(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!

[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.

[hackthis.livejournal.com]

You are brilliant. Thank you *so* much.

[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!