Best mobile audio, NOT IPOD?

[Shyatic]

Getting tired of iPod locking me into one music store, one program... i HATE iTunes *grr*... anyhoo... I am going to sell my 2nd Generation iPod to get a new music device, I just want a small one with a decent interface and sound quality. I would like to have an FM tuner if that's possible.

Thanks, and if it works with WMP10, even better!

Thanks again.

 

[Corporate Thug]

iriver iHP-120 hands down

 

[Hanzou]

I have the iRiver H120 and I love it. Has an FM tuner and mic. Even has slightly better sound quality then the iPod.

 

[Shyatic]

Originally posted by: Hanzou
I have the iRiver H120 and I love it. Has an FM tuner and mic. Even has slightly better sound quality then the iPod.

Does it sync ot WMP10?

 

[DotheDamnTHing]

ipod

 

[Shyatic]

Originally posted by: DotheDamnTHing
ipod

I refuse to give my money to a company that wants me locked into one software, and one music store.

Thanks, but I'll pass on that. Sticking it to Apple is the only way they will wake up.

 

[vetteguy]

Originally posted by: Scribe
Getting tired of iPod locking me into one music store, one program... i HATE iTunes .

iPod supports mp3s...you can only buy them from one store? And, there IS other software that you can use besides iTunes, if you do some searching you'd discover that. But, if you hate Apple that much, I will buy your iPod for $50 sight unseen, and "make do" with the terrible software.

 

[Shyatic]

Originally posted by: vetteguy

Originally posted by: Scribe
Getting tired of iPod locking me into one music store, one program... i HATE iTunes .

iPod supports mp3s...you can only buy them from one store? And, there IS other software that you can use besides iTunes, if you do some searching you'd discover that. But, if you hate Apple that much, I will buy your iPod for $50 sight unseen, and "make do" with the terrible software.

It will be for sale shortly, but not for $50. I know there are softwares that sync my iPod but I want to be able to buy music from OTHER stores than the iTunes music store, and WMP10 allows me to do that. Additionally since the Microsoft music store will have songs from the Beatles and a handful of other groups I listen to that are *not* available from Apple... it makes more sense to me to have a device capable of making use of that.

I am probably going to go with the iRiver, I hear good things

 

[Dman877]

iPod's are great but the damn battery is only good for a year. After that it's downhill, mines 2 years old and the battery doesn't last 45 minutes anymore.

 

[Shyatic]

Before I commit... does the iRiver work in conjunction with WMP10? And does it allow for protected MP3s (heard reports about that).

Thanks!

 

[mauiblue]

I've enjoyed Sony's minidisc player/recorders for a couple years now. Sony now has a HI MD model that can hold 1 GB of music on one disc. I own a regular Net MD model (MZ-N920 from Japan) which will hold a few hours of music. I don't need to put my entire collection of music on my portable, but it is nice to have a couple mixed discs for when I want to chill out at work during my breaks or at home when I want to tune things out. Battery life is pretty good (Sony says about 38 hours on its rechargable battery). Sony also has a minidisc model that has an AM/FM radio on it.

 

[jpeyton]

Creative Zen Touch anyone?

And get your MP3s from AllOfMP3.com. I've used them for over a year now, and I get flawless 320kbps (VBR, Lame alt-standard) MP3s for 1cent/1MB ($10/1GB).

 

[SickBeast]

Purchasing music downloads is stupid IMO. Consider all the DRM and hassle that goes along with these files. Purchasing the audio CD is by far the best option. It gives you total freedom over which codec and bitrate you use, plus you don't have any restrictions regarding usage.

At current prices the 4G iPod is the best value, but suit yourself. I'm not sure if the Dell DJ is cheaper than the 20GB iPod anymore; I used to reccomend it when it was ~$100 less than the 20GB 3G. You're also losing out on iTunes by going with another player, so it's a pretty even exchange as far as music store choice goes.

As others have said, the iRiver 120 is probably your best alternative.

 

[Wahsapa]

my 2 cents:
the raio karma has FLAC(and OGG) support :thumbsup:

the iriver has OGG :thumbsup:

 

[TekDemon]

I have my doubts that your switch from the ipod will really teach apple a lesson...and plus you already paid them money for the ipod anyway.

If you care, the RealPlayer music store is now compatible with the ipod...what I REALLY don't like about puchased music though is simply that you can only play it in the player for the store where you bought it for most of them.

RealPlayer's MP4 DRMed files will only play in RealPlayer, the itunes stuff in itunes, etc...and I don't really want to just use Realplayer since it kinda stinks as an mp3 player.

Of course, wma drm will work just in WMP usually, but then again WMP is a lousy music player anyway.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Dman877
iPod's are great but the damn battery is only good for a year. After that it's downhill, mines 2 years old and the battery doesn't last 45 minutes anymore.

that sucks, i have a first gen 5 gig that still gives me damn good battery life

i think its fair to say some will last longer than others

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Creative Zen Touch anyone?

And get your MP3s from AllOfMP3.com. I've used them for over a year now, and I get flawless 320kbps (VBR, Lame alt-standard) MP3s for 1cent/1MB ($10/1GB).

waaaay to big

 

[faolan]

Rio Karma. 16 hours of battery life, ethernet in the dock (allowing the dock to sit on your stereo pumping out music while adding more from your computer), and better thought behind the UI with thousands of songs. For example, I select artist, and I can scroll to the first letter, then select it and see the artists that start with that. I don't have to scroll forever like on an iPod. It's also smart enough to know "The" and such aren't usually sorted, so "The Beach Boys" will be under B and T.

A 3rd party application called JEmplode (made by the same guy who wrote the built in java sync utility for true multiplatform support) allows something no other player does. Hierarchical playlists. Really helps to organize your music more then the traditional artist/album/genre layout.

 

[stickybytes]

the creative muvo2 is a good alternative. 4gb of storage on a compactflash media.

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Creative Zen Touch anyone?

And get your MP3s from AllOfMP3.com. I've used them for over a year now, and I get flawless 320kbps (VBR, Lame alt-standard) MP3s for 1cent/1MB ($10/1GB).

I just looked into that AllOfMP3.com website, and as it turns out, NONE of the money that they collect from people is given to the recording artists. You might as well be pirating the MP3s if you're going to use a service like that. I would never support such an organization; you're giving money to people who steal other people's work.

 

[HermDogg]

Originally posted by: SickBeast

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Creative Zen Touch anyone?

And get your MP3s from AllOfMP3.com. I've used them for over a year now, and I get flawless 320kbps (VBR, Lame alt-standard) MP3s for 1cent/1MB ($10/1GB).

I just looked into that AllOfMP3.com website, and as it turns out, NONE of the money that they collect from people is given to the recording artists. You might as well be pirating the MP3s if you're going to use a service like that. I would never support such an organization; you're giving money to people who steal other people's work.

... Why do you think they can sell it so cheaply/it is based in Russia? We all know allofmp3 is basically pirating. Some of us (I happen to agree with you but to each his own) ignore that to screw the RIAA. *shrugs* Whatcha gonna do, ya know?

 

[fairyliquidizer]

Originally posted by: HermDogg

Originally posted by: SickBeast

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Creative Zen Touch anyone?

And get your MP3s from AllOfMP3.com. I've used them for over a year now, and I get flawless 320kbps (VBR, Lame alt-standard) MP3s for 1cent/1MB ($10/1GB).

I just looked into that AllOfMP3.com website, and as it turns out, NONE of the money that they collect from people is given to the recording artists. You might as well be pirating the MP3s if you're going to use a service like that. I would never support such an organization; you're giving money to people who steal other people's work.

... Why do you think they can sell it so cheaply/it is based in Russia? We all know allofmp3 is basically pirating. Some of us (I happen to agree with you but to each his own) ignore that to screw the RIAA. *shrugs* Whatcha gonna do, ya know?

well you couldn't have researched that hard because I quote....

"All the materials in the MediaServices projects are available for distribution through Internet according to license # LS-3?-03-79 of the Russian Multimedia and Internet Society. Under the license terms, MediaServices pays license fees for all the materials subject to the Law of the Russian Federation "On Copyright and Related Rights". All the materials are available solely for personal use and must not be used for further distribution, resale or broadcasting.

Users are responsible for any usage and distribution of all materials received from AllOFMP3.com. This responsibility depends on the local legislation of each user's country of residence. AllOFMP3.com's Administration does not keep up with the laws of different countries and is not responsible the actions of non-Russian users."

...you do realise that your statement may be considered libelous. I wouldn't make these sort of accusations without considering the potential repercussions and the truthfulness of the statement. The reason AllofMP3 is so cheap is because the licencing authority in Russia charges rates that are fair by local standards, these are much lower than those considered fair in the USA and most of the EU. A similar phenomenon can be foud at www.weblisten.com.

My understanding, although I couldn't advise you, is that this is legal in the EU and USA. However if you wish to make sure then consult a local qualified IP Lawyer.

Fairy