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MP3 players: Clueless about MP3 players, need help!
- 12/12/08 4:12 PM
Digital Music Players; Which to Buy
by juddrizzo - 12/8/08 10:25 AM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Don't worry. It's not as hard as it sounds. My short answer would be a 4 GB+ iPod w/a nice big color screen and the click wheel. (My girlfriend has been happy with that level of iPod for years.) You can get 'em cheap on the net, Cosco, Sam's Club, etc.
Background on my music device use:
I'm a musician/music-freak, and don't use my iPod for games, etc., only music and videos of live concerts.
Many kids will probably want digital music players, phones, etc. that they can play games on, watch movies, use the internet, etc. That's one reason so many music players have such huge memory capacities. (Video takes way more memory space than audio.)
So, the first real question is how your "gift-ies" will want to use their new music device. Would they rather play games on another device? Etc.
I have been Very happy with my Apple iPods. They have great screens and hold tons of songs. (I had a 40 GB iPod for 5 years, and now Love my 160 GB iPod which is only half full, even with tons of music and concert video on it.)
The only reason I would consider a device other than the iPod is that the iPod doesn't play nice with my Great subscription service, Rhapsody. Rhapsody is only $34/quarter, and I can listen to anything I want 24/7, on my computer. I can pay $0.78/song to buy/download/own the songs on my machine and put them into iTunes/iPod, etc. w/little trouble.
However, with a Rhapsody approved device (not the iPod), you can take part in there Rhapsody-to-go program and constantly swap the music on your device. - A Very cool feature.
Again - It's not as hard as it sounds. My short answer would be a 4 GB+ iPod w/a nice big color screen and the click wheel.
I, sincerely, hope that helps you. 
freeze
by senses42 - 12/8/08 1:23 PM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
updates is the first one. all updates are not realy compatable with your computer xp and all your hardware and sofeware when your computer auto-updates it mtte not be compatible with one of your software or your hardware you have to understand verizon,yahoo,comcast,hotwire,and all other company there updating and making changest.and one more things virus,malware,go to start and then go to run type msconfig and run dieagnus and then run normal and then run a full virus scan. if that dont work restore your computer to an early date. it work for me. i have an xp pro.
The best help comes from within
by SandViper_01 - 12/9/08 8:31 AM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You're absolutely right about the number and types of MP3 players available. Ask yourself this.
Are you buying them MP3 players to "keep up with the Joneses" or because it's what they want. If it's so they have what they're friends have, then an iPod is what you'll want. Anything less will subject them to ridicule from their iPod owning peers. Yes, kids can be extremely cruel, and if you don't have "the brand" then you're better off having nothing at all.
The "Nano" starts about $150 or a "Shuffle" around $50. They hold different amounts, but function virtually identically. Even with in the "Nano" there are different storage capacities and the price increases accordingly. A full fledged iPod or a "Touch" start above the range you mentioned ($100-200), so I won't mention them. Something in the 4GB to 8GB range should be plenty of space, shop around to see how much you can get for the least amount. Since they come in a variety of colors, that is something else to consider. If you're not sure, check with their Mom, I'll bet she'll have an idea.
But, in addition to the player, there are accessories. Cases, chargers, etc... that should be considered. Most come with a pair of earbuds (small headphones that fit in the ear) and a cord to connect to the computer for loading music and charging. There are wall and car chargers also, and a carrying case is a must. It not only gives them a place to carry it, but helps protect from damage also.
I'm not a huge fan of the iPod, personally. I think they're overpriced and overrated. I have a Rio Nitrus, which is less than half as much, that I've had for four years now, and it's still chugging away. Meanwhile my daughter has been through an iPod and now has an iPod Nano, both during the same timeframe. It all depends on how well they are taken care of, hence the plug for a case!
I hope that helps somewhat. Whatever you get them, they should appreciate, but with today's kids it's not always the thought that counts... Happy Holidays!
Mp3 player advice
by x12code - 12/9/08 12:30 PM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
You cannot go wrong with the apple ipod! The nano is affordable and very popular with the teens. My daughters got a nano last christmas and they are still very happy with it. Apple has new versions of the nano out this year. Almost all the children in our extended family own an ipod in many of the ipod generations from the first introduced to last years models ( in both nano and ipod touch) they are all still used frequently. You can pick the nano up for about $140 and they have the video feature on then to download music videos as well as tv episodes. I really like the itunes to download music and videos. well worth the money, and a reputable company when you run into problems with the product. hope this helps, happy holidays!
iPods
by SupremeMarshall - 12/9/08 1:07 PM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I have three mp3 players, an iPod Nano, an iPos Shuffle and an obsolete Samsung YP-Z5.
I found the Shuffle to be inexpensive, yet the sound quality isn't too great, and it doesn't possess a screen.
The Samsung (iPod Killer in it's hayday) is awesome, only lacking Videos and Apps, although I think that newer Samsung MP3s come with those.
Yet the iPod nano, the thing that practically trademarked the color white, comes out the best, and at the same price as the YP, but with far more features.
I hear that there are lesser known companies that make iPod Killers for half the price, and I'm sure that the reviews section of CNET will provide some help with deciding.
Sincerely,
--an unconfused (just) Grampa
Recommendation
by madler1 - 12/10/08 7:16 AM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I would heartily recommend the Sandisk Sansa E200 series, E250, 260 etc. They are all the same except for memory (for example E250 has 2GB of data, enough for hundreds of songs). They are all expandable using micrSD cards for more memory. They are very easy to use, have FM radio built in, and you can put photos and short videos on there too. Best of all you can get them for about $25-$30 each if you are willing to buy a recertified model. I bought one about a year ago and have not had any issues. Look at buy.com, they always have them cheap.
Horses for courses
by grahamstroud - 12/10/08 10:16 AM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I would agree wholeheartedly with a number of those who've replied about the need to put yourself into the mindset of 11 and 14 year olds. I personally would never buy an iPod, as they're over-priced and don't do what I want, but then I'm already in a minority, as I'm a classical music fan. Don't try to second-guess your grandchildren - you'll only end up getting them something un-cool, even if all the experts advise otherwise. I really think that the best suggestion is to take them to the store and surprise them with letting them choose what they want. If you've got a price limit, then they themselves will have to decide if they'd rather have a Creative with more features and storage or an iPod for its street-cred. If you stick to the big names (iPod, iRiver, Creative, Sony, etc), you won't go wrong in terms of quality of the physical product.
Ideas for Clueless about MP3 players
by stevenstlou - 12/10/08 2:17 PM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
ipod is the most know but unlss they have access to Cd's to add musice to @ $.99 per song it can get expensive
Sony Walkman or Ibiza Rhapsody players with access to about 3 million songs are good choices and very easy to use.
My whole family use them
Good luck
MP3 Players
by WAArnold - 12/12/08 8:14 PM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Grandma, take it from a Grandpa/Great-Grandpa with experience.
I commend you wanting to be a HIP GRANDMA, however, sometimes being a hip grandma just isn't the best thing. What will happen is, those grandkids will take those players, stuff the earpiece in and crank the sound up as loud as it'll go. What happens? In about 30 years, probably less, they will be having tinnitus and going deaf. The Hip Grandma will be more hip to forget getting them anything that would damage their hearing. Oh yes I know, they all do now-a-days, but that doesn't mean it's ok and you should contribute to the demise of their hearing. I wish I had someone to help me understand this when I was young enough to stop the damage. I pay for it every day now and there isn't anything that can be done about it. Believe me, I would not contribute. It's your choice, I've warned you what WILL happen.
iPod
by x4stjohn4x - 12/12/08 8:14 PM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The Mp3 Player differs for every person.
The average person would use 8-30 gigs on an ipod, unless you are obsessed of music, like me.
I would suggest the NEW iPod Nano are the Zune 16 gig
URL's
http://www.zune.net/en-US/mp3players/default.htm
http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/
I am a zune lover. I have the Zune 120 and love it. But most people prefer iPod.
Go ipod
by RobertK2of3 - 12/12/08 8:15 PM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've had a few MP3 players and I think you should look at Apple iPods, probably an ipod nano. They seem to be the best price/feature. My wife has one and loves it. I have the bigger/older Ipod 3G (now Ipod classic), which I love, but the way its built, its not shock-resistant, which you might need for kids. The Nano might be better for kids.
Some reasons for the ipod suggestion:
If they break, you can get them fixed. There are Apple stores who can fix a broken iPod. If you buy something from almost any other brand, service is roulette. MP3 players don't break often, but some of the ones I've had were poorly build and difficult to use. If they did break, I'd never get an answer from anyone, in English anyway. Ipods are well built. My wife's and mine have lasted a few years already.
Ipods are really easy to use and iTunes software makes everything easy, fun, and opens up other avenues to music (like buying singles online, instead of buying the whole CD for one song). Songs are .99 and easy to get through iTunes. You get to hear snippets of songs if you'd like before you buy. I'm sure the other online music catalogs probably have this as well, but its integrated nicely with the Ipods and easy to use.
Also, ipods are very popular, so you can look online for any help you need or get a book at the bookstore on using ipod/itunes. They are pretty easy to use, so I doubt anyone needs a book, but its an option if you need it.
My non-technical wife loves hers, so kids should do just fine with them.
I agree with the poster who said 4GB is probably the smallest memory size you'd want to get. Any smaller than that is a battle dragging things on and off your player to make space for new music/pictures/video. Managing space isn't fun and can be confusing for kids and adults as well.
I had a 1GB Creative Nano (funny that Nano name gets around) and it was annoying dragging music back and forth when I wanted to listen to something new.
A good place to look for reviews for electronics is Amazon.com. People buy a product and then write what they like and don't like about it. You have to take the comments with a grain of salt, because many people have an ax to grind with just about any product. If I bought something and it didn't work when I got it, I'd be mad too, but that doesn't necessarily mean the product is bad, it just means I got a bad one and have to sent it back for an exchange. That happens sometimes with online shopping and people will complain in reviews, so you have to use your best judgment. Overall reviews are helpful though.
iPod
by redwall_hp - 12/12/08 8:30 PM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I've owned a few non-Apple mp3 players over the years, and while they've been more than satisfactory, they just weren't as ridiculously easy to use or as polished as my fairly new iPod Touch. Apple really knows their stuff when it comes to portable music players. I highly recommend Apple's iPod line.
The lineup consists of
1. The iPod Shuffle ($49), which is cheap and meant to play a small selection of songs randomly, and will even auto-sync a new random collection when you plug it in to the computer.
2. The iPod Nano ($149) is small, and stores a fair bit of music. It's the most popular of the crowd, and allows you to easily navigate through your music library and play what you want, when you want, as well as build and sync custom playlists.
3. The iPod Classic ($249) holds a ginormous amount of music. It's huge, and meant for people with vast music libraries. It's like the iPod Nano, but bigger in size and capacity.
4. The iPod Touch ($229) is far more than an mp3 player. It's an iPod, yes, but it's more like the iPhone's little sibling. It allows you to surf the web whenever you walk near a WiFi access point, play games you can buy from Apple's online store, and so much more. It's beautiful screen is great for watching movies on, too.
I agree with others - iPod nano is way to go.
by Robocoastie - 12/12/08 8:39 PM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Yes there are some great wma/mp3 players out there but hands down the easiest to use is the iPod line. The nano can sync whatever play lists or audiobooks you want quickly and easily and its intuitive interface is genious. But it's best selling point is the iTunes store and player. It's far easier to use and understand than Windows Media Player (which ironically crashes constantly on Vista but iTunes runs flawlessly on Vista) and for purchased electronic songs and books its a one stop shop and player that just makes it easy.
Realplayer and it's associated WMA/MP3 players could be a close second though if they didn't have a subscription fee.
Whichever you choose though - iPod or WMA ones stick with only it! Having both on your computer can become a real library nightmare. Until Apple agrees (which will never happen) to let other makers use their protectedAAC scheme we will have this betamax/vhs like format war ongoing.
some iriver mp3 players will record
by Laserman88 - 12/12/08 9:05 PM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
as a musician, the ability to use my iriver mp3 player to obtain a high bitrate digital recording from line-in or optional stereo microphone is an amazing feature. i record off my synthesizer; i record off my XM radio; i record off of old cassette tapes and vinyl. i recorded the fire in my fireplace to burn onto cd's to give to friends with gas logs this christmas.
the ifp-899 i use is no longer in production. the price on ebay has actually doubled over the last year as the supply is shrinking. happily iriver's new 8GB X20 also has line-in, though sadly also a proprietary battery and is about $150 new on ebay.
Don't waste your money on an I-Pod!
by CRod67 - 12/12/08 9:45 PM In reply to: Clueless about MP3 players, need help! by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Don't waste your money on an I-Pod, when there are better (and/or just as good) choices available at half the cost. I have friends with I-Pods and while there "ok", they cost an arm and a leg and don't have all the features that other less expensive players have. You're basically paying for the Apple name, just like with their Mac computers.
I purchased a Creative Zen and it has more features, a bigger screen than the Nano (same size as the original IPod) and it cost half as much. You're going to pay anywhere from 150 to well over 200 dollars for an Ipod (especially for the ones that have the color screens that show video) but you can purchase a Creative Zen for anywhere from 59.99 to 79.99 depending on where you buy it. I purchased mine at Wal-Mart for 59.99. You can even download Apples format "ACC" from ITunes without having to convert the file to WMA or MP3. It also has a 2.5" screen that displays 16.7 million colors so you can watch everthing from videos at tv quality. Aside from the numerous other features, it also has a built in FM tuner (which no model of the Ipod has) and an SD slot to add more storage space. Plus the battery lasts longer than an Ipod Nano and the Ipod Shuffle. The Zen lasts 30 hours of music or 5 hours of video on a single charge. The Ipod Nano has a smaller screen size with less resolution and only lasts 24 hours on a single charge listening to music and 4 hours watching video, and again, the Nano doesn't offer an FM tuner so you can listen to the radio. The Ipod classic has the same size screen as the Zen, but like the Nano lacks all of the above functions. Only the Ipod Touch has a larger screen than the Zen at 3.5 inches, but even the touch doesn't have an FM tuner.
The cost of the Ipod classic is 249 dollars, the cost of the cheapest Nano is 149 and most expensive 199. So you do the math. Zen has almost twice as many features as the Ipod at less than half the cost, or buy an Ipod and pay for both the Apple name and less features.
Trust me when I tell you I did a ton of homework both online and by listening and comparing with friends who all have a number of different MP3 players. For the money, there is no better MP3 player on the market, in my opinion. Like Apple notebooks and Mac's, why spend twice as much money, when you can purchase a PC for half the price and be able to do twice as much on it? The same goes with the IPod.
Whatever you decide, good luck and have fun. While an MP player is a great device, they are also going out of style real quick, which is why I don't suggest spending all that money on an Ipod. Reason; more and more cell phones are coming out with built in MP3 players so you might as well purchase something inexpensive (like a Zen) and wait a year and upgrade your cell phone to a newer model. Why carry around a cell phone, a camera and an MP3 player when you can have one device that does all three plus surfs the net.
Just an FYI: I don't work for Creative Labs or any other MP3 player company. But I am a Network Administrator and am very computer/tech savvy. I just don't like to see people spend their hard earned money on an item in which their really only paying for that little Apple icon. Don't be fooled people! You may think you're getting the best MP3 player on the market, but think before you buy. Apple spends billions of dollars a year on pretty, flashy & sexy advertising. They do this for one reason and one reason only, to move their over-priced products.
Be a smart consumer, and more importantly, dont be a conformist and buy a product for the brand name.
Brand names are important when it comes to a quality LCD or Plasma HDTV. But thats another comment for another time.
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