Ipods and mp3 players question

donv

Silver Member
My grandaughter wants a Jonas Brothers and Hanna Montana CD along with an MP3 player for Christmas. I've been looking at mp3 players and the Ipods are substantially more then the other players. What I don't know and would like to know is if the ipod is worth the extra money? Can anyone help?
 
I've never used anything but iPod and iPhone so I can't compare. Two things about Apple products are the price and the reputation of being good products.
My iPod is over three years old and has worked flawlessly other than a few reboots like any other computer, and the iPhone is my new best friend. Apple makes Nano, and other smaller MP3 players that don't cost an arm and a leg and will hold 1000 songs.

Look at the top of this page, http://store.apple.com/us, and also check www.macmall.com for specials this time of year.
 
It really is a matter of choice. I'm an iPod user. I also use a Mac computer. It's only natural for me. I can say this. I have had both my Ipod Classic 80 gig, and my MacBook computer for two years now. I use my Ipod for about two hours a day. No Problems! I use my MacBook for about four hours a day. No problems! Thats a good track record considering that I use my Ipod in my car and also in an auto repair shop. My Ipod gets bumped around quite a bit.
I also like iTunes and GarageBand.
 
When you buy apple you are buying the interface and name. I got an 8gb mp3 for 70$ whereas its apple counterpart was $150.
 
When you buy apple you are buying the interface and name. I got an 8gb mp3 for 70$ whereas its apple counterpart was $150.
The price is a major consideration when buying an ipod or an mp3 player. Anything Apple is not cheap! You do seem to get what you pay for. I am a serious user of my iPod. The benefits overruled the price difference in my case. If your granddaughter is a casual user, a lower priced mp3 player may be sufficient.
Some of the new Apple models shoot video. Would she be interested in this feature?
Which models of players are you considering? http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/ Here is a link to the nano with video.
 
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You are buying Apple hardware, Apple software, and Apples name for sure. But it is a good name or great name and as I said famous for price. The call center and Apple stores are great for customer service.
 
Not to mention the iTunes library is extensive. I have no experience with any other brands, but the depth of music available for download via iTunes is staggering. I'm still a traditionalist at heart and prefer to buy the cd (god I miss record sleeves!), but have downloaded plenty from itunes library that I haven't been able to find a physical copy of. Worth the extra coin for this alone IMHO.
 
There was a time when I had both iTunes and Microsoft music software loaded on a PC at the same time. These two programs were constantly fighting against each other. When I got my Mac, I began to only use iTunes. My life got simpler!
 
I hate Ipods. Apple is Evil. You'll find, if you buy an Ipod, that you'll need to use Apples music software, buy Apple peripherals, and buy music and apps for it. There's no practical reason to use an Ipod over any other MP3 player.


That being said, there is a reason to have one. If your Granddaughter has a non-Ipod MP3 player, she will likely be considered quite uncool by her peers.

If you still wish to proceed with another brand, I'd recommend one of these. I got a version of this way back in 2005, and still get complements about it. It is also super-easy to operate. No bogus software or music format requirements: It acts like a mass storage device. Just load on the songs, and it supports at least 5 major audio codecs.

Good luck!
 
I hate Ipods. Apple is Evil. You'll find, if you buy an Ipod, that you'll need to use Apples music software, buy Apple peripherals, and buy music and apps for it. There's no practical reason to use an Ipod over any other MP3 player.


That being said, there is a reason to have one. If your Granddaughter has a non-Ipod MP3 player, she will likely be considered quite uncool by her peers.

If you still wish to proceed with another brand, I'd recommend one of these. I got a version of this way back in 2005, and still get complements about it. It is also super-easy to operate. No bogus software or music format requirements: It acts like a mass storage device. Just load on the songs, and it supports at least 5 major audio codecs.

Good luck!
itunes readily accepts any media that I load into it. I loaded my entire cd collection into iTunes as well as videos and wav files. I loaded the entire contents from a Microsoft zune mp3 player into iTunes. I can also convert any iTunes files to mp3 format if I want to.
When was the last time that you used iTunes? It has changed a lot.
 
I hate Ipods. Apple is Evil. You'll find, if you buy an Ipod, that you'll need to use Apples music software, buy Apple peripherals, and buy music and apps for it. There's no practical reason to use an Ipod over any other MP3 player.

Humbug.

yes, you need to use the itunes program to interface with the ipod, but the program is free.

I don't use itunes to buy music. I buy my music from Amazon, and other places, and it all loads to my ipod just fine.

I can use protools to mix down a song and pop it right on my ipod. No extra apple stuff needed.

As for price, that stuff changes constantly. A year ago, I saw 8gig ipod nano's for under $100. But new players and upgrades come out all the time, so you really have to make sure you're comparing the same thing when looking at an ipod vs other brand.

I admit, I spent weeks going over all my available options at the time. I went ipod, mostly because the particular version I bought had flash memory, rather than a hard drive, which is more stable. Granted the trade off is less memory space, but I've never even come close to filling it up the 16 gigs it came with.
 
I hate Ipods. Apple is Evil. You'll find, if you buy an Ipod, that you'll need to use Apples music software, buy Apple peripherals, and buy music and apps for it. There's no practical reason to use an Ipod over any other MP3 player.

Sorry - as others have pointed out - simply not true, except the need to use iTunes - NOT the iTunes Music Store - which is free and cross-platform.

I have more than one iPod - with nearly 80gigs of high fidelity zero loss music files on one of them. And maybe only a half a dozen tunes from the iTunes Music Store. Though just because I have little use for the iTunes Music Store doesn't mean that others don't - quite a huge collection of (now) pretty decent quality files.

I also use Sennheiser non-ipod specific headphones.
 
I use Amazons MP3 downloader to download music to iTunes which anyone can do on a PC, and I also have taken CD's that I own and downloaded them to my iPod thru iTunes library so that I can use them on my iPod to play along. I'm not sure why Apple has such a negative stigma attached to it but I'm guessing like most other things it out of misguided rumor and ignorance of the products.

To the original poster my advice would be, like anything else, decide what you wish to spend and go from there. As for buying something other than iPod and having your daughter shunned by her peers, bunk. Genericdrummingusername must have great friends. Have fun shopping.
 
I really appreciate everyones input. She's 7, so I'm not so sure "the cool" factor matters at her age, but the reliabilty factor imo is worth the consideration. I will probably go for the Ipod because of all the peripheral stuff that's available for them like the clock radio. I've had a couple of mp3 players, but they have never lasted long, and with the cheap ones I've had, the batteries were not replacable.

I never knew there was an Ipod Store. I appreciate that information, or better yet, she will. Thanks again everyone.

Vincent.
 
i would say either the ipod or zune. they last longer than the cheaper mp3's and i think they are alot easier to use
 
You people are freakin' droids. Besides the practical pains of using an Ipod, it's how everyone loves the Ipod, how U can't touch the Ipod that gets my blood a'boilin'.


Sure, you don't need to buy apple peripherals (Excluding headphones. Duh.) , if you like bare-bones devices. My brother just bought an Ipod, and I can insure you that my non-Ipod is less of a hassle to use.

Really? I think the chances of that happening are low, coming from a teenager.

How old is your granddaughter?

Let me ask you this: Do you own an Ipod, or a different MP3 player? I just happen to be a teenager as well, and morning busses are veritable seas of Ipods. Coincidence? Say yes, I dare you.


Sorry guys, Ipods and their aura really piss me of.
 
There's a reason iPods are so popular, in fact, several reasons.

i) Great design. Aesthetically, they are fantastic. They are a great looking device. That is probably as important a reason as any other.

ii) Easy to use. Yes, they are incredibly easy to use. Anybody can use one.

iii) Compatibility. They are highly compatible devices and work with a number of file formats.

iv) Build quality. They are built very well.

v) Apple Marketing. Apple do great marketing; this is a more recent Apple innovation, but their adverts are fantastic.

I could start on a few more. I like iPods, I can see their flaws as devices, but I think they are actually really rather good devices.
 
You people are freakin' droids. Besides the practical pains of using an Ipod, it's how everyone loves the Ipod, how U can't touch the Ipod that gets my blood a'boilin'.


Sure, you don't need to buy apple peripherals (Excluding headphones. Duh.) , if you like bare-bones devices. My brother just bought an Ipod, and I can insure you that my non-Ipod is less of a hassle to use.



Let me ask you this: Do you own an Ipod, or a different MP3 player? I just happen to be a teenager as well, and morning busses are veritable seas of Ipods. Coincidence? Say yes, I dare you.


Sorry guys, Ipods and their aura really piss me of.

Freakin' Droid. Wow. Maybe the busses are a veritable sea of iPods because those people like them over other makes, and maybe because they are dependable and to them easy to use. How difficult is it to turn a dial and push a button. Maybe for you there are too many moving parts. As it is said on a Geico Insurance Commercial, It's so easy a cave man can do it. Sounds like a bit of jealousy to me. But anyway the purpose of the thread was to help the original poster with info and not a personal rip of a product. If you find yours easier to use, Great. But that doesn't make the rest of us Apple users, Freakin' Droids.
 
You people are freakin' droids.

Ah yes......I remember being 'non-conformist' as a teenager too........I also remember making many sweeping statements that, upon reflection, seem rather foolish now!

If you don't like 'em....fine. I'm not here to try and change your mind. BUT, any other alternatives if I wanted more than 1gig out of my mp3? I've got 500 odd albums on my ipod and it's only half full. Can't do that with a single gig.
 
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