MP3 Players

[thcri]

Looking at getting a MP3 player for christmas. Looking at the Ipod and some other brands. Being a fan of Dell I looked at the DJ20. There seems to be a big price difference in the Ipod versus anything else out there. Am I missing something or is all the other ones just as good as the Ipod??

murph

 

[MikePA]

The current issue of PC Magazine has a review of these devices. The Creative Zen Micro player comes out on top, particularly when price is considered.

 

[Dargo]

I have been very pleased with the Creative Labs Nomad Zen Xtra 40 gig player. It is very small and has a relatively huge capacity as well as being considerably cheaper than the Ipod. It is also very easy to use, has long battery life, and has a replacable battery (I'm told the Ipod battery is not user replacable). I've been a gadget nut for many years. Some MP3 players have not been so great, this one gets two thumbs up from me! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I think it boils down to some various choices. Ipod, for sale from both HP and Apple, uses the Apple music store for online music downloads and supposedly makes it difficult to pirate music (read that steal). You can also upload your own CDs into your playlist and transfer them into your Ipod. From what I can see, all the other various units are locked out of the Apple music store, which is supposed to have the best selection. The others also offer capabilities to use the Roxio on line music site (formerly known for prirate downloads but now legitimized after being purchased by Roxio) as well as various ways to upload CDs into your units.

Ipod is generally considered the best, but I suspect all of them work! Sort of like tractors. From the standpoint of longevity, expandability, and customization, nobody offers anything close to Ipod. (Bose even offers an add on speaker dock) I have a couple friends who jog with their Ipods and they rave about them.

 

[thcri]

Well, I am not in the business or stealing. I have a son that doesn't understand it but I won't take one without buying. I think I finally got to my son this last summer but he still hasn't deleted the ones he took. But he isn't downloading any more.

The thing that I do do is copy from CD's that I already own. I buy a CD and for the most part I only like two or three songs on them. So I record the ones I like. However, I would like to download from the internet and only pay for the ones I download.

murph

 

[Dargo]

MikePA, I do not subscribe to that magazine nor had I seen that rating of MP3 players, but I came to the same conclusion for pretty well exactly the same reasons. The Ipod is obviously okay, but I thought that the Creative player was better for what I wanted. I have several hundred CD's that I've ripped to my computer, so the "mini" version wouldn't hold all of my CD's. That is why I went with the 40 gig version I did. I didn't even take price into consideration which would really favor the Creative over Ipod.

For mowing and trips, I bought the RIO Cali, which uses the same SD memory modules that my digital cameras use. With the built in memory in the Cali along with the one gig SD module in it, it will hold about 350 to 400 songs. It also sounds great and runs for about 18 hours on one AAA battery. Lately I've been ripping my full length unabridged CD audiobooks and putting them on the little RIO Cali. I can get three 800 page (unabridged) audiobooks on it!

 

[Golfgar4]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( The thing that I do do is copy from CD's that I already own. )</font>

I've not gotten into all of this IPod stuff yet, but it's my understanding from my nephew (who's dad is an attorney), that as long as you don't sell your "copies" to anyone else, that is alright.

He gave me quite an education about these Ipods at Thanksgiving. They really are remarkable devices. I'm beginning to seriously think hard about getting one for myself! /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

As Ted (my nephew) explained it to me, once you buy the Ipod and assoicuated software that comes with it, you load the software into your computer. Then you can buy some certificates from the Apple (or HP) store that authorizes you to to buy the tunes you want though the Ipod site on the internet for $0.99 per tune. So you're only buying the tune that you like.

He did say that the Ipod site (or Apple or whatever it's called) does have the best selection of tunes out of all of the other similar services.

I don't understand though. If Ipod has the best selection of tunes, how come his MP3 player didn't have any Glenn Miller or Tommy Dorsey on it?? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[thcri]

Garry,

Your right, as long as you have paid for it once you can recopy for you own use. Can't give or sell to anyone else. Now you can borrow??? Which is what I do and trust the person I exchange CD's with. I don't recopy any of his and doesn't recopy any of mine.

Oh does your nephews MP3 player have any Charlie Pride on it?? Don't know but for some reason I like to listen to his songs about once every three years.

murph

 

[Golfgar4]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Can't give or sell to anyone else. Now you can borrow??? )</font>

That's what my nephew said he and his buddies do. When I asked him if he really knew that they didn't copy his music, he replied (with that kind of smirk on his face that we all get when we mean something other than what we're saying) that when he got his MP3 player back, he couldn't find any evidence that his music had been copied. I believe that I then had a similar discussion with him like you had with your son. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Oh does your nephews MP3 player have any Charlie Pride on it?? )</font>

Can't say for sure, but I'd be willing to bet that it doesn't! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Heck, I didn't even recognize any of the names of the tunes that I saw in his listing. Or the musical groups for that matter! /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[MessickFarmEqu]

I have the dell player. Its okay, I don't like the managment software. The song orginization is done by the file ID3 tag and not by your folder structures. I was not a fan of that either. The Ipod is the same way, if I where to buy another one I'd go with the creative.