All that said, as mentioned they've probably much improved on the iPod design over the past couple of years and taken care of at least points 1 and 2 above. At least I hope they have. And also it looks like iPod is sort of becoming the standard, so the process of dealing with their file format and purchasing system may become more streamlined as the market becomes saturated.

Hope that's helpful.

:)

[iggy880]

I didn't vote but here's my opinion:

I don't dislike my iPod (I got a Mini a few years ago for Christmas). If you're going to get an iPod, get the biggest one you can. My Mini filled up completely in a matter of weeks. I am a music whore, however; so I really don't think there's a digital music player out there with enough space on it for me. :)

Since it was a gift, I'm not going to gripe. I'm grateful to have it and I do enjoy it--I listen to it during my prep and plan periods, mostly. However had the purchasing decision been mine, I would have either gone for the biggest iPod I could get my hands on, or, more likely, a different brand of mp3 player, like a Creative Zen, simply because I find dealing with Apple's proprietary file type to be onerous.

I'm also of the opinion that if I want to watch a movie, I want to see it on a big screen, so all that movie and video capability on a portable media player seems like an unnecessary extra to me. My medium of choice is music, so I'd want a player that is primo for playing, organizing, and storing music files, and the other features could be absent in my case and not be missed.

Some things I don't like about my iPod (bearing in mind that it is only a Mini and it's already positively ancient at over 2 years old):

1. I wish there was a way to switch the backlight feature on without having to use the little dial thingy. Like if there was a switch. Since the dial thingy controls everything, and I can't tell which menu I'm on unless I have light nearby, basically the only way to turn the backlight on is when I don't need it. This may have been fixed/changed/rendered unnecessary by the new iPods now (I haven't kept up much with theire developments), since the iPods I see now seem to have a ubiquitous backlight.

2. I wish there was a way to control the volume besides the little dial thingy, and also that there was a way to control the volume without having to have a song playing (i.e. to turn it up or down ahead of time). Sometimes I'll switch from speakers to headphones, and the volume will be really loud and I'll get an unexpected blast to the brain and I have to wait a few seconds for the screen to shift over to the "now playing" mode or whatever before I can turn it down. Most unpleasant.

3. More space! Again, this was something I had little control over since my iPod was a gift, and I can't really blame Apple for it. I mean, it is called the "Mini." But I guess I want to echo Icy's advice: go for the big one! It will fill up faster than you think.

4. The proprietary file extension and highway robbery that is $1/song. I don't mind paying for music, but with an iPod you're basically railroaded into using your file extension which pretty much means you have to buy your music from them, since Apple won't partner with subscription services. That said, with Apple you own the songs you pay for; with subscription services you just are "renting" the license as it were and if you ever cancel your subscription you have to relenquish the songs (I'm not sure how this works but I had a copyright attorney explain it to me and that's the essence of it as I understand it). Even if you are able to come across mp3s by means other than a subscription service, there is always the business of having to convert it to the iPod format, and that can be onerous, particularly if you love building your music collection as much as I do.

All that said, as mentioned they've probably much improved on the iPod design over the past couple of years and taken care of at least points 1 and 2 above. At least I hope they have. And also it looks like iPod is sort of becoming the standard, so the process of dealing with their file format and purchasing system may become more streamlined as the market becomes saturated.

Hope that's helpful.

:)

I skimmed a lot of that Alum and it was helpful, but I'm low on typing time as well as reading. One thing is, it's a gift, and budgeted, so Nano is it, and I like the Nano better, also, I understand space is important, but see the last comment, not to mention I haven't even filled my current 512 MB player(partially due to the horrible navigation, and difficulty in finding a specific song on it) plus, up grading to 4 GB is pretty much 8 times the space making me feel I'm fine.

Also, I would like to say, since you'r taking that I already have a player into account, it doesn't have the back for the battery area anymore which leads to loose batteries, it drains on the battery even when not in use(I don't use it for a day and loose at least a bar) and even with rechargeable batterries that means remembering to pop them, iPod can be p charged/docked next to my phone which I always remember.

But either, thanks for your help so far guys, I'm planning on a final decision by next week.

[Heather]

Hmm.. I wouldn't get a Nano myself, price wise it's better to go for the normal 80Gig I think it is now? ..I mean I payed 400$ for my 60Gig and now theres a 80Gig for 350$.. so.. yea, much better deal. So.. I can't really vote since my vote is..

"Don't get a Nano, go for the big one."


iPod will change your life!!!!!!

well at least the way you listen to music, seriously... hands down the best 400 bucks I ever spent.


While you should go for one of the larger ones, you probably don't need an 80gig, I have a 30 and it's half full with 3100+ songs, not to mention half of my photography portfolio on there.

[Dr Jack Wolfe]

Well I really like my Nano, but like Al said I wish it had more storage. I was amazed how fast it filled up. They are very accurate about how many songs the Ipods will hold. My 2 gig said 500, I'm at 483 and some files.

I think the dial is slick, but can be tricky ((You know how clumsy dancers are probalby user errors :P )). The backlight can be left on forever but it drains the battery when you do that.

My Ipod will play MP3s and rip any cd you already own. It also licenses you to burn the song to cd. I didn't stop Itunes from doing a music search on my harddrive one weekend. Turns out all the voices in Age of Empire 3 are mp3, was listening to my nano and I get, "Seek the gold of the new world." Hee, that was fun to clean up.

Music selection can be frustrating depending on your tastes. No Beatles, the lawsuit is still being fought.

"Gee lets put an apple with bite out of it on our music player. The richest muscian in the world who owns Apple Records, won't mind. What? His logo is an apple with bite out of it?"

Those have to be great meetings. Some other large catalogs are missing. I"m sure no Garth Brooks doesn't bother you though. On the other hand, the books on Ipod are excellent, and even with a low end IPOD you can use Itunes to play movies and TV episodes on your computer. Caught up on Galatica that way.

Pros and cons aside. It has, as Heather says, changed the way I listen to music, much more use then I ever got from my MP3 players (and I had really nice Iriver for a while). I like the subscription service and don't find the buck a song out of line with MP3 services.

*Edit*
Oh and I forgot the perphials. I bought and IPOD boombox for my pool/porch, just dock it and it plays. My cars has a slick Ipod dock wired into stereo, so long cd changer, and last but not least I have an Ipod full function am/fm/Ipod alarm clock. Big readable numerals and an entire Ipod library to wake me up. Plus I've seen Ipod docks for home theature/real componant stereo amps. Hooks up just like your TV, record player, tape deck, or whatever. These are made by both high and low end stereo companies.

Jack

[Kinetix]

1. I wish there was a way to switch the backlight feature on without having to use the little dial thingy. Like if there was a switch. Since the dial thingy controls everything, and I can't tell which menu I'm on unless I have light nearby, basically the only way to turn the backlight on is when I don't need it. This may have been fixed/changed/rendered unnecessary by the new iPods now (I haven't kept up much with theire developments), since the iPods I see now seem to have a ubiquitous backlight.


Hold the menu button.


4. The proprietary file extension and highway robbery that is $1/song. I don't mind paying for music, but with an iPod you're basically railroaded into using your file extension which pretty much means you have to buy your music from them, since Apple won't partner with subscription services. That said, with Apple you own the songs you pay for; with subscription services you just are "renting" the license as it were and if you ever cancel your subscription you have to relenquish the songs (I'm not sure how this works but I had a copyright attorney explain it to me and that's the essence of it as I understand it). Even if you are able to come across mp3s by means other than a subscription service, there is always the business of having to convert it to the iPod format, and that can be onerous, particularly if you love building your music collection as much as I do.


Aren't CDs more expensive than $1 a song or $10 an album? You can always import your CDs or rip them straight to non-iPod format mp3s.

I for one wouldn't like getting a ton of cool music, then losing it once I want to stop paying one month. I'd much rather buy a song and keep it forever.

I have about 6GB (1,200 songs) that are MP3s that stay mp3s when I put them on my iPod. They don't get converted at all. I jsut add my music folder to iTunes and it places them in, pulling straight fromt that folder.

[Solario]

I've had a few problems with my iPod, but overall it's been really good. A bit fragile though, but plenty of space left for me on my 60 GB. (Which is, incidentally, three times the space on my current computer.)

[iggy880]

Well, space wise, as I've said, I'm probably getting the 4 GB(all the colored nanos are 4 GB-8) which should suite me fine. Also, my brother has a nano his girlfriend got him, and he says you can just easily download music from.....lets say other sources, and import them to iTunes and use them, so I'm not worried there(plus, they usually give you something like $25 worth of iTunes music when you buy them these days to get you hooked on the service) Anyways, you guys are definately helping a lot with what you're adding, so thanks a lot.

I don't dislike my iPod (I got a Mini a few years ago for Christmas).

Also, this needed to be done......

"You get iPod mini *laughs* everyone know it for girl"

[Alumette]

Hold the menu button.

Huh. :) I'll have to try that. Thanks!



Aren't CDs more expensive than $1 a song or $10 an album? You can always import your CDs or rip them straight to non-iPod format mp3s.

I for one wouldn't like getting a ton of cool music, then losing it once I want to stop paying one month. I'd much rather buy a song and keep it forever.

I have about 6GB (1,200 songs) that are MP3s that stay mp3s when I put them on my iPod. They don't get converted at all. I jsut add my music folder to iTunes and it places them in, pulling straight fromt that folder.

CDs can be more expensive but it depends on the CD. I agree, I don't like the idea of handing over my music collection after cancelling a subscription either--I don't think I'd prefer a subscription service but I would like something cheaper than a buck a song.

As to the mp3s, this must be a new feature. When I copy my mp3s to iTunes it converts them to the iTunes format. Furthermore, there are songs that I've bought from iTunes that I'd like to have as mp3s, but can't (without a big production of burning to CD, ripping outside of iTunes, re-copying, and saving to a folder outside of iTunes). It's just the hassle of that that I don't like--that if I buy a song I *have* to listen to it on iTunes or I don't listen to it. But I enjoy my iPod for the most part and I'm guessing that as time goes by these little annoyances will smooth themselves out.

To answer the original question, now that I've read the post more carefully, I think you'll be satisfied with an iPod overall and I think given your situation it will be a good choice for you.