planning to get an ipod. tell me more about it.

[Semidevil]

so after all these years, I've never owned an ipod. This time, I think I'll go ahead and get one. either the ipod nano, or the ipod shuffle(the new one...4 gigs for 80 bucks).

I know there are some people who hate ipods. what's the reason? I hear a lot of "I hate Itunes." I dont have any experience with apple products, so I'm just wanting to hear your reasons so I can make a decision.

To me, all i'm lookng for is an mp3 player. I like the ipod because it looks nice. Are there any issues with them that causes people to not like em? Are there compatibility issues with mp3 files or something?

 

[nickbits]

get a touch... so much better.

but I do hate iTunes.
You can't play WMAs
It installs a bunch of useless background services
I don't like the UI
UI is sluggish

 

[corkyg]

Ditto - sort of. iTunes is a pain. I have hundreds of CDs converted to MP3 - no desire to listen to Apple crap. If the player cannot be directly loaded with MP3 w/o iTunes, it is a non-starter.

Further, the iPod does not have a user replaceable battery so that a spare can be easily inserted. Another non starter.

There are better players out there for less money which equals greater value.

 

[QueBert]

iTunes isn't a pain, and you don't have to even use it. There are more 3rd party syncing programs than you can shake a stick at. Drag & drop in explorer would be kick ass, but besides that an iPod will have the most syncing options out there. People's issues with them are usually "too expensive" (valid) or they don't like them because they hate apple. There is absolutely nothing wrong with iPods. Idiots will talk about how they sound soooooo much worse than [insert other mp3 player name] when in reality you won't hear a difference. People who try and tell me their Zen sounds worlds better than my iPod kill me. They also bring up the battery, which is a decent point. But I've had my 1g Touch since the week they came out, charged it a bunch of times (every day just about) and the batteries still going strong. corkyg said there are better players out there, that's subjective. They are cheaper ones, but a lot of people love the iPod interface. And many models you can install Rockbox on them if you don't like the UI. I personally have no problem with it and even prefer it over the Zunes (for example)

iPods work, I have a Touch which costs quite a bit more than either you brought up, but I'm addicted to it like crack. I use it to check my email over wifi in bed, I have tons of games and apps on it, coverflow for my album art is just too cool. I'm not an apple fan boy and wouldn't have bough any other iPod model. But as it stands my Touch is my favorite electronic device ever. I think I would die without it

iPod haters also never want to mention how iPods have a million times the accessories, the BB up the street has a huge isle of nothing but iPod stuff. There's NOTHING wrong with iPods, as for them being "expensive" yes they cost more, but not that much more.

 

[aphex]

I'm an iTunes fan as well, its just nice having everything in 1 place and keeps things simple. Although the OSX version of iTunes has always been faster than the Windows version, I've heard the Windows version has indeed come quite a long way.

Personally I'm not a big fan of the new iPod shuffle. Its a bit too minimalist for my taste and I think Apple went a bit too far trying to make the device button free (the new Shuffle as i'm sure you are aware can only be controlled via a remote on the headphone cord). The Nano is a big step up IMO, you get full video playback in a nice form factor.

As others have noted though, the iPod touch simply rocks. Its quite a bit more money, but can do so many things its just a blast to have on you at all times.

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: corkyg
I have hundreds of CDs converted to MP3 - no desire to listen to Apple crap. If the player cannot be directly loaded with MP3 w/o iTunes, it is a non-starter.

Not sure I understand this comment. No desire to listen to Apple crap? The ipods can play mp3's and you don't need iTunes to load an iPod.
iTunes Alternatives

 

[QueBert]

one think I really like about iPods and iTunes, if I take my iTunes to a friends house, I can hook it to their PC, load itunes and play the music on my iPod over their PCs speakers. Not sure if there are other players that can do this, but it's pretty damn cool. I have about 13 gigs of music on mine, works out lovely when I'm playing Poker and they want tunes. Don't think you can do this with a Zune or Sensa.


aphex - what have you heard about this new iPod Touch tablet rumor? I saw a few places running a story that supposively Apple was working on a 9" tablet PC like version of the Touch. I doubt it was anything more than a rumor but maaaaan that would be fricking sweet.

I take my touch with me EVERYWHERE, I use it as a PDA, I keep my shopping list on it, I pretty much use it for everything under the sun. And my city has free wifi in about 90% of it. So I get decent internet everywhere I go without paying nothing

 

[aphex]

Originally posted by: QueBert
aphex - what have you heard about this new iPod Touch tablet rumor? I saw a few places running a story that supposively Apple was working on a 9" tablet PC like version of the Touch. I doubt it was anything more than a rumor but maaaaan that would be fricking sweet.

Its a rumor thats been floating around in various forms for awhile, even before the iPhone/iTouch were first released. The rumors do seem to be sparking up quite a bit about it lately, so we'll have to wait and see.

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: aphex

Originally posted by: QueBert
aphex - what have you heard about this new iPod Touch tablet rumor? I saw a few places running a story that supposively Apple was working on a 9" tablet PC like version of the Touch. I doubt it was anything more than a rumor but maaaaan that would be fricking sweet.

Its a rumor thats been floating around in various forms for awhile, even before the iPhone/iTouch were first released. The rumors do seem to be sparking up quite a bit about it lately, so we'll have to wait and see.

I hope it stays a rumor, if I could buy a 9" version of a Touch with the same UI I don't know if I'd ever get any work done. Not to mention Apple would charge an arm and a leg for it. If it does get released, I will either be broke for a long time due to buying it, or crying because I can't afford it.

 

[corkyg]

Hey - I'm willing to change my mind - price is not the issue. Please tell me how I can load MP3 files that I have stored in my PC without installing iTunes.

Also, please tell me how I can replace the battery with a simple unit swap. The idea of plugging it in to charge is the real non-starter. What happens when you have no plug available, ie., out in the boonies for a week?

 

[Wonderful Pork]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Hey - I'm willing to change my mind - price is not the issue. Please tell me how I can load MP3 files that I have stored in my PC without installing iTunes.

Also, please tell me how I can replace the battery with a simple unit swap. The idea of plugging it in to charge is the real non-starter. What happens when you have no plug available, ie., out in the boonies for a week?

No ipods have quick user replaceable batteries (if that is what you intended to say in your post).

You can charge via USB or with the USB -> AC adapter, but thats it. I think all the newer ones have the batteries are soldered in.

As for loading music without iTunes, I used to use a program called Ephpod several years back, I'm not sure if its still in developement. I switched over to a Mac laptop, and just use iTunes, but I dont sync more than once every week or so.

Originally posted by: QueBert
I hope it(Mac Tablet) stays a rumor, if I could buy a 9" version of a Touch with the same UI I don't know if I'd ever get any work done. Not to mention Apple would charge an arm and a leg for it. If it does get released, I will either be broke for a long time due to buying it, or crying because I can't afford it.

I'd estimate the mac tablet would cost about $1k, and I'm sure all apps would need to be tweaked to run on it due to the increased screen resolution for a 9-10" screen. I know Apple encourages resolution independence for the 3rd party apps, but I dont know how many devs followed that guideline. In any case, even if that product came out, I'm not entirely sure I'd purchase it. I have an iPhone for quick, on-the-go stuff, and a laptop (both mac and PC) for my actual computing needs. Not saying it wouldn't sell, just that I'm not the intended target (like with the Mac Pro).

 

[corkyg]

"No ipods have quick user replaceable batteries (if that is what you intended to say in your post)."

When there is no A/C or USB available, there is no iPod. End of story.

 

[QueBert]

if you want a player with user replaceable batteries that aren't propritary you're mp3 player choices will be very few. While a lot do have replaceable batteries, it's not something simple like a AA you could buy from Wallgreens in a pinch. Off the top of my head I can't of any that don't use custom batteries except the Sandick Sansa, but it's not a very good player at all. I know the Zen's, rest of the Sandisks & Cowans all use special battery packs. Which are expensive and if you were to buy one in it would still need to be charged before you used it.

True I know one day my Touch's battery will have to be replaced, but it's lasted this long (2 Augusts ago) and by the time it's no longer charging I will be ready to upgrade to a newer Touch with more space and features.

If I'm not mistaken about the Touch, you do have to initally set it up using iTunes, after that you can use any one of dozens of sync programs. I paid for iPod Mate, and while I like it a lot. I still tend to use iTunes lol go figure...

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Hey - I'm willing to change my mind - price is not the issue. Please tell me how I can load MP3 files that I have stored in my PC without installing iTunes.

Also, please tell me how I can replace the battery with a simple unit swap. The idea of plugging it in to charge is the real non-starter. What happens when you have no plug available, ie., out in the boonies for a week?

You can get a plugin for WinAmp that will sync the iPod. No idea if it is still supported, or what version of WinAmp it requires, since I switched to OS X about 2.5 years ago, and before that only used iTunes on my PC.

You can get external battery packs that hook in through the dock connector. They take standard AA or AAA batteries and work with almost every iPod that has the Dock Connector (all but the 1st gen, as well as 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G Nanos, 1G and 2G Touches, 1G and 2G Minis, and possibly the iPhone).

So, that solves the out in the boonies scenario. As Quebert mentioned, the iPod having 80% market share means that much like with Windows, everybody makes accessories (read: software in Windows' case) for it, and you can get them everywhere. From the gas station to WalMart to Target to Best Buy, you will find something. In fact, they even make solar rechargers for the iPod. Actually, I think that it just has a USB female connector coming out of it, so it would charge almost any small device that can be hooked up over USB.

 

[QueBert]

good point TheStu, I actually have one of those external AA batteries things and totally forgot to mention it ha. It works, not much else to say. Takes 4 AA batteries and according to the manual it's supposive to give you 20 hours of playback. Not sure if it's true, or what iPod they base that number on. It's not a nice fancy case like the Juicer or some of them, but it works in a pinch. I have not seen these for other mp3 players. Of course if you get an mp3 player that has a standard USB Mini connector Energizer makes a AA battery pack thingy for Cell phones that would work.

 

[corkyg]

Thanks Stu - will look into those solutions. The WinAmp synch is somewhat of a turn-off - I don't like to have to install that either.

But there are other work arounds for that part.

 

[TheStu]

After some quick googling:
LifeHacker

SimpleHelp

Some Guy's Blog

 

[corkyg]

Thanks, Stu - looks like MediaMonkey is probably best suited to what I would do. I do not want to synch from iPod to PC, but from a PC external drive to iPod.

What I don't like is being confined to someone's proprietary box.

 

[TheStu]

Originally posted by: corkyg
Thanks, Stu - looks like MediaMonkey is probably best suited to what I would do. I do not want to synch from iPod to PC, but from a PC external drive to iPod.

What I don't like is being confined to someone's proprietary box.

You might want to consider getting out of the game then... it is all too hard these days to tell if things are getting more open or more closed.

In my opinion, so long as the DRM is transparent, I am more or less ok with it.