[lilbones]

I know this topic has been explored, but i figure i need an update.

As the subject line reads, I'm in the market for an ipod, or an ipod like device, and have asked friends, but there seems to be no consensus.

So if anybody has some really good or really bad experiences with their mp3 players, can you let me know? I stress easily about these things, so needless to say, I'm very stressed out.

[smg333]

i dad a sony one that was crap. you had to use thier software for your music library on your pc.
my kids have ones from costco that are very easy to use and will play mp3 or wma. they are called iclick by swurv 5. they don't have radios but do have voice recorders.
i've never used anything apple.

[Detrious]

I have a 1Gb Creative Zen in white.
Very easy to use, good display and user interface (buttony thing and wheel type whatsit) With excellent storage and good battery life (1 AAA last for ages as I found out after I left it on when the buzzers went for a job)
I has a voice recorder, drag and drop file interface, fm radio and can also rip directly from the headphone port on your stereo/pc/whatever (although quality isn't top)

The only downside is that the battery cover is very flimsy, and can loosen off as it has a pitiful clip on it.

I chose this over the iPod Nano, as it has a display and also doesn't need to be either plugged into the USB port to charge, or require an additional battery accessory.

D

[Lizard King]

I have a 6GB iPod mini, and my wife has an iPod Shuffle and we've had to have both replaced in less than a year from purchase, and I got the impression from the lady at Purolator they get a lot of them back. Im not saying they're all shit, but there's no guarantees in life with anything really. But I do love my iPod its great, and the good thing about apple's iPod lineup is that there's an iPod to suit everyone, although they can be pricey. The other plus is iTunes, its great for keeping things organized and buying music.

[srb]

I wanted some kind of mp3 player for so long, but kept putting it off...finally last November I bought myself a 60GB iPod, and I love it. I hear the battery life is better on the 30GB model, but I'm not complaining. :thumb:

[KittieKatFish]

I have the Creative Zen Vision M and I absolutely love it. Quality software - easy to use. The battery life is impressive. Video quality is amazing!!! I paid $283USD at Walmart online and got the 3 year warranty for $22USD.

I had a hard time justifing spending that much money on a "toy", but I use it every day and I dont regret it. :thumb:

[dreyfuss]

You should look into the Archos Gmini's. They play video, audio (wav/mp3) and record audio (wav) so it has some other uses....

[joshwayy]

I too have a creative- Muvo. A po man's ipod, but I don't like that aac. acc or whatver it is format....

[dreyfuss]

I've got an ipod as well, 2nd gen, I've had it for 2yrs now. I like the aac format, smaller file size and better quality than mp3.

That might just be me though.

I don't know for sure but I'm guessing it is an apple format that is kinda specific to there equipment, ipod and itunes, probably doesn't work in other pc programs in which case I can understand your disliking of the format, myself, I really like itunes and once I got that I pretty much gave up on all other music programs for my pc. I've told many people that the day my ipod dies (hopefully a long, long time still) I'll replace it with a new one

[Billy]

You should look into the Archos Gmini's. They play video, audio (wav/mp3) and record audio (wav) so it has some other uses....

I have one and it is terrific. Not only does it do the above, but there is a large community of programmers that have done some pretty amazing things with the Gmini. To date, they have programmed emulators for: Doom/DoomII, Sega GameGear and Sega Master System, Gameboy, and there will soon be one for Nintendo (NES). Plus they have made some cool apps like a stopwatch, a calculator, a text reader, and a Sudoku game.

The Gmini 402 also acts as a usb host, so you can hook it up to any usb device (camera, another mp3 player, etc) without a computer, and download stuff from it. Great if you're on vacation and fill up your cameras memory card.

They sell them at Futureshop for around $300, but sadly the staff are typically clueless about what they can do and more often than not try to push an ipod on the customer.

[akoso]

I wouldn't venture anywhere outside of the iPods. They're great and the newest generation only comes with Apple knowing the product and market that much better.

I highly recommend sticking with Apple. There's a reason they're selling so well, 'n it's not cause of those stuipd silhouette commercials.

Anthony

[cferneyh]

I've had 3 iPods - a 3rd gen 20 gig, a shuffle, and a nano. They were all awesome, no issues whatsoever, and even drove me to eventually buy my 1st Mac.

Prior to that I had a Creative Nomad (waaaaaay too many bugs), an iRiver (my favourite non-Apple digital music player) and a Nike Rio (died a quick death). For me, the iPod blew them all out of the water because of how seemless iTunes integrates with the iPod. The software is half the battle, and if it sucks, then so will your player.

Good luck with your purchase - but it doesn't look like this thread is helping with your goal of finding consensus. :lol:

[Detrious]

Now it could be just me (and regular readers to both this forum, and anyone from a.m.t-h will be aware of my technology interface issues..) but I have had about 5 goes at installing iTunes without success. There always seems to be an error on quicktime I can't seem to resolve.

This was another reason to get the Creative over the iPod

That and at £50 less than a iP nano, i preferred it (like my wife says, I'm a cheap bastard...)

D

[scottitude]

For user interface, ease of file-transfer, multi-format compatibility, a battery that you can replace YOURSELF, and SUPERIOR sound quality, I'd go with a Creative ZEN model.

Contrary to opinion, the only reason iPods sell so well is because the biggest sell-out in rock & roll let them use his dancing silhouette to market a Creative rip-off.

Well, that and the world is full of followers that scream individualism but have to have whatever all the other "cool" kids have.

[cferneyh]

For SUPERIOR sound quality, I'd go with a Creative ZEN model.

Sound quality? If sound quality is your issue, go with a CD player. Unless you are using your MP3 player to play lossless files (which is generally not practical), you are already accepting less than perfect sound. It is the very nature of compressed music.

Contrary to opinion, the only reason iPods sell so well is because the biggest sell-out in rock & roll let them use his dancing silhouette to market a Creative rip-off.

That's the only reason eh? Sorry, but as someone who used three other brands prior to using an iPod (and purchased his first iPod pre-dancing silhouette), I can tell you that the iPod was far and away the superior product. Perhaps the Zen has bridged the gap, but the Nomad was such a piece of garbage I'll never give Creative another chance. And given the fact that the company bleeds red ink, I'm guessing I'm not the only one who has had poor experiences with their products.

Well, that and the world is full of followers that scream individualism but have to have whatever all the other "cool" kids have.

The world is also full of people who, in their attempts to be seen as individuals, dismiss popular products out of hand simply because they are popular, rather than actually form their own opinion.