mp3 player recommendations?
john_doe
237 Posts
There was a post on here awhile back about alternatives to the iPod. I can't find the thread anymore, so I thought I'd ask again.Any good recommendations for an mp3 player (that isn't an iPod?) My stepdaughter wants one for xmas - she doesn't seem too taken by the iPod hype, but she has mentioned how much of a pain it is lugging around a portable CD player.BTW, any of you teachers out there, are your students allowed to use their iPods in class? They are in our school district, which I think is kind of ridiculous, but maybe I'm just 
I remember in junior high when kids would get into major trouble for bringing Walkmans to school.Wow, did I just hijack my own thread?Again, any mp3 player recommendations would be appreciated.John
I remember in junior high when kids would get into major trouble for bringing Walkmans to school.Wow, did I just hijack my own thread?Again, any mp3 player recommendations would be appreciated.John
Comments
most excellent forums.
a useful comparison chart between ipod, zune and creative mp3 players (of which i wouldnt get either of them, but for the general public its between these 3)
http://dapreview.net/zune_vs_ipod_vs_zvm.html
Hype or not, it's a dependable product, has a good price point, and accesses a huge music store. It's not about keeping up with the Joneses - all MP3 players, iPod included have limitations but in terms of basic reliability, usability and style, the iPod is a good product.
Most of the people I know who prefer devices other than the iPod are those looking for features that Apple doesn't include but these also tend to be people who desire a far higher level of customization than the average consumer. If your stepdaughter wants an Mp3 player to replace her CD player...get the iPod, hype or not, I can't imagine that she'd be disappointed.
At the very least, go to a store that has both and just simply hold both in your hand. In my experience, the iPod sells itself on that basis alone.
Yeah, sorry to reiterate like that, but
Doesn't your wife work for Apple or something ?
I'm not an mp3 guy, but let's face it : you can't share files from an ipod to a computer, and you can't get files from a computer that doesn't have their itune program.
Any other less expensive device can do that !
Get an Archos.
a free app called ipod ripper will rip any ipod to your computer no problem. if you have your
ipod enabled for disk use and you want to grab some filez over at your boys house and
he's running some brand of linux or some shit, just drag and drop files and add them to ituenes when
you hit the home base.
how much less expensive? and in what form factor?
i dont want to sound like a fanboy, but for the price, nobody touches the ipod for size, design, ease of use,
and quality customer service. let's face it, every six months they get more storage, smaller, with more features and the price doesnt go up.
just wait until the apple phone comes out. word is it's going to have a nano drive, 3mp camera, audio
out, etc.
...but in 2005, most of my income came from working for Microsoft and I'd never spend a minute shilling for anything MS puts out except maybe for Office which, at the end of the day, does what it needs to do and that's good enough for me.
I'm seriously not interested in getting into a debate over iPod vs. other MP3 players by trying to artificially prop on the former and shit on the latter. I'm sure there are some very good alternatives on the market in terms of functionality (though if someone can show me a better designed product from the standpoint of aesthetics, I'd like to see that) but at the end of the day, it sounds like the stepdaughter just wants a reliable MP3 player that she can use to load up her CDs tracks off of.
If that's the case, there's absolutely, positively no reason NOT to consider an iPod. One doesn't ultimately need to buy it, but avoiding it makes no sense whatsoever. There's no product out there that's better than it in terms of an overall package - the best you can come with is something that's better in some areas and worse in others.
I'm just saying: if I were a teenager or someone in their 20s - male or female - I cannot believe, for a moment, that I'd open up a Xmas present, see an iPod waiting there and think, "aw, this sucks."
Correction: if I were anything OTHER than a techie geek who wants an MP3 device that can also make phone calls over Skype, Bluetooth with my wristwatch, and do my taxes, I'd pretty pleased as punch to rock an iPod.
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Sony-NW-HD3-20GB...1QQcmdZViewItem
but hey ipod's are great too i'm sure. as any other mp3 player, this thing has it's own software but it's easy to use. Probably as easy as itunes.
I'll believe these once they're more than just "artist's conception".
The LG Chocolate - Verizon only for now but I'm sure they'll be as common as the razr within 6 months.
Sony makes walkman phones also, and have for a couple years:
I disagree. mine is smaller than an ipod and works 100% perfectly and is easy to use, and it was less than $150 when I got it brand new (not from the store, but if you look well enough, you'll find a deal). I don't see what the ipod really has over any of these other mp3 players out now.
am i the only person that doesnt want music on my phone? Is the appeal of this mainly for people that have no other computer? I dont get it.
Assuming you accept that the technical design and ease of use is comparable, then at the very least: aesthetics would be the dividing line. Not everyone has to find the iPod a work of product design marvel but the device is lauded precisely for that for a reason. It's not for lack of competition but for better or for worse, Apple set the standard and I have yet to see very many players that don't try to ape its design. The exceptions would be the more "stick" design players which I think appeal to a very different kind of consumer but in terms of the basic "pod" lines and what not, Apple has created one of the defining products the same way the VW Beetle was last century. As noted: not everyone has to roll with it but for most people, the iPod sells itself on being a good technical product and beautiful to boot.
Well, I wouldn't mind one if I didn't already have an mp3 player. I don't drive so when I'm walking, riding the bus, the train, etc., it's nice to have music everywehre you go. Nothing is worse than sitting on the bus with a bunch of ghetto ass kids who won't shut up. Also, I get away with listening in one ear to my mp3 player most of the day. Most people think it's an ear piece to a phone, how ironic.
To answer your question, I believe the appeal is to those who do not have an mp3 player and need a new cell phone.
Yes this is true and I understand that much, however I guess what I'm really saying is that nowadays, other companies are definitely on the level with this technology and iPod is not the end-all of mp3 players as it was when it came out. You actually responded to my statement perfectly, I just didn't phrase my comment correctly. What I meant was, I don't see how people think iPod is a better mp3 player than other new players on the market. They definitely have a comfy seat in the market, but their machines are not any more technically effective than other players out now. Don't get me wrong though, I think iPods are great and cool and slick and all, but their are alternatives that do have a slight edge on certain aspects of the iPod (as aforementioned, my 20gb sony is smaller than the 20 and 30 gb iPods I've seen).
i'm thinking of buying in additional mp3 player, for soley listening to music (my current iriver h20 i just wanna dedicate to recording).
HOW PRACTICAL is it owning an ipod and NOT USING ITUNES? and how easy/possible is it to transfer music to an ipod as if it was recognized as a removeable drive?
AND, can you recover tracks from and ipod EASILY.
anyone know if rockbox has made it onto the ipod yet efficiently?
if so, i'd possibly the ipod my next mp3 player, if not, i'm looking elsewhere, like cowan or something.
I've tried using itunes to organise my mp3 collection and I can't get on with it. I've already put everything in folders, which is all that matters come copying time, and I always browse this way. I've gone with MediaMonkey to manage the collection and my mp3 player is a 256Mb generic chinese one that a bloke at work gave me for FREE (it came with his gym membership) because he's already got an ipod.
I can get 2-3 hours worth of tunes on it. I can't recall the last time I had 2-3 hours straight to listen to music anyway; 45 mins in the gym is all it gets used for. I can kind of understand the appeal of massive gigabyte storage, to carry the whole collection around for the car or whatever, but working in I.T., the more portable these things are, the shorter they last.
- radio play
- line-in recording
- photo gallery
- video player
- voice recorder
- storage
also important is:
- easy interface
- functional design
- accessibility to upgrades / updates / trouble shooting info
over the past couple of years i've used iRiver and Cowon iAudio. iRiver was good, but it's design lent itself to fall apart easily. i had it replaced once, with a new player, but it fucked up again, so i just gave up. my iAudio was tempermental, and died after about 3 months. i returned it to Cowon to get fixed, and it wasn't replaced, but "fixed." within weeks, it fucked up again. getting some sort of assistance online or over the phone was futile. Mind you, I'm not rough with the devices (eg. using while running), but more so using them while in transit (NYC public transportation) or at work.
i was getting excited about what the MS zune had to offer feature-wise, but have read too many horror stories to even want to fuck with it now.
sandisk's sansa player seems cool, but not really feeling the plastic scroll wheel or it's AOL-like interface. i was speaking with a gadget reviewer for a magazine (who also considered himself an audiophile) said he preferred this after his iPod. it's an 8 gig player, with expansion memory of 2 gigs for a possible 10 gig device which is also pretty cool. it's cheaper than the nano, and has the features i'm interested in. if they come out with a newer player with the kinks worked out, i might spring for it.
until then, i'm waiting for the next shit to drop (that's got its bugs worked out) at a reasonable price...
The new one is pretty kewl (30 gigs). And if you buy it using Google Checkout, you save 20 bucks ($180.31)! It's got a bunch of features including FM radio & recorder and has been well reviewed.
http://www.buy.com/prod/Creative_Zen_Vis.../202155623.html
And I know the Zune has been reviewed for shit, but I do like alot of the hacking capabilities I've seen comings around for it.
It might be (physically) too big for some people, but it fits just fine in my jeans front pocket. 30 gb which is more than enough for most people. Can store photos apparently, although I don't use it for that (ditto for voice recording). The manual suggests syncing it with Media Player, but personally I just drag and drop with Windows Explorer. Relatively cheap. Looks good - every ipod owner who's seen it has cooed over it, ha ha...only thing which bothers me is that the shuffle isn't quite as random as I'd like it to be.
I know a girl who picked that up last year. It looked really cool. I didn't know it was drag-and-drop though for mp3's, that's a great feature. So is the voice recording. Internal mic? Or do you have to plug one in? Does it have a line in? It looks a lot cooler than in ipod too, and if I remember correctly, the control interface is a black touch screen and the navigation options light up when they are available. Pretty slick. Looks like they are about half of what they cost when they came out originally, too.
why in gods name can I not get this on a digital player!?!?! Its totally ridiculous. The cowan has an internal mic, and line-in attachment but its not actually part of the machine. REALLY- I just want to be able to field record as I would have with any of my busted mini disc players.