MP3 players: to Zune or not to Zune
to Zune or not to Zune
by vdomajjic - 5/30/07 1:54 PMI'm considering a Zune, or Craetive Zen Vision M, or Toshiba Gigabeat. Does any one have any experience with these
(NT) If you must, wait for the new model.
by R. Proffitt
- 5/30/07 1:58 PM
In reply to: to Zune or not to Zune by vdomajjic
Well...
by stropyboy - 5/30/07 4:14 PM In reply to: to Zune or not to Zune by vdomajjicYou seem to have picked a terrible time to pick an mp3 player. I would rule out the Toshiba Gigabeat S, because as good of a player as it is, Toshiba has all but dropped it in favor for the Zune. Also, the Creative Zen Vision M has been out for an extremely long time, and, considering the recent slew of Creative mp3 player announcements, I'm sure they'll be updating that very good mp3 player soon. Also, I'd wait for the new Zune model. However, if you have to have one now (or are willing to just ebay it up later), I'd consider a few factors. If you want more codec support and more features, stick with Creative. If you want a bigger screen and more accessories, the Zune is the way to go.
Happy Picking!!
<(-_-<) ~Stropko~ (>-_-)>
No Zune....
by TechnoMan475392 - 6/1/07 3:46 AM In reply to: to Zune or not to Zune by vdomajjicI was considering the Zune myself, but then I found out that the Zune network thing is like iTunes, it works only with the Zune, (iTunes to iPod). If you want movies, I would buy the Gigabeat. It works like the zune only a bit smaller, you know, with the movies you turn it to the side, that kinda thing. But for mostly music, get the Vision M. But, whatever you do, DO NOT GET AN IPOD!!!!!! I got an ipod first and now i can't buy anything else without losing all my song titles.
I believe you are mistaken about
by mrmacfixit - 6/1/07 9:57 AM
In reply to: No Zune.... by TechnoMan475392
losing all your song titles if you purchase another brand of player.
On what do you base your statement?
P
So how would you transfer I-Tunes songs to a Creative Vision
by blawrensen - 6/2/07 5:51 AM In reply to: I believe you are mistaken about by mrmacfixit
If you purchased 200 I-Tunes songs, and have them on your iPod and computer, then your iPod dies, and you want to purchase another player (not a replacement iPod), how do you do it? Oh, I could burn the songs onto about 15 audio CD's, then rip them into wav files, but this is a lot of wasted time and effort. That's the point the person is making. That's what I don't like about I-Tunes and iPod.
OK, I'll bite
by mrmacfixit - 6/2/07 6:09 AM
In reply to: So how would you transfer I-Tunes songs to a Creative Vision by blawrensen
200 purchased tracks from the iTunes Store will cost you approximately $200 plus any applicable tax.
The amount of effort required to convert those tracks to something else is negligible. Just how long does it take you to burn a CD? The tracks are automatically converted to AIFF for the CD and when you rip them back you set iTunes to rip in whatever format you need.
Connect your new player and export the tracks to your new device.
However, you seem to consider that your time is worth more than $200 for 60 minutes work and would therefore consider it to be a waste of time and effort. Would you purchase those tracks again, from another store, to use on your new player? Tracks that would now be duplicates of tracks that you already have on your computer! Now that is a waste, of money.
The statement that the person made was that one would lose ALL your tracks if you purchased something other than an iPod. No caveats or disclaimers and no other point was made.
P
I believe you are mistaken about
by MadMax414th - 6/2/07 6:29 AM In reply to: I believe you are mistaken about by mrmacfixit
I strongly disagree! In fact after much reading & comparing, I chose & purchased an iPOD this week and absolutely love it. The ITUNES will copy (so U do not lose your original music & it's formats),& convert ALL your (unprotected) songs & videos to the "AAC" iPOD format. This way you never lose your old music & formats. Only music you purchase from iTUNES itself is stuck there but I suspect that if you wanted to get a ZUNE one day, that they will convert all your (unprotected) iPOD music to the ZUNE format.Since ZUNE is also a specialized format, it all comes down to sound quality & user convenience. THIS IS WERE THE IPOD HAS THE ADVANTAGE!! Both ITUNES and the ipod itself are EXTREMELY USER FRIENDLY and intuitive! The sound is fantastic and my "NANO" is very easily carried in my pants pocket as I do my work or chores while listening.
Again, the more I use my new iPOD the more impressed I am by it. My only complaint... the wife found it & fell in love with it & is always using it! So either I buy another one for her or I find a better hiding place for it lol!!
MadMax414th
iPod
by vbnz - 6/2/07 5:41 AM In reply to: No Zune.... by TechnoMan475392I agree. the allegation that you will lose all your song files is absurd.
I have a 80GB video ipod and the only complaints that i have is that the headphone jack is at the top and that it is much less responsive than my nano because it uses a hard drive, but that was inevitable. other than that its perfect
you arent understanding him correctly
by Bob7k - 6/2/07 7:49 AM In reply to: iPod by vbnzThats not what hes talking about, he means he had purchased around 200 songs from itunes, once you buy it in itunes, it will only play on an ipod, its stuck, unless you burn them to disks, and rip them in something like WMP, whare the DRM gets erased from the tracks. this is much easier however if you have RW disks and an RW drive. I just went and got an archos, works like any other MP3 player, and my music isnt locked if i buy it somewhare. but ill still buy CDs to keep the DRM away
MP3 Player
by indy2001 - 6/2/07 11:47 AM In reply to: to Zune or not to Zune by vdomajjicAfter a couple of months of comparison shopping, I bought a Creative ZEN Vision:M 60 GB 7 weeks ago and am extremely pleased with it. Although the larger hard drive makes it a bit bulkier than other MP3's, it is still small enough to easily slide into a pocket. And the amount this thing can store is phenomenal! So far, I have ripped over 100 complete CD's (at a higher-than-normal bit rate) and approximately 30 hours of TV shows, 20-30 hours of podcasts, and 150 photos -- all that has taken up less than 25% of the available memory. I'm saving a few GB's for photo downloads during our cruise this summer. The audio and video quality are great, and the FM reception is also excellent. Transferring files is easy with Windows Media Player 10/11 on either my Vista desktop or XP laptop. Although I'm not into purchasing individual songs or shows, you can use Rhapsody, Napster, URGE, or any of a number of online stores.
The only downsides were poor user information (getting better on the Creative Labs web site), and somewhat lame software (also improving, but I still use WMA). The thicker body also made it difficult for a while to get a good protective case, but I found a great leather one -- at www.pdostore.com -- which doubles as a stand and also allows me to clip the player to my belt.
In short, I'm one very satisfied Creative ZEN Vision:M user (although I wish it had a shorter name)!
It's like picking ice cream flavors...
by Rod Roddy - 6/2/07 1:30 PM In reply to: to Zune or not to Zune by vdomajjicget one that is best for you. Suggestions from CNET members is cool, but some members are biased,jaded,or simply crazy. I won't tell you which mp3 player I own, because I have both good and bad things to say about it. Do your research with other gadget/tech websites and hopefully that'll make the decision easier for you.
what do you want it for?
by fartgorilla - 6/3/07 2:33 PM In reply to: to Zune or not to Zune by vdomajjicI had a Rio Karma for about two years, then it broke and I bought an iPod. Now I can't wait for my iPod to break so I can buy something else! For the most part, the iPod diehards are already Apple diehards or people who have never owned another mp3 player. The iPod works alright, but there are at least two dozen things my Karma did much, much better...the main one being purely portable. I contend that the iPod is intended for people who aren't using it on the go. If you use it at your desk at work or ONLY as a home stereo, you won't have any problems. But the scroll wheel is not built for joggers, walkers, or commuters...one could argue that that essentially debunks its claim to portability.
I'm eyeing the Zune for the day my iPod dies. I, um, "trust" MS...to be somewhat competitive with the iPod. Meaning they can and will put out a product which apes the good-enough features and fixes -- or at least alters -- a good amount of the things that suck-fat-ass about the iPod/iTunes. The Xbox 360 shows that they got it in 'em, and they already got rid of the scroll wheel, so...
But yeah, wait until at least the 2nd generation version comes out. Unlike Apple, while they're losing the "war" they will very likely make big improvements to the product with each version.
I vote iPod, with a good pair of headphones.
by hgiles - 6/4/07 8:29 PM In reply to: to Zune or not to Zune by vdomajjicFrankly, I'd vote for an iPod.
Creative is coming out with new models soon. So that's out. The Toshiba is basically an older Zune - it was developed by Microsoft and put out by Toshiba, the features are the same, just older. There's practically no support for it either, because everything's going towards the Zune. But the Zune is larger and clunkier than the iPod, last I heard.
The Zune's resolution is the same as the video iPod's - in a bigger screen. So your pictures are going to be grainier. Plus, the Zune's store has fewer songs, movies, etc, and all of it is in a proprietary format. Apple's format is easy to work with, but Microsoft's built around being possessive of software. I bet that Zune's format is harder to deal with.
Not to mention the fact that dealing with the iPod will be easier because they're everywhere. Better support, more experienced groups and easier access to components.
Whichever player you decide on, get an extended warranty and good speakers. Harddrive mp3 players get dropped and then the hard drives fail. This happens across brands. Headsets determine the sound quality more than the player does.
For the record, I've got a 60 gig photo iPod and I like it alot. It does exactly what it's supposed to do.
Zune
by DreamstateEmergex - 11/25/07 8:35 AM In reply to: to Zune or not to Zune by vdomajjicI've been a 1st Gen Zune30 owner for a year now. I am completely in love with it. The updates are amazing. The software does have some 'getting used to' but overall its great. I haven't bought anything from the Zune Marketplace and I don't plan to. My zune works great with 3000+ songs.
The Zune2 is more spiffy-er than the gen1 ones. Check em out.
=D
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