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September 2003
Posts: 782
Location: Waurika OK | I really like to listen to music, but rarely care to listen to all the tracks on a CD.
I like to listen as I walk or relax or travel.
My wife offered to get earplugs for herself, so I could listen to "my music" as we drive.
Portable cd players are ok, but kind of cumbersome.
I doubt that I would download very much off the net, but would like to take selected songs from cd's and could do that from my computer.
I did a little research on the Apple iPod's and they seem to be what I am looking for, i.e plug into a usb port and download.
Will this work, is there something better? |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Right now, the ipod is the bomb. My wife traveled to China recently, and I spent a lot of time researching portable players. Because of the quality of build, quality of sound, and ease of operation, I went with the ipod. It got her through 2 twelve hour flights, and long rural bus rides on 2 charges. I got her the regular ipod, spent about $250, it has 20G storage and holds more songs than I'll probably listen to for the rest of my life.
And it's so simple your wife could use it. :D |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 782
Location: Waurika OK | Thanks, don't know that I need 20G of storage, one of the smaller ones would work ok for me.
As for my wife: she has a day care and is the best there is at taking care of kids, but electronic devices.... another story.
By the way, Gregg, if you read this, don't tell Cindy or your mom what I just wrote. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Be sure to check out the newest model, the iPod Nano. It has no moving parts. The standard iPod usses a small hard drive for storage but the new Nano uses flash memory. It doesn't hold as much data as the iPod but it's available in 2GB and 4GB models, pleanty of storage for my needs. It still has the programing and search features of the larger model. |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Yep. I've seen the smaller ones, too, the Nan and the Mini. Just as good, just not as much storage. |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 2150
Location: Orlando, FL | I love my iPod, it's great for travel or just working in the yard.
The Nanos are really compact. They make my 20GB ipod feel huge by comparison. |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | i-pod is the best choice. They don't make the mini any more. The nano replaced it. Nano is small and light, but has limited storage capacity and the case and screen scratch very easily. You think you don't need the storage capacity, but trust me - you do. I've got the optional docking stations in both of my cars which works great - the ipod controls are via the steering wheel audio buttons and the ipod display is on the car audio system display. Dave |
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Joined:
January 2003
Posts: 146
Location: Germantown, MD | I wondered if I had lost my mind when I bought my Ipod back in March, but not now.
1. It's great to listen to when I'm exercising myself or the dog.
2. When I was hospitalized, I could use music of my choice to screen out noise at night.
3. Having bought one of the many transmitter units on the market, my wife and I can put together our own traveling music for road trips, whether we're going to see her folks 45 minutes away or the beachfive hours away.
4. With the purchase of an I Home clock-sound system, we can fall asleep and wake up to music of our own choosing instead of what some obnoxious morning DJ has chosen to play.
5. If we don't like every track on a CD, we don't buy every track; we go to Itunes and buy what we like.
My wife has a shuffle; I've got a mini. The mini, or its successor the nano, is much more flexible because it allows easier playlist management as well as greater capacity.
BTW, my singing partner's eighteen-year-old daughter was thrilled when she learned that she could transfer recordings of her dad and me singing our own songs on her Ipod to take to college with her.
Peace,
John |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | I seem to remember reading somewhere that there was a problem with the display on the Nano's scratching/cracking . . y'may wanna hold off on that model particular model till they get the "bugs" worked out . . . |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | iPod Nano - Screen Sctarching |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5331
Location: Cicero, NY | I was also looking at them but I've got a bunch of questions that I just haven't had time to ask yet. I guess here's my chance...I read something about battery issues, i.e. when the battery stops taking a charge, which happens all too soon with all rechargeables, it's basically a disposable at that point because you can't buy a replacement. Is that accurate? And are there limitations to what you can copy onto it or all formats compatible? Can I belong to any music service and download any new music to it? Can somebody please stop me??? |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 400
Location: North Texas | The mp3 players are great. I've got an e.Digital player which uses a CF card, up to 1 gig, which is more than ample for my needs. I use a card reader to up/download and it's fast. The player is about the size of a pack of smokes (100s) and it can record wave files via a built in mike. The coolest feature of the player is the voice recognition capability. I'm not kidding, you can tell the player what you want it to play and it does. I did not know the technology had evolved to that point. Ipods are neat, my daughrt has one and loves it. They have a hugh amount of storage. If my MXP-100 ever goes dead I'm getting one. Buck |
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Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | I use a combination of iTunes (PC based free program) and an iPod for my music needs now. I have moved all of my CDs on iTunes and manage my iPod with it. I've got close to 30gb of music and am currently working on a solution to move all my vinyl over to iTunes.
IMHO, iTunes is the piece that makes the iPod so great for me. Not only can I develop playlists and sort the large library of music, but I can also burn custom CDs for myself. The playlist functionality allows me to build audio mix for different events and backgound tunes, i.e. pool/dinner parties, holiday music, roadtrips, etc.
iTunes will allow you to import virtually all formats of e-music ... I convert everything into Apple's AAC format which produces significantly smaller files.
I have a couple of docking stations in my home for integration into my home stereo, and I also have a Bose SoundDock system for standalone audio.
I use the playlist functionality in iTunes for transferring to the iPod. I travel quite frequently and often develop a couple of playlists for listening to on the plane (I recently bought a pair of Shure in-ear noise supressing headphones and they are great -- high fidelity sound and much smaller and easier to transport than the powered "noise cancelling" headphones). I also work as the stadium announcer for our local football team and the iPod has simplified my life for developing and playing bumper tunes during warmups, timeouts, breaks, post touchdowns, etc.
I do not habitually download music files from Apple, but in those cases where I want one or two songs I will invest. I still prefer having the CD itself in my library. |
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Joined:
January 2003
Posts: 146
Location: Germantown, MD | On Ipods, I don't think the battery is replaceable. You don't lose your music because it's also on your computer and you can put it on a new Ipod. And by the time the battery checks out, there will probably be new models with juicy features that you want. I suspect that there are some limits on formats, but there are also audio format conversion programs so that you can get stuff to the Ipod with one additional step. (That is, the question is how bad do you want it?)
Can anybody stop you? There is no evidence on this forum to indicate that anyone can. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5331
Location: Cicero, NY | Originally posted by amstphd:
Can anybody stop you? There is no evidence on this forum to indicate that anyone can. :o :D |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 782
Location: Waurika OK | Wow, thanks for all the info., checking this out will take a while.
I recently bought an entry level palm, with an iPod, plus my two laptops, and Ovations, I may qualify as a geezer geek or is that a geek geezer? |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by Weaser P:
...I read something about battery issues, i.e. when the battery stops taking a charge, which happens all too soon with all rechargeables, it's basically a disposable at that point because you can't buy a replacement. Is that accurate? Weaser, Yes, the battery does lose it's longevity over time (don't we all). Apple charges $100. for a new battery. Here's the trick. 1) buy the extended 2 year warranty. It costs $60. 2) A few weeks before the warranty is up, send the unit back for a new battery. Now you're good for about 3.5 years. 3) After that, there are 3rd party places that sell batteries which are not difficult to install. Apple says you'll ruin your ipod if you use them (bullshit), voids the warranty (which is already expired). It's no problem. My 20G is running of its second battery (apple warranty deal) and my 40G is on a third party battery and also works perfectly. Apple tries to screw you with the $100. battery cost because they count on the fact that most people will say FI why not just buy another whole new unit. Dave |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5331
Location: Cicero, NY | Simple, yet effective. I like it.
Dave, once again, you prove to be an invaluable resource. ;) |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | I try not to use headphones;It damages your hearing. Plus, this may sound strange, but I like being in my own thoughts. There's so much media coming at me, I don't want anymore. |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 370
Location: Isle of Man, UK | Don't want to make your research any harder, but there are alternatives...
iRiver is one (just before anyone jumps at me, the company pre-dates apples i-anything by quite a few years!) Have a look at www.misticriver.net for all the info under the sun. Try and ignore the odd juvenile post like "ipods suck..." and there's all sorts of sensible stuff on there to read. Apologies this is the only link, but I have an iRiver, so I tend to frequent there.
As a point of interest, some of the iRiver models don't need software at all - you just plug in into your computer and copy the music over.
There are also offerings from Creative (Zen, MuVo, all that style of thing), and all sorts of smaller players in the field.
Happy shopping, and happy listening when the purchase has been... erm... purchased.
JB |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | JB might be on to something here. iPods are really nice but I'm afraid they might be a little like Mardtoons and Traylors. |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | Willard is EXACTLY right. iPod is the Martin of MP3 players. That means 1) it's the "default standard" that everyone recognizes, 2) it costs more than most others, 3) I never met an owner who wished they had bought something else. Yes there are alternatives. I don't know much about them, but some reviews I have read say that some are very good. Is there an Ovation of MP3 players? I'm sure there is. Dave |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | What good is an mp3 player that slides off your lap?? |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | RIGHT. That's why you need to by the Martin of MP3 players. Or at least learn how to hold yours correctly. Or only listen standing up. Dave |
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OT -iPod
