Where "ipod" is short form for "generic mp3 jukebox".
Being a cashstrapped student, I must carefully consider how to spend my money. Come Christmas time, with the assistance of family, I'm going to buy myself an MP3 player.
I can count on about $200 (Canadian) in Christmas gift money.
I'm trying to decide between an mp3 CD player, or an ipod. They both have their many pros and cons.
The CD player is much cheaper. In fact, if I go this route, I won't have to spend much if any of my own precious money. The cheapness has another plus - it wouldn't be so traumatic if it was stolen, lost or damaged.
Its also has its own type of flexibilty. I'm going to be traveling a great deal in the next few years; if I buy a CD on the road and don't have access to a computer, I wouldn't be able to listen to it with an ipod.
Battery life is also an issue. I've been on road trips where my friend's ipod battery has run out; keeping a handful of batteries around would give a CD player a great deal more longevity, no?
But the downsides. Oh, the downsides. It's bulky. Much larger than an ipod. And CDs will inevitably skip. I'd like to exercise with it - jogging, whatnot. Is there even any point to jogging with a CD player?
The upsides to the ipod. It won't skip, and will nicely fit into my pocket. I wouldn't have to carry a supply of CDs with me on the road, even if they are MP3 CDs and I could limit this collection to perhaps a dozen. Maybe more, I'm not sure. Of course with the ipod, I'd have more flexiblity in creating playlists.
While there is a danger of getting caught without battery power, the new 12 hour versions will last and last. I'd just have to be digilent about recharging it.
A 40 gig ipod will run about $429 (Ca). That's one hell of a chunk of money, and means I'd have to shell out about $300 of my own. Which means I'd have to spend November and December on an incredibly constrictive, possibly unrealistic budget. And if I lost it, I would throw myself from the nearest precipice.
So what say you? Who among you owns either of these devices, and is willing to fight to the death in defense of their honour?
Posted by Fitz (Member # 4803) on :
You don't necessarily have to buy an iPod. Sure, it's probably the coolest mp3 player on the market, but there are other options. I have a 20 gig Nomad Jukebox, and it's never let me down. The Nomad a step above mine is selling at futureshop (Canadian Best Buy equivalent) now for $379, and that's for 30 gigs.
Also, here in Edmonton, it's the 20GB iPod that's $429. The 40GB is $559. Maybe it's different where you are.
Posted by Foust (Member # 3043) on :
Now that I think about it, I saw the ad for a $429 40 gigger on the back of a US magazine. Damnation.
Posted by SirReal (Member # 5257) on :
Iriver also makes a GREAT MP3 player in both the 20 and 40 gig variety and prices for this will come way down as they are releasing a newer model with color display that also displays jpegs. I would suggest getting the biggest hardrive that you can safely afford. You won't regret it.
Posted by kerinin (Member # 4860) on :
i bought the iriver player and love it, but i bought it for digital recording which doesn't really apply to most people.
i would definately suggest getting a harddrive player, in a few years cd players will look like dinosaurs, and they don't work very well in many cases. they do cost 2-3x as much, but IMHO they make up for it because you don't have to carry around a huge bundle of cd's and they're smaller themselves.
i would really suggest looking at the Neuros Audio MP3 player, it has a removable hard drive that can be upgraded later on, as well as a 256 meg flash "harddrive" that's really small. it also has a built-in FM transmitter so you can listen to it in your car or home stereo without fussing with cables. battery life is pretty good and it's a lot cheaper to replace the battery than with the apples. there's also a REALLY good online support community and the company is very receptive to user suggestions and input. they have a section on their webpage for making suggestions on how to make it better and they seem to actually listen to people. also, the firmware (software that runs the thing) is opensource and upgradable (read: works like it should and can be fixed if it has problems). AND BEST OF ALL (for me at least), you don't have to use any special software to upload/download music. you just plug it into your computer, the computer reads it as a hard drive, you drag your music onto it (it acts like a big hard drive) and then the player plays it. you can also copy the music OFF the player to another device if you want to share your music. The iriver is the only other device that allows this (unless you want to get a really strange off-name brand).
Posted by SirReal (Member # 5257) on :
Kerinin, I got the iriver for the digital recording also. If I may ask, what are recording with it? and how do you like it? I JUST got mine and haven't had a chance to delve in yet.
Posted by sarcasticmuppet (Member # 5035) on :
ebay? I don't know how much you can trust electronics that you can't see, though.
Posted by Ben (Member # 6117) on :
while my iPod was a gift, thus saving me the dough i still have an opinion on the matter.
i'm the owner of a 40GB ipod. i've played with a napster brand player and thats the only other large capacity mp3 player i've had experience with. i wasnt that impressed with the napster player when i played with it. however i must say the ipod won hands down. mine has clickwheel technology. that is perhaps the greatest feature of this player. i cannot tell you how many times i was walking with a cd player and my hand hit the wrong button or whatnot just messing everything up. the ipod is superskinny, and lights up all pretty like when you are in the dark. i transferred 400 cds onto the ipod with PLENTY of room to spare. that was at 192. not perfect, but not bad quality. its great for what i use it for (mostly in the car and as walkman. sounds amazing with headphones.) it's considered the best on the market for a reason. size, convenience and reliability should all be taken into account. seriously, go iPod.
Posted by Lupus (Member # 6516) on :
I like my Ipod. It gives a lot of flexability, you just load up whatever mp3s you want...and don't have to worry about CDs.
Posted by kerinin (Member # 4860) on :
yeah, the ipods are pretty, and i guess i should be more supportive considering i'm a designer and all, but they're a little heavy on design and light on function.
anyway, i've been using the iriver to record everyday stuff, i bought a sound devices preamp to go with it so that the line level input would actually produce some sound and used it to record everyday stuff, conversations and the like. i look at it sort of like a camera - a way to capture life as it happens without interpretation so that later on in life i can look back and re-evaluate the experiences that make up my memories. anyway, it's worked great so far. there's talk on the forums about frame dropping and lack of bit-perfect optical transfers, but i haven't had any problems so far. i've had more problems on the mic end than the recording end (i i would suggest investing in a good mic first of all).
Posted by Rappin' Ronnie Reagan (Member # 5626) on :
quote: but they're a little heavy on design and light on function.
How are they light on function?
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
I've just discovered an unhappy little "feature" of the iPod... one of my coworkers just got one and tells me that when she hooks up to her own computer, she can transfer her purchased songs just fine, but when she then hooks up to a friend's computer, even when using HER iPod store account, transferring new files deletes all the files already stored on the unit. And then when she reconnects to her own computer, she loses the songs she downloaded from the other machine. So Apple's built in a no-share function into the unit that prohibits you from using the unit in two places, even if both places are legitimately your own machine (i.e. work and home). I'm glad we found this out before boss-man bought me my unit!
oops, I see kerinin said basically the same thing in a different way... teach me to remember what I read days ago! LOL
[ October 25, 2004, 03:10 PM: Message edited by: Goody Scrivener ]
Posted by dabbler (Member # 6443) on :
That's actually a setting for auto-sync that you can choose not to use. I guess it's the default setting, which sucks, but it's not mandatory.
Posted by dabbler (Member # 6443) on :
This article explains it more thoroughly and with pictures. You want "manual sync" not auto sync.
Posted by twinky (Member # 693) on :
After losing a CD wallet that contained 64 mostly purchased-at-retail albums (some of which were irreplaceable), I decided to buy an iPod. The (high) cost of the iPod was still considerably lower than the value of the CDs I lost, and if I lose the iPod I still have my music.
I also use the iPod to keep backups of all of my important data.
I'd take a portable MP3 player over an MP3 CD player any day, but it doesn't have to be an iPod.
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
Woooooohooooooooo!!!! Liz is a happy camper now! The Hatrack Genius Squad comes through again! =)