Best iPod or MP3 Player - Help

[dalstitch45]

Hi Dis'ers. I am going to buy an iPod or MP3 player very shortly. The problem is I know nothing about them. I always thought they were two (2) different animals, but I guess I was wrong. I just need some help and suggestions on what kind to buy.

I have the MP3 outlet in my vehicle. Do I need one that has a display screen? Are they all able to hook up to a stereo system or computer? How easy is it to download music on them? How much storage do I need for music only? Can you record music on them, say from my satellite radio in the vehicle? Oh, price range, what is the difference?

Hopefully, I asked all the right questions. I just need someone to point me in the right direction. Thanks.

 

[RobinFabulous]

Weclome to the world of digital music. You're going to get varied opinions. I love IPod. They're user friendly and we love ours. Even my 3 year old can work it.

We have older Ipods 30 gb and around 4200 songs, they're not full yet. My dd had the older Nano 1 gb, around 100 songs. So the amount you need depends on what you plan on storing. If I were to put pics on mine it would be full. Itunes is very user friendly. Any IPod or MP3 should connect to the jack in your car with the correct wire. Any Ipod or MP3 should come with the software to put music on it

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

We have turned into an apple family here. We love ipods! All four of our kids have nanos, dh has the classic and I have the touch. How much music are you trying to store? Dh has the classic with 80gb. That has about 400 cds on it, and it is about half full right now (just to give you a guideline of how much space you'll need). Videos fill up much more space.

I can do basics on the computer. I tried getting one of my kids a regular mp3 player (not super expensive...not apple), and I could not figure out, for the life of me, how to get music on it. With the apple ipods, you just plug it in and the software pops right up. It's so user friendly!

I like having the video ipods. You can add pictures. The kids have music videos and some regular movies on them...which was really nice for our 14 hour trip to WDW in January.

I think any mp3 can hook up in your car. You may need to get some sort of cable. My mom has the shuffle (non video), and that hooks up easily.

As far as I know, you can't record from your radio onto your ipod/mp3. You can search for many songs on itunes or the Internet, and add them that way.

Good luck. We certainly keep apple in business here!

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

Oh...you had asked about the price difference.

You can get mp3 players from about $20 up. Of course, the cheap ones are basic. The apple ipods are a bit more. You can get a shuffle for under $100, the nanos are around $150 for the smaller gb. I think dh's classic (80gb) was about $250. My itouch (8gb) was about $299.

I would recommend getting at least the nano. You can easily set up playlists, therefore, only playing a certain set of songs at a time if you wish. I believe (and could be wrong) that the shuffle will only play a mix of your entire selection...you can't narrow it down.

I don't know much about the non-apple ipods and the different variations. If you want the video part, you will need to get an mp4 player, which is what I tried but had trouble figuring it out. To me, the ease of iTunes makes it worth the extra money.

 

[TomD]

My kids started with the shuffle a few years ago. I saw they used them and took care of them so they mved up to the Nano. They are now saving to get the Itouch.

By refurbished and save a little

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/ipod?mco=MTIzMjk

 

[suz1974]

I am joining the IPod fans here! We have a shuffle, 3 nanos, a classic (80gb) and an Ipod Touch! When I was trying to decide the first time I spent a lot of time at the Apple store. If you have one near by they are very helpful, they also offer classes (I think free) on how to use the ipod and itunes software. All in All the Ipod is very easy to use and I am not tech savvy. Itunes is great software, also I have a TiVo and TiVo has a software so that I can put my recordings on my ipod. Which is great for traveling. If you are looking for a bargain, check craigslist, ebay, and apple has a refurbished/clearance area of their website. I got the shuffle refurbished for 29 dollars. Ebay also has a guide on which ipod you should buy. but this is my take: Shuffle super small, I think it is good for people who are intimidated by technology b/c there are very few buttons and choices. The nano is great for runners, you can put video on the new ones but not much. The classic is good for people who have reinforced their shelf to keep their CDs and like a lot of video. I think the touch is good for people on the go, not as much video or music as the classic, but it is nice to get email, weather, etc w/o dragging out the laptop.

 

[DebMcDonald]

We're an ipod family here too, my 5 & 8 year olds have refurbished nano's from the apple website, same warranty as buying new and they looked brand new when we got them. My oldest DD has graduated up to the ipod touch. I myself have two nano's, two different generations, and my husband also has two, most recent one an ipod touch also. I sort of wish I had the ipod touch. I think apples are very user friendly and very easy to use. You can get a refurbished nano for around $79 and colored ones for around $99.

 

[dalstitch45]

It looks like everyone likes the iPods. As I said, I will only be storing music on it. I am figuring around at least 800 songs, with room for more. Who knows, once I get it, I might go crazy. I am assuming the iPods can be hooked up to the stereo system, also. Plus, I like to be able to narrow my song list based on my mood, so the shuffle thing really doesn't appeal to me. What is considered a classic iPod?

So based on what everyone says, I saw the 8GB iPod Nano. What do you think? I am still going to check out the refurbished ones. Do I need a case for it? Do they come with chargers, or do I have to buy it separately?

Thanks for everyone's input. You guys have been a big help.

 

[DebMcDonald]

It looks like everyone likes the iPods. As I said, I will only be storing music on it. I am figuring around at least 800 songs, with room for more. Who knows, once I get it, I might go crazy. I am assuming the iPods can be hooked up to the stereo system, also. Plus, I like to be able to narrow my song list based on my mood, so the shuffle thing really doesn't appeal to me. What is considered a classic iPod?

So based on what everyone says, I saw the 8GB iPod Nano. What do you think? I am still going to check out the refurbished ones. Do I need a case for it? Do they come with chargers, or do I have to buy it separately?

Thanks for everyone's input. You guys have been a big help.

You don't need a case, but you will want a case, just added protection. Whether you buy new or refurbished it will come with what you need to to hook it up to your computer and it also charges that way. You can buy additional charges for the car or an electrical outlet, but most of the time I just use my computer. We also bought something (can't remember the name) to hook it up to our stereo and that way we can listen to it all through the house which is really great because it's only the songs that we love.

 

[powellrj]

I jumped on the ipod bandwagon for this vacation. We were driving and I wanted something to kill the time. It was wonderful. I got a Ipod touch and loaded it with tv shows, audio books and podcasts. It was wonderful. I did get a car charger and it worked out really well.

I still don't know how to use many of the options on it, that what my teenagers are for, to teach me!

I also have a mp3 plug for my car, but don't know how to use it yet, thats next on my learning list!

 

[kstugan]

It looks like I am in the minority, but I love the Sansa Sandisk MP3 players.
They are a little cheaper and you have many more options than with an IPOD.
You can listen to AM/FM radio, which is great at the gyms that have TVs where you can program your radio to listen to the TV. (at our YMCA). You can also record on it. I have recorded several concerts on mine. It works best for acoustic shows. I have had mine for about 2 yrs and love it. Haven't had any problems with it and it is really user friendly. My husband and 2 sons also have sansas and love them.
To load music on them, I will sometimes go to the library and checkout CDs from them and put them on my computer and transfer to my MP3 player. I have got a lot of great music this way.
I just wanted to let you know of another option available.

 

[angwill]

Another MP3 lover. We have always owned sony's and they are simple to use. You just download your cd to Windows media player that should already be on your computer or Sony sends a disk just in case and once you plug in the player it pulls up media player so you can transfer your music, videos, or pictures. I also love that I can listen to the radio on mine. What I love most is it costs half of what a similar Ipod goes for and I am not stuck with only using I tunes. HTH

 

[JennSaint]

Me and my boys have Nano's and we love them! My husband has an ipod shuffle which has no screen and is really tiny. I'd recommend at least buying the Nano.

 

[Suz D]

It looks like everyone likes the iPods. As I said, I will only be storing music on it. I am figuring around at least 800 songs, with room for more. Who knows, once I get it, I might go crazy. I am assuming the iPods can be hooked up to the stereo system, also. Plus, I like to be able to narrow my song list based on my mood, so the shuffle thing really doesn't appeal to me. What is considered a classic iPod?

So based on what everyone says, I saw the 8GB iPod Nano. What do you think? I am still going to check out the refurbished ones. Do I need a case for it? Do they come with chargers, or do I have to buy it separately?

Thanks for everyone's input. You guys have been a big help.

We were going to get the 8GB Nano for our daughter but decided to spend the little extra $ and get the 16GB. We consider it a long term investment as she really took care of the shuffle that she got nearly 3 years ago for her BD. She used it all the time.

The classic is bulkier and holds much more. We have the biggest classic (also considered it an investment that we will not upgrade) and we love it, but it is definately more bulky.

You are on the right track thinking you need at least the Nano if you want to choose the songs/genre you are going to listen to at the time.

We were very late (relatively speaking) to jump onto the IPod bandwagon. We just weren't sure if we would enjoy/use it for the amount of $$ invested. We've NEVER regretted the purchase and absolutely LOVE it! I'd like to get another one for my husband to use when he travels so I still can use it when he's away.

You are right about being able to hook it up to your stereo. If you can't figure out which connecting cords you need, just ask at your local electronics store and they will help you. We also have invested in a small set of speakers for travel and listen to it in our hotel room, at my Dad's house etc.

We've downloaded many of our CD's to the IPod and pretty much listen strictly to that on our stereo. We're really hoping to get most of our CD's put on it by the end of the year (it's a little time consuming to put them on your computer-quick to then transfer to the IPod, but it does take awhile to pull them off the CD).

My sister's family and mine got my Dad the Nano for Christmas (he's 73) and he listens to it constantly. We put some family pictures on it for him for when he gets lonely (we lost my dear mother last summer). Dad is in the early stages of Alzheimer's and can work the IPod really well so it's definately user friendly. I pulled about 35 of his CD's off for him when I was visiting and put them on his IPod. It took me about 1.5-2 hours to do all of those CD's (I did it in two shifts so I don't know exactly how long it took).

Right now I'm downloading a bunch of WDW podcasts to listen to on our drive to DC next week. Podcasts are basically talk radio but there are podcasts for almost any subject you can imagine. We find that it keeps us alert when traveling (and also unfortunately feeds our addiction to WDW).

Good luck. I KNOW you'll it!

 

[darcyt]

My family loves our iPods, too, including my parents in their 70s.

My favorite is the iPod touch because you can get anything in the iTunes app store and play games, watch movies, read books, and most importantly, surf the web and read/write email as long as you have wifi access. It's so convenient for travel.

If you mostly want music, though, I agree a Nano is a good start. I like my shuffle (it's tiny and the battery lasts forever) for the gym when I'm not looking at the screen, but I like being able to see/pick the songs otherwise.

I'm excited for you-- I think you'll love it!

 

[stczt]

My husband loves his iphone, and ds likes his ipod. Dh got me a zune for christmas, I have never asked for any music player but I like it and use it alot and I find my kids "steal" it alot for the simple fact I can play the radio. I can load every song in the world and get board. but I love listening to the radio, Now I dont have to sit in the car for some bit to get over I just take my zune where ever I go

 

[dfchelbay]

Hi Dis'ers. I am going to buy an iPod or MP3 player very shortly. The problem is I know nothing about them. I always thought they were two (2) different animals, but I guess I was wrong. I just need some help and suggestions on what kind to buy.

I have the MP3 outlet in my vehicle. Do I need one that has a display screen? Are they all able to hook up to a stereo system or computer? How easy is it to download music on them? How much storage do I need for music only? Can you record music on them, say from my satellite radio in the vehicle? Oh, price range, what is the difference?

Hopefully, I asked all the right questions. I just need someone to point me in the right direction. Thanks.

I am a huge listener of podcasts. I love talk radio and that's mainly what I put on my Ipod. I find that Ipod is the most universal of all the systems. It will handle music, podcasts, audio books, videos, photos, etc.

Also, I am not an Apple person. I've been on a PC since the 70s. The Ipod works perfectly with my PC. Never had an issue. Hope this helps.

 

[dalstitch45]

Thanks for all the help guys. I am going to weigh out the pros and cons of all of them. I see I have my work cut out for me. I am going to have to push my purchase date forward a bit. I really want it to be ready for my trip to WDW at the end of May. You guys are the best!