iPods vs. MP3 players

[Mom to 2]

First of all I have to say I have no idea what either really is or does, all I know is that they play music and we are thinking of getting one for our soon to be 12 year old daughter.
My question is what is the better one to buy?? I have been reading all reviews and ratings on the Apple iPod Mini's and Nano's etc. and many of them complain about the battery life. Are there any that have rechargable batteries or regular batteries? Some people were saying things such as "As soon as the battery is dead, you have to buy a whole new iPod" . Dont mind buying one but I dont want to buy one every year!!
Any info on this would be appreciated

Thanks,

Lory

 

[Melissa M]

I can't answer your question, but I'm giving this thread a bump. I'm curious about this, too. I'd also like to know if they can be used with Windows 98.

 

[wdwstar]

I am like you, clueless on ipods & mp3. While i was at target i found a few mp3 on clearence $39.99 (reg. $80)& $49.99(reg.$99). I asked the young guy in the electronics "what is the difference between the ipod & mp3.

Of course he said all depends what you are looking for then he said the ipods are nice, fancy color screens ,can be expensive especially apple and can be very hard to download music from the computer because most music is already in mp3 format, so you will have to buy accessories,cords, music cards($15) to dowload music from itunes. the plus for the ipod, you get ipods that will download over a 1000 songs. the more songs you can download the more $$$

he said he was very happy with his mp3 and it comes with a cord to connect to the computer, the music is already format to mp3 from the music websites, there are sites you can still download free from if you know what i mean the mp3 can only hold over 100 songs but you can buy a SD card (digital cameras use these) to increase the # of songs on your mp3.

The cheaper mp3 that i bought only holds 60 songs for dd who is only 7yrs old, i really dont think she will have the patience to listen to all 60 songs in one listening.

the second one holds 120 songs for dd teen age, they are both mp3 sport ones the young guy said those are more durable .

I already have digital cameras with extra SD cards, but you can get really cheap SD cards at office max or best buy.

i think i am happy right now with them, they are a christmas present though
i also want to mention i didnt want to invest a whole lot of money for something that may grow legs and disappear one day, well that is what my kids say when they loose something.....

if anyone else has info please post.... i would still like to hear from other people with their opinoin.

 

[Cindy B]

I've stated this before. Older generations of Ipods did have battery problems. That being said we have had 4th gen and up Ipods in our house and we have never had a problem. We have had various Ipods in the house for almost two years (two years late October) and have never had a problem with battery life.

That was an issue in the older Ipods but havent' had a problem with the newer ones.

 

[Mom to 2]

Okay so lets say we go with the iPod. Where do we get the music from? Can she put songs on from our own music CD's?? Is it simple to do? Does it work right from our computer, we have windows XP.
Any info or help or advice would help.

Lory

 

[debster812]

Let me give it a whirl:

An iPod is Apple's version of an MP3 player. There are hundreds of other brands/types to choose from.

If you buy an iPod, you will also get the iTunes software to load onto your PC. It will work fine with XP. You can then either purchase music from iTunes, or download your own CDs to iTunes. You will then plug in your iPod, and your music will be uploaded to your iPod.

I personally have NO control on iTunes, so I limit my purchasing to only using pre-paid iTunes cards. They sell them at Target, Radio Shack, and other places I'm sure.

 

[freediverdude]

From what I understand, the ipods will ONLY work with music downloaded from the apple website, or if you have music that is already in that format on your computer (maybe there's software that will change the format of your already purchased cds, i don't know about that). I think that's the big downside to the ipod for me. I got swept up in the hype, ordered a top-of-the-line ipod for over $400 directly from the Apple website, and then didn't receive it. Apple claims they sent it and claims they have proof from Fedex that it was delivered, but all i know is that i didn't get one. So then I ordered Dell's version, the Dell DJ. It has a similar capacity, can hold 1000s of songs, and works with mp3 format. I'm kind of glad that happened now actually, it's very easy to put my cds on there, download music from whereever web site, etc, and it was built to work with PCs and windows instead of macs and their operating system. So anyway that's my experience and i'm happy without an ipod, hehe.

 

[Anne34]

You can download the music from any CD onto an ipod. It is very easy to do. You can also buy music from i-tunes. My daughter does this when she only wants 1 or 2 songs from an artist. MUCH cheaper than buying the cd. The downloads are $.99/each.

My daughter has had her ipod for almost a year and she loves it (she is 12). I have a Dell DJ (another ipod type mp3) and I love it too. It holds a lot more songs and has a longer battery life than the ipod, but the "Coolness" factor of this ipod is what is popular with teens and preteens.

 

[crcormier]

From what I understand, the ipods will ONLY work with music downloaded from the apple website, or if you have music that is already in that format on your computer (maybe there's software that will change the format of your already purchased cds, i don't know about that). I think that's the big downside to the ipod for me. I got swept up in the hype, ordered a top-of-the-line ipod for over $400 directly from the Apple website, and then didn't receive it. Apple claims they sent it and claims they have proof from Fedex that it was delivered, but all i know is that i didn't get one. So then I ordered Dell's version, the Dell DJ. It has a similar capacity, can hold 1000s of songs, and works with mp3 format. I'm kind of glad that happened now actually, it's very easy to put my cds on there, download music from whereever web site, etc, and it was built to work with PCs and windows instead of macs and their operating system. So anyway that's my experience and i'm happy without an ipod, hehe.

Not true, iTunes will very happily import any music CDs you own, and any other MP3 files you may already have on your computer or have downloaded from elsewhere.

 

[Nicoal13]

I just bought the Creative Zen Micro 5gb mp3 player for DH for Christmas. I did a bunch of research and it has great reviews, has a rechargeable battery, a voice recorder, an FM tuner, address book and calendar. It was cheaper than an ipod and has more memory. It's very easy to use.

 

[Pokemom]

An Ipod's battery lasts for about 2 years and then you have to send it back to Apple to have a new battery put in. Cost is about $100 for a new battery. For younger children, I would recommend going with an MP3 player rather than an Ipod. They are cheaper and younger children do not usually need as much memory as there is in an Ipod.

 

[wdwstar]

crcormier is correct, i forgot to add that you can down load from itunes, that is what the $15 prepaid card is for itunes from target and i guess they are 99 cents a song

 

[Mom to 2]

Does the Creative Zen allow you to put songs on it from your own CD's??
I have a zillion questions and just dont know what to buy, all the reviews are so mixed!! I wish I knew someone personally who owned one. Up here in our small town, we are way behind the times!!!
Keep the ideas and suggestions coming please

Lory

 

[DizParks]

An Ipod's battery lasts for about 2 years and then you have to send it back to Apple to have a new battery put in. Cost is about $100 for a new battery. For younger children, I would recommend going with an MP3 player rather than an Ipod. They are cheaper and younger children do not usually need as much memory as there is in an Ipod.

The battery problem was for the first, second, and third generation iPods. There is a settlement to get this problem fixed. 4th and 5th generation iPods do not have any battery problems.

 

[Cindy B]

Not true, iTunes will very happily import any music CDs you own, and any other MP3 files you may already have on your computer or have downloaded from elsewhere.

Yes, Itunes very easily and quickly converted all types of music to Itunes for us. That included music from PtP sites (older stuff), our CD's that we burned, and other Mp3.

 

[ladysoleil]

Any MP3 player will let you put on songs from your own CD's. You will either need to use the software that comes with the player to do it, or download a program from the Internet to do this. It's called "ripping"- you rip the songs from your CD's, the program converts them to MP3, and then you use the software/cable/whatever that your MP3 player comes with to transfer it to the player.

A warning, if you have an Apple computer, you pretty much can only use the iPod, nothing else will work. If you have a PC, you have more choices.

My husband has an iPod, I have a Dell DJ. There are pros and cons of both- the iPod is "cooler" and a bit smaller and lighter, but I don't think it's as sturdy as my DJ is. I find the screen on my Dell easier to read than the one on the Mini, but the color screen on the new regular iPod is about even in terms of readability. I like the blue backlight on the DJ, but your kids will probably like that the iPod comes with a couple of games on it.

With one of the smaller, bargain mp3 players, you're not going to get any of those features anyway.

For kids, I might go with the DJ, it feels a bit more solid compared to the iPod and it costs less. The battery on the current models are the same or comparable to an iPod, the older ones last much longer between chargings, but you can't get those anymore, so, don't worry about that much. They have a new player that is like the Shuffle, it looks good although I haven't tried it.

Also, I don't know how good the Apple extended warranty is, but with the Dell Complete Care warranty, they'll replace it or repair it free, pretty much no matter what you do to it, and that includes the headphones and remote control. I know someone from another forum who accidentally dropped their DJ in the toilet and Dell replaced it, no problem. That's pretty good customer service. They've replaced my remote for free after I accidentally walked into a fence and smashed it- ripped the cable right out of it. They had me a replacement within 2 days.

I dropped my DJ from a ladder by accident once and it was just fine after a 6-foot drop to a hardwood floor. Didn't even skip, but one of my friends dropped his iPod on a carpeted floor and it broke.

My husband actually likes my DJ better than he likes his iPod, he likes not having to fuss with iTunes and he isn't tempted to buy a ton of music (on the Dell, you don't have to use the software it comes with to use it on the computer, you can just drag the files from your hard drive to the Dell, so you don't see the ads for new music, etc, that iTunes gives you. Less temptation to spend $$$.) But, he likes some of the iTunes features better than what I have, so, your mileage will vary.

Honestly, I would probably start them with the Dell and see if they took good enough care of it. If they break it or treat it roughly, you'll know they're probably not ready for the responsibility of owning the more expensive and delicate iPod just yet. (This probably doesn't apply to the Shuffle, which can probably hold up to more abuse since it doesn't have a hard drive.)

 

[Nicoal13]

Does the Creative Zen allow you to put songs on it from your own CD's??
I have a zillion questions and just dont know what to buy, all the reviews are so mixed!! I wish I knew someone personally who owned one. Up here in our small town, we are way behind the times!!!
Keep the ideas and suggestions coming please

Lory

Yes it does.

 

[Michelina]

I just bought my DH the 60 gig iPod photo for his birthday and he loves it! They say it holds 15,000 songs but we were only able to fit about 12,000. What I'm really looking forward to though is taking it to Disney and hooking up my digital camera to it to download my pictures every night when we get back from the parks.
We download a lot of podcasts from iTunes and it's nice to set it into its dock and it automatically updates itself. I'm not all that computer savvy so I'm not sure I'd know how to do all that myself.
All that being said, if I had kids I don't know that I'd buy one for them unless they were a teenager and the "cool" factor was of major importance!

 

[Mom to 2]

Does the Dell DJ have regular batteries I can buy for it??

Lory

 

[Mom to 2]

Also forgot to ask------The Dell DJ looks pretty good, but would I have to buy the dock with it also, or does it charge a different way too.

Thanks,

Lory