Buzz Out Loud Lounge: So what's so great about the ipod nowadays?
So what's so great about the ipod nowadays?
by Magishine - 8/3/08 10:32 AMNow with itunes going DRM free and with competitors like Amazon emerging, what's so great about the ipod? It can't be features because it's pretty light in that category. It can't be price because it's one of the more expensive models for it's price, with the exception of the Classic from what I've found. Can it really boil down to looks?
I'm interested in what others think about this, because while the ipod line is nice, I always thought the Zen line as better.
The traditional iPod is on the way out
by minimalist - 8/3/08 11:39 AM In reply to: So what's so great about the ipod nowadays? by MagishineYou will see more and more Touch based models and the regular iPod will be phased out as the technology gets cheaper. As far as I can tell the Touch is a pretty darn compelling device that does out-do most of the competition. Expensive, yes. But then again so was the iPod when it first emerged. I paid 500 dollar for my first 30GB 3rd Generation iPod back in 2003.
That said its still all about the ecosystem with the traditional iPods. But I don't exactly get excited about my 160GB classic they way I get aI look at it as a placeholder until flash based Touches or iPhones get to the 120-160Gb level.
The touch isn't really worth it IMO
by Magishine - 8/3/08 12:31 PM In reply to: The traditional iPod is on the way out by minimalistThe touch looks nice, yes. But it's $300 for 16GB. And for what? The ability to run apps is nice and the wifi is useless for me considering the area I live in. And for all it's function, it still can't do things that other, cheaper players can. When the 3G iPod came out in 2003, it was still comparable to other players on the market, just with more storage. Now, the other players are past the ipod featurewise.
The Touch is good for a niche market, but I don't think the older style players should be phased out. I might be in the minority here, but if you give me the choice of a player with buttons or one that's controlled by a touchscreen, I will choose the one with buttons all the time. Call me old fashioned, but I like being able to reach my hand into my pocket and press a button to switch tracks or rewind through a song. I don't like pulling the darn thing out of my pocket and looking at it every time I want to do something trivial.
Take the iphone for instance. The one thing that's a universal gripe is the lack of a keyboard. People are used to the feeling of buttons when it comes to typing. Doing it on a virtual keypad is just too strange for some people.
People can keep their buttons as far as I'm concerned
by minimalist - 8/5/08 6:40 PM In reply to: The touch isn't really worth it IMO by MagishineI don't want a big ugly keyboard clogging up a third to a half of surface area of my media player or my phone. Besides, I've got sausage fingers and find typing on a Treo or a Blackberry to be an exercise in futility. After the first few days I can type like a demon on the iPhone... and that's in vertical mode.
But ironically I rarely use the iPhone as an iPod. Instead I use a Classic because I need at least 120GB of space for my collection. There's no other player that can touch this kind of capacity, is easy to use and works seamlessly with a Mac.
I keep a 60GB ipod video...
by Nicholas Buenk - 8/6/08 5:48 AM In reply to: People can keep their buttons as far as I'm concerned by minimalistAs 16GB is rather tight.
Still, it'll fit enough music to keep me entertained, but not all of my music.
Well....
by Nicholas Buenk - 8/6/08 5:45 AM In reply to: The touch isn't really worth it IMO by MagishineNo phone is easy to type on, buttons are smaller than your fingers whether it's touch screen or real buttons.
Also, the iphone has real button to control volume and a headphone with a button on it to play/pause. Can't speak for the touch as I don't have one.
Bringing up the rear...
by R. Proffitt
- 8/3/08 1:03 PM
In reply to: So what's so great about the ipod nowadays? by Magishine
While my kids have better I found the HP 40GB iPod refurb for 99 bucks. I found a nice clock radio, charger, etc for it to slide into for 28 bucks. It's quite nice to hold all that I'll ever listen to for much less than any current iPod (excluding the shuffle) so my thought here is that you set your goals, needs and go shopping.
Bob
So what's so great about the ipod nowadays?
by wizkids32 - 8/3/08 2:08 PM In reply to: So what's so great about the ipod nowadays? by MagishineI still use it and still like it I am just saving my money for the iPod touch the 32 GB or the 16 GB because I have a lot on my iPod.
Well, I still like the old ones
by DaveBinM - 8/3/08 6:04 PM In reply to: So what's so great about the ipod nowadays? by MagishineFor me, the flash based models just don't cut it, they don't have enough space. In terms of HDD based players, I've always liked the look and feel of the iPod (Classics that is), particularly the software. I bought a 20GB G4 iPod in 2004 for AU$500 and I loved it, (it was also the first Apple thing I'd ever owned), it was nice to hold and easy to use with one hand in comparison with my old Sony MD player, and I loved the UI. I'm not a fan of the new UI, I liked the simplicity of the old one. But the old iPods are still great. I'd trade in a touch for another 20GB G4 iPod any day (okay, maybe a little more storage), but I think that was the best model anyway.
I dunno....
by Magishine - 8/3/08 8:48 PM In reply to: Well, I still like the old ones by DaveBinMI had a two gig first gen nano and barely filled it up. I know some people complain about the capacity of the touch, but personally I wouldn't know what to do with all the space. of course, I'm a person who would delete video from my player after I've watched it a few times.
For me, it's not
by DaveBinM - 8/3/08 9:31 PM In reply to: I dunno.... by Magishinemostly video, but a lot of music, my personal collection is about 10GB (It's a lot, I know), then I have about 15GB of podcasts, though some of those are videos, but most are audio. Also, using one as an external drive is good too.
Wow....
by Magishine - 8/3/08 10:10 PM In reply to: For me, it's not by DaveBinM....that's a lot of podcasts. But, don't you delete them after you listen/watch them?
I'm mostly a music person, so that's why I need less space...though the hard drive option is nice also.
No, I like
by DaveBinM - 8/3/08 10:52 PM In reply to: Wow.... by Magishinebeing able to go back and listen to old ones, and some of them are things like Strong Bad and Happy Tree friends episodes which I want to keep. Also, my University does video podcasts of lectures, and having 8 hours of video podcasts from Uni alone takes up a lot of space.
I've got a lot of content
by ktreb - 8/3/08 11:41 PM In reply to: I dunno.... by MagishineI have movies, tv shows, video podcasts, and select music playlists on my nearly full 8GB Touch. I don't feel the need for a larger capacity Touch, but if the price is right...
I only have about 2.5GB of audio podcasts and I like to go back sometimes too. As for music, I have about 23GB of ripped music done at a mostly low bitrate and is considering reripping at 256kbps. I also have 2GB of purchased downloaded music. This all goes on my 30GB 5.5Gen (I'm the "dj" at work). I still have about 1000 cds to go through and decide if I want to rip them or not. I've been collecting since the mid-80s. And I am considering a higher capacity iPod, which would be in addition to the X-Fi that I will probably be getting.
I want a Creative Zen X-Fi
by ktreb - 8/3/08 9:13 PM In reply to: So what's so great about the ipod nowadays? by MagishineWhen the non-wifi one becomes available (only wifi available on their website), I will probably buy one. I have an iPod Touch so I don't need wifi. Because I don't want to pay tax or shipping I will wait until it is available on Amazon. This would be a new thing for me because I have never bought an mp3 player without being able to see it up close and personal first.
And maybe that's the problem. You've got the Apple stores. I've probably had the best experience buy anything electronic there. (If you have a SonyStyle store in your area that is a good place too - I bought a Sony NWZ-A816 player there) And Apple has a huge presence in many stores plus there's the marketing. For the first time buyer this makes all the difference. When they think mp3 player, they think iPod. They're not thinking features. They're thinking iPod.
Creative has made some progress. I can find them (but not the X-Fi) in Target and WalMart. But can I try them? NO. So, with very little marketing, how can they stand a chance? Best Buy and Fry's have different players, but they don't provide a good hands-on experience. Most of the time Fry's doesn't have working units. And Cowan and iRiver, where are you?
I have several iPods and will probably continue to buy them. Apple just makes it so darn easy.
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