Apple IPOD, ... Options

[xD_toooften]

i'm thining about either buying myself an ipod/ipodmini or asking for one from my parents.
from past experiences, which one would you all prefer? iPod or iPod mini...

[*krnxswat*]

Your decision should reflect on your preferences; not ours.

[DittotoAnne18]

Your decision should reflect on your preferences; not ours.

i agree.

how many songs do you think you will have?

[NatiMarie]

iPod of course.
;]
x]

[*tweeak*]

ipod is great because it holds more songs, but minis are prettier

[EXPLO5ION]

well a mini has 1000 songs and a normal ipod holds 10000.. and its a 50 dollar difference.. so.

but i got a mini 'cause i dont think ill be hitting 10000 songs anytime soon.

[Saeglopur]

uhm, which one's cheaper?

moved.

[dreamerOi]

i kind of want a color ipod. but man they are rip offs. so ill buy a normal ipod. cause i think its betr.

[*kryogenix*]

Neither. I think Creative Lab's Zen is really good. And it's cheaper. The Mini's look really ugly in my opinion.

[gvoxford]

Don't get a mini. They suck. iPod's are ten times awesome-er. Plus to replace the battery you need to take it in and it costs like $99+ from what I hear (my friend has one). Sounds like a butt.

[x juicy]

i got a creative lab zen at first because i didn't want to be like everyone else and get an ipod... lol. but creative lab zen is freaking heavy and thick compared to the ipod. get an ipod .. it's nice =) the mini is pretty but i just get color covers for my ipod so it looks nice too.. haha

[xD_toooften]

i heard that the Dell DJ 20 is good too, but you have to buy the music elsewhere.

[unrequited]

ooh get an ipod!! I'm thinking of asking one for Christmas hehe... Though it is ugly but I think quality is much better than how they look like

[ANG33ZY]

ipod.. i want an ipod.

[faithin_felix]

uhm, which one's cheaper?

moved.

ipod mini is cheaper.

[mirage]

i-pod mini if you want to save money =)

[gothicvengeance]

Get an iPod mini, unless you're willing to spend the extra money or somehow have over 1000 songs you need to copy into your mp3 player. Do NOT get the creative zen player. Before I wanted to not be like everyone else, like x juicy, but I went through several reviews on each "iPod competitor" and none of them were as good as the iPod. In my opinion, the creative zen player comes closest...it's far easier to scratch or damage the iPod and it's completely international, meaning it can easily play songs in foreign languages, something the iPod can't. It's also pretty small, even though slightly heavier and larger than the iPod. The music transferring is quick and easy, and the battery can last up to 24 hours, I've heard, whereas the iPod only has 12. It's also a bit cheaper than the iPod.

But despite all that, the iPod is still better. So my advice is to get a mini.

||edit||

Oh yeah, and I got this really good review from amazon on the good mp3 players out there:

Reviewer: Ronald Cronovich (Henderson, NV)


Since getting my new 4th generation iPod, I've spent a LOT of time with it. I also have MP3 players by Creative and iRiver, and I will compare the iPod to them.

DESIGN AND EASE OF USE:

The iPod has always been the most elegantly designed player on the market, which is why people pay the iPod premium. This is my first iPod, and using it is really a joy, moreso than the other players I've used (not that they are bad).

Using the iPod is easy and intuitive. Within an hour of opening the box, you will have installed the software on your computer, transferred a dozen CDs to the iPod, and be comfortable using most of the features and commands on the iPod. To learn more advanced features, like how to create a playlist on your iPod on the fly, you'll need to read the manual. But, the manual is very well-written, and makes it easy to find just the thing you need. (The manual is supplied only as a PDF file on the CD-ROM, though you get a printed GETTING STARTED guide in the box.)

To transfer music to your iPod, you must use the iTunes software, which doubles as a store that sells downloadable music and audio books. I like the iTunes store, and find the prices reasonable, but please be assured that you needn't ever visit the music store if you don't wish. The software is a very nicely designed manager of your iPod's library.


SOUND QUALITY:

I compared the iPod with my other music players by plugging them into a high-end stereo, which is better to distinguish subtle differences between players than just comparing through headphones.

The iPod sounds very good. Not quite as good as the Creative player, but as good or a little better than the iRiver (which CNET rated highly for sound quality). The difference in sound quality between the iPod and the Creative players is probably too small to affect your purchase decision unless you are a very picky audiophile.


PERFORMANCE:

The iPod puts out enough volume to power any headphones.

File transfers are very, very fast, whether using USB2 or FireWire (and the iPod comes with both cables, a nice bonus). It takes a second or less for each song to be transferred to the player.

I haven't tested battery life, but CNET's independent review reports battery life at 13 hours. (Apple advertises 12 hours - how refreshing to see the actual time be LONGER than advertised!!)


DIFFERENCES BETWEEN 20GB AND 40GB iPODS:

The 40gb version comes with a dock, is a couple millimeters thicker and a half ounce heavier than the 20gb version. This extra size & weight is too small to be noticable, unless you have a scale or are extremely sensitive.


OTHER THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

If you are concerned that the 20gb version doesn't include the dock, don't worry - you can live just fine without it. Connecting the iPod to your computer using either cable works great, and the iPod's battery will charge while the player is connected to your computer (or plugged into a wall outlet using the included adapter).

However, the dock makes it a little more convenient to connect the iPod to your home stereo (and charge the iPod at the same time).

(Note: to connect the iPod to a stereo, with or without the dock, you will need to buy a separate cable with a standard mini-jack on one end and two standard RCA plugs on the other, about $10 at any Circuit City or Best Buy)


NEGATIVES:

The iPod is more expensive per gigabyte than other players, and the battery is not user-replacable. (The competitors - Zen Touch, Karma, and iRiver IHP 120/140 - do not have user-replacable batteries, either.) For a price, Apple or 3rd party vendors can replace the battery for you if it ever dies.

The player doesn't accept WMA format. If you already have a lot of music in unprotected WMA format, the iTunes software will convert these files to Apple's proprietary AAC format so that they'll work with the iPod. However, there may be some loss in quality, which is inevitable whenever you convert a compressed file from one format to another.

The real problem is when you have a bunch of PROTECTED WMA files, such as those you buy from MusicMatch. To get such files on your iPod, you must first burn them onto a CD, then re-insert the CD into your computer (as if it were a regular music CD) and use iTunes to rip the songs to an iPod-friendly format like MP3 or AAC. This procedure is time-consuming, and may result in a small loss in sound quality.


THE BOTTOM LINE:

I recommend the new 4th generation iPod very highly.

Still, I encourage you to check out the iRiver iHP 120/140, the Rio Karma, and the new Creative Zen Touch. If you buy the Creative, be careful - it only comes with a 90-day warranty (compared to the iPod's one year). My Creative player died shortly after the warranty expired, and Creative charged me over $100 to fix it!

If you want the iPod but hesitate because it's more expensive than the competition, keep in mind that you're probably going to use this player for a good long while. An extra 50 bucks spread out over three years or so is well worth it to get such a great player.

If you are learning toward the 20gb iPod because you don't think you'd ever need 40gb, I ask you this: Have you ever purchased a laptop, and then a year later kicked yourself for not getting a bigger hard drive with it? It's good to take the long view.

[iEnigma]

I disagree completley. The iPod 4G is only $50 more, and you can hold many more songs (5 times more) and you get a bigger screen and the sleek white/ silver body.

[pandamonium]

there is a new one from ipod mp4 player it can play movies look at pictures jpegs and stuff.. i dunno how much memory it holds or how much it is but its on the website. i think you should consider it i thought i would just bring it up but i would buy the ipod the classic lol.

[sadolakced acid]

if you care more about the music than the looks, an are willing to read a manual, get an iriver h320-

same price as ipod
color screen
4 more hours of batteries
FM radio
line in recording
internal microphone
line out (can function as a second headphone jack, great for sharing music!)
did i say color screen?
functions without the need to install itunes
plays ogg vorbis files (the shareware file extension)
same size as ipod, but a lot thicker.
picture viewer

it's better for more hard core audiophiles... but if you want to pay the same money to loose all the extras, just for looks and a bit of weight, then i guess that's the way to go...

`also, international version can act as a USB host, which means you download pictures directly to the h320 from most digital cameras. (don't have to look for a computer!)

and a few drawbacks=

-thicker than ipod
-heavier than ipod
-learning curve on operation- you actually have to read the manual, but after about 2 days you should know it.

[*kryogenix*]

Actually, I like the Creative Nomad Zen out of all of them.

[DUDEiROCK]

Do iPod Minis come with battery chargers?

[sadolakced acid]

might i add that you can't buy the international version and expect the power plug to plug in in the USA...

however, the USA version is much cheaper ($100 USD cheaper) and hardware is almost identical... a quick download of the korean version, switch language to english, and you have a digital video player!

[iheartsimba]

a regular ipod is better for me...it holds more songs to

[heyyfrankie]

i don't have one, but at school, i have seen iPod minis and i like the normal one better.

[freeflow]

i have a mini!
i kinda like it better than a normal ipod because theyre kinda bigger . the only major diffrence is the amount of songs it can hold. like the mini can only hold about 1000 and ya . but to me it depends on which one you like better. personally i like the mini . my friend has a regular one & i think its kinda big & stuff . but like they are kinda alike soo it doesnt matter . the mini is like in other colors than just whiteish silver too.

[PurchasedRebelli...]

I got a mini, cause I wanted pink. Ha.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut, 4GB is so not enough. I can only fit like, 800 songs... cause I usually get 192 kbps instead of 128 kbps, which means the songs are bigger in size... which mean less songs on the mini. >.<

If you really don't care about looks, definitely go for the regular, it's only $50 more and you get 5 times the space.

[wayne]

regular ipod. cause 1. for 50 dollars more you can store 5 times the amount of music (on a 20 gb.), 2. in my opinion.. it looks better, and 3. to me ipod mini is too small.. the ipod is small enough...

[glit_gal]

Do iPod Minis come with battery chargers?

that's a stupid question...of course they do.

I'm actually at the same dilemma your at, except i can't decide between an ipod, a creative zen or a samsung YH-920. But for you i would definelty go with the 20gb ipod, trust me your gonna regret it later that you spent all that money on just a 4gb mp3 player when mp3 technology is constantly heading towards more powerful hard drive space and such.

[kleenex_for_kayl...]

I'm getting a regular one for christmas...Its sort of pointless when you can get 4 times the storage for just one sixth more the price (don't trust my math)

[sadolakced acid]

glit_gal, look into the iriver h320.

same price as ipod 4th gen, has the functionality of the $600 ipod photo, but only if you add the optional attachments to the ipod, making it more like $800.

[weirdness]

regular :PP

im getting a regular for christmas hehes. if u want 'color' on ur ipod just get a case for the regular ones. 5,000 songs(i think)! =)

[*kryogenix*]

i will never really understand why anyone would need 40 gb of songs.

think about it, 40 gb = 10,000 songs. Apple iTunes sells each song for $0.99.

To fill the thing up (legally of course, because you all are good citizens), you need $10,000!

I'm fine with my 64mb Creative NoMad MuVo.

[nas]

40gb's I can't imagine either


But 64mb? I'd wouldn't settle for one that low. I have bunches of albums I'm always pulling different music from, it'd never fit on that.



Oh and on a side note, I'm now an employee at the Apple store in Palisades, NY. If you're ever there and you see some Filipino in a black Apple T, give me a headsup =D

[NatiMarie]

I have an iRiver H340.

:O

[sadolakced acid]

iriver- totally rocks, for totally less.

[*kryogenix*]

40gb's I can't imagine either


But 64mb? I'd wouldn't settle for one that low. I have bunches of albums I'm always pulling different music from, it'd never fit on that.



Oh and on a side note, I'm now an employee at the Apple store in Palisades, NY. If you're ever there and you see some Filipino in a black Apple T, give me a headsup =D

*shrugs*

It would be great to have 512, but I got it for free so I'm not complaining.

Oh and on a side note, I'm now an employee at the Apple store in Palisades, NY. If you're ever there and you see some Filipino in a black Apple T, give me a headsup =D

Palisades mall apple store?

[nas]

Yeah, free? Then I wouldn't complain either.


Yep! At the Palisades mall.

[KissMe2408]

The ipod can hold more then twice as many songs, but i think i like the mini ipod better, cuz i would like to go out jogging with it. I'm thinking of getting one too

[sadolakced acid]

you don't want to jog with a mini;

it's a hard drive player, it can't take much jolting.

unless is has a lot of antishock in it... which i doubt.

[xquizit]

well, i don't know about u guys but i love my ipod mini. Small, light, easy to use, superb sound, and not to mention cute.

I <3 my mini.

[*kryogenix*]

creative labs Zen Micro is cheaper than the mini, and sound quality is better.

[Saeglopur]

creative labs Zen Micro is cheaper than the mini, and sound quality is better.

And they are sexier.

[mechwarrior1989]

there is a new one from ipod mp4 player it can play movies look at pictures jpegs and stuff.. i dunno how much memory it holds or how much it is but its on the website. i think you should consider it i thought i would just bring it up but i would buy the ipod the classic lol.

Wrong. IPod photo can only display photos but it can also be connected to a TV to view them on the TV, you can't zoom in on pictures though so looking on the small screen is kinda bad.

It all depends on what you need, what will you be using this MP3 player for? If you're into exersizing while listening to music, then IPod Mini, not only because it is smaller and lighter, but it uses Microdrives and as such it won't be as prone to shocks as the IPod which uses a notebook harddrive. But the best choice for excersizing would be a flash-based MP3 player which can generally hold up to 1gb.

In my opinion, IPod's have become a social icon. There are plenty of other great MP3 players out there but IPod has been so effective at buring the name into people's minds that it is all they think about. I'm not saying IPod's are bad, but you might want to do your research first.

Alright, on to IPod Mini and IPod G4, The new IPod G4 is a full 1mm shorter than the G3 and it weighs a bit less. It also has the click scroll wheel with the buttons integrated into it which is based on the IPod Mini. The IPod mini however is a smaller MP3 player in all specs because it is based around a 4gb Hitachi Microdrive. If you want more portability then go for the IPod Mini, otherwise go for the IPod G4.

Other options you might consider:
Creative Nomad Muvo2 which is based around the same 4gb microdrive as the Mini however the screen is smaller but the player itself is also smaller. Very portable.

Creative Zen Touch: Featuring a new touch scroll system, the Creative Zen Touch replaces the Zen Xtra's and puts Creative in direct competition with IPod. It sports a clean white look and has great reviews, it also cost less than IPod G4 20gb.

iRiver IHP-40: iRiver has been a pioneer in the MP3 market, their players are outstanding, though it comes with a price. iRiver MP3 players have very high sound quality though with crappy headphones, you won't notice a huge difference, they are also built very well.

I'm lazy and not going to mention any Flashbased MP3 players, but Creative has a lot of good ones like the rio carbon for instance.


PMP's:
PMP stands for portable media player, these can play videos, music, pictures, you name it.

Creative: Creative's PMP is black but fairly large and can hold 20gb worth of Data.

Samsung: Slightly smaller than Creative's PMP it also holds 20gb.

iRiver: Not sure aobut details on the iRiver, but 20gb.

RCA Lyra A/V Jukebox: Early on this PMP had a great deal of problems, half the features were disabled at launch and only recently have they been unlocked with recent firmware. This PMP is large compared to newer ones, but it cost significatly less if you can find them. Circuit City has them for $260 after $100 rebate and RCA has another $50 rebate. It can record directly from TV and though it is supposed to be restricted from recording DVD's, you can get around that and record DVD's to it. Battery life is not great, but it isn't all that bad either, this player can hold 20gbs.

Archos Gmini 400: I don't really know anything about this device.

[angel-roh]

Do iPod Minis come with battery chargers?

Yeah, they do.

[Levy2k6]

im getting a Creative Zen Micro. beats the Ipod Mini by alot. same price and everything. u get an extra gig and u dont have to use the apple programs, u can use WMP or the creative software and plays almost most music files. i get mine right before xmas through the mail.

check it out at the creative website.

[jr0h]

ipod regular ipod

[sadolakced acid]

Iriver H320- $250 at best buy: same price as mini:

to get the equivalent in Ipod: you have to:

1. buy the ipod Photo (not avalible in 20 g) $500
2. Buy the FM receiver, microphone recorder, hack it to accept protected WMAs and ogg vorbis files (very hard to do), add an external battery... ~ $200


to be fair, i guess we'll have to use the Iriver h340 (40 g model) to compare, it's $400

so...

$400 to $700

now...

download a new firmware, and the H320 plays video (yes, moving pictures. ) you can't get that on an Ipod.

[*mona lisa*]

well a mini has 1000 songs and a normal ipod holds 10000.. and its a 50 dollar difference.. so.

but i got a mini 'cause i dont think ill be hitting 10000 songs anytime soon.

doesn't the normal hold 5000, not 10,000? oewllz. i would prefer the normal one, and someone said it's only a $50 difference so, that's good.

[sadolakced acid]

i think it's 10,000 if you're counting WMAs at 64 KPS

[comeupon]

I got a mini, cause I wanted pink. Ha.

Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut, 4GB is so not enough. I can only fit like, 800 songs... cause I usually get 192 kbps instead of 128 kbps, which means the songs are bigger in size... which mean less songs on the mini. >.<

If you really don't care about looks, definitely go for the regular, it's only $50 more and you get 5 times the space.

wow people still download 192 Im on 320 VBR for about 85% of my songs.

[sadolakced acid]

192 is generally agreeed to be near-CD quality.

320 is a little overkill... i have a few tracks in that and the difference between 320 and 128 isn't much...

save space people...

[comeupon]

192 is generally agreeed to be near-CD quality. 

320 is a little overkill... i have a few tracks in that and the difference between 320 and 128 isn't much... 

save space people...

When you have noise cancelling headphones you really do hear a diference though, if someone were to play 2 songs with different bit rates for me on my headphones I could easily tell them apart.

[sadolakced acid]

yes, although usually the difference is not noticed.

[mechwarrior1989]

Most people just use the included headphones so they really won't notice anything difference since they're usually crap. But if, like you said, you get noise canceling headphones and higher quality ones in general you will notice a difference.

[*Statistik*]

I ordered a mini-one..still didnt come..i cant wait..i only got the iskin

[*Statistik*]

Do iPod Minis come with battery chargers?

My ipod mini just came today..and yeah it does come with battery chargers..

[*basick*]

get a regular ipod... i have a 20 gb ipod and IMO it looks better than a mini, is only 50 dollars more, and holds 16 GB more

[sadolakced acid]

get an iriver h320, it's only 20 dollars cheaper (than mini- 70 than ipod)

and wow, you get 20g, color screen, drag and drop, the ability to play DRM WMAs, picture viewing, and the ability to play video (korean firmware- can be put on US versions)

[imm]

Neither. All iPods suck.

Get a Sony NW-HD3, just wait till it comes out.

[xTINAA]

personally i think that getting an iPod mini is a waste of money. because it's only 4GB which holds up to like 2000 songs and is like 249 bucks whereas, the regular 20GB ipod holds 5000 songs and is 299 bucks. why not pay that extra 50 and be able to hold more songs and such?? i mean sure the mini, is well, smaller, but the iPod itself is pretty dang small. and just go to iPOD.com to find out more information.. and in the end, it's all up to you and your preferences.

[PurchasedRebelli...]

192 is generally agreeed to be near-CD quality. 

320 is a little overkill... i have a few tracks in that and the difference between 320 and 128 isn't much... 

save space people...

I have a lot of songs on the comp and it takes up 10 gigs of space... and most of them are 128 and 192. I'd have no space whatsoever if they were all in 320. And I can't really tell the difference.

[Fonzoman]

I'm also trying to decide whether I should get an ipod or ipod mini.

[*bright eyes*]

Well it really does depend

Are you a big music fan?
& do you think you could hold more than 1000 songs?

A regular i-pod can hold either
-3,700 - which i have
-5,000
or
-10,000

A mini i-pod can hold only
1,000

but comes in colors
-green
-blue
-pink
-silver

It's really up to you whether you think you can hold all the songs or not.

[sweet-misery]

i want an iPOD mini! gimme one for muhh birthdae((:

justkidding. anyway i dont think you would need 10000 songs would you? that's like 1000 cds? i think the ipod mini is sufficient, and i think it looks better in my opinion

[sadolakced acid]

I dunno, i think that the H320 is sufficient, i mean, it's 20 bucks less and all you loose is Itunes capability, but you gain a whole lot more.

[PurchasedRebelli...]

i want an iPOD mini! gimme one for muhh birthdae((:

justkidding. anyway i dont think you would need 10000 songs would you? that's like 1000 cds? i think the ipod mini is sufficient, and i think it looks better in my opinion

I thought it'd be sufficient, but really, it isn't. 1,000 songs may seem like a lot... but it's not.