Question about MP3 players
 

I am technically challenged to say the least. I know alot of you aren't and I was wondering if I could get your opinion on what is the best MP3 player avaliable now.

My son wants the new Nano and yet I see there is a possible recall on them. I tried to buy one at an apple store a week or so ago and they didn't have any of the ...what is it...4 GB ones (the larger one) in stock and I thought....hmmm? I did check out a few of the "geek" websites and the chit chat is not good. Alot of people are reporting problems with the Nano. Admittedly I haven't check consumer reports yet, I prefer real feedback from regular folks who are actually using them. Funny I work for a Marketing Research Firm!!!

So anyway, any advice would be appreciated before I plop down $300.00 - $400.00 on one of these things.

Thanks,
Suzanne

The Nano is excellent....the recall was because the plastic screen broke VERY easily. Not a design flaw, but a manufacturing flaw. Not Apple's fault. 1/10 of 1% of what was shipped out had this flaw. Yes, people were mad that Apple would not acknowledge there was a problem at first, but they did acknowledge the problem and recalled them. That is why there is a flurry of negativity out there about the nano right now. The recall happened last week and the dust is just starting to clear.

I have one-- it is awesome. It is the thinnest MP3 player out there. It rocks! I don't know how old you son is, but I recommend getting the thin silcone skin for it (a nominal investment maybe $15.00 on eBay) this will protect it from scratches from dropping it or having it in a pocket.

A Nano couldn't possibly cost that much, could it? I paid that much for my 60GB iPod less than two months ago; why would anyone pay the same price for something less than 1/10 the size?

I know nothing
 

about MP3 players, & I have questions, too. I have seen that Nano go for about $200.

I'm thinking about getting one for myself for Christmas. I don't particularly like putting it up to my ears though. (I have ear problems). Here are my questions:

1. Accessories to play in car & in the home available?

2. Best place to download songs (legally) from?

3. Can you download a CD to an ipod? Is that possible? Say transfer it to your computer, than the ipod?

4. Can you buy chargeable batteries for the ipod?

5. I have a digital camera & the USB cord is plugged into the back of my computer. Can I use this same cord to plug into the ipod to download music to it or do I need another cord?

Sorry about all these questions, but these questions have been nagging me for a while.

Thanks,

Lee :)

I think the Nano is kinda stupid. For $50 more, you can get a 20GB photo iPod. Seriously. They don't need to get any smaller.

Lee- in response to your questions- I have an iPod and know nothing about the other players out there, but I love my iPod.

1. Accessories to play in car & in the home available?

There are a lot of different options. For home, there are stereo cables that you can use to plug it right in. They have standalone speaker sets. I personally use an iTrip which is a device that plugs into the top of the iPod and plays the music onto an empty radio frequency. I use the iTrip at home, work, and in the car to listen to my songs on the radio.

2. Best place to download songs (legally) from?

I use iTunes, it's the easiest.

3. Can you download a CD to an ipod? Is that possible? Say transfer it to your computer, than the ipod?

YES. Barely any of my songs on my iPod or computer were actually downloaded or purchased... you can just put a CD into your disc drive and then import it into your library using iTunes.

4. Can you buy chargeable batteries for the ipod?

No- but you can buy chargers. I have a car charger for road trips.

5. I have a digital camera & the USB cord is plugged into the back of my computer. Can I use this same cord to plug into the ipod to download music to it or do I need another cord?

You need another cord, and it comes with the player.

about MP3 players, & I have questions, too. I have seen that Nano go for about $200.


$199 for 500 songs $249 for 1000 songs spend the extra 50 bucks--trust me



I'm thinking about getting one for myself for Christmas. I don't particularly like putting it up to my ears though. (I have ear problems). Here are my questions:

1. Accessories to play in car & in the home available? yes-Leading car stereo accessory manufacturers now offer iPod integration products for most cars. From iPod-ready head units to self-install options to professionally installed interfaces, after-market car integration solutions let you customize your ride, iPod-style.

2. Best place to download songs (legally) from? iTunes but honestly **cough** I never had to use a service like that

3. Can you download a CD to an ipod? Is that possible? Say transfer it to your computer, than the ipod? Yes.Talk to me after you buy the ipod

4. Can you buy chargeable batteries for the ipod? NO charging is via USB power adapter - charge your iPod nano when not connected to a computer with the USB adapter and a Dock Connector to USB Cable (not included).
or a DOCKING STATION:The iPod nano Dock makes a convenient home base for charging and syncing, or for connecting iPod nano to an audio system.



5. I have a digital camera & the USB cord is plugged into the back of my computer. Can I use this same cord to plug into the ipod to download music to it or do I need another cord?

No probably not - the ends would have to look like this:http://images.apple.com/ipodnano/ima...le20050907.jpg



Oh and best of all BOSE has a Ipod docking station that you can set your ipod nano into and hear it as stereo sound though a bose WAVE speaker...this my friend is a beautiful beautiful thing....


http://www.bose.com/images/home_ente...d_freeship.jpg

Hope that helps you out a bit!

exactly what I was going to say...

I LOVE my ipod!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Regular Ipod vs the Nano


If you do not intend to carry your ipod with you (for example you plan on using a docking station) then definetely buy a regular sized iPod --- more bang for your buck...

but if you intend to carry your ipod around get a Nano-- MAJOR difference in size--- the comparison is almost comical--- remember those old fashioned cell phones that were like the size of a carton of cigarettes? and todays cell phones? That is what it is like to compare an iPod to Nano. Figuratively, not literally!! (Thought I would throw that in there just in case some rabid "old school ipod" owner decides to say HEY the old Ipods aren't that big!!) :laugh: :laugh:

I couldn't live without my ipod!! Great invention!



go here for price comparision:

http://www.apple.com/ipod/color/specs.html

Nothing great, unfortunately. There are a couple of products out there, made both by Apple and by other companies, that broadcast your iPod through an FM radio station. But I don't know anyone who hasn't had problems with theirs, and of course the sound quality gets bumped down to FM radio levels, and then what's the point?

Half the reason the iPod exists is because of iTunes, a really wonderful program for managing music on your computer, and which includes an online store with almost every artist you can think of. You can buy whole albums through iTunes, or you can get single tracks for 99 cents.

I can't imagine who on earth would buy one if you couldn't! All you have to do is rip a CD to your computer using iTunes, or transfer a ripped CD to your iTunes music library. Then just hook up your iPod to your USB port and transfer whatever you want.

iPods are built with internal chargeable batteries, and they also come with USB-to-AC adapters, so you can charge them from an electrical outlet or from your computer.

iPods come with a USB cable.

Thing is, though, regular iPods aren't that big. The iPod Nano seems to be yet another instance of unnecessary "convenience" run amok in today's world. Who on earth doesn't have room in their pocket for a regular-sized iPod? I'm sure your wallet is even bigger than the largest iPod (though it will be a bit thinner after you buy one).

Comparing was never an issue for me, as I needed something I could put all of my CDs on, so the 60GB model was really my only choice, but I've never once thought, "Gosh, I wish this tiny thing were even tinier." If you have even the smallest desire to put a substantial amount of music on your iPod, by all means, spend the extra fifty bucks and get the larger model. It's far more bang for your buck.

I'm with Jyqm, the regular iPods really AREN'T that big. I have the 40GB click wheel model, I got it before the 60GB photo came out. It's beautiful, and it's the size of a deck of cards.

The nanos are TOO small in my view... so easily lost, or snapped in half or washed in the laundry. They remind of... is it Zoolander where they pull out that tiny little phone that's like half the size of a matchbox car and start to talk on it?

I have a 5 GB Creative Zen Micro, and I love it. I was going to buy an iPod Mini but I've had so many people tell me about all these problems they've had with their iPods dying and just ceasing to work altogether, so I decided to give this one a try instead. I've heard people say that Creative's mp3 players have the highest audio quality on the market, but I have no clue if there's any credibility to this. :shrug:

My Creative Zen Jukebox just up and broke! It wont get past the start up screen. But prior to this, quality was teriffic!

I recommend the MuVo X-Trainer, made by Creative Labs (which manufactures the SoundBlaster audio cards).

That was a big problem with the batteries in the early models of the iPod. Apple has fixed that problem, though, and the batteries in newer iPods should last a good long while.

I can actually say that, for me, getting the 60GB model was much more of a necessity than a luxury purchase! My hundreds upon hundreds of CDs were not about to move transcontinentally with me, but now I've got every single one of them right there in my pocket at all times (which still amazes me) - 41 GB worth! Meanwhile, my trusty CDs are safely stored back in the US.

Thanks
 

everyone who replied. You all have been most helpful. I'm now kind of thinking maybe a regular photo ipod. I'm not sure whether I should get 30GB or 60GB. I'm not sure which would be better for me. I definitely want to be able to play it in the car, at work & at home. I probably won't get it though until sometime after Christmas, after I get my bonus money from work. Last year I bought myself a digital camera with my bonus money from work, & I am very happy with it, so hopefully I'll be happy with the ipod. I'm sure once I get it, I'll have more questions on it, so I'll be back with more questions. :wavey:

Lee :)

Well, how much music do you have, how much music do you want to put on an iPod, and what quality do you want the sound to be?

To give you a sense of what it all adds up to, I probably have around 400 CDs. Somewhere in that vicinity. More precisely, I've got 7218 songs in my iTunes library. I rip at 192 kbps (which is much much better than the "standard" 128), and all of my music amounts to 40.99 GB.

Hopefully that gives you a better idea of how much space you'll need/want.

Yes, Thank you everyone. My son is 18 actually and so I wanted to make sure I am going for quality vs what is "Hot" at the moment. He is an athlete and wants it mainly for when he is working out. I am def going to check all of these out. Thanks again.

Suzannne :wavey:

For working out & jumping around a lot, you want FLASH memory.

Get the MuVo!!!

Alternatives to MP3 files
 

I saw an article today in my local paper, but it's in the Washington Post apparently about how the sound quality isn't that good if you download from say iTunes or even copy from a CD because of "lossy compression". So now they have alternatives to this. This site is called www.musicgiants.com. They say for an annual fee of $50 membership fee you can download high-quality tracks for $1.29 instead of $.99 from iTunes. There are other ways to get good quality recordings as well. Some of these are Free Lossless, Apple Lossless & Windows Media Audio Lossless. Just wanted to know if anyone has heard about this & has anyone actually downloaded music using these. If so, do they really have a higher quality sound?

Lee :)

Sounds like a load of crap to me, at least in part. Ripping songs from a CD involves only the loss of quality that you choose. You can rip at 360, I think, and not lose a thing. But that level of quality only matters if you're a really huge audiophile. If you rip at 192 or 220-something, the sound should be perfect for most people.

Besides, where most people lose sound quality is not in the types of files they have, but the types of speakers they use.

Well, of course I can't tell because I don't have an iPod yet, but they're saying because the song is compressed, it's been reduced to 1/10 of its original size so you can download it faster & fit it in a portable player, it looses something sound wise. I don't know. I was just curious as to if it could really be. Perhaps someone that has downloaded a CD to an iPod could actually notice a difference. :confused:

Lee :)

Newest iPod
 

Gosh, it's good to be back on The Ledge.

Now who's going to run out & get the newest iPod (with video)? I couldn't make up my mind before & now I really don't know. :confused:

Lee :)

Again, I think it really depends on how you rip the song. If you rip at something like 192 kbps, yes, the file is still getting compressed, but whatever sound you're losing really isn't going to be noticeable to most listeners who aren't big time audiophiles.

For me, I think the depth and quality of sound I get out of the CDs I ripped to my iPod is much better than the sound I got when I was just listening to those CDs on my Discman. But again, I think a lot of that also has to do with the quality of the iPod earbuds as opposed to my Discman headphones. As I said above, where most people lose the most sound quality isn't in the compression of their music files, but in the crappiness of their speakers/headphones.

i have a Rio ce 2100.

it's tiny, it's pretty. it was $150 for 2.5G. the screen lights up and the search/menu is very simple to use.

i don't need anything bigger, plus all of my mp3 files are compressed so they each use up less than 1MB each. that's 2500 songs. i can deal with that.

if you feel the need to carry your entire music collection with you, don't get this. but the software is easy to use, it takes 2 seconds to load so if you must change your music it's not a hassle. and i hate itunes, so this was an obvious choice.

point is, you can get a non-ipod. especially because of the price.

i rip at like, 2kbps and honestly can't hear any difference. i have excellent hearing abilities, so am i the only one that can't tell the difference?

What is it that you don't like about iTunes?

Honestly, I can never tell the difference either:shrug:

I saw the other morning on the local news this tech guy talk about the iPods, in particular the Nano, which he praised though he noted the problem with the screen part. Since he had his own website, www.justhelpme.net, I decided to ask him about MP3 players like this one; Microtek MH-210MP3/Video which I've been looking at. It's cheaper & had a lot more stuff on it then the iPod 30GB Photo. (This was before the iPod with video came out.) He basically told me if I wanted a player just to download CDs to, then any MP3 player would do, but if I wanted to download music, then the iPods are the way to go because of iTunes which has a lot more music available than anyone else like Napster. I'd like to know, too, xxxmx, why you don't like iTunes, especially before I choose an MP3 player. :confused:
Lee :)