Questions for iPod owners.

[Ferocious]

1) Is the short battery life a real problem? I've read a full charge sometimes only lasts 3 hours?? Yikes.

2) On Apple's website...it says that it comes with MusicMatch software for Windows users. I assume use of that software is not required.....and so what's the best software to use?

3) 10 GB really is enough for me. Is the Wired remote , Carrying case w/ belt clip and iPod Dock worth another 100 clams?

4) Yes or No.......would YOU buy another one knowing what you know now?

5) Which one accessory (if any) do you consider a must have?

 

[vetteguy]

I have a 30GB iPod...let's see:

1. I don't like the battery life at all...but then I generally use it at work plugged into the wall or in my car. It seems to drain fast even when it's not being used.
2. Now that iTunes is out for Windows I would use that...Musicmatch never worked right for me so I always used something called XPlay or ephPod (that one was free). You have to at least have the iPod software installed for any of those to work (although you might not have to with iTunes, haven't tried it yet)
3. To be honest I never use the remote. The case is ok, but you can buy one later if you really need one. The dock is kind of handy, but not $100 handy.
4. No. Nice, but not worth $500.
5. Some kind of adapter to use in the car (cassette/FM modulator, cigarette adapter)

 

[waylman]

ok, i do not own an IPOD but i want one so i've been reading up....

1. Ive heard alot about the batterly life. apparently, even it says "full charge" alot of the time, it still is not fully charged. You need to unplug it, then plug it back in and keep charging it.

2. Use iTunes....its sweet & free!

3. depends on how u want to use it

4. n/a

5. n/a

 

[aphex]

1. Battery life could be better... Its true that if you leave it unplugged, even if its off, it still sucks up the battery....
2. iTunes, iTunes, iTunes, Ephpod, and iTunes.
3. Dont use the remote, dont really use the case now that i got an iskin, but the dock is pretty handy if you wanna charge it sitting up & hook it up to speakers on a desk or something. It has a line out built into the dock.
4. Yes, i would still buy another one.
5. Tape adapter, car charger, iSkin (http://www.lajo.biz)

 

[LordJezo]

Originally posted by: Ferocious
1) Is the short battery life a real problem? I've read a full charge sometimes only lasts 3 hours?? Yikes.

2) On Apple's website...it says that it comes with MusicMatch software for Windows users. I assume use of that software is not required.....and so what's the best software to use?

3) 10 GB really is enough for me. Is the Wired remote , Carrying case w/ belt clip and iPod Dock worth another 100 clams?

4) Yes or No.......would YOU buy another one knowing what you know now?

5) Which one accessory (if any) do you consider a must have?

I have a 10 gigger so lemme see..

1)No. I use it in my car and have a car battery adapter but have never had to use it.

2)iTunes for Windows is what everyone uses. I don't. It's too bloated. I use ephpod to transfer my songs

3)I have over 10 cds ripped to my iPod now and still am no where near low on space. If you want to use it has a harddrive replacement you might want more, but, I don't even have 10 gigs of mp3s. Belt clip and things.. I would say no. I just keep it in my pocket.

4)Yup!

5)Urm.. car adapter?

 

[dpm]

I've got a 20gig ipod.

1) Battery life's not great. I've never measured it, but its something like 7 hours. That'd be ok if I remembered to charge it each night, but I don't. So I got one of those belkin battery pack things - holds 4 AA bats and give an extra 14h ours play.

2) I don't think much of musicmatch. Tried itunes, but went back to Ephpod.

3) the dock is nice but not worth spending the extra for. I do use the remote a lot though. The clip is a bit annoying, but its still useful as hell.

4) Maybe. I might wait out till the iriver ihp-120 came out, for the better battery life and radio.

5) the battery pack, or an iskin

 

[Ferocious]

hmm....bump.

 

[amnesiac]

1) I have a 2G. Battery life is phenomenal. No complaints.

2) Itunes. It's free. Also EphPod is good.

3) I lost the wired remote which was useless anyway. If you want a good carrying case get one from Vajacases.com. Dock isn't worth it.

4) Yes, again and again. No complaints.

5) iTrip if you listen in the car.

 

[DogFromDuckhunt]

1) Is the short battery life a real problem? I've read a full charge sometimes only lasts 3 hours?? Yikes.
I usually get a full 7 or so hours out of a single charge,so no its not a problem for me.

2) On Apple's website...it says that it comes with MusicMatch software for Windows users. I assume use of that software is not required.....and so what's the best software to use?
iTues is great, so is EphPod and Xplay. I used EphPod for the longest time, but ever since iTunes came out I've been using that.

3) 10 GB really is enough for me. Is the Wired remote , Carrying case w/ belt clip and iPod Dock worth another 100 clams?
I would say it is, plus you double your size.

4) Yes or No.......would YOU buy another one knowing what you know now?
I originally bought a 2nd Gen 20gb iPod a year ago, and recently sold it so I could buy a 3rd gen 30gb iPod. Well worth every penny.

5) Which one accessory (if any) do you consider a must have?
Vaja case. If you travel often then some sort of an adapter to play the iPod over your car sterio (line in, cassette adapter, FM Transmitter, etc...).

 

[fs5]

Originally posted by: waylman
ok, i do not own an IPOD but i want one so i've been reading up....

1. Ive heard alot about the batterly life. apparently, even it says "full charge" alot of the time, it still is not fully charged. You need to unplug it, then plug it back in and keep charging it.
/q]

Word, the guy at the apple store said it's not uncommon for people to unplug and replug the ipod 4 or 5 times before getting a full charge (IE my ipod acted this way when I first got it, I still do it though.)

Do it yourself, unplug your ipod after a full charge and it'll say charging for a couple of hours more! :Q

 

[Ausm]

I have the 3G 30 gig model

1)Battery life could be better

2)I use Itunes for Windows ...Musicmatch sux

3)The Dock is worth it but the remote is not

4)Yes-Infact I am going to buy another 30 gig unit

5)Itrip, Iskin, I am also looking into a special holder that fits in the cuprack of my vehicle.


Ausm

 

[iotone]

got me a 2G 10 gig...

1) Battery life is excellent for me
2) I read up on MusicMatch before I plugged mine in... didn't have great reviews, so I used Ephpod instead. Simple to use, great interface, no bloat.
3) I don't really use the remote, mainly cuz I feel like I could just control it myself... makes things a bit easier.
4) I wouldn't buy a 3G one, mainly because I think the 1/2G interface and buttons "fit" better... tho, if they made one in 3G size with the 1/2G buttons, I would get one
5) Don't have any accessories, tho my roommate has tried the iTrip, and has the car adapter... the car adapter is good, but the iTrip is not worth the money, esp. in LA where every freq on the FM band has some sort of station on it

 

[xchangx]

Not too sure if anyone's figured this out, but I have a 5gb ipod my bro gave me. I ran out of space rather fast since I ripped all my cd's at the highest sample rate.

I downloaded iTunes and discovered the Apple format aac I think. I went from 4.5gb to 1.4gb. Pretty good compression if you ask me. No notable sound quality differences.

 

[Ferocious]

Thanks for the responses.

I am barely leaning towards buying one.

 

[Lucky]

battery life is why i wont get one.

 

[0roo0roo]

the extra price for the higher models that come with the extra stuff is probably worth it, u can't go back and get the stuff without paying out the @ss. more likely to charge it more if you have a cradle..no?

 

[GermyBoy]

Originally posted by: Lucky
battery life is why i wont get one.

Gen2 has about 5 hours more battery life for the 10GB models. My buddy and I work and use them, and I get about 13-15 hours at full volume to his 8-10.

 

[NeoMadHatter]

1) Is the short battery life a real problem? I've read a full charge sometimes only lasts 3 hours?? Yikes.
i get a very good amount of battery life on mine. around 7-8hrs. 2nd generation.

2) On Apple's website...it says that it comes with MusicMatch software for Windows users. I assume use of that software is not required.....and so what's the best software to use?
iTunes. it's the best. and it comes from the makers of the iPod. so you know it has to work with it.

3) 10 GB really is enough for me. Is the Wired remote , Carrying case w/ belt clip and iPod Dock worth another 100 clams?
depends on how much music you have. 10GB isn't enough for me anymore. so i want to get a bigger one. all those sell for $40 separately. so it's $120 if you end up buying them seperately. i'd get the 15GB with all those accessories.

4) Yes or No.......would YOU buy another one knowing what you know now?
yes. you have no idea.

5) Which one accessory (if any) do you consider a must have?
iTrip is great for cars without cassette decks. a car adapter to charge is good too if you plan on making drives for extended periods. i'm talking like over 5 hour drives though.

 

[Tetsuo]

1) Mine always seems to last around 10 hours and a bit, I've got a 15g though

2)Itunes is the best so far, ephpod is really good too (if you don't want to use Itunes or Musicmatch) Personally, I hated MMJB

3) 10gb is no enough for me, I wish I bought a 20 or a 30gb. The remote I never use, I would sell it. But I would like to have it when I sell my Ipod. The dock is very handy it's nice to just sit down and put it in the dock, to charge and transfer.

4) Hell yes

5) Good headphones and an Iskin

 

[abaez]

I'm trying to figure out if something is wrong with my ipod.. I charged it last week.. left it here on top of my desk and didn't touch it.. now one week later the battery is totally drained (I didn't use it once) I got this as a refurb deal.. is my ipod bad? People say it'll take battery even when not in use.. but the whole battery in one week.. is that right?

 

[SKC]

abaez, make sure you don't have the hold button on.. when you have it in sleep mode and hold is on, the battery will drain within ~12 hours. With the hold button off, battery drain will be minimal.

1. Battery life is fine for me; I bring it with me to class/to the library and at the end of the day I charge it. No problems. (I have a 3rd gen ipod).

2. iTunes is fantastic and offers very powerful features (one of which I recently discovered was to broadcast music over the internet-- I can access music I have on my desktop from any computer). I used ephpod before; it offers great flexibility but the interface takes some getting used to. Ephpod crashed approximately three times in the month and a half I used it before iTunes came out.

3. I have a 15 gig; it's perfect. I would also advise getting an iskin; it offers a great deal of protection against scratches, shock resistance against drops/bumps, adds minimal weight/bulk to the ipod and allows it to keep its ..natural beauty, for lack of a better word. (I have the ice colored iskin). The dock is worth getting along with the added space (whether it's worth an extra $100 is questionable, but there are often good deals to be had; check Hot Deals and FS/FT). It adds convenience and attractiveness, protects the ipod from being scratched (you won't need to lay it flat on any surface) and allows for better cooling-- the metal back of the ipod acts as a heatsink; keeping it exposed to the air is an often overlooked, important piece of advice.

4. I received the ipod as a gift; I would buy one myself knowing what I know now.

5. The iskin is, to me, a necessity. As others have said, if you have a car, some way of connecting it-- either through the line-in of your stereo or, if you're in an area that isn't saturated with radio stations, an FM transmitter-- would be great to have.

Check iPodLounge.com for more info; there are great disccusions on that site.

Hope this helps,

SK

 

[Gunther]

1) Is the short battery life a real problem? I've read a full charge sometimes only lasts 3 hours?? Yikes.

I don't really have much probs with battery life. I seem to get around 6-8 hrs with mine.

2) On Apple's website...it says that it comes with MusicMatch software for Windows users. I assume use of that software is not required.....and so what's the best software to use?

NEVER EVER use musicmatch. Itunes just got released for windows, so use that or ephpod.

3) 10 GB really is enough for me. Is the Wired remote , Carrying case w/ belt clip and iPod Dock worth another 100 clams?

Never used the remote... never even took the remote out of its packaging. If you get an iskin or xskn you probably wont use the dock or carrying case.

4) Yes or No.......would YOU buy another one knowing what you know now?

Yes and No It looks good and does what is made for, but it is overpriced. If I had to pay retail price I would not, but if I could get it for about the price I got my current one then probably.

5) Which one accessory (if any) do you consider a must have?

Get a new case such as the iskin or xskn both are made by the same guy. I would also consider a new pair of headphones/earbuds a must have. The ipod earbuds are ok, but there are much better earbuds under $20. You can pick up a sennheiser mx500 from newegg for under $20 shipped.

 

[randomlinh]

Originally posted by: Ferocious
1) Is the short battery life a real problem? I've read a full charge sometimes only lasts 3 hours?? Yikes.

2) On Apple's website...it says that it comes with MusicMatch software for Windows users. I assume use of that software is not required.....and so what's the best software to use?

3) 10 GB really is enough for me. Is the Wired remote , Carrying case w/ belt clip and iPod Dock worth another 100 clams?

4) Yes or No.......would YOU buy another one knowing what you know now?

5) Which one accessory (if any) do you consider a must have?

1) there was some talk about the charge not working properly.. and that you needed to unplug, and replug a few times to get the full charge. but yeah, it seems a little short on power. i personally don't have an issue with it, it lasts the day w/ classes, but I can see where others would hate this

2) itunes all the way. it's a little slow, but i use it because it interfaces w/ the ipod, and i like it better than anything else available. it's just the way i tend to listen to music, jumping around to random things.

3) i have 6GB's filled, if i REALLY wanted to, i could slim it down, but for my cds, i tend to rip the whole thing, even if i don't like the tracks.. so yeah, i'm a nut. I don't like the case that comes w/ it. can't use the buttons. get an iSkin or something similar. as for the remote.. i thought i would like it... but eh, i haven't used it for months. if you want, you can buy remotes from ppl who don't use em for cheaper than what apple wants.

4) maybe. I wouldn't spend more than ~$300, which is how much i got my 15GB ipod for. If i were to buy again, i'd restrict to that budget.

5) just the iSkin or something similar.. and the car stuff if you have aux inputs on your head unit..i really wish i had them.

 

[xchangx]

I go on 4 hour road trips periodically over weekends.

I listen to my ipod in my car on the way there and on the way back with 2 bars still left. I believe I have a 1st gen 5gb ipod.

 

[Eug]

If you just play music it lasts for a fairly long time. However, if you skip around a lot from song to song, etc. it eats up a lot more juice.

I have the 3G 15 GB, and yeah, I'd buy another one if I dropped this one on the floor or something and broke it. And iTunes rules of course.