Trying to decide between a few mp3 players, help me -Now with poll

[sniperruff]

the sansa is built really flimsy. i'd buy apple just for the simple user interface. some people may find it too simple but i got used to having no custom EQ.

 

[trmiv]

I thought the Sansa felt pretty solid when I tried it out. Does it fall apart over time or something?

 

[Parrotheader]

I've been very pleased with my 6GB Sansa (never had any audio issues; I think those came more from the very early firmwares and a current beta firmware.) The build quality is great (had it for over 6 months now and use it daily several times a day.) I love all the extra features. I primarily use it for my podcasts although I also have a good mix of about 1,000 of my favorite songs on there that I sync via WMP. Of course you can also drag-and-drop. Since I listen to a lot of sports talk (and our market finally has an FM sports station) I also LOVE the fact that it was an FM tuner.

Rockbox is currently working on their own firmware. I'm hoping one of the things they'll be able to add is a better video codec. The current video codec is old and woefully inefficient (yeah I realize watching something on that tiny screen is nuts, but if you're in a doctor's waiting room for an hour having a couple TV shows or video podcasts on there is a good way to kill time.)

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: trmiv
I thought the Sansa felt pretty solid when I tried it out. Does it fall apart over time or something?

There's nothing flimsy about the Sansa at all. People think that at first blush because the wheel is a gear, so it can seem kind of cheap when they spin it. I've had mine for 8-10 months I guess and I work out with it just about every day...it's been dropped, sweated on, etc, no problems.

 

[Parrotheader]

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: trmiv
I thought the Sansa felt pretty solid when I tried it out. Does it fall apart over time or something?

There's nothing flimsy about the Sansa at all. People think that at first blush because the wheel is a gear, so it can seem kind of cheap when they spin it. I've had mine for 8-10 months I guess and I work out with it just about every day...it's been dropped, sweated on, etc, no problems.

Same here. If you're just comparing the wheels it's naturally going to feel more delicate. It's the rest of the player that's built more solidly IMO (i.e., it seems more robust and better able to absorb the inevitable falls.) The newer generation Nanos seem a lot tougher than the very delicate first gen Nanos though.

 

[trmiv]

The Sansa looks like the one. A brand new Sansa is $19 cheaper than the refurbished Nano. Between the two though, the only selling point is the FM tuner. I probably won't use any of the other extra features of the Sansa, especially the video part, the screen is just too small. Of course if I wanted video, I could get a refurbished current get 30gb iPod for the same price as the Nano 8gb, which is tempting.

 

[Doggiedog]

Originally posted by: trmiv
Yea the iaudio is nice. It doesn't come in 8 gigs though.

You can expand the memory. 4GB of SD memory doesn't cost too much these days.

 

[trmiv]

After 55 posts you guys are going to shoot me when you hear what I'm going to do. I'm already selling my DJ, I'm going to sell my Nintendo DS (haven't touched it since I got a 360), and get either an 30gb iPod or a Zune.

 

[Reckoner]

Get the nano! APPLE RULES!!!!

 

[trmiv]

Trying to make my decision by today. It's down to either the Zune or the iPod, or not going that route and getting a Sansa. What worries me about both the Zune and the iPod is buying a media player like that, and then a new and improved model comes out. I'm sure a new iPod is right around the corner, so I'm worried about buying something that gets updated right after I purchase. The Zune is nice, but it's a 1st gen product and I get the feeling Microsoft will release another one that will have me going "damn, should have waited." For those reasons I'm considering just getting a Sansa to hold me over, but I still can't decide.

 

[Parrotheader]

There's ALWAYS something new about to launch. You won't ever find a right time to buy when it comes to that.

I like the Zune and am very optimistic about what the next generation might hold given the massive improvements from Xbox to Xbox360 and the potential integration with Windows Media Center and the Xbox. Zune 2 will also be a dedicated product designed from the ground-up and not just some rebranded Toshiba rushed to market in time for the holidays. But if it's between those two and I had to buy at this instant, I'd probably opt for the Ipod.

 

[loup garou]

Just get the sansa to hold you over...it's cheap.

 

[trmiv]

Well I'm about to buy the iPod. What won me over? I can get a unit for the stereo in my car that allows me to control the iPod. Eventually my commute will go from the train, which I do now, to a car commute. When that happens the car control will be great. I currently just plug my DJ into the aux port on my stereo, but I hate having to pickup the device to find a song, see what's playing, etc. The ipod interface on my stereo with not only allow me to control the ipod, it will display what's playing on the screen.

 

[loup garou]

Originally posted by: trmiv
Well I'm about to buy the iPod. What won me over? I can get a unit for the stereo in my car that allows me to control the iPod. Eventually my commute will go from the train, which I do now, to a car commute. When that happens the car control will be great. I currently just plug my DJ into the aux port on my stereo, but I hate having to pickup the device to find a song, see what's playing, etc. The ipod interface on my stereo with not only allow me to control the ipod, it will display what's playing on the screen.

That's definitely a major reason to go iPod...as I don't own a car, I rarely even think about how much time most people spend in cars and how big of a boon that feature is.