which is the better mp3 player (from personal experience)

[DDD]

I am looking into it as we speak. I think I narrowed it down to Sony or Ipod...But from ya'll that got'em or used them which is the better of the 2? Please let me know why. My wife is hooking me up with one for Christmas but I gotta let her know which one to get. I heard the Ipod can be used in the car is this true?

Please no flames....I am just curious who is using which and why.

[Butters]

Yes, you can use your iPod in your car, by doing either of the following:

1) Buy a cassate-adapter thing (they are really cheap, about £5).
2) Buy an iTrip, which effectivly makes your iPod into a short-range radio station, tune your car's radio into the same frequency, and you can hear your music in the car or through any FM radio. (It's a little more than the adapter, at £30 - £40).

iPod's are the best, I have had 3. Brilliantly designed, and they work sooo well, if you buy one, you won't regret it.

[Digitalosophy]

I'm confused on what to buy as well. i was looking at the creative one
http://us.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=3&subcategory=21&product=10274&campid=20459

[Butters]

Yes, the Creative Zen Touch is supposed to be good, a definate iPod competitor, but I dont think it's as good, the scroll wheel is better than that pad.

If you have one, people will ask you 'Is that an iPod?' :P

[DDD]

crap there is a $h!t load of these things out there...from a bunch of makers...this one looks pretty cool.

http://reviews.cnet.com/Creative_Zen_Micro_5GB_black/4505-6490_7-31151927.html?tag=prmo1

[[m]]

Yes, go for the iPod. You'll look cool, and lose alot of money on it!

Go for the touch. Good value, about the same size as an ipod gen2/3 and lasts alot longer.

[DDD]

Is it true that you cannot replace the battery on IPOD's? So if it goes out you have to replace the IPOD?....This creative Zen one has a removeable battery. Also seems the 4th gen IPOD has stripped a bunch of accessories that used to be available in the 3rd gen..:(

Also what about working out. I am going to use mine when lifting and treadmill running....I notice Vinca Carter uses his in warm-ups so is it cool to excercise with an ipod clipped to you?

[Butters]

Yes, you can replace the iPod's battery, Apple will do it for you for around £70, or you can buy and install one yourself for £30. You dont really need to worry about that, the whole 18 months battery thing only occured on some iPods, all the people I know who have them have never had a problem with the battery.

Most of the accessories will work with the 4th gen, if not, there will be alternatives, or they will be coming soon.

The iPod has a 20-min anti-shock, and comes with a belt clip/case (on some models) so you can attatch it to yourself. It will never skip, none of mine have, ever.

[Maxtr0sity]

Are you looking for a portable HD? I know a lot of smaller (<1GB) that are amazing at performance and size.

[B3NKobe]

Dont by the Creative one, I have a Creative Zen 30gig Mp3 player, and for no reasons 2 months after i purchased it all my music screwed up, So i used my warrenty and they didnt replace it for about 2 months it ****ted me up the wall! It also happened to my friends as well....So im off Creative products....Im not a big fan of the Ipods either mainly because everyone has them and I like something different....Id go for the New Sony one, its about $599 Aust Dollars, and its 20Gig, its small, lightweight and looks pretty darn sexy....

[nobody]

The iPod is nuts. I use it while excersising daily, never have any problems with it, and that includes jogging and other aerobic stuff that would cause most stuff to skip. I'd definitely recommend it, superb design, size, fair enough price, very user friendly menu, excellent with iTunes which is wonderful to use. Definitely go for it, I've had a 3G one for over a year now and I'm in love with it.

[Byrnzie]

Digitalosophy - i own a zen touch and it is great. it is a bit bulkier then the ipod but not much. the touch pad took a little while to get used to (best to turn the senitivity down a bit). battery life is really good and it only takes 4 hours to recharge. Another good thing it isn't an ipod therefore you can be different.

[Digitalosophy]

Digitalosophy - i own a zen touch and it is great. it is a bit bulkier then the ipod but not much. the touch pad took a little while to get used to (best to turn the senitivity down a bit). battery life is really good and it only takes 4 hours to recharge. Another good thing it isn't an ipod therefore you can be different.


Thanks for the info, this is a hard.. Not sure what to do

[λ]

If you're looking at iPod or Sony, I'd go iPod without doubt.. the sony ones suck because they don't play mp3 or wma or whatever, they only play their own crappy format..

[Voetsjoeba]

Yeah, they convert each song to their own Atrac3 format when transferring. So you can only transfer using that particular program. And don't forget, the iPod can be used as an external HD as well.

[λ]

Yeah, they convert each song to their own Atrac3 format when transferring. So you can only transfer using that particular program. And don't forget, the iPod can be used as an external HD as well.
In all fairness, my Sony could be used as an external hard drive as well ;)

I've heard bad things about iPod batteries, but my Sony's batteries weren't so good either - they lasted for about 6 months and then I got about 2 minutes of play off them.

[Voetsjoeba]

I'm not saying the Sony one can't do that, but there may be others who don't have that ability :)

[Butters]

I've heard bad things about iPod batteries, but my Sony's batteries weren't so good either - they lasted for about 6 months and then I got about 2 minutes of play off them.
As I said before, that problem has only happened with some iPods, I have 3, the batteries work perfectly (the 1st generation one will still last for 10 hours).

All my friends have iPods, three have iPod Minis, and two have iPods, and all the batteries work fine.

You can just replace them anyway.

iPods also play Apple's format, AAC, which is better quality and smaller file-size than an MP3.

[J-Flex]

i have an I-River for like a year...
it's super very easy comfortable and upgradeable!i have this one http://www.iriveramerica.com/products/H120.aspx
for the people who like ipod for it look watch this -> http://ipodsdirtysecret.com/
i use my mp3 player for listening music not to show it to people besides a nice design is fun for a while after that you will get used to it...

[minimalistik]

Just get an IPod. Everyone seems to have one and everyone wants one and everyone enjoys using it. I guess if you dont mind the size then its suitable. I personally dont want one. Its the same trend with other products. Gets released, everyone has one in their hands or pockets. I like to stand out from the crowd, dont you Nathan? Try and see for yourself the new Sony NW-HD1 20GB Digitial Audio Player. http://www.sonystyle.com.au/catalog/product.jsp;jsessionid=3OKXHQADJHMZSCWSCFBSFEQK0II UEIV0?id=NWHD1&categoryId=22665&textview=false

[kirupa]

http://ipodsdirtysecret.com/ That's just wrong - not the ipod thing, but him vandalizing ads :nat:

[eyezberg]

It is a hard choice, isn't it?
I was too frustrated not even finding a contact email on any Apple website to inquiere about the huge price differences from country to country, so I refuse to get an iPod, even if look-wise, it's the one I prefer.
So I got my Archos (see here: http://www.kirupaforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74313), 300€, 20gb, does music, video( hook up to TV, cam included), images, works great so far.
Best thing would be to go to a larger shop and test a few of them live, to see if you like how they handle, feel etc..
Heres some iPod stuff: http://www.ipodlounge.com/index.php and the car thingy, "iCruze", will get you rid of an extra $200: http://www.engadget.com/entry/0647766019932855/
Archos is here, just in case (check the deals page too..): http://www.archos.com/home.html?lang=en
One month to decide... :D

[ya3]

...The iPod has a 20-min anti-shock...

heh, um... this is gonna sound reeeeaaally stupid, but, what's 'antishock', and why is it measured in minutes? :beam:


Oh, and... iPod all the way!!! My friend has a silver mini, and it's just so nice.
...my other friend has an old dark-blue mini, but somehow, I don't think that's the same thing...

[λ]

heh, um... this is gonna sound reeeeaaally stupid, but, what's 'antishock', and why is it measured in minutes? :beam:


Oh, and... iPod all the way!!! My friend has a silver mini, and it's just so nice.
...my other friend has an old dark-blue mini, but somehow, I don't think that's the same thing...
Anti-shock is basically a form of RAM inside the music player - the audio is first read into this RAM buffer and then played. Of course, the RAM can take any kind of shaking and still be read. When your music player is playing music, it might actually be reading the music 2 or 3 minutes ahead of where you are in the song.

20mins antishock means that the RAM buffer is long enough to store 20mins of music. (although that's really kind of pointless, because only a very small amount of people will actually listen to >20mins songs).

[Rex]

Ipod :p:

[Butters]

Anti-shock is basically a form of RAM inside the music player - the audio is first read into this RAM buffer and then played. Of course, the RAM can take any kind of shaking and still be read. When your music player is playing music, it might actually be reading the music 2 or 3 minutes ahead of where you are in the song.

20mins antishock means that the RAM buffer is long enough to store 20mins of music. (although that's really kind of pointless, because only a very small amount of people will actually listen to >20mins songs).
Yeah, you can basically shake your iPod for 20-mins before it starts to jutter and stuff, iv never had that happen to mine tho, just call it unlimited, coz thats basically what it is :P


or the people who like ipod for it look watch this -> http://ipodsdirtysecret.com/
Omg seriously, how many times do I have to say! Read the post I made just before that one.

When that video was made, iPods were only on the 1st or 2nd generation, its now on 4th (5th if you include the iPod Photo) and Apple have vastly improved the battery of the iPod. Once again, I state that you can change them for £70 via Apple, or £30 DIY. It dosent cost nearly as much as shown in that video lol.

iPods are the best MP3 players on the market, they have a 70% market share over all other MP3 players, Apple are predicted to sell over 20 million within the next few years.

[ya3]

Anti-shock is basically a form of RAM inside the music player - the audio is first read into this RAM buffer and then played. Of course, the RAM can take any kind of shaking and still be read. When your music player is playing music, it might actually be reading the music 2 or 3 minutes ahead of where you are in the song.

20mins antishock means that the RAM buffer is long enough to store 20mins of music. (although that's really kind of pointless, because only a very small amount of people will actually listen to >20mins songs).

aaaaahhh ok. Thanks for that :P

[UNFLUX]

my wife has a sony and I have an ipod, and there is NO COMPETITION, not even close to being a contest.

ipod = :thumb:

sony = :td:

what's funny is that my wife actually likes the ipod better now as well. She had hers before I got mine (she won it through McDonald's Monopoly). She says that if we were to get another ipod, she would definitely switch.

I thought the battery is covered under apple's warranty? and I do know they were aware of the problem and fixed it actually. I don't like the sony for the reasons already stated, most notably the file format of the songs.

Ipods controls and interface are cleaner and easier to use, not to mention a lot slicker in terms of technology. I have dropped my ipod on parking lots and picked it up with no skips, scratches or jumps. The sony doesn't do well with large jolts like that, and I run/workout all the time so it would never last.

[Adam]

I have no advice on either, sorry, only because I have a similar question, and was going to post a new thread until I found this one. Right now I have a Sony portable CD/Mp3 player that I use as a component of my home stereo. I'm looking for something with like 20gb of space that I can hook up to my home stereo, has an input for an AC adapter and also has a cordless remote control for it. Does such a thing exist? Google didn't seem to turn up anything like this. Does anyone have any ideas? Or am I just dreaming?

//edit Ok, I just found out that iPod has a transmitter thingy that lets you control it from across the room:

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore?productLearnMore=T6921ZM/A

Anyone have this? Also, It says there is a place to plug into a power supply. Is this so you don't have to use the battery, or is it just for charging?

Thanks,
Adam

[UNFLUX]

it's both adam, so you can charge while using the ipod while not using the battery. it works the same way it does connecting it to your computer, charges while connected. I don't have the remote....yet. ;)

[mjULTRA]

i like my MPIO

http://tsa.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/p1134415reg.jpg

my only gripe is that it wont let you transfer mp3's from the device to a computer.. (which means, i can't even copy mp3's that i own!!) it holds other files too, and it has an SDRAM slot, for expandable memory.. (default at 256 MB) i use it all the time... :pleased:

[Adam]

Thanks UNFLUX, I think you just made my mind up for me :D

[Butters]

ipod = :thumb:

sony = :td:
Heh, that pretty much sums it all up :P



I thought the battery is covered under apple's warranty? and I do know they were aware of the problem and fixed it actually. I don't like the sony for the reasons already stated, most notably the file format of the songs.

Well, Apple will give you a 90-day freephone helpline service (for fixing over the phone), and you also get 1 year Apple Certified Repairs. You can extend this to a 2 year plan (for both phone support and repairs) with the Apple Care Protection Plan for iPod which costs £59.

Apple's support is very good, I used the helpline once with my laptop, didn't need to go any further, sorted everything over the phone :)

[Kristopher]

With all do respect to everyone's opinions, my honest decision and input, 3D and Digitalosophy:

My iPod really has changed my social life. It's quite possibly the best investment I've made.

So far, nathan (and the rest of your), most of your complaints with an iPod are easily fixed. You can listen to it in the car, or anywhere else with an input jack. You can transfer it from your computer with the proper hack program. The battery does last about 500 charges for 3G, and 1000 charges for 4G. Do the math... IF you charge it once a day, that's 1 1/2 years. I've had my iPod for 6 months and since I love it and use it so much, it's all ready scratched and stuff (with a case too!)... so I'll probably have to replace it in a year just because of that.

Keep in mind that an mp3 player suffers from the same effects of Murphy's Law as computers: they only have a 18month life span before better ones come out (long battry, more storage, cheaper price). The iPod's battry will last you as long as the generation of it will last you.

[MxNecromancer]

Bah Ipod, they are terrible in my opinion. If you want somthing really Comfortable. Get a MD walkman. Minidisc's are the Best! a much Cheaper Alternative and good way to Catagorize things. I whould Die before somone takes my MD away from me :)

[Kristopher]

oooh nooo. I used to work with this little wiener kid. he was as spoiled as heck and would always be arguementative. he would always say stuff to spark hatred. one of his topics that he always talked about was how much better his minidisc player was than my iPod. I wouldn't discredit the quality of a minidisc player, but he would ignore the advantages of the iPod, just be a wiener.

So, piont of the story: I greatly loath minidisc players, :scream:

[UNFLUX]

sony minidisc is the betamax to vcr of our age. It's just never gonna catch on, sorry.

[Vexir]

My iPod really has changed my social life. It's quite possibly the best investment I've made.

Which is why I'm going for it. BUT my 'rents said I need 95% or higher in all of my classes before they buy me one, so CHEER ME ON!

[garyzero]

i-Pod if you got the cash. This, http://msn-cnet.com.com/Creative_MuVo_TX_FM__256MB_/4505-6490_7-30906242.html?tag=coco if you don't.

[Butters]

Bah Ipod, they are terrible in my opinion. If you want somthing really Comfortable. Get a MD walkman. Minidisc's are the Best! a much Cheaper Alternative and good way to Catagorize things. I whould Die before somone takes my MD away from me :)
iPods catagorise your songs way better than MiniDisk.


sony minidisc is the betamax to vcr of our age. It's just never gonna catch on, sorry.
Thats soooo true.

[mansour]

From personal experience I will say the iPod. Nothing can beat the wheel and the clicks. Beautiful sound, you can plug it into anything; cars, stereos, pc speakers! anything i tell ya. I work out everynow and then, when i do i always take it with me. Price was a problem for me but i got it for 70$ brand new (i just had to say that) :) its still worth the 300$ bucks. had no problem with the batteries so far (3 month)!



ipod = :thumb:

sony = :td:
lmao! :D That does sum it all up unflux!

[Vexir]

Does the iPod come with a radio tuner? Thats a big thing for me, I dont own a single radio! Except the one in my entertainment system and my car. Which arent mine. But my parents. Hehe.

[Butters]

Not built in, but you can buy an attatchment.

[Vexir]

Not built in, but you can buy an attatchment.

How much?

[Butters]

£30:

http://www.everythingipod.co.uk/cgi-bin/cp-app.cgi?usr=51F201146&rnd=3979624&rrc=N&affl=&cip=81.129.0.141&act=&aff=&pg=prod&ref=SKU0065&cat=6&catstr=

I found one called iFM once, but I fogot who made it, I could have sworn it was Griffin. Meh.

[Vexir]

Cool. Now I have to get past the problem of getting 95% in all of my classes.

[nykoelle]

I have a MuVo.

It's really small, and I can drop it and run with it, and nothing happens. It was kinda cheap too. Does the job, I like it.