(no subject)

[hackthis_archive]

I am considering procuring a 20GB iPod in the immediate future, however, as someone who doesn't have a particular fast connection at home, and doesn't have an Apple interface at all, I am rather skittish about the entire business, and so I turn to you lot. Tell me everything you think I should know.*

[Poll #589083]

*I have also been told that once you set up one computer as your base, you can't use other computers to upload your music without losing all the contents of your iPod. I have also been told there is a way around this. Educate me kids, because my base will not be a consistent thing, like, ever.

ETA: Thank you, all of you, for your assistance!

Comments

[krystalshay.livejournal.com]

I'm on the lookout for a new mp3 player, and am currently being seduced by the black 60Gb iPod that's just been released. To be honest, I couldn't care less about video, especially since the UK iTunes music store won't sell TV shows (eg Lost) at the moment (not surprising really), plus the screen really is too small to watch anything more than clips and trailers. Fun, but not the main selling point. I do like the ease of use of the actual iPod (although I don't find iTunes as easy as other people seem to).

I did have a Sony 20 gig NW-HD5, which are about to come off the shelves in favour of the new NW-A1000 and NW-A3000. I did like the Sony player a lot, but the build quality was not very good and unfortunately, within a few days of purchase, cracks appeared on the buttons. Within two weeks, the buttons were useless and the device was unusable. This isn't a rare problem, either, unfortunately. I'm not sure what the new NW-A1000 or NW-A3000s are like (6 gigs and 20 gigs respectively), but since I need a higher capacity player anyway, I am considering the iPod. What has made me hesitant is reports of battery problems (in those two weeks I had the Sony player, I didn't have to recharge the player once) and also stories of Apple's dodgy support.

As others have recommended, I would definitely go for the highest capacity possible on your budget, because it does fill up quickly. Estimates of how many songs a player will take is based upon low quality bit rates and short songs, but you would ideally want files of at least 128kbps and preferably 192kbps.

One other point of note is what you actually want the device for. If it is to go exercising, hard drive players can be vulnerable to shocks and system errors and you would probably be better off with a flash player. Skip protection will only go so far. A friend of mine used to use her iPod at the gym, until it kept freezing up on her when she went running. But there should be no problem with walking or low-impact exercising. I have a cheap mp3 player (256MB) which I use for exercising, and which I purchased off Ebay for £15.

I hope some of this is of help to you. I can't make any real recommendation, but I've done a lot of research on them in the past few weeks, and thought some of these points may help!

zen touch

[lyra-wing.livejournal.com]

I have a 20GB Creative Zen Touch, and it's got a vertical touch pad for scrolling. I like it. When I bought mine online last year, it was considerably cheaper than the 20GB iPod (by about $50, even including shipping). It's a LITTLE thicker than the iPod, but I think there's a newer version out now, and it might've slimmed down. Oh, it can play wma files (yay for PC users) and the battery life is really great.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

See, now *this* is what I have been waiting for someone to tell me -- I just didn't know that this is what I wanted to know. I couldn't care less about the video aspect either since the iPod is about the same size a Galaxy bar and I can't imagine straining my eyes for anything that much. I wanted the mp3 player for running and travelling, beyond that I'm not really that bothered, but I didn't know about the flash thing. Maybe I should buy a cheap one for running and then use the iPod for travelling?

[krystalshay.livejournal.com]

That is what I would recommend you do, definitely. You don't have to get a top of the range flash player either. After all, do you really need 2-4 gigs worth of songs when you're running? And does it really matter if the songs you put on the flash player are of a lower bit quality?

The reason flash players are more durable is because they have no moving parts inside of them, which is obviously not the case with higher capacity hard-drive players. That's also why there is such a price difference. You pay far more per gigabyte with flash memory than you do with HD players.

The only thing I would suggest is spending a little extra now on your flash player and getting one which has a built-in rechargeable battery. I say this because the cost of AAAs do add up, especially if you are a regular/long-distance runner. You do save in the long-run (as I've learnt the hard way).

I'm glad to be of help to you. I'll dig up some of the reviews I have looked at and found helpful, and send you links tomorrow, if you like.

[slrcosmos.livejournal.com]

I have also been told that once you set up one computer as your base, you can't use other computers to upload your music without losing all the contents of your iPod. I have also been told there is a way around this. Educate me kids, because my base will not be a consistent thing, like, ever.

Just don't use iTunes to update your iPod. I use a program called EphPod that you can upload premade playlists to and it will import that playlist with the relevant songs. I do use Winamp to organize my music, but any playlist will work.

I used EphPod to put a bunch of music on my sister's iPod, on both her comp and mine. No loss of music.

If you really want to use iTunes, turn of the autosync feature.

I also have a really old iPod. 2nd generation old. I had to replace the battery last summer ('04) but that only cost me like $35 and 20 min of time. I wouldn't mind getting a new one with a color screen, but the newer ones seem to scratch easily so I highly recommend a case with a screen protector. My local Borders has sets of 3 for $20.

[twistingflame.livejournal.com]

Step one: go to VersionTracker (http://www.versiontracker.com)
Step two: search in your respective os for "ipod"
Step three: find program in search results that describes itself as one for transferring music from your iPod to your computer and download it
Step four: use

Funny thing really. When I transferred computers I lost all my music, and the guy at the apple store told me to use versiontracker to find a program to get it back. I have mac osx, used XPod, and everything worked perfectly.

[twistingflame.livejournal.com]

The ones that Apple includes suck.

True. Though the apple in-ear buds with varying sizes (somewhat pricey, but better than anything I've tried except for the huge dj style headphones) are awesome.

[edigo.livejournal.com]

unfortunately i don't have the time right now to read through all the fifty-eight comments-and-counting, so what i am going to say may end up being redundant. but anyway. :p

i own an ipod mini and my only complaint is that 2GB should be enough, but so totally isn't. and also, since the blank slot didn't allow enough characters for me to complete the sentence, I wish they'd told me that they keep developing and updating the ipod hardwares until the one you had bought only three months previous ends up being COMPLETELY OBSOLETE before I bought this thing. but, really, i'm happy with my ipod. i just wish i had more storage space.

as for losing your whole library when you connect the ipod to another computer, that's bullshit. itunes will ask you if you WANT to replace your ipod library with the one on the computer you're using (which may end up being empty), but you can just say no and your ipod will be left alone. what you can't do is transfer the songs from the ipod into the computer, which, come to think of it, is a complaint as well.

and, last but not least, apple is the motherfuking QUEEN of smooth and beautiful design. ipods always give you design!gasms, in every little detail imaginable.

so, yeah. happy shopping!

[jennyagain.livejournal.com]

eee! icon! time traveler's wife!

::squees all over the place::

[rhienelleth.livejournal.com]

I've got the Sony version of those, and they are indeed awesome. :)

[jersey-tomato.livejournal.com]

I love love love my ipod! I'm not sure if it's still the case, but at the time I purchased mine, you could get the back of it engraved for free if you bought it through the websight... a good idea, since there's really not much else you can do you make yours look different. also, www.iskin.com has more skins to choose from than the apple websight (mine is purple and glows blue in the dark)
good luck :-)

[astrael-nyx.livejournal.com]

People have advised the flash player route and I cannot emphasize that more. Flash players are so much more sensible and durable than hard-disk based players like the current iPod (excluding Nano and Shuffle) in the long run, even if the capacities in which they come are hardly as large as HD-based players.

I used to love my iPod a lot. It was my best buddy, I took it everywhere, and I was in love. Then things started happening, it would suddenly go on the fritz, and it just wasn't the same anymore. It wasn't the same iPod I fell in love with; it started to hurt me a lot and I've gone through a lot of heartache because of it.

I've had a lot of problems with the iPod for various reasons and I suppose I'm also partially to blame in that I don't treat it as Apple says one should treat it, like I constantly skipped songs (fast-forward drains the iPod's battery with amazing speed), jumped to other songs in the midst of playing other songs, etc. (but doesn't everyone skip songs?) The first time I ever drained the battery to about 20% (6-8 hours of on-off use), after I recharged, the battery life was never the same, coughing up a measely 2-4 hours. Remember, the battery is not easily replaceable, you have to send it back to Apple ($90 plus shipping, tax) for them to replace it (if you're not covered by the Apple Care Protection Plan for iPod).

I've gone through several folder exclamation errors, which are basically unfixable BSoDs and many crashes and freezes with my iPod while it's playing or connected to my computer.

The iPod's hard disk is set up in a random fashion where your music is organized on the disk (not the menu) in a random directories, so when you say, want to listen to Damien Rice's O, it puts more stress on the hard disk, even if the menu lists all of the songs there. Even if you do put the iPod on shuffle and occasionally go back to the songs list and select a new song, it'll still put more stress on it. Partially the reason why iPod has gone through so many freezes and crashes is because I selected a new song or pressed FF.

If you're a Windows user (I presume so?), ensure that you have SP2 installed. I managed to spectacularly screw up my iPod once because I didn't read the minimum system requirements on the iPod Updater.

A big red flag: The one-year limited warranty means that if your iPod malfunctions, then only in the first six months will they repair or replace it for you for free. Frankly, I don't see why they call it a one-year warranty at all because you're not covered in the second half year for anything at all. If you go to an Apple Store after the six month period, they will tell you your only recourse is to purchase the Apple Care Protection Plan for the iPod. I paid $100 CAD (tax included) for that.

A few minor details: you will need to intermittently check the Apple website for iPod Updaters to update your iPod's firmware. It's not really that much of a hassle, but to keep your iPod in the best condition, you should do the Updaters when they get released.

If you care about aesthetics, the iPod is indeed a beautiful gadget, but it is very easily scratched. Buy a skin to protect it as well as screen protector to keep the screen from getting scratched.

The headphones that come with the iPod are not exactly the most powerful; I'll say it outright: they're crap. The bass is incredibly weak, the volume's all right, but I would advise using other headphones with your iPod.

Playlists really save your battery if you're the type, like me, to skip songs when the fancy strikes you, but they also put some stress on the iPod hard disk, though not as much as skipping songs.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

You are brilliant. Thank you *so* much.

[shireeen.livejournal.com]

Hold out for the new video iPod!! :)

[krystalshay.livejournal.com]

Hiya, just butting in here...! Hope you don't mind.

Unfortunately, those TV shows are not available to non-American consumers, due to licencing issues ::sob:: The Pixar shorts would be cool though!

There must be a way of converting ordinary avi files to play on the iPod though, but to be honest, given the small screen, I'm more interested in the music side. Its nice to have the option though!

I'm also a little disappointed that you now have to buy a mains charger separately, which is rather essential if you take your iPod on holiday or on a business trip. I'm also suspicious of the quoted battery life. I believe it is about 14hr for the 30gb and 20hr for the 60gb, which is good in theory, yet that lovely shiny colour screen must take some powering. I'd be interested to see how long the battery lasts in reality.

Am I still tempted to buy one? I'm considering it, if only because there don't seem to be many other 40-60gig players out there, and the iPod is very versatile and easy to use, especially podcasts and audiobooks. I probably wouldn't bother too much with video or photos, but hey, that just leaves more space for the music!!

[delicate-sass.livejournal.com]

i have a musicmatch jukebox - it's a big 20 gig mp3 player that came out at about the same time/a little earlier than the iPod, and my dad got it for me for christmas. i love it, but the iPod and new models are MUCH smaller and lighter, which would be handy. On the other hand, the USB connection for transfering music is super handy.

[delicate-sass.livejournal.com]

doh, it's an archos jukebox, i got it confused with my music-playing software. names are not my strong suit.

[katilicious.livejournal.com]

I recently received the ipod nano for my birthday and the guy at the apple store told me that the nanos don't have a hard drive, so it's less vulnerable to damage. I really wished that they hadn't discontinued the minis and I hope that I don't live to dislike mine.

In addition, currently alot of the apple stores are decreasing the prices of the older ipods by $50. I don't know if that's an incentive as the older ones are being discontinued, but it's there.

Good luck!