Need experiences with Apple iPod ASAP!

[KarenB]

Hi! DS turns 14 today. All he wanted for his birthday is money so he can purchase an Apple iPod. He has been searching the Internet for the best deal. This is ALOT of money for a 14 year old to save (and he has). I don't mind if he buys this, but I want to make sure he is getting a good product.


There is a mini (4gb) for $249 and a 10gb for $299. We feel the 10 is a better buy for $50 more. On the Apple site it says 15 gb for $299. We can't find anywhere else selling this 15gb....could it be an error??

The docking station is $40 which is used to recharge it and play it through a home stereo.

We have a Gateway PC conncected to the Internet and a hp laptop (no Internet) is which he can transfer songs.

Please tell me your experiences with this product before he makes a decision!!!

Thanks!
Karen

 

[Beast]

Sorry Karen,

I can't be of much help but I WAS wondering if an "Apple" ipod would be compatible with your other computer hardware. From your description, your computers aren't Apple.

Just a thought because I really don't know.

 

[Beast]

Nevermind. I just answered my own question. I looked it up on Amazon. They have the 10gb one there for $299 but no shipping and no tax. I've been getting a lot through Amazon lately and I've been really happy with the results. Most orders come within a week. Considering the savings on tax and shipping, it's worth it.

 

[KrnB]

The Amazon site shows the 10GB, 20GB and 30GB models, but Apple is advertising 15GB, 20GB and 40GB. My guess is that Amazon probably has slightly older models advertised - probably by a week or something silly like that. BestBuy.com has the 10GB, 20GB and 40GB.

There is probably no difference other than the amount that it will hold.

As a Mac user, I've ordered my computers through Apple and have been pleased with their service. For smaller things or software, I usually shop around on sites like MacWarehouse.com (shared site with PCWarehouse.com), MacConnection.com, and MacMall.com for the best prices. Since the iPod includes software for both Mac and PC, you can shop just about anywhere.

 

[Cindy B]

We have been pricing out IPODS as well. There are a few ways to find some slightly (ever so slightly) lower. First search the Apple site for refurburshed items. Occasionally, there are refurb deals on the Apple site.

Also, do a google site on educational discounts on IPODs as well. There is a website out there for either full time students or teachers (I think you qualify there as well Karen) that you can get a small eduacational discount. If I can find the link, I will get it for you. I want to say www.education.com but that may be wrong. I saw it listed either on www.mycoupons.com or www.fatwallet.com.

 

[Feralpeg]

I saw something on Fox News abut IPODs. It seems that when they originally came out, Apple didn't offer a replacement when the battery eventually died and would no longer take a charge. When this happened to this one guy, they told him he'd have to buy a new IPOD. He and a friend started a big interent campaign to inform people of the fact that apple didn't stand behind their product. Since then, Apple has come up with a replacement battery, however it is expensive. I believe they said it cost about $150 for a new battery. You might want to ask about it. Good luck!

 

[lindamg]

I love my iPod! The only piece of advise I would give is get the one with the largest GB that you can reasonably afford. I have one of the earliest models and I filled it up much more easily than I anticipated. I'm holding out for a new one already! If I can fill it up as an old geezer, I imagine a teen-ager would go through those GBs at a rapid rate!!

 

[luv2nascar]

Okay I don't know all that much about these things but DH got an archos 30 GB for christmas. I don't think the Ipod will allow you to play from the radio and they charge you on their website to down load songs which I think you will have to use because of the way it is set up. I think I read its also not all that compatible with other computers beside the apple.

When DH found all this out he no longer wnated it. Also with the 10GB you don't get all the accessories with the Ipod. From my understanding these alone are worth over $125 so you should just get the 20GB more expensive one to get the accessories also.

I would just do my homework research it some more on the internet. DH loves his Archos. I think it was $249 or so at Circuit City.

 

[battricia]

I would advise getting the 15gig for 299. It's the newest model (in the price range you're looking at) with the most amount of hard drive space. Hopefully they've updated the software in the ipod so that the battery problem doesn't happen anymore. The mini ipod is not worth it in my opinion, 4 gigs for $250 is outrageous if you ask me. 15 gig for $299 is not that bad, your son will get as much music on there as he wants with out having to worry about choosing the music he wants to put on.

to the other person who asked about compatibility, the ipod is compatible with both pc and macintosh.


tricia.

 

[floridafam]

Get the 15 one from Apple-I wouldn't get the mini one-it's too much money for what you get.

The replacement batteries are $99.

I would say that the 15gb on Apple's website is correct. It is probably just a new version.

Make sure you get one that can be used with Windows.

You can get an educational discount through Apple. We did when we bought our Mac. There is a link right on their website. I don't know if it applies to ipods but I will check.

Good luck with your purchase.

 

[floridafam]

Yes! We were able to link to the education discounts and the ipods are $269.

Yes, the 15 gb is correct. You are getting a better model for the same price as what the 10gb ones were selling for just a few weeks ago.

Go to apples website and click on education. Then click on apple store for education in the right hand part of the screen. This should take you to a page where you can find your K-12 school or university. This should give you the discounted prices.

Let me know if you need any more info.

 

[trishy]

I have a 40gb and my 2 girls have the 10 gb iPods - we all love our iPods very very much - They CAN be used on Windows - we have Windows XP and after some minor tweaking, all 3 iPods run terrific!!! No problems at all here. Another thing, iTunes does charge $.99 per song or $9.99 for most albums; however, they come in .aac format. No problem though - you can add your own cd's - put them in .mp3 format if you like and they work just great on the iPod. You can still burn the .aac iTune to CD if you want. iPod supports most formats except .WMA - so you gotta watch it there. The docking station is mainly for use with the stereo since you don't really need it to download songs onto the iPod from the computer - the cable works directly.

My advice, GET IT - get the biggest you can afford - my dd14 has about 1,500 songs on hers already since Xmas!!! She's already begging me to trade. HAH! as if...

Also, if you son needs a little help the Apple forum is horrible - try the iPodLounge for more useful help.

 

[KarenB]

Thank you ALL for this valuable information!! Cindy-I would have never thought about the possible educational discount!!

As soon as DS gets home, I will have him read this thread! Sounds like good news with the 15gb.

Thanks again and I'll let you know his decision!
Karen

 

[phamton]

Originally posted by Feralpeg
I saw something on Fox News abut IPODs. It seems that when they originally came out, Apple didn't offer a replacement when the battery eventually died and would no longer take a charge. When this happened to this one guy, they told him he'd have to buy a new IPOD. He and a friend started a big interent campaign to inform people of the fact that apple didn't stand behind their product. Since then, Apple has come up with a replacement battery, however it is expensive. I believe they said it cost about $150 for a new battery. You might want to ask about it. Good luck!

The website that disses the iPod is: http://www.ipodsdirtysecret.com/

These two guys are making a big deal out of nothing.

Apparently some Apple representative told them the wrong information, and they never bothered to check any other sources.

Here are the facts:

Most iPod batteries work fine for well over 18 months. I have a first generation iPod from two years ago that is still going strong.

Apple will replace an out of warranty iPod battery for $99, not the $200+ that these guys are claiming. Here's the official link: http://depot.info.apple.com/ipod/

You can replace the battery yourself. You can buy replacements here for $49: http://www.ipodbattery.com/


Many are inclined to think that this whole mess is some attempt at guerilla marketing by a competitor. It certainly seems to have worked, as this video is showing up at tech sites all over the place, and most people seem to take it at face value.

This is not an issue specific to the iPod, it is common among all small devices using small Lithium Ion batteries. And Apple (the manufacturer of the iPod) has since started a program to replace out-of-warranty batteries for $99 http://www.ipodhacks.com/article.php?sid=451

These guys weren't too bright. Not only have they videotaped themselves committing criminal vandalism, they've released the footage publicly.