ipod?

[june]

Hello All,

My wife wants an ipod. We know nothing about this device. What do you suggest we get? It will be use for two things:

1. She want to start wakling (exercise)
2. I'll use it for dance class. Instead of carrying in the big boom box, I'll use the ipod with some sort of speaker.

[Martyn]

Avoid anything with a hard disc - go for flash memory instead. Read up on other people's experiences in the various users' fora before making your choice, and don't expect to find anything with a life of more than a year or two.

[H.Donald]

I have purchased several of them.My wife and children each have Nano's...the 4gb versions,which I believe will hold around a 1000 songs.
I use a Creative Zen Sleek 30gb...

The 4 Gb Nanos are fairly small,but not so much that you don't know it there...which is good.My Zen is substantial also,which I like.I believe the main thing the Nano has over the Shuttle and the Mini is the screen...always nice to see what's playing.

I take my Zen out everyday for walking and hikes.Shortly after I got it,I realized that the stock headphones had to go.My ears are just not meant for the buds that come with it...plus of course the natural urge to upgrade.I now have several pairs of headphones plus an amp for it...yes,I'm a little out there...
I have a pair of Sennheiser HD-25s for hikes...they do not move during hikes or working out.The only drawback is you look a little dorky.Ialso have some Shure in ear monitors,which also fit snuggly.
As for which iPod is right for you?...depends on how much music you would like to store,do you want video or not...if the screen is important and so on...
It's a great little device that I use much more than I ever thought I would.
Happy hunting!!

[KeithM]

I'd get a zune over an ipod anyday.

[Evil Twin]

I have several iPods; for your application, I think a 4GB or 8GB Nano would be the way to go, depending on your music storage requirements.

I use CD's ripped to Apple Lossless, so they're is theoretically no degradation in quality. Of course, if you have an MP3 collection already, you can use those. I update it with the CD's ripped to my music server library (about 140 GB on an iMac).

I do use the iTunes store, but mostly for Video- TV shows.

The Nano is quite small and light, and easily works with a lanyard, and of course there are no (reasonable) shock issues.

I do have an 80GB iPod, too, but thats for travel when I want more music or video without the bulk of a laptop, which in economy seats isn't always practical to use (especially international).

~Jon

[june]

What do you think?????

http://www.uxcell.com/uxcell/retail/item/showItemLayout.php?action=showItem&id=mv0red2048mp048

[Brandon B]

I think you'd have pretty good odds of regretting that purchase . . .

No name manufacturer, no name retailer, priced in the sort of too good to be true range.

BB

[Brandon B]

I'd get a zune over an ipod anyday.

You ought to at least give a reason or two.

[june]

Ordered!!

After talking to a few friends, we ordered the player this morning. I'll let everyone know the outcome? Folk say the ipod's hard drive may last a year. So for $60, I'll take a chance.

[sokoban]

If you're at all handy with electronics, picking up a broken iPod is the way to go, IMO.

4th generation iPods especially had a few common flaws which often manifested after the warranty expired (loose hard drive cable, battery problems) and could be fixed at little or no cost.

The main problem to look for is a 4th generation iPod which doesn't boot up. The iPod should charge just fine, and when turned on, the hard drive will start to spin up, but then a click is heard and it stops. It will go through this spin up, click, stop routine a couple times, and then display a folder icon or a triangle/exclamation mark icon. This is what happens when the hard drive ribbon cable is loose. In order to fix that, open the iPod and disassemble it as if you wanted to swap hard drives. Lift up the black piece of tape which covers where the hard drive ribbon cable meets the main board, and flip up the connector, allowing the ribbon cable to come loose from the main board. Reseat the ribbon cable in the connector and latch it, then cover it with a piece of electrical tape. The problem should be fixed. I've made a pretty penny doing that to broken iPods I've gotten from people.