Is Life About An Ipod?

swisskloten · Sun Apr 03, 2005 11:43 am

All you a.netters out there: is the Ipod overrated? I mean, other than the latest version, which lets you see pictures, I've seen some similar to it that delivers the same for slightly less money.
Ipod photo $379.99
40 gigs? yes
USB 2.0? yes
voice recorder? NO
FM tuner?
remote? no but that's not a problem
MPEG file playback? NO

First alternative: the iRiver H10 is $349 ($30 less)
40 gigs? yes
USB 2.0? yes
voice recorder? yes
FM tuner? yes
remote? no but that's not a problem
MPEG file playback? yes
color screen? yes (If I'm spending over $250 for an MP3 player, it should have a color display, that's just my opinion)
The big problem is most accessories for it are only for sale in S. Korea as of now.

second alternative: the Creative Zen Touch for $314.99
40 gigs? yes
USB 2.0? yes
voice recorder? yes
FM tuner? yes
remote? yes (sold separately)
color screen? blue only but they might be producing a photo version although I'm not sure.

The ipod photo also CAN NOT download pictures without paying $30 for a cable!
Finally, you might want to see this: www.ipodsdirtysecret.com. I don't know if it's true but the Ipod's appeal dropped another notch. What would you prefer? Are there any others out there that do the same without the low battery life and at a slightly lower price? I might spend $320 or more but not $400.

flyf15 · Sun Apr 03, 2005 11:58 am

I personally love my iRiver H320... When I bought it, they retailed for $330. Through various price breaks and rebates I managed to find, in the end, I paid $185 for it. I'm running the version 1.27 Korea firmware on it. Full video playback with amazing quality. You won't see that on any iPod...

As far as the battery issues go, I'm not too sure what I think about them. Both iPod and my H320 have internal, non-replacable batteries with lifes of about 500 charge cycles. I charge my H320 about twice a week, so that means I will get 5 years out of it at this rate. There are numerous "How-To" guides on the internet for how to buy and replace the battery. It may not just snap in like a removable one, but it appears that with a screwdriver and a spare hour, you can easily have a new battery in it. I don't know anything about iPods but it seems like that would be feasable for them too. Although, the cases are very hard to open and much harder to not damage in the process.

Now yes, my H320 does have some disadvantages. It is slightly larder than the iPod photo (but not by much) and the user interface is less intuitive. But, I'm 100% glad that I bought the H320... I've had numerous iPod photo users show me how theirs can display contacts and play games and such...something the H320 does not have. But, they are all envious when I show them that I can play movies.

About the Zen Touch...My dad has one. It is a good low cost MP3 player with lots of storage. It is more bulky than either the H320 or iPod, but does have a much larger battery life. User interface is nice. Screen is alright, what'd you'd expect from a black and white LCD. But, it is essentially just an MP3 player...nothing fancy. But, if thats what you want, it seems like a great buy.

planespotting · Sun Apr 03, 2005 12:01 pm

well, i am an avid iPod user, and have been for over a year.

but, i bought my first iPod (2nd gen 15GB iPod) when there weren't that many alternatives to the large hard drive spaced mp3 players. I bought it from best buy with their $45 extended warranty plan. The battery can be replaced free of charge when it only holds under a 50% charge.

i was lucky enough to win an iPod in late january from the Chicago Tribune's shoplocal.com website. i won a 4th Gen 40 GB iPod, with a $399 value. Pretty nice. It works very well, and I'll have a Mac laptop in a few weeks so it will work out pretty well for that (as an external harddrive).

I would say if you have a Mac, buy an iPod. You can get a lot of different uses out of it with a Mac as a computer. If you want to spend less and get a great mp3 player and a better value, get one of the other mp3 players.

the iPod has changed the face of media and how americans listen to music. This has caused clearchannel communication (radio station owner conglomerate) to devalue all of their radio stations by nearly 50%. the iPod is a cultural icon that apple has marketed brilliantly, but now they must continue to upgrade the iPod and match it against the other brands out there otherwise they will start to lose their nearly 80% market share in the mp3 player market.

greaser · Sun Apr 03, 2005 12:02 pm

Quoting Swisskloten (Thread starter):
All you a.netters out there: is the Ipod overrated? I mean, other than the latest version, which lets you see pictures, I've seen some similar to it that delivers the same for slightly less money.
Ipod photo $379.99
40 gigs? yes
USB 2.0? yes
voice recorder? NO
FM tuner?
remote? no but that's not a problem
MPEG file playback? NO

I can't personally speak for the rest but for the iPod it's about user-friendliness and simpilicity. It's been said for quite awhile that if u want a machine that has hundreds of tittle tattle features than the iPod is not for u. Alot of people don't want to bother with complicated features (esp. women), most of the time people don't even use such functions. The iPod's refreshing and simplistic look combined with the automatic rise in social status is a major pull factor for the average person.
You should also be careful with some of the websites you visit about the iPod. Granted the iPod is not perfect like everything else, but some websites ive seen blurt out blatant falsehoods by people who appear to have been greviously hurt by the sucess of the iPod. Some people complain of the iPod having too soft a sound while not realising that there are government restrictions on the loudness of the speakers.
Also don't expect video playback for some time, coz Apple themselves said that any playback would not give you the same feeling as watching it in the theatres...and that's not good enuf..

rjpieces · Sun Apr 03, 2005 12:05 pm

In all honesty, iPod has changed my life. I've never been as addicted to a gadget as I am to my Ipod. It's totally changed my music habbits, and let me rediscover a lot of the music from five, six years ago that I forgot I had.

My battery recently died after a year and in the week that it was off to California for serviving, I was stuck with my old CD player. And now I feel like the new one they sent me isn't the same as my original.....

Bottom line, iPod is amazing!

USAir_757 · Sun Apr 03, 2005 12:06 pm

Quoting Greaser (Reply 3):
Some people complain of the iPod having too soft a sound while not realising that there are government restrictions on the loudness of the speakers.

That right there pisses me off. To me, it's the gov't once again overstepping its boundaries. I like my music loud - YES, I KNOW it'll screw up my hearing - its the whole my body my choice thing. I don't want the gov't regulating stuff like that, but that's just me.

Oh, ps. I love my iPod Mini. I don't need a whole freakin' palmtop PC. I just want something that plays tons of music, and the iPod is just that.

[Edited 2005-04-03 05:14:25]

LHMark · Sun Apr 03, 2005 12:09 pm

Here's some information on the battery issue:

http://ipodbatteryfaq.com/#16

jamesag96 · Sun Apr 03, 2005 12:25 pm

I love my ipod...wanted and MP3 player...which is what I bought.

If I wanted a crappy FM transmitter, or voice recorder I would have bought something else.

lowrider · Sun Apr 03, 2005 3:04 pm

I have been wanting one for quite some time, but am determined to wait until the average price of a 1GB player falls to about $100. At the rate the prices are moving, I think this will take another year. To those who have already bought one, if the battery runs flat, do you lose the stored music, or will it stay safe until you are able to recharge?

USAir_757 · Sun Apr 03, 2005 3:24 pm

Quoting Lowrider (Reply 8):
To those who have already bought one, if the battery runs flat, do you lose the stored music, or will it stay safe until you are able to recharge?

If the player is Hard Drive based, no.

flybyguy · Sun Apr 03, 2005 3:36 pm

I have an acquaintance who swears by his iPod. He literally told me his life's endeavors were complete. I asked him what if he died? He said "bury me with my iPod!"

I got an RCA Lyra 20GB for $190.00. Works great, only problem is that the user interface can be clumsy at times.

I don't know why iPod has such great brand loyalty considering that they screwed their customers over the first year of it's introduction due to the crappy battery. In the end Apple's gross margin must be huge, they probably make the unit for $30 in Malaysia or China then sell it for $400 in the west. Steve Jobs must be laughing all the way to the bank.

qr332 · Sun Apr 03, 2005 11:30 pm

I love my iPod, it is one hell of a MP3 player and I seriously don't know what I would do without it.

My first experience with the iPod was not that good, as I had bought it from London during the summer and I had then found out that its hard disk was damaged when I got back to Doha and I started uploading music on it. I took it to my local Apple dealer, but becasue I hadn't bought it from here, he had to send it to Dubai, where they have an AppleCare centre for it to be checked and then over to Europe for it to be replaced. The whole process took six weeks, but they replaced it with a brand new iPod at no charge to me.

I have used other MP3s such as the Creative Zen Touch, but the iPod has a much more user friendly interface and it was a good MP3 player, but not as good as the iPod IMO.

Quoting Flybyguy (Reply 10):
I don't know why iPod has such great brand loyalty considering that they screwed their customers over the first year of it's introduction due to the crappy battery.

But they now made sure that the mistake is fixed and they new iPod Mini offers up to 18 hours of battery life - something no other MP3 player of its type has.

Quoting Flybyguy (Reply 10):
In the end Apple's gross margin must be huge, they probably make the unit for $30 in Malaysia or China then sell it for $400 in the west. Steve Jobs must be laughing all the way to the bank.

Capitalism at its best Big grin

Quoting Swisskloten (Thread starter):
The ipod photo also CAN NOT download pictures without paying $30 for a cable!

If you mean from a camera, then that is true, but it comes with both a USB cable and a FireWire cable.

Quoting Swisskloten (Thread starter):
color screen? yes (If I'm spending over $250 for an MP3 player, it should have a color display, that's just my opinion)

But at the same time, if I am spending over $250 for an MP3 Player, it is to have something good that I can use to listen to music with, so as long as its features for music are good, whether it is colour or not does not really matter.

Quoting RJpieces (Reply 4):
In all honesty, iPod has changed my life. I've never been as addicted to a gadget as I am to my Ipod. It's totally changed my music habbits, and let me rediscover a lot of the music from five, six years ago that I forgot I had.

Weren't you bitching to me about owning an iPod because it was a gadget "most Americans don't have" just a few weeks ago?

greasespot · Sun Apr 03, 2005 11:48 pm

I went with the IPOD because of the range of options that are avaliable for it. I am very active and the multitude of different cases for sports is quite staggering. you can even get a water proof one you can swim with. There is nothing like that avaliable for any other kind.

GS

Klaus · Mon Apr 04, 2005 4:18 am

Swisskloten: remote? no

A remote control is available (but no longer in the package).

Lowrider: To those who have already bought one, if the battery runs flat, do you lose the stored music, or will it stay safe until you are able to recharge?

USAir_757: If the player is Hard Drive based, no.

It would only matter if there were RAM-based players. Both harddisk- and flash-based players will retain their music when the battery goes flat. Simply recharge it and you can continue to listen without doing anything else.

planesarecool · Mon Apr 04, 2005 5:47 am

iPod's are overrated. People are obsessed with them, and they're not exactly value for money. iRiver and Archos make much better products. And i know somebody's going to come in and say that i'm wrong and iPod's are the best thing in the world. Fair enough, that's your opinion.

DfwRevolution · Mon Apr 04, 2005 5:57 am

Quoting Planesarecool (Reply 14):
iRiver and Archos make much better products.

They make equivelent products, but none of them come close to the ease-of-use and operability of the I-pod user interface. The I-pod's killer UI is the industry standard. The sleek design and casing don't hurt either.

planesarecool · Mon Apr 04, 2005 8:27 am

Equivelent?

Regardless of what memory size you get, the Archos AV400 series can play/store movies, music vids, personal vids, pictures, music, etc. Just see their website. Its easy to use as well.

It did cost $899 though (AV4100 - 100GB = 200 full movies or 25,000 songs average), but it was well worth it. I have 60 movies and over 4000 songs and i've used 37% memory.

-Stephen

flyboy1980 · Mon Apr 04, 2005 8:37 am

I recently got an iPod Shuffle (1 gig).

I used to have a 2nd gen 10 gig iPod but when my flat got broken into, it got stolen Sad

The Shuffle is awesome - it plugs straight into a USB port and automatically loads 240 songs from your iTunes music library - and charges the battery at the same time. It's tiny and weighs next to nothing, and even comes with a lanyard so u can wear it around your neck.

I was given it, but they're not that expensive to buy and are really easy to use. I give it 9/10.

Matt D · Mon Apr 04, 2005 8:45 am

As Tower Records proudly proclaims, no music equals no life.

But THIS is the only way to enjoy it. Unless, of course, you are on an airplane or in the car.

rjpieces · Mon Apr 04, 2005 8:54 am

Weren't you bitching to me about owning an iPod because it was a gadget "most Americans don't have" just a few weeks ago?

No. What I said was the fact that you have so many Western style appliances proves that you are MUCH BETTER off than your average Arab. The average Arab is illiterate and starving. On average, only 5% of the Arab world has internet access. Whether you like it or not, you are better off than most Arabs.

JAGflyer · Mon Apr 04, 2005 9:38 am

I love my iPod

UA744Flagship · Mon Apr 04, 2005 2:00 pm

Quoting DfwRevolution (Reply 15):
The I-pod's killer UI is the industry standard. The sleek design and casing don't hurt either.

Ahem... the #1 reason iPods sell so well is not either of those, while they are a strong #2 and #3.

The #1 reason is the ease of music management, downloading, and MP3 Player integration with iPod+iTunes. There is no match for simplicity or elegance.

Without iTunes, iPod is nothing.

Also, consider this:
The average iPod user shells out over $150 in accessories per iPod. That's insane - that's more than half of a full-size iPod's cost. Rarely does a product spawn such an accessory frenzy. No wonder there's a whole cottage industry revolving around the iPod -- it's the iPod economy.

Me, I don't really spend $$$ on accessories... just on other iPods. Smile

I have a 30GB photo, a 15GB for use solely in my car, and a 512MB shuffle for excercise and physical activity.

But make no mistake... they are just MP3 players to me. I don't see them as status symbols, instant social acceptance, etc... just as damn good music storage that lets me put a soundtrack to my life and everything I do. When I want to tune out background noise, concentrate, or prevent boredom when doing chores or errands, iPod is to the rescue.

In short, I couldn't live without iPod.

qr332 · Mon Apr 04, 2005 4:27 pm

Quoting RJpieces (Reply 19):
No. What I said was the fact that you have so many Western style appliances proves that you are MUCH BETTER off than your average Arab. The average Arab is illiterate and starving. On average, only 5% of the Arab world has internet access. Whether you like it or not, you are better off than most Arabs.

I'm not turning this into an Arab discussion RJ, but what you said to me was that I owned 300 DVDs (completley false and disproved), that I had many gadgets that most Americans don't have (heres the iPod, name me any others), and that I am much better of than most Arabs. Yes, I am better off than most Arabs, I agree 100%, but you worded it in such a way to make it look like I was living like a Sheikh. Also, most Arabs are "illeterate and starving"? Yeah sure

If you want to discuss this any further feel free to start another thread.

Quoting Flyboy1980 (Reply 17):
The Shuffle is awesome - it plugs straight into a USB port and automatically loads 240 songs from your iTunes music library - and charges the battery at the same time. It's tiny and weighs next to nothing, and even comes with a lanyard so u can wear it around your neck.

Question about the suffle: is it like the Creative Nomad, where you can just drag and drop files into it as if it were a thumbdrive or can you only add music through iTunes as with normal iPods?

A319114 · Mon Apr 04, 2005 5:28 pm

I have a Creative Zen Touch 20gb and I'm very satisfied with it. It is way cheaper than a 20gb iPOD, has much longer battery life (24 hours), plays WMA, drag&drop interface and so on. The only disadvantage is that it is somewhat larger (not much though)

PMN · Mon Apr 04, 2005 10:13 pm

Quoting Matt D (Reply 18):
But THIS is the only way to enjoy it.

As a total analogue sound freak, I have to partly agree. It IS a great way to enjoy music! But for my ears nothing beats this

Still love my iPod though

[Edited 2005-04-04 15:14:27]

flyboy1980 · Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:54 am

With my Shuffle, I just plug it into a USB port, open iTunes and the iPod icon appears on the left hand side.

You can then click a button that automatically downloads 240 random songs from your library. I can't say for sure, but I think you can add tracks 1 at a time if you prefer.

DeskPilot · Tue Apr 05, 2005 12:05 pm

Quoting A319114 (Reply 23):
I have a Creative Zen Touch 20gb and I'm very satisfied with it.

I've had my Zen for about 3 months now, and I'm happy with it too. I'm not into the accessories stuff (not that there is much available for the Zen so just as well), and I'm not into this MP3 player changed my life stuff. I've listened to digital music for years now (desktop and home, laptop at work, MP3 on stereo) and the Zen is just an extension.

aviatortj · Tue Apr 05, 2005 3:36 pm

Quoting Flybyguy (Reply 10):
I don't know why iPod has such great brand loyalty considering that they screwed their customers over the first year of it's introduction due to the crappy battery. In the end Apple's gross margin must be huge, they probably make the unit for $30 in Malaysia or China then sell it for $400 in the west. Steve Jobs must be laughing all the way to the bank.

No, it was actually the third generation iPod that had the battery issues. Did the iPods live through their designed life? Yes. Does it suck for the users? Yes. But people wanted thin iPods, the third generation moved to a much smaller iPod and the consumer had to give a little to get a little. Now the iPod has been reworked and battery technology has gotten a little better. The bottom line is Apple works because of its integration.

Just to add my 2¢, I currently operate a 4th Gen 40GB and a 512MB shuffle. I gave my 2nd Gen 10GB to my GF and it still works like a champ. I use them with my Macs and it can not be beat. I use my shuffle while working for the Geek Squad and thumbdriving and jamming have never been so easy to do together.

Kay · Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:17 pm

iPod is a simple device that, for some reason, is just addictive.

I understand you will think you love your mp3 player because that is what you wanted, and mp3 players have a simple role. But the iPod is addictive and that is just that.

Kay

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