what's an I-pod?

[Mickey527]

Yes, I do know something about what they are but I am confused about the whole thing. I-pod, mp3, etc...
I was out of the loop for over a year when I was going through treatments last year and sometime during that time the whole electrinics iindustry went nuts.
Now my son tells me he wants an I-pod mp3 player for Christmas.
I checked on a few of the BF ads and some stores have an i-pod for $199. Other stores have mp3 recorders for $89.
What is an i-pod and mp3 player, or recorder? I have to learn this before Thursday. I am too old for all this modern stuff. My grandmother lived to see horse and buggy change to cars, and airplanes and space travel. I can't even deal with the electronic changes in my lifetime. Peggie

 

[tink2dw]

I'm no expert. But the way my Dd explained it to me is it is about what type of music file is used[like the dfference between cassette tapes and cds] and how you get those files on to your device[can you play 8 track tapes,cassette tapes and cd's all on 1 machine the size of a cell phone or smaller] and what files your device lets you use.

My Dd's reviews

i-pod - you are buying a fancy name, they have consistantly limited the chose of files you can buy to the more expensive type. And it has limited ablities compared to other brands. songs cost $1.00 to $2.99 [beware about where you download from it can be a hazard to your computer Please ask follow DIS'ers for recomendations]

mp3 players - you can download your own cd's on to it and buy music for it and most still use both type of sound files. songs cost $1.00 to $2.99

There is a 3rd one that my Dd's friend's use that does it all plus!! - One of the reasons they like the Creative is because you can download all your own cds and buy songs from Walmart for 88 cents!!The Creative is a mp3 player,a FM radio,and a vioce recorder. And it is easy on batteries. price $59.95
[walmart.com http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3132182#Accessories+to+Buy]

Creative 256 MB MuVo TX FM MP3 Player

Play MP3 music, listen to FM radio, and even use the built-in microphone for handy voice recordings with the ultra-light (1.1 ounces) MuVo TX FM MP3 Player. 256 MB of flash memory stores up to eight hours of WMA or four hours of MP3 music. Super-fast USB 2.0 transfers music files in blazing speed to and from your computer.
256 MB flash memory
Holds up to eight hours WMA or four hours MP3 music
Built-in FM radio and recorder
Fast USB 2.0
Built-in microphone for voice recording
Skip free audio, perfect for the active lifestyle
Simple drag-and-drop for music and data files
5-band custom equalizer and four presets (Jazz, Rock, Pop and Classical)
ID3 tags for easy folder navigation with the convenient scroll button
High-resolution backlit LCD is reversible for left or right handed operation
Carry presentations, photos and any other data files between personal computers at home, at work or on the road
Weight: 1.1 oz without battery
Up to 15 hours of MP3 continuous play on one AAA battery



Good luck!!

 

[Topper]

Visit the iPod section of the Apple Store!

 

[SueM in MN]

70% of all the MP3 players sold last year were ipods.
85% of the legally downloaded MP3 music was downloaded from the apple itunes website.

The itunes software is very easy to use.

i-pod - you are buying a fancy name, they have consistantly limited the chose of files you can buy to the more expensive type. And it has limited ablities compared to other brands. songs cost $1.00 to $2.99 [beware about where you download from it can be a hazard to your computer Please ask follow DIS'ers for recomendations]

mp3 players - you can download your own cd's on to it and buy music for it and most still use both type of sound files. songs cost $1.00 to $2.99

You can download songs directly from the itunes site (at 99cents a song). Those songs are already in the format that itunes/ipod can read.
You can download from other sites or in other formats - you just have to drag the files to itunes for it to change them into the type of file itunes can use. Some of the sites that are cheaper are not paying the artists for use of the songs.
If you download a song from itunes, it is on your computer and you own the copies of the song that you have. There are some other sites that allow you to download music for a monthly price - those are only useabe as long as you are paying the monthly fee and renewing them (I'm not saying that's bad - for some people who like new music all the time, that's good. But, it's important to know when comparing).

You can download your own CDs onto itunes and onto an ipod (80% of the music on my ipod is from CDs I downloaded to itunes.) It is very easy to do .

 

[crisi]

And, if you like books on tape, www.audible.com will sell you iPod versions.

To the OP, I'd ask if what your son wants is an iPod or an MP3 player. An iPod is an MP3 player (actually, it changes the format so its not .mp3 files, but thats done in the software), but not all MP3 players are iPods, and the iPod has a coolness factor that the Zen or other players lack for a lot of teens. They also have far more accessorties for the iPod - including things like Bose speakers.

The next thing to ask is what he wants. There are small units like the Shuffle, which are cheaper but don't have a unit based interface, you interact with it through your computer. So you load it an play it. My iPod is an older 15 gig, which means I can through thousands of songs on it and it has an interface, so I can choose what I want to listen to in moments. Other brands have other features (like radios as mentioned above)

 

[EthansMom]

Both Ipods and mp3s are digital recording devices. With an Ipod or mp3, your son could download music, podcasts (like radio programs, but made to be downloaded), audiobooks, and there is even an Ipod that can download video (but you would have to own that particular Ipod).

Some of the Ipods and mp3s have small hard drives to record the media. The Ipod and some mp3s have a Flash Memory (like the memory card you use in a digital camera) and there are no moving parts.

In general, the more memory that the Ipod or mp3 has, the more expensive. Also, the Ipod Nano is probably one of the most popular gifts for Christmas.

Once your son has an Ipod or mp3, he'll be able to download music from download web-sites or he could download music that he already has on cd.

Some good accessories would be a cover/case since some Ipods and mp3s scratch quite easily and a gift card for a compatible download website.

Personally, if I had a preteen child who wanted an Ipod, I would get him/her an Ipod shuffle which can store a couple hundred songs (price $99-$129). If my teen child wanted an Ipod (and it was in my budget to do so), I would buy him/her an Ipod Nano ($199-$250 retail). I would also get my child a cover/case and a gift card for Itunes.

Apple is currently offering Free Shipping (ships within 24 hours) on Ipod shuffles and Ipod Nanos. Or you could visit an Apple retail store at one of these locations: http://www.apple.com/retail/

 

[Cindy B]

Ipod--much better. If you dont get an Ipod, chances are that the item will be returned. If they ask for an Ipod, get an Ipod, not a Zen, Creative Labs or Scandisk.. an Ipod is what they want.

I have an Ipod. My DH has an Ipod. I work in high schools and middle schools. Hundreds of students have Ipods--only one that I know of uses his off brand. The cool factor means Ipod.

You can get a student discount off an Ipod. There are many ways to do that.

 

[maggiew]

How old is your son? If he is 12 or older, I would say get an iPod. That is what he probably wants.

Another thing to keep in mind is the size of the mp3 player (as in how many songs it can hold). You can't compare a $89 512 MB iRiver MP3 player to a 4GB $199 iPod. You need to compare prices of equal sized players.

I was looking through the sales ads this week looking for a non-iPod for my niece (she is too young to care about the coolness factor yet). I was surprised that the non-iPod players weren't ALL that cheaper than the iPod. I would rather spend the little extra if I know that my child will use it.

I got my DD13 the 30GB iPod (she didn't want a nano, it scratches too easy and is too small). I got my DD10 a 512 MB iPod shuffle.

By the way, my DD has about 600 songs on iTunes on her computer. Most of them are from her CDS (and some of our CDs). She will easily be able to transfer these to her iPod when she gets it for Christmas. So, you CAN put your CD files on the iPods.


Maggie

 

[poohj80]

i-pod - they have consistantly limited the chose of files you can buy to the more expensive type.

mp3 players - you can download your own cd's on to it and buy music for it

You can also download songs from CDs onto an Ipod.

 

[JodyTG]

You can also download songs from CDs onto an Ipod.

Do you have to have a special program or accessory to do this? My DD-14 wants one of these for Christmas and I really don't want her downloading songs from the internet and getting yet another virus on our PC. Plus, iTunes would get really expensive if she used them.

 

[poohj80]

From the Apple Store Ipod site:

Transferring Your iTunes Music to Your iPod
When you get your iPod, you’ll want to start listening to music right away. Transferring songs to your iPod starts with your computer and iTunes. If you don’t have iTunes (and the iPod Software) installed on your computer, use the CD that came with your iPod to install it. Then, you can buy songs from the iTunes music store, or import CDs to your iTunes music library.

 

[hmgolden]

Do you have to have a special program or accessory to do this? My DD-14 wants one of these for Christmas and I really don't want her downloading songs from the internet and getting yet another virus on our PC. Plus, iTunes would get really expensive if she used them.

You can use iTunes to manage your music library without actually buying any music from the iTunes store.

 

[crisi]

I have a few hundred songs on my iPod. I've bought ONE song from iTunes, the rest are from my CD collection. Moving CDs into your iPod is very easy.

On the other hand, iTunes is a great way to get "the one song you like" from an album. $.99 for a song sure beats $15 for the CD.

 

[Tinkerbell58]

My 12 year old DD wants an iPod Shuffle. I was told by a friend of my sister's that to replace the batteries, you have to send it back to Apple and it costs around $60. Is this correct?

I'm really computer challenged, so I'd appreciate any help you can give me. Heck, I'm lucky I know how to turn a computer on!

 

[poohj80]

The battery is rechargeable, but if for some reason the battery stops charging then you would have to buy a replacement from Apple.

 

[Tinkerbell58]

The battery is rechargeable, but if for some reason the battery stops charging then you would have to buy a replacement from Apple.

Okay, that make sense. I was under the impression that whenever the batteries went dead, it had to go back to Apple.

So, if the batteries get too old to hold a charge, then it goes back to Apple for a replacement battery?

 

[poohj80]

So, if the batteries get too old to hold a charge, then it goes back to Apple for a replacement battery?

I assume so but haven't had that problem yet.