Should i buy an iPod?

[one4u2]

Goto Europe!! Soooooooo worth it!

 

[namkcuR]

I apologize in advance for the excessive length of this post.

I own an IPod, not a U2 one, just a regular white one, and I've had it for over a year now, since before U2 put their name on it and as a result made all of us at Interference begin drooling. I take my IPod everywhere. When I went to Cancun last summer, during the day every day when I went to the beach, I had it with me. I'd go in the water, and then I'd get out and sunbathe either earbuds in, U2/Radiohead/Pearl Jam/Nirvana/GnR/whatever playing to me. It REALLY added another layer to what was already a great experience...watching the Mexico sun set while on the beach WITH the music playing.

I take to campus every day. I listen to music during breaks, the biggest of which is a two hour twenty minute break I have on Mondays and Wednesdays. Today is Wednesday so I had that break, and during it I listened to selected tracks from Radiohead's The Bends and OK Computer. Also today, extenuating circumstances forced me to ride the bus home. When I left campus, I put my earbuds in. I walked from campus to the bus station, stood and waited twenty minutes for the bus to arrive, rode on the bus for twenty minutes, and walked another twenty minutes from the bus stop near my house, to my house. And the WHOLE time I had my earbuds in. And I listened to a wide variety of U2 music, from the Last Night On Earth Single to the Melon disc to HTDAAB to Joshua Tree. That's four discs right there, yet it all fit in the palm of my hand(or as it were, in the pocket of my leather jacket, earbud wire travling from pocket up the side of my body and into my ears). Using a CD player, to equal what I listened to today, I would've needed the SIX CDs and the Discman itself, but with IPod - just one small unit, and I barely felt any weight on me.

IPod is like a drug, once you start using it, you can't stop. I listen to my IPod more than I listen to my stereo, because it is SO easy to switch from one record to another, one artist to another, make my own on-the-go playlists, move to different points in any given song, and other stuff like that. It is INCREDIBLY convenient, efficient, easy to use, and just so damn cool too. And I hate using the word cool to describe anything. I'm serious, once you start using it, you won't want to stop. For this reason, I make the following suggestion: If you do get an IPod, and I think you should, do NOT get the Mini, as you alluded to before. It is MUCH less hard drive space than you will end up wanting/needing if your music collection is of any significant size, and its cost is really not that much less than normal IPods. As for the U2 IPod, it really doesn't matter if you get that or not. It's the same device, just red and black instead of white. Your call, doesn't really matter. Although if I were offered one I'd take it.

I completely disagree with the people who said not having music would enhance the experience. I refuse to go on vacations without music; First it was a discman, then it was an MP3 discman, and now it's an IPod. Of course, the fact that I'm very very introverted and don't particularly enjoy talking to total strangers whom I've never met before, probably plays a part in the fact that when faced with deciding between putting the earbuds in and zoning out or talking to the strangers on the train, I pick the earbuds every time.

So, in closing, the IPod does cost a lot of money, but there is a reason why it's far and away the most popular and groundbreaking MP3 player on the market; that 'lot' of money will be TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY worth it. It will be one of the best purchases you will ever make, and you will never have any regrets whatsoever. I have friends that will attest to my having bestowed upon the IPod the title of 'Greatest Gadget Ever In The World Besides Laptops' I mean, just LOOK at it...I can already hear your oohs and aahs...

I should work for Apple...oh yeah, that's right, I can't stand Apple computers. But whatever hate I had/have for Apple for their overly-simple computers goes out the window when I lay my hands/ears on my IPod. That's how good the IPod is.

 

[U2democrat]

i just got an idea. i'm going to put out a jar in our kitchen and label it "iPod fund" and whenever my parents and i have loose change to drop it in the jar and i'll use that to save up.

 

[Mr. BAW]

Not until you pull a 3.5 or better!

 

[U2democrat]

Mr. Baw

hey, I'm in college now, I worked hard enough and now I'm done. hmph.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Well look at it this way, I got an MP3 CD player and I can listen to everything I want spread across a few CD's. It does the same job as an i-Pod at a fraction of the cost, being a big bigger and having to switch over the disk, but its better than a walkman and much cheaper. Plus with the money saved I was able to get myself a new jacket

 

[U2democrat]

 

[Dalton]

my friggen ipod just broke. I wanted to skip Hung in a Bad Place by Oasis and it just froze. Now I have to send it in to get it fixed.

Suck ass. Suck.

 

[U2democrat]

 

[A_Wanderer]

And those batteries wear down a bit and once they break the replacements cost a fortune.

 

[U2democrat]

So it seems like the main complaint is the battery life. Check.

 

[two shots]

Hey, I got an ipod mini since June.

It changed my life and the way I listen to music. The mini is fine - I have a good 500 songs on it from my library (you don't really need all the songs from each an every album you own all the time), and then I have another half filled with things for a trip I'd like to listen to (including whole classical pieces or even special U2 shows I like to listen to). I flash them out when I feel like it.

Most of the time, its on random play with songs being shuffled, and this does add on to the experience when travelling.

The mini is a great size, it fits everywhere without being too light to be left behind and I strangely like to limit the music I carry around.

But don't forget, in europe there are many differnt languages. I travel a lot with my job, and, frankly (no offense to anyone here!!!!) I don't know the good radio stations in the individual countries and don't speak that many european languages. With the Ipod, I can have my personal radio station in the hirecar or in a train or plane and can shut off the outside noise a little. Gives you some sort of "home comfort". If you hire a car you will need to get an FM transmitter (they are not really legal in Europe, the itrip works really well).

If you have the money to spare, buy an ipod. Buy the mini if you want to carry a small item with you with some limitations, or by a bigger one for the extra bulk but some more songs. But isn't it fun to go through the Music Collection think: Well, what would I like to listen to on the next trip? Its the "going on the desert island" feeling, and the mini is great for that!

Enjoy Europe.

 

[U2democrat]

Thanks for that post.

 

[bsp77]

Whether you get a mini or a 20GB (or 40GB) for that matter really depends on your music library. I got an iPod for Christmas (I have such a sweet wife ) and have already loaded about 3000 songs on it. And that was with leaving a lot of stuff off, so a mini just wouldn't cut it, the Complete U2 would take up half the mini.

One thing that has sucked though is the ridiculous number of hours I have spent burning CDs onto my computer and I still have a few hours to go.

 

[bsp77]

One more thing, putting 3000 songs on random is quite a rush. It is my own personal radio station.

 

[Laura M]

So, in closing, the IPod does cost a lot of money, but there is a reason why it's far and away the most popular and groundbreaking MP3 player on the market.

It's the most popular on the market because it has been advertised so much, not because it's actually the best, I have read a lot of negative things in the news about the Ipods. And there has also been a lot of bad press about the ipods battery life

Read bad things about the Ipod here

I love the NW-HD1 and the VAIO player (both by Sony)

Sony's NW-HD1 Network Walkman weighs less than 4 ounces, making it the world's smallest portable audio device built with a 1.8-inch, 20GB hard drive, according to the company. (The iPod weighs in at 5.6 ounces.) Sony claims the device's internal rechargeable battery provides up to 30 hours of continuous playback, while the iPod offers up to eight.


Plus, these look much nicer than the Ipod, you can get a 10gb version of the NW-HD1 in America but I don't know what it's called, a bloke in the electronics shop told me about buying his for $220 on E-bay. And they are lighter I think.

HD1:

HD3:

 

[bsp77]

Sony claims the device's internal rechargeable battery provides up to 30 hours of continuous playback, while the iPod offers up to eight. [/i]

The iPod mini is 8 hours of battery, the iPod 20GB and 40GB are 12 hours. Not a huge difference, just want to make sure the info is correct.

I have heard arguments on both sides about which brands are better.

 

[Laura M]

The iPod mini is 8 hours of battery, the iPod 20GB and 40GB are 12 hours. Not a huge difference, just want to make sure the info is correct.

I have heard arguments on both sides about which brands are better.

Yes but very a few extra $ U2dem could get a 10/20gb player by another company rather than forking out so much money for the mini ipod (I think thta's what she said she was going to get with 8 hours battery life) which has 8 hours battery life.

I have been doing a lot of research into these mp3 players, I have asked questions until the workers in the shop are blue in the face giving answers. I like to choose wisely before I spend my money and so far I've been most impressed with Sony. I'm stubborn too and once I see something I really like it's hard for me to change my mind and believe a more expensive item with bad battery life/ poor reviews in the press is the better product to waste my money on

 

[Dalton]

PERSONAL UPDATE: My ipod is now fixed. Chalk it up to user error.....

 

[U2democrat]

i think people here are right, if i'm going to buy an ipod it should be the full one. hopefully my iPod fund will give me a good start.

 

[namkcuR]

these look much nicer than the Ipod

That's a joke, right? Those Sony players in the picture there are an eyesore. The IPod is visual chocolate.

 

[U2democrat]

visual chocolate. i like that.

 

[learn2kneel]

i dont know if this has mentioned but they have 99 dollar ipods now, go to apple.com for info.

 

[U2democrat]

yeah i know, but they only have 249 songs. that's not nearly enough.

 

[melon]

I have been doing a lot of research into these mp3 players, I have asked questions until the workers in the shop are blue in the face giving answers. I like to choose wisely before I spend my money and so far I've been most impressed with Sony. I'm stubborn too and once I see something I really like it's hard for me to change my mind and believe a more expensive item with bad battery life/ poor reviews in the press is the better product to waste my money on

Watch out with Sony. Unless you're getting their newest product, it is probably an ATRAC-only player. Yes, Sony refused to add MP3 support until only recently. I would have figured they'd have learned their lesson after the disaster that was BetaMAX.

As for iPod batteries, it's like anything with a rechargeable battery: watch out for recharging it too needlessly! Let the battery run out almost completely and then recharge. As the iPod, most certainly, does recharge when hooked up to a computer via Firewire or USB, it would be wise to time your music upload schedule to when you need to recharge your battery...and let the Firewire/USB connection recharge it fully.

Plus, realize this: if your iPod stops functioning completely, due to battery depletion, Apple, essentially, gives you a whole new iPod for $99.00 (plus $6.95 shipping).

http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/service/battery.html

It SUCKS that this can happen, but do realize that ANY product with rechargeable batteries are going to need replacement eventually. Cell phones are the same way, as most of us know. Thankfully, Apple bothers to have this $105.95 replacement program for out-of-warranty iPods (those in warranty and happen to have this problem are, obviously, replaced for free). I'm sure that other companies would just tell you to buy another one at full price.

Anyhow, my point is not to convince people to buy iPods who don't want them. It's just to keep things in perspective. Every product has their ups and downs. The iPod is great, because it's fashionable, can double as a portable hard drive, has completely inobtrusive and reasonable DRM, and enjoys excellent compatibility with tons of accessories available.

Melon

 

[U2democrat]

so far i have about $10 for my iPod fund

 

[melon]

http://www.ipodbatteryfaq.com/

I thought I'd post this link for people who have questions regarding the iPod battery. It seems to get a lot of bad rap, which is quite unfair (especially after you read this site).

Melon

 

[anitram]

I've had an iPod for a long while now and it's not the battery itself that longtime owners originally complained about as much as it was the fact that the way the iPod was constructed, it was not really feasible to replace it yourself, the way you can with a digital camera or a laptop. Sure, you can open your iPod up with things like guitar picks, but you risk damaging it, scratching it, and so on and it really shouldn't be that way.

 

[yyoo]

I have been doing a lot of research into these mp3 players, I have asked questions until the workers in the shop are blue in the face giving answers. I like to choose wisely before I spend my money and so far I've been most impressed with Sony. I'm stubborn too and once I see something I really like it's hard for me to change my mind and believe a more expensive item with bad battery life/ poor reviews in the press is the better product to waste my money on

First, most stores will want to sell you something other than an iPod. Why? Because iPods have very small profit margins for retailers; stores make more money on an individual sale if they sell another brand of player. Moreover, other players don't sell very well, so retailers try to push them as much as possible.

There are indeed fine players other than the iPod, like the iRiver and the Creative players, but the Sony, unfortunately, isn't one of them. It has the worst music organization software of any of its major competitors and many users have returned the Sony players because of it.

If you want truly expert opinions on the Sony, as well as the iPod and other brands, go to where the experts are: head-fi.org. You're not going to get an expert opinion from store clerks, many of whom have never owned any hard-disk based MP3 player.

By the way, I'm an iPod owner, and like almost all iPod owners I know, I *love* the iPod and use it all the time. I've yet to find anyone who loves their Sony NW-HD1 or NW-HD3. Many of them are too busy screaming at SoundStage, the software that you have to use with the Sony.

As for battery life, with each generation of the iPod the battery life has improved. A lot of the complaints you'll read are about the older iPods. The new iPod photo, in fact, achieved over 17 hours of battery life in an independent test. Meanwhile, the 30-hour Sony batttery life actually is more like 22 hours according to independent tests. At any rate, I have a battery pack for my iPod that I rarely use. But if I needed it, the external battery pack from BTi gives me 40 to 70 extra hours!

By the way, iPods get some of the best reviews in the press. On the other hand, the Sony has been absolutely trashed in the press, for its unfriendly UI and totally atrocious SoundStage software and music store. Sony is trying to make fixes as fast as they can, but meanwhile their market share is a dismal 5th place in Japan, well behind the top sellers, which are iPods and a couple of Japanese brands you've probably never heard of. Basically, even the Japanese themselves don't like the Sony.

In summary, if you don't like the iPod for whatever reasons, there are a number of other choices. But, Sony, until they get their act together on their software, is probably the last player you should consider.

Finally, here's a great reason to go iPod and iPod alone. You can't get the Complete U2 (at least in its original, legitimate, and highest quality form) onto another brand of player because the files are only compatible with the iPod.

 

[bsp77]

http://www.ipodbatteryfaq.com/

I thought I'd post this link for people who have questions regarding the iPod battery. It seems to get a lot of bad rap, which is quite unfair (especially after you read this site).

Melon

I you read that, what you said earlier about charging is untrue. You do NOT need to fully discharge and then charge. They actually advise against doing it except on occassion. So charge whenever you want.