I am in the market for an mp3 player and dont know which way to go. a coworker has a 3rd gen Nano that I like because its small, has video and is easy to manipulate. Is the ipod the biggest brainwash of the decade? is there another company that makes a better cheaper product that dosent make you drink the apple koolaid? I have Itunes and would like to use that material without too much hassle. Im leaning toward a Sanska product with 2 or 4GB. Id like this to be plug and play, I am not a power user of anything like this. Thanks in advance TWW.

5/17/2008 10:03:36 PM

Quote :

"Is the ipod the biggest brainwash of the decade?"

Possibly.

Quote :

"is there another company that makes a better cheaper product that dosent make you drink the apple koolaid?"

No.

5/17/2008 10:29:42 PM

Zune maybe if you like the pre-touch ipod line's features

5/17/2008 10:48:31 PM

do you need video?

i bought a bunch of really small 2gb sanska's for gifts b/c they were easy to use. didn't have video though, which i preferred as it lasted longer per charge.

it was the size of a large postage stamp and clipped to your shirt.

good stuff.

5/17/2008 11:15:26 PM

There was a flame-filled thread about this a couple weeks ago. IMO ur best off w iPod right now

5/17/2008 11:54:19 PM

If you have any clue as how to operate a computer, then you should get a Zen or Sansa since you get double the capacity for the same price as an iPod with an SD expansion slot to boot.

5/18/2008 12:23:16 AM

i honestly don't think you can beat a 4-8gb sansa for $50-100, the ability to expand an additional 8gb for $50, and rockbox...also, plug-and-play without required software installed is great

5/18/2008 9:14:42 AM

http://www.archos.com/?country=global&lang=en

5/18/2008 10:11:34 AM

Quote :

"i honestly don't think you can beat a 4-8gb sansa for $50-100, the ability to expand an additional 8gb for $50, and rockbox...also, plug-and-play without required software installed is great"

the new e200s aren't compatible with rockbox

5/18/2008 11:50:49 AM

I have an older 4GB Sansa and love it. It's not as tiny as an iPod Nano is now (though it was roughly the same size when they both first came out), but its taken a beating and keeps on ticking.

It's largely plug and play -- just hook it up to the computer and drag and drop tracks onto it. There is software that comes with it, but that's mainly just for firmware updates. Things may have changed in the past 2-3 years or so though.

If you have iTunes and tracks though it though, you're probably better off getting a Nano and calling it a day. While their are other things out there that are cheaper than an iPod, given what you've mentioned, it would be kind of silly for you not to get one. The biggest issue most people have with iPods are that you generally need iTunes to use them and iTunes blows ass. Since you're already using iTunes though, you might as well just bite the bullet and get the iPod.

5/18/2008 12:11:44 PM

Thank you all for your opinions, I think I will get a nano and just be done with it.

5/18/2008 2:51:28 PM

trendwhore

5/18/2008 3:13:48 PM

brainwashed

5/18/2008 4:56:59 PM

seems the trend is to bash anything Apple around here lol

5/18/2008 5:09:41 PM

haha, not me. i was just using his word agaisnt him i have an ipod and i can't live without it.

5/18/2008 6:36:06 PM

haha. to each his own anyways with all this stuff. personally i'd like to see somebody do the same UI stuff that's used with the ipod. competition (and lower prices) are always welcome

5/18/2008 8:05:03 PM

Quote :

"the new e200s aren't compatible with rockbox"

the ones with the "R" extension (rhapsody)? true...fortunately, sandisk made boatloads of the old ones and you can buy "refurbished" ones that are brand new, on sale, and better than the newer ones

i expect w00t to roll out with another sansa sale sometime soon...i got 6gb for $55 after shipping...throw in my 4gb microSDHC that was $17 and i have a 10gb flash player for $72 with software that beats the hell out of apple (opinion, yes, but i'd like to find anyone who really thinks apple's nano gui is better than rockbox's)

of course, the nano is hard to compare with other players, since it carries prestige and a fairly unique (and quality) hardware component

[Edited on May 19, 2008 at 9:34 AM. Reason : .]

5/19/2008 9:30:57 AM

Quote :

"what mp3 to buy? "

Quote :

"Ipod vs the rest of the market"

5/19/2008 9:32:36 AM

aha...i didn't even bother checking w00t today:

http://www.woot.com/

8gb sansa refurb (read, non-R model) for $75

5/19/2008 9:49:05 AM

I'm thinking of grabbing a 4gb refurb from the apple store, thoughts?

5/19/2008 6:18:48 PM

I own a Creative Zen 4MB and am rather fond of it. The SD expansion was rather poorly done, but otherwise it's a slick little piece of work.

5/19/2008 6:26:56 PM

^ 8gb here.

5/19/2008 6:36:45 PM

Ipod controls are intuitive, yes... but practical? hardly. ever put an ipod in your pocket to have the volume get cranked up so high that your eardrums explode? the 'hold' tab helps stop this...... but then you've gotten unflip it to do anything like pause it, etc.

5/19/2008 7:22:08 PM

Do you like paying twice the price for less features? Then get an iPod.

5/20/2008 3:56:00 PM

The thing I hated MOST about my ipod was that it didn't cycle from beginning to end. If you were on A's, and you wanted to play some ZZ top, you had to scroll through the entire playlist to get to them.

I know that seems minor, but it was also such a simple thing for them to do, but they didn't, so it pissed me off all the time.

I got a Zune recently and like it a lot.

5/21/2008 9:22:33 AM

^ starting ~1.5 years ago at least, all ipods with scroll wheels implemented a new scrolling algorithm where if you started scrolling fast, it would start jumping letter-to-letter, instead of song-to-song or artist-to-artist. So if you start on Abba and started scrolling down, but the time you got to the Bs or Cs, it would just start jumping ahead by letter, so you would be at the Zs in no time.

I prefer it this way, and for the list not to be a continuous loop. I often want to go straight back to the beginning of the list, and I just cycle counter-clockwise as fast as I can go until it stops. it would piss me off if I started in the L's and went backwards, and ended up in the W's somehow

5/21/2008 9:29:11 AM

With the Zune system it will stop at the beginning or end of the list when you are scrolling through quickly, but if you push up/down again it will cycle to the other end.

I prefer this system by far.

5/21/2008 9:38:05 AM

the main place I use my Ipod these days is in the car (im driving a ton) and the alpine system its hooked up to does let me scroll backwards from A down to Z

5/21/2008 9:43:57 AM

I would get an ipod purely for their popularity. There are TONS of pieces designed to interface with the ipod that no other player can offer. Having a hard drive that I can throw music on, in random directory structure, and have it interface with my car's controls is worth the price premium for me. Also, since they're so popular, getting a used one on the cheap is no hard task either.

5/21/2008 3:48:05 PM

Does anyone own an iriver clix? i'm thinking about getting a clix gen 2. any feedback would be appreciated.

8/9/2008 11:15:43 AM

^^ Good point. My relatively cheap car stereo system has a line in jack for most mp3 players to connect and an ipod charging cable that goes into my glovebox that will charge and connect to an ipod as well as let you use the stereo's buttons and remote to change the songs, shuffle, etc. It's true that you are far more likely to find things that are compatible with your ipod than you are with other players.

For what it's worth, I have a 16gb sansa view I got at the bookstore for 129 bucks (I think) when they had them on clearence. I use it when I'm walking around or studying since it's got stupidly long battery life and a decent bit of storage. I like it and it was a good deal, but the sound quality on my old ipod mini is still better and it's what I use with my car.

8/9/2008 10:22:44 PM

just buy an ipod and be done with it jesus

8/9/2008 10:45:14 PM

Well, I'm buying the iriver not an ipod. Was just wondering if anyone had any experience with an iriver, in particular the iriver clix.

8/10/2008 1:17:19 AM

Zune, FTW.

8/10/2008 2:22:09 AM

The new zunes are actually kinda nice but if you're the kinda person that likes to buy accessories they're harder to find, and if you have a Mac, there's no Mac compatibility.

8/10/2008 2:29:42 AM

Just ordered a clix2 rhapsody and a set of Denon AH-C551 earbuds to go with it. I think I'll be pleased.

8/10/2008 7:09:43 AM

The one really big issue I have with iPods is that you can't control your own music, from what I've seen. My friend had an iPod and had to wipe his computer due to program fuckups. Now he can't put the music from his iPod onto his computer. WTF, g.

I have a Creative Zen and loves it.

8/10/2008 12:49:44 PM

your friend is an idiot

moving music from ipod to computer is not hard, at all. i'd guess less than 10 seconds of googling would show him how to do it

8/10/2008 1:12:38 PM

Yeah, extremely easy to move music from ipod to computer. iTunes will do it for you for purchased music on the iPod and non-protected music (ie, 99% of what people have) can be transferred with drag and drop. Granted the file names and directory structures will be weird, but the ID3 tags will still be intact so any player (yes this means windows media player) will be able to read, play, and correctly identify the mp3's.

It is true that this doesn't work the other way though and that the only easy way to get music on to the iPod is with iTunes. The Zune doesn't exactly stand out as a shining example in this regard either though. So yeah, your friend is an idiot.

8/10/2008 6:42:14 PM

Quote :

"Ipod controls are intuitive, yes... but practical? hardly. ever put an ipod in your pocket to have the volume get cranked up so high that your eardrums explode? the 'hold' tab helps stop this...... but then you've gotten unflip it to do anything like pause it, etc."

I've walked around NYC for over 1 1/2 yrs with my iPod in my pocket and have never had that happen. Granted I keep it in its soft sleeve, but I feel like most people have their iPod in some sort of protective case given the value of the player. And its a thin enough sleeve that I can adjust the volume through it without pulling the iPod out.

8/11/2008 12:07:39 AM

yea thats a retarded comment. i walk around with mine constantly in my pocket with no issues

8/11/2008 12:44:25 AM

Quote :

"It is true that this doesn't work the other way though and that the only easy way to get music on to the iPod is with iTunes. The Zune doesn't exactly stand out as a shining example in this regard either though. So yeah, your friend is an idiot."

I'm a little confused by your comment on the Zune in this regard. You most definitely can rebuild your entire music library from a Zune, say if you formatted your PC or simply wanted to move your library from one machine to another or a friends. You can also upload pictures and video to a friend's PC (or any other guest PC) that way. The Zune team calls it "Reverse Sync"... article here:
http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2008/07/29/sync-in-reverse.aspx

8/11/2008 1:14:48 AM

^^,^^^

I agree. Ive had some version of an ipod for maybe 4 years now? 3 years in college and now and I always have walked around with them in a pocket ALL the time (the majority of my use in college was like that probably walking around on campus) and I have NEVER had that happen. and I dont think I have ever put my ipod on hold.

8/11/2008 8:30:07 AM

8gb sansa and 8gb microSDHC card and rockbox FTW (all for less than $100)

8/11/2008 11:16:43 AM

Cowon iAudio D2

If you want sound quality, that's the best. Don't get me wrong, everything else about it is very very good. It's the best thing on the market right now, particularly for that sound quality. I found that Apple's audio formats left lots of artifacts, and Creative kind of under emphasized the spectrum below 60 Hz. If you're an Audiophile, THIS is the thing.

-4,8,16 gig flash drive
-SD Expansion, which can theoretically get your capacity to 48 gig with a 32 gig SD card.
-compatible with mp3, ogg, flac, wav, aac, several other types.
-52 hour battery life
-touchscreen navigator, and 3 programmable buttons
-video playback, several formats
-FM radio
-downloadable interface mods for the menus

The only downside is it has a bit of a learning curve. It took me a moment to figure out how to actually view my music library on it, since it's not immediately the first thing shown. But you eventually find everything.

8/17/2008 7:59:08 PM