I Pod question

[Sigarms]

I'm in my mid forties, and I know more about 8 tracks than I do about IPods.

Misses mentioned she would like one for Christmas.

I have NO clue what to look for.

What's the "best bang for your buck" I Pod out there?

Don't want to go cheap, but don't want to spend more than I have to because I don't know what I'm looking at (I don't always go by what costs more HAS to be better).

Thanks!

 

[kennyd]

If you are looking for a true "iPod", then the Nano is the best bang for the buck IMHO.

If you are looking for a "MP3" player, then the market is wide open, you will have to go "test drive" then at the stores.

I resisted Apple products for years because they are so proprietary, but now we have 2 16G Nano's, a 32G Touch, I have have a 16G iPhone.. I am glad I finally saw the light, they are great products.

 

[MikePA]

Does your wife have a lot of CDs she'd want to put on the iPod? If so, she'll need more memory.

Would she want to take videos with the iPod? She'll need the Nano, plus the model with more memory.

Would she also like to listen to FM radio? She'll need the Nano.

Would she like to use it while exercising? Smaller is better, then the Shuffle.

The Classic iPod is being phased out, so you might be able to get a deal. But if she likes colors, then the Classic wouldn't be for her, it only comes in black or white.

I have an 8 gig iPhone and a 120 gig Classic and I was able to get 60 full CDs on the 8gig iPhone.

Also, an Apple product will mean installing iTunes (free) to move songs to it.

 

[EddieWalker]

I have a small Sony Walkman with a few hundred songs on it. It's smaller then a lighter, fits easily into my pocket and will most of the day on a charge. It doesn't take batteries. I plug it into my computer at the end of the day to charge it up. The ear phones that it comes with are not very comfortable, so I bought some that were.

I would only buy a name brand, but that's how I feel about all electronics. There are so many clones and cheap copies out there, and all of them will disapoint you.

With memory so cheap nowadays, it's real easy to get something that will hold more songs then you can listen to in a week. Look at the features they offer, and compare them to what she's into. Some will play videos, store photos and play games. Mine is bare bones, which is great for when I'm out mowing. If I destroy it, I'm not out very much.

I'd go to Best Buy or someplace like that to see what's available. Then go to Amazon to read some reviews that people have left. I really like the reviews there. Then narrow it down to what you want before you start searching for the best price.

Good luck,
Eddie

 

[Ken_CT]

Sigarms,
If she said she wants an iPod, why not go to their site and let her look at the features and colors, then pick the one that she wants. That way you can't make a mistake.

Here's the Apple Store site:
Shop iPod - Apple Store (U.S.)

 

[Willl]

I resisted Apple product for years because they are so proprietary

Me too, and will continue to do so. I refuse to drink the Kool-aid.

Been using a RCA Lyra for years, can only fault its battery life.

 

[randy41]

I've gone through a few mp3 players. so far the best is the ipod touch I now use. My wife is using my old sandisk and she likes it.you have to decide what capacity you want and if you want replaceable batteries or rechargeable batteries. and be prepared to replace the headphones/earbuds that come with the player with something decent.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

For just MP3 music I use a creative, 2GB MP3 player that cost me about $20. It holds hundreds of songs, and is easy to load with music as you plug it in USB.
I would love to have an I pod touch, but can't bring myself to pay the outrageous price. Costco does have good prices on them, but in my area they are selling out of them fast.

 

[Scooby074]

Ipod all the way.

I was leery at first myself, but IPOD has the most market share which means better selection of accessories and software support.

I have a 30 GB Classic, but if i was buying new id say the new Nano.

Apple is a class act all around IMHO. My classic was 600 days out of waranty when it stopped working (would only play if the face was squeezed, a known issue on some models).

I called apple for giggles, and much to my surprise they sent me a box by air, complete with return postage!!! I sent the ipod in, it was assessed and a new one was at my door within 10days!

Some of the best customer service ive ever seen from an electronics manufacturer. It was totally unexpected, and the Ipod owed me nothing.Matter of fact i was planning the purchase of a Nano or Touch for after xmas as ive been that satisfied with their products.

If you dont like Itunes (I dont) theyre are many other ways to put songs on an Ipod without using it. Theyre are Ipod control plugins for Winamp for one.

 

[Willl]

Are I-pods still very proprietary like they first were ?

Can you just dump mp3's on to its drive and get it to work ?

 

[kennyd]

Are I-pods still very proprietary like they first were ?

Can you just dump mp3's on to its drive and get it to work ?

All the music I have is MP3's, mostly from my own collection that I "ripped". I have NEVER "bought" music from Apple or any other online source-did do the Limewire, Napster, and some others a few years ago...but I stopped all that.

 

[Scooby074]

Are I-pods still very proprietary like they first were ?

Can you just dump mp3's on to its drive and get it to work ?

Yeppers. Np problems with MP3's.

The only thing you may need itunes for is to put the actual ipod into "hard drive mode", after that you can send MP3's to the IPOD, plus use it as a mobile hard drive for other data.

 

[MarkV]

Sig I am almost 60 and still have an 8 track in a box at home so I know what you are talking about. My wife goes out of the country once a week and packing space is always important. I got her an Ipod Nano last year, she loves it. Holds more than enough music and photos to share on her three day trips, battery life is good, cost about $125 if I remeber correctly. The darn thing is about 1 1/2" wide, 3" tall and less than a 1/4 thick. I just looked and she has 550 songs and 150 photos on hers with 5G of space left. If that fits your wifes needs the Nano is a pretty nice peice of equipment.

MarkV

 

[Sigarms]

Sig I am almost 60 and still have an 8 track in a box at home so I know what you are talking about. My wife goes out of the country once a week and packing space is always important. I got her an Ipod Nano last year, she loves it. Holds more than enough music and photos to share on her three day trips, battery life is good, cost about $125 if I remeber correctly. The darn thing is about 1 1/2" wide, 3" tall and less than a 1/4 thick. I just looked and she has 550 songs and 150 photos on hers with 5G of space left. If that fits your wifes needs the Nano is a pretty nice peice of equipment.

MarkV

I have a feeling I'll be going to Best Buy in the next couple of days (looked in todays sales flier and they have them). Now, since we don't have any type of sound system in the house (only a 10 year old radio sitting on the safe) I may really surprise her and get her one of those sound systems that the iPod can "plug" into. Anyone have one of those and or suggestions.

 

[anojones]

I think the iPod is still the best MP3 player out there. The real advantage of the iPod is iTunes- the software that allows you to organize and purchase music, it also allows you to rip your current CDs to a digital format. For a novice you really can't beat the ease of use of both the device and the software. There may be better software and better devices, but it's very hard to beat the two together. As for it being closed, you can now purchase most of your music in a format that will play on other MP3 players without the Apple DRM- so it can be used without iTunes or an iPod. I do think it may cost a bit more to get the music without DRM. In my opinion, there are only two you should be considering- the Nano or the Touch. The shuffle doesn't have a screen and is difficult to navigate etc. If your goal is a music/podcast only device (although it can still play video), the Nano is the easy choice- it's small, has a video camera, is easy to use and less expensive. If you want to do more and use the device with the applications that are available- than the Touch is the way to go. The Nano is an MP3 playter, the Touch is a handheld computer that plays MP3s. I have a Nano I use around the homestead doing chores, on the tractor etc and use a Touch for work and travel- I use it as an organizer, to watch the occasional video, and a bunch of the apps from the iTunes store but don't use it as an MP3 player.

 

[escavader]

I have a nano,daughter has the touch.Im not into the games,just the music so is why i bought the nano.The new nano has a camera,it was the same price at walmart as the older one.Ibought the older one because it held more songs-i dont care about the camera.
With the IPOD and ITUNES it really makes it easy to organize your music.Idownloaded all my cds on it and it all went in my ipod with just a clickAfter xmas im going to start buying my music on ITUNES.Even though i listen to all kinds of rock,country and oldies ,i really like the older country.Lets face it CHARLIE PRIDE,GEORGE JONES,PATSY CLINE and others are getting hard to find on cd
I listen to my ipod on the travel to work on one of them fm transmitters,then all day on shuffle at work,Isleep with it at night with headphonesIts one tough rig,i swear by it.
ALAN

 

[gsganzer]

IPOD Nano. I love mine. So does my wife, she now wants her own.

 

[jpm]

i ended up with a itouch the apps make it more entertanging than just music

 

[jwstewar]

I started out with a cheap Memorex one MP3 player. Worked well. It took a lot of abuse. It was pretty nice. 128 MB of memory built in but then it would accept SD cards. You could swap out "types" of music for certain occasions. Then I purchased a Microsoft Zune. I love it. It is only a 4 gig, but my wife has an 8 gig. Very small and you can watch videos on them and also listen to FM radio. New ones even have HD radio. You can sync them up to your computer via your wi-fi in your house. You can also send songs to friends via the wi-fi so they can listen to it to see if they like it. I've played with the itunes software and some ipods themselve. I think the Zune has easier to use and has better audio quality - using the same songs and head phones. The only thing the ipod has going for it is all of the 3 party accessories made for them. Though I think a lot of them look pretty low quality.

For now, we will stay with our Zune.

 

[studor]

Even though I have been accused of being a luddite from time to time I have a classic 30gb Ipod that is in constant use. I have docking stations to our sound systems and a connection in the Toyota (it is a POS with limited capability and a high price). My step son has several nanos after multiple forays into MP 3 players. The Apple software and service is terrific. I bought my wife an Itouch for her last birthday. It too is now in regular use. Of all the Ipods we now have I too would probably say get a Nano