MP3 player advice needed

[Cindy B]

Actually not exactly "history". My DH works at Circuit City and encounters these problems all the time. as he works in the department where the iPods are sold. The reality is that batteries do and will die out over time...and no matter how great a brand iPod is, it will even happen to their batteries.

We've had 5 in two years (upgrades) and never had a problem with battery life.

My kids have not had a problem with thier Nanos either.

And I have to say this, I work in a middle/high school as a sub teacher. If you don't have an Ipod, it is very very very uncool.. I see kids apologizing all the time for thier "offbrand" Mp3 players.

The only other cooler thing is cell phones that play music. Psp's are dying out.

 

[brivers222]

I got an Iriver for christmas as a gag gift since my last name is rivers... so it is fitting... I River(s)

Speaking of Ipods... My DW has a 30G video one. I bought it for her last christmas, the salesman stated right up front to expect the battery to die in about 3 years. So I am not 100% sold on them, eventhough I like them and their features, spending $299 every three years is not what I like to see in a product.

 

[Bambi5826]

And I have to say this, I work in a middle/high school as a sub teacher. If you don't have an Ipod, it is very very very uncool.. I see kids apologizing all the time for thier "offbrand" Mp3 players.

Off brand stuff dosen't bother me, i grew up on that, lol. and pretty much the brands i have heard listed here are all name brands to me.Anyway, I am just looking for something to fit me.

thank u all so much for all the info. i have quite a list here to check out!

 

[Cindy B]

Off brand stuff dosen't bother me, i grew up on that, lol. and pretty much the brands i have heard listed here are all name brands to me.Anyway, I am just looking for something to fit me.

thank u all so much for all the info. i have quite a list here to check out!

I grew up the offbrand way as well. It doesn't bother me either, but kids NOTICE and in my area are cruel about it.

Yes, the Dell DJ, and Iriver are brands, but in kids eyes, those are off brands. They may as well not exist.

You know you can get a discount on Apple website if you are a student or educator.

 

[goofyforlife]

I grew up the offbrand way as well. It doesn't bother me either, but kids NOTICE and in my area are cruel about it.

Kids are only as shallow as the parents who let them get that way......

I bought my dd an IPOD shuffle last x-mas. For her age and responsibility level it's fine and has the IPOD name.... However, for almost half as much money i got myself a better MP3 unit.

My DD only cares about how much music she can put on the player....

Needless to say, my player has been eh "borrowed" by her much more than i care to count over the last year while her other one sits in a drawer, name brand or not.

i consider myself lucky that my DD doesn't care who name is tatooed on her clothes. She would rather have two outffits from a cheaper store than 1 name brand anyday. Fit and comfort are probably the most important to her.

A few years ago, i stopped buying her nice things like GAP sweatshirts or whatnot when she left them at school one afternoon and it magically disappeared never to be seen again. Same thing happened a couple weeks later with a second one. (and this all took place in her home classroom)

Yeah kids are shallow, but they're a bunch of thieves too.....

 

[notnothin]

I grew up the offbrand way as well. It doesn't bother me either, but kids NOTICE and in my area are cruel about it.

Yes, the Dell DJ, and Iriver are brands, but in kids eyes, those are off brands. They may as well not exist.

You know you can get a discount on Apple website if you are a student or educator.

Blah, kids will be kids. I couldn't care less if they don't think it's cool. They'll change their mind when that (spinning) hard drive gives out and/or the socketed battery dies. Solid state and non-proprietary software for me!

 

[DizGeek]

spending $299 every three years is not what I like to see in a product.

Why would you do this? Just get a new battery IF it dies. They have a battery replacement program.

 

[Cindy B]

Kids are only as shallow as the parents who let them get that way......

I bought my dd an IPOD shuffle last x-mas. For her age and responsibility level it's fine and has the IPOD name.... However, for almost half as much money i got myself a better MP3 unit.

My DD only cares about how much music she can put on the player....

Needless to say, my player has been eh "borrowed" by her much more than i care to count over the last year while her other one sits in a drawer, name brand or not.

QUOTE]

That because the suffle is well, uncool. My son didn't even want a shuffle.. no screen, no capabilities and no cool do dads such as games, timer, and calendar. He told me that shuffles were boring and babyish.

My kids love thier Nanos... they take great care of them. I got them for $120 and about $150 on Ebay for the 4 gig nanos.. the biggest non video there is!

We got them and they both still had extended warranty on them!

 

[Cindy B]

Blah, kids will be kids. I couldn't care less if they don't think it's cool. They'll change their mind when that (spinning) hard drive gives out and/or the socketed battery dies. Solid state and non-proprietary software for me!

The Nano does not have a hard drive--its a flash drive.. no spinning!

 

[Cindy B]

Why would you do this? Just get a new battery IF it dies. They have a battery replacement program.

Exactly.. battery replacement is pretty inexpensive. I think its even covered by the applecare program.

 

[Cindy B]

I got an Iriver for christmas as a gag gift since my last name is rivers... so it is fitting... I River(s)

Speaking of Ipods... My DW has a 30G video one. I bought it for her last christmas, the salesman stated right up front to expect the battery to die in about 3 years. So I am not 100% sold on them, eventhough I like them and their features, spending $299 every three years is not what I like to see in a product.

You probably got a crappy salesperson.. let me guess Best Buy?

 

[sjh801]

OK, I'll jump in with some questions. I want one to listen mostly to podcasts, music(classical and oldies) and books. Oh, and don't they do TV shows now? Any thoughts on what would be best for me?

 

[notnothin]

The Nano does not have a hard drive--its a flash drive.. no spinning!

Indeed ... do you work for Apple? j/k

 

[mking624]

We've had 5 in two years (upgrades) and never had a problem with battery life.

My kids have not had a problem with thier Nanos either.

Well that's great, but that doesn't mean your battery will last a lifetime. It won't...that's the reality of ANY battery. Yes they have a battery replacement program...but I'd rather spend a few bucks on a battery I can recharge and replace myself...rather than spend $66 (replacement plus s&h) any time I need the battery replaced. To each his own.

And I have to say this, I work in a middle/high school as a sub teacher. If you don't have an Ipod, it is very very very uncool.. I see kids apologizing all the time for thier "offbrand" Mp3 players.

The only other cooler thing is cell phones that play music. Psp's are dying out.

If kids are so snobby that they look down on people who own something other than an iPod, that's just sad.

But honestly, no one should base a decision on an mp3 player just because one particular brand is "cool." Who cares if it's cool...the question is if it's the best option for you. iPods are simply not the be all end all of the mp3 world.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Those battery issues came with Ipods before the click wheel

?? All iPods have a click wheel, even the very first ones issued.

 

[Bambi5826]

if i purhcase an ipod, will it only work with itunes, or will mp3s i have already downloaded work on it?

i am SO new to this. up untill about 2 weeks ago, i was fine taking my bulky cd player to the gym. then i really got to looking around, and there was about 95% of the people there with mp3s. i gotta catch up.

 

[Ladyslug]

ok then, one more quick question.....will all MP3 players read all mp3s? ex. will the ipod play the ones i have already downloaded, or must they come from iTunes?

All mp3 players will play files with the suffix .mp3. iPods will also play .m4a and .m4p files (also known as AAC files), but .wma files will need to be converted through software. iPods other than the shuffle (and other brands besides Apple) can also play .wav and .aiff files. Other brands will likely not support .m4a files and will definitely not play .m4p files, but should have no problem with .wma files. I just wanted to be clear that not all audio files are "mp3"s.

I have a 3G 15GB iPod and a 4GB iPod nano (great for working out, since no moving parts to get messed up), and I wouldn't dream of getting anything else (but I'm a Mac person, so I need the integration -- I'm not saying iPods are perfect for everyone). Rechargable batteries will always die eventually, but they are replaceable at this point, and, barring some sort of true defect, should last longer than 3 years.

Also, my F-I-L has had an iRiver and a SanDisk player, and he has really liked them.

"Click wheel" refers to the wheel style introduced with the iPod mini -- with the buttons integrated onto the wheel itself, allowing scrolling and clicking with nothing but the wheel. Before that, the iPod had separate buttons above the "scroll wheel" (like my 3G) or separate buttons arranged around the scroll wheel (like the 1G and 2G versions).

 

[Cindy B]

?? All iPods have a click wheel, even the very first ones issued.

The 1st/2nd gen Ipods didn't have a click wheel... it was more of a button schmatic... There were four buttons on top.

http://www.ipodmods.com/shop/ipod-color-mods.html

If you see the first few it was set in the schematic of a click wheel, but were specific buttons. This was 1st-mid 3rd gen. Click wheel came out late 3rd gen. These buttons were brought forth the schematic of the click wheel but not the true functionality that we know. This is just to prove that Ipods did not originally come with a click wheel.



As for the cool factor, it is important to kids. As much as we all hate to admit it, think of when we were in high school. Wasn't it all about fitting it, status quo and conformity?

Kids will and do get made fun of if they have a "off brand" Ipod. Even the good college prep kids do this. Back in my day, it was the "bobo" sneakers that people made fun of.. now its electronics.

I can't tell you how many kids I hear crying in the bathrooms about this... or the discussions in the hallway.. "My parents were too cheap to get me an Ipod" or "My parents didn't want to do this"...

 

[Cindy B]

Indeed ... do you work for Apple? j/k

No I don't.. just a boring teacher to be!

However, my DH is a electronics/computer geek and my BIL works for Apple though!

 

[Bambi5826]

As for the cool factor, it is important to kids. As much as we all hate to admit it, think of when we were in high school. Wasn't it all about fitting it, status quo and conformity?

Kids will and do get made fun of if they have a "off brand" Ipod. Even the good college prep kids do this. Back in my day, it was the "bobo" sneakers that people made fun of.. now its electronics.

I can't tell you how many kids I hear crying in the bathrooms about this... or the discussions in the hallway.. "My parents were too cheap to get me an Ipod" or "My parents didn't want to do this"...

Where exactly do u live? i went to a private elementry school, and never even had a problem with my off brand stuff. even though public junor high and high school, i never saw kids get so upset as to cry in the bathroom!