Community Newsletter: Q&A: Buying my first MP3 player, advice needed!
- 12/7/07 8:11 AM
iPOD
by rtc513 - 11/19/07 1:24 PM In reply to: Buying my first MP3 player, advice needed! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The totally different aspect of iPOD is the interface. You slide your finger to increase/decrease volume or to select a menu item. The problem with the software is that it is recorded in only Apple's format and can only be forwarded to one other computer. The battery must be replaced by Apple unless you are an expert and it is not cheap. My wife and I each have one and love them.
Depends on what you want to do with it
by daver - 11/19/07 1:27 PM In reply to: Buying my first MP3 player, advice needed! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If you want to integrate it directly into your home theater, or if you want to directly integrate it into your car audio then go with and iPod. It will cost you less to get a superior solution. For example, you can get a Drive+Play adapter for your iPod to use in your car with a dedicated seperate large screen showing you the iPod interface in an ideal location on your dash. It will cost less than $100. Same kind of situation if you want to integrate it into your home theater and then buy a remote 2-way RF interface for it so you can control it from, say, your kitchen. You can't do that with a non-iPod without paying some serious $.
If all you're going to do is take it to the gym with you while you work out, you should get whatever gives you the biggest bang/buck and has an easy interface. You might look at iRiver, and some others in that case.
check out the Sandisk Sansa C150 (2gb)
by tennisman888 - 11/19/07 1:37 PM In reply to: Buying my first MP3 player, advice needed! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
This is a nice little MP3 player for the money. You are correct to not assume you need an IPOD. If you just want to put music on it and have it portable when you walk, this is very nice. You can probably get 2gb now for $60 on sale. This does have a small LCD to hold photos but it is very small. One thing to consider is that this takes a AAA battery. It does require replacing every so often, probably 12 hours or so, but you can replace it instantly. For the ones that need recharging, that is a downside, but not a real bad one. One last thing I've noticed about IPODs is they have SO MANY accessories (if you want them). If you want to buy diff colors, a docking port with speakers, other accessories, etc etc, then IPOD may be the way to go. Otherwise stay with the Sandisk.
iPod
by Grummantoo - 11/19/07 1:40 PM In reply to: Buying my first MP3 player, advice needed! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Can only tell you our experience. I bought an iPod for my husband's birthday - and we're not young, we are in our 60s. I easily put all our CDs on without the slightest hitch or problem. I put 67 CD albums on, puchased some others and downloaded them very easily from the internet (for a very reasonable price) that he didn't have but I knew he would enjoy. They downloaded easily and quickly. It is very easy to use, and we haven't had a smidgen of trouble. After all that he still has room left over to download0 movies for a trip. This gadget is great and easy to use. Can't speak for any other except iPod, because haven't had any experience with them. However our satisfaction with iPod is 10 out of 10. The downside that if you want to hear it any way except for headphones, you have to buy more gadgets. The upside is that with the gadgets you can tailor it to how you will use it.
Question for Grummantoo
by oregonviewer - 11/19/07 1:44 PM In reply to: iPod by GrummantooGood clear response to Nancy, but I am interested, and she will be, too, what model and storage capcaity IPOD you are describing. Thnx for clarifying for group....
our iPod
by Grummantoo - 11/19/07 2:00 PM In reply to: Question for Grummantoo by oregonviewerIt's an 80GB model MA450 - the Classic...I think. It holds up to 20,000 songs, 25,000 photos, 100 hours of video. It's about 2-1/2 x 4 inches and weighs about 5 ounces. We bought ours at Costco. The only gadget we have purchased so far, to go with it, is one to play through the car stereo. There were 2 or 3 from which to choose.
iPod Classic may be a perfect fit for you
by mckerr - 11/19/07 1:40 PM In reply to: Buying my first MP3 player, advice needed! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hi Nancy,
I can't really speak to all of the other products on the market, but I purchased an 80GB iPod Video in February, and it's been fantastic. It's extremely easy to use, once you load the iTunes software onto your computer (also very easy). It's small enough to take on walks, either on an elasticized armband, clipped to your belt, or simply tucked in your pocket. The 80GB model is now called the iPod Classic and has come down $100 in price since I bought mine. It has the video display you seek for photos, and an enormous amount of space for photos and your Beatles and Elvis collections and so much more. For the cost, the 80GB Video model offers far more value that any of the Nano models. If you're a major music collector, you may want to take the leap to the new 160GB model. But for the average listeners, 80GB is probably enough. I have put my own and my husband's sizeable CD collections on my player, and even so, have only reached 28GB. Good luck, and happy listening!
I just purchased the new Microsoft Zune. What a gas!
by Karl in Las Vegas - 11/19/07 2:10 PM In reply to: Buying my first MP3 player, advice needed! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I just picked up the new release of the Microsoft Zune and is it a performer. Buy.com had an introductory price of $99.00 for their 30 gig model. They also offer an 80 gig model. The prices are very competitive and the redesigned model scores tops in all categories for me; ease of use, quality LCD screen, great software, excellent sound quality, built in FM radio that is easy to use and set the presets. It has it all.
what mp3 player?
by amoraca - 11/19/07 2:25 PM In reply to: Buying my first MP3 player, advice needed! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
from my experience i dont go with trends as well i.e. ipod. i decided to go with a creative mp3 player. this company has many to chose from and i mean MANY. check out the website creative.com. their mp3 players are cheap and yet offer much more than the ipod. microphone, built in fm, video, photo, removable disk(storing files like documents) just to name a few. they have a very simple to use menu and easy to see screen. my whole family has creatives and no ipods. just check out the site and take a look yourself. i hope this was helpful to you.
MP3
by atomcontracting - 11/19/07 2:26 PM In reply to: Buying my first MP3 player, advice needed! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I was in the same boat as you are now a few years ago, now Its hard to imagine not having a MP3 player. You can have every album to just one song on one small device. I perfer the apple I pod line of MP3 players and the Nano line would be perfect for your walks, it is small and there are custom arm bands made just for sporting activities.
Hope this helps,
Mark
mp3 player
by mikey1119 - 11/19/07 2:29 PM In reply to: Buying my first MP3 player, advice needed! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Yes, Me, like you would have never thought I'd have one either, I have 2. A K-5 buy Samsung, 2Gb and a 1GB ipod shuffle. I like my K-5 cause I don't have to use headphones if I don't want too, photos, and radio. the shuffle is my back-up. The speaker flips out, photo quality is good also...........
More flexibility outside Apple
by crunchsolutions - 11/19/07 2:34 PM In reply to: Buying my first MP3 player, advice needed! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
After 9/11, I particularly wanted a radio when I bought an mp3 player and have been very happy with my Creative Zen micro. If I were buying today, I'd look at Creative but also at SanDisk's range of players.
Aside from the radio, moving beyond an Ipod, is much more freeing in terms of format.
Good luck!
thank you so much
by amoraca - 11/19/07 2:39 PM In reply to: More flexibility outside Apple by crunchsolutionsi finally have someone else to agree with. i have a vision m 30gb and its amazing! these things are rock solid and dont go bizerk like ipods or freeze up. great mp3 choice
Don't Get an iPod
by thiagohf113 - 11/19/07 2:48 PM In reply to: Buying my first MP3 player, advice needed! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Hey Nancy and thank you for asking this question.
I'm only 13 so my advice may be a bit useless to you but I'll try anyway (I am pretty good with technology, though)I do not recommend buying an iPod. They are soooooo overated. Many people say they are easy to deal with but you need to download iTunes which is just some stupid application that tries to do what Windows Media Player does but fails. They charge you $1 per song, which sounds reasonable but if you have a lot of songs you want to download, then you're going to have to sacrafice money or download it illegally(please don't). You might want to consider an mp3 player with a radio built in. You said that you were going to be walking with it. Walking might not be a problem for a high capacity hard drive player, but if you jog a bit, then you definetly need a flash player. Don't worry about storage space for photos because Sandisk as well as other company's flash memory players have up to 16 GB using expandable memory. I own a Sandisk Sansa E280. This is what I call the iPod killer. It's just as small as the iPod Nano (a bit thicker) and has waaaayyyyy more features. It's the same price as the nano for only $149.99, so you get a lot of value. The Sansa also plays videos, lets you view photos, and has built in voice recording. It received an 8.0 CNET Editor's rating. This post is a little bias because I absolutely love my sansa. It does everything I wanted for a very small price. You can also use the CNET MP3 finder on the following link: http://reviews.cnet.com/4247-6450_7-10.html?tag=dtbox
Hope this helps, Thiago
Biggest Capacity, High Quality
by greenglasses26 - 11/19/07 3:17 PM In reply to: Buying my first MP3 player, advice needed! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
In my opinion, if you are looking for something with high capacity and high build quality I would go for an Archos 605. Although it may have more features than you would want, it offers high capacities for lots of music and pictures (up to 80 or 160GB or up to 85,000 songs or 1 million pictures), an amazing looking 4.3" screen, and has a great build quality that Archos has upheld from the first mp3 players that it built. Another option would be the new Microsoft Zune 80, which has a high capacity (80GB) and a nice screen, but I am not sure of the build quality due to the fact that the previous generation of Zunes were not built to the highest standards/ If you find you do not need 80 or 160 GBs, the Creative Zen Vision:M (which I own, and love it!), is a great choice. Ultimately, the decision is up to you. Don't take just my advice and shop around for yourself. Good luck on your search Nancy!
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