iPod...

[audiobill]

I'm thinking of taking the plunge and buying an ipod.

Anyone here who owns one or is thinking of also buying one: What can you tell me?

Advice, please.

Thanks-a-ton,

Bill

[Dusty Chalk]

They are the defacto MP3 player most everywhere I look (especially, for example, on the subway).

However, I've heard a lot of horror stories about, for example, changing the battery (proprietary), freezing up, etc. But I've also heard a lot of people defend it saying they've had no problems -- so take that as a 50/50.

My personal experience (about a year ago) is that they were like Bose -- not bad, just too expensive for what you get. I ended up getting something else (Creative Nomad Jukebox 3).

But now, with its popularity, comes all sorts of accessories, including 3rd party stuff. So perhaps not so much the case any more. I have a friend who went iPod, coming from the Creative Nomad Jukebox 3.

Everyone I know who has one loves the interface -- that has to be the best thing about it.

The other bad thing is, you can't use it as a hard drive (there's no taking stuff off on iPod, only on).

If you get one, get an amp such as one of these (http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/headroom-amps/). It definitely benefits from an amp.

Oh, and get better earbuds than the de facto ones that come with. Etys are popular, if you don't mind sticking stuff in your ears.

Short answer: if you can afford it, go for it, don't look back.

[skewiff]

Hi Peter. aka DC
When I got my ipod I thought it was just a gimmick, and had no real need for it(it was a gift), but when I started to put songs on it all MY faves it became pretty cool, I take it to work plug it into the mains and use JBL creature speakers It is awesome.
Have it set on random and I'm listening to my own radio station.

I have a 40 gig and at the moment it has just over 4000 songs on it any mood I'm in , no problem.

I also bought and adapter for the car which is real sweet.

You say that you can't use it as a hard drive, this is incorrect you can, you have to turn on the Enable Disc Use in the ipod preferences when the ipod is connected and off you go. Your ipod will appear as a icon on your desk top and you can drag and drop from there.

As i said it was a bit of a gimmick , but in the 8 months I've had it I really like it. I have my songs playing at a high bit rate 192 acc instead of the usual 128 mp3 it is highly customizable for sound and all kinds of song settings.

The only problem is the battery after 8 months its starting to act up, I never play it with earphones always through the dock and speakers, I'm real glad I bought the warranty.

Overall I'm glad I got the ipod over the others, also it has by far the most accessories of any player out there.

Hope this was of some help.

Tony

They are the defacto MP3 player most everywhere I look (especially, for example, on the subway).

However, I've heard a lot of horror stories about, for example, changing the battery (proprietary), freezing up, etc. But I've also heard a lot of people defend it saying they've had no problems -- so take that as a 50/50.

My personal experience (about a year ago) is that they were like Bose -- not bad, just too expensive for what you get. I ended up getting something else (Creative Nomad Jukebox 3).

But now, with its popularity, comes all sorts of accessories, including 3rd party stuff. So perhaps not so much the case any more. I have a friend who went iPod, coming from the Creative Nomad Jukebox 3.

Everyone I know who has one loves the interface -- that has to be the best thing about it.

The other bad thing is, you can't use it as a hard drive (there's no taking stuff off on iPod, only on).

If you get one, get an amp such as one of these (http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/headroom-amps/). It definitely benefits from an amp.

Oh, and get better earbuds than the de facto ones that come with. Etys are popular, if you don't mind sticking stuff in your ears.

Short answer: if you can afford it, go for it, don't look back.

[Mr MidFi]

I've been playing mine at work all day, every day since January (it was a Xmas gift). And yes, some players will get you similar storage capacity and form factor for a little less money...but it's the after-market accessories that really put iPod over the top vs. competition. And yes, the interface is quite nice as well, as is the iTunes software.

I started power-walking with it in my pocket, and the damn thing would freeze up after about 30 minutes. It should be noted that I have an ungainly stride with a high impact factor. Anyway, I bought a case and belt clip for it, and it works just fine now.

The iTrip FM transmitter is a very cool accessory, but it's become so popular that sometimes while I'm using it in the car, I'll pick up someone else's pod!

One last thing: you absolutely must have Firewire or USB 2.0 on your computer to use an iPod. This is a non-negotiable point that some folks aren't aware of.

[audiobill]

I started power-walking with it in my pocket, and the damn thing would freeze up after about 30 minutes. It should be noted that I have an ungainly stride with a high impact factor. Anyway, I bought a case and belt clip for it, and it works just fine now.

The iTrip FM transmitter is a very cool accessory, but it's become so popular that sometimes while I'm using it in the car, I'll pick up someone else's pod!

.

Can you give us some details of how the FM trans works.

You've been very helpful.

Bill

[audiobill]

They are the defacto MP3 player most everywhere I look (especially, for example, on the subway).

However, I've heard a lot of horror stories about, for example, changing the battery (proprietary), freezing up, etc. But I've also heard a lot of people defend it saying they've had no problems -- so take that as a 50/50.

My personal experience (about a year ago) is that they were like Bose -- not bad, just too expensive for what you get. I ended up getting something else (Creative Nomad Jukebox 3).

But now, with its popularity, comes all sorts of accessories, including 3rd party stuff. So perhaps not so much the case any more. I have a friend who went iPod, coming from the Creative Nomad Jukebox 3.

Everyone I know who has one loves the interface -- that has to be the best thing about it.

The other bad thing is, you can't use it as a hard drive (there's no taking stuff off on iPod, only on).

If you get one, get an amp such as one of these (http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/headroom-amps/). It definitely benefits from an amp.

Oh, and get better earbuds than the de facto ones that come with. Etys are popular, if you don't mind sticking stuff in your ears.

Short answer: if you can afford it, go for it, don't look back.


Thanks, Dusty.

The only thing holding me back is the battery life. Damn the proprietary technologies. That's why I've never bought anything, recently, with Sony' proprietary "memory stick" technology.

Maybe I should wait for fifth generation (maybe by then they'll have improved battery life)?

Thanks-a-ton,

Bill

[audiobill]

When I got my ipod I thought it was just a gimmick, and had no real need for it(it was a gift), but when I started to put songs on it all MY faves it became pretty cool, I take it to work plug it into the mains and use JBL creature speakers It is awesome.
Have it set on random and I'm listening to my own radio station.

I have a 40 gig and at the moment it has just over 4000 songs on it any mood I'm in , no problem.

I also bought and adapter for the car which is real sweet.
there.



Tony

A couple of questions for you, Tony.

How simple is the hook-up to your car's system (i.e., my car has CD/am/fm - no cassette

How's the sound out of the JBL accessory?

Have you tried to store & retrieve digital photos?


Thanks, in advance,

Bill aka audiobill

[Mr MidFi]

The FM transmitter plugs into the top of the pod and sends out a low-power FM signal that can play on any FM receiver (in the car, in the office, etc.). Many such units work on battery power, but the iTrip actually draws its power from the iPod itself...so you don't have to keep changing batteries.

At work, I run a cord (standard headphone prong on one end, RCA stereo prongs on the other) to the aux input on my shelf-top system, and the sound is surprisingly good. I mean, for office use it's fine.

And yeah, having 3,000 songs, all good ones, playing in true random rotation is a kick. I go more than 2 weeks without hearing the same song twice. You never have to change a disc, or listen to a DJ or comercials. And if you want to hear a specific album, it's very easy to access.

I'm a happy customer.

[Dusty Chalk]

The only thing holding me back is the battery life.I should mention that there's a third party service dedicated to replacing the battery. Search on obner, I think that's where it was mentioned. It's about a third as expensive as Apple doing it (not including the extended warranty, which is, of course, another option).

Tony -- I did not know that! Tx for the info...

[DariusNYC]

First, the iPod itself is a beautifully designed thing, and I would not consider buying any substitute for it. It's ergonomic and well conceived and of course it's pretty. It's really nice to own anything that's so well-designed. Also, the iTunes program that interacts with the iPod (and the iTunes store if you're going to buy songs that you don't already own) is very well put together.

I have found the shuffle songs feature, which shuffles among all the 6000 songs in my collection, to be a revelation. It allows me to hear songs that I wouldn't have sought out, and to rediscover things that I haven't heard in a while. It sets up chance transitions between songs that sometimes are just perfect, and give me ideas for comps I'll never complete. It's also just cool when I hear a Belle & Sebastian song, followed by a Frank Sinatra song, followed by Wu-Tang Clan, followed by Madonna, followed by two Metallica songs in a row for no discernable reason before going back to The Shins or Arcade Fire. (But I guess I'm just talking up my music collection!)

For playing straight albums and playlists, it works very well too. Most of my listening is still album based, even though I've downloaded a lot of singles from iTunes that I wouldn't have bought the album for. That's another great feature, for me, of the iPod: I'm better able to keep up with what other people are listening to, because I don't have to commit to an album, I can just buy the hot song and check it out. (I never found illegal downloads to be too attractive of an option, since I have a job and can afford to just buy the song.)

So those are my extremely pro-iPod thoughts. For a car, fidelity-wise it's best to get a line-in from the iPod directly to your car's stereo, but this is a large hassle and expense for many cars.

[audiobill]

Can I erase or transfer songs to my computer's hard-drive once my ipod is full?? or am I stuck with a full ipod and then need to buy another?


Thanks, btw, for all the new-to-me information regarding your pro-ipod experiences.

I really appreciate your opinions.

Cheers,

Bill

Oh yeah, Is it going to be a problem that I have a Dell PC pentm 4? (it has 2.O usb as far as that issues goes)? But it is not an apple.

[Mr MidFi]

Moving songs onto your iPod from your iTunes library is a simple drag-and-drop procedure. The songs stay on your computer, so it's not like you're losing them if you delete them from your iPod. And with the high-speed USB 2.0 connection, it only takes seconds to transfer an armful of new songs to the pod.

Really, this part is a lot easier to show than to tell. It would be a good idea (if you can) to visit an Apple store and see the iPod/iTunes interface in action.

[audiobill]

The songs stay on your computer, so it's not like you're losing them if you delete them from your iPod.

So, I can "delete" them; if I tire of them thereby keeping my ipod's hard drive from being too full?

[Dusty Chalk]

Yes, you can definitely delete them. Either through the interface on your host computer, or from the iPod itself.

[skewiff]

undefinedundefinedHi Bill
A couple of questions for you, Tony.

How simple is the hook-up to your car's system (i.e., my car has CD/am/fm - no cassette Hi Bill,
It;s real easy, I bought a devise called a Transpod, it's a cradle with multiple extentions thats plugs into the lighter outlet, tune in an empty FM station 88.1 in my case set your car system to CD and off you go. $99.00( can be had on sale for $79.00) everywhere BB, CC, CompUSA etc.The very cool thing about it is it runs on the cars battery and is constantly charging, drove around downtown Chicago with no loss of signal. Love it.

How's the sound out of the JBL accessory?
Best $80.00 speakers out there IMO very good sound loads of Bass if you need it.
I bought my ipod to replace an old boom box we had at work, the sound is outstanding, there's plenty of cable to get good seperation.

Have you tried to store & retrieve digital photos?

I bought my ipod before the iphoto was released, sorry can't help with that one.

Tony



Thanks, in advance,

Bill aka audiobill

[audiobill]

Dusty, Skewiff, Midfi, and Darius.

You guys are awesome!!

I can now take the ipod plunge with my eyes wide open.

This Monday I'm joining the 21st Century by getting ultra high-speed internet; I've been dial-up for 7+ years -- Can't wait. I've been a Luddite for way too long.

Of course, this means that the ipod purchase will soon follow. woohooo.

Thanks-a-ton for all your knowledge/expertise,

Bill

[ForeverAutumn]

Hey Bill, I purchased my iPod about 6 months ago...here's a couple of additional comments based on my experiences.

I had pretty much decided on a Creative Zen, until I started looking into accessories. As the other folks here have already mentioned, you need an ipod if you are planning on purchasing any after market products.

20 gig vs. 40 gig - If you are planning on hooking your iPod up to any external speakers, like the JBL Creatures or other similar models (I have a great set of Boss computer speakers that I love), you will need a docking station which contains the input jack for speakers. The 20 gig iPod does not come with the docking station, you'll pay about $70 more for it. The 40 gig does come with it. I picked up an "open box" 40 gig at Future Shop for the same price that I would have paid for the 20 gig plus docking station. So, essentially, I doubled my memory for free. Look for deals like that. But check the open-box iPod carefully. The store that I bought mine at had three open boxes. Two of them were pretty scratched up. The third was still in it's original packaging and had never been used. :)

FM Transmitter - Styles - You can purchase this on it's own or permanently attached to a car charger. On Mr. Midfi's recommendation, I purchased the FM Transmitter and the Car Charger as two separate pieces. This way I can use the FM Transmitter outside of the car. The cost was about the same as buying the one piece thingy.

I'm glad that I bought the FM Transmitter separately. I often take it into hotel rooms so that I can play my iPod on the clock radio and I take it into my office where I have a boom box who's speakers I use. I have the Belkin iTrip. The good thing about this model over some of the others is that you can set the iPod to almost any frequency. Some of the other Transmitters only have 5 or 6 pre-sets. The bad thing about it is that it's a hassle to change the frequency that it's set to and is impossible to do while continuing to drive safely.

FM Transmitter - Reception - In order for the FM Transmitter to work, you have to find a radio frequency with nothing on it. This is very difficult to do in the GTA. I have found that the default station of 87.9 (or something in that area) works the best, but depending on where I'm driving there are still times that I experience interference. It's almost impossible to use downtown or anywhere near the CN Tower. I use the FM Transmitter mostly when I'm travelling for work driving around Northern Ontario. If I use it in my office on my boom box, I have to put the antenna down. You probably live far enough outside of the city that this wouldn't be a big issue for you.

Computer OS - It sounds like you may have an older computer. Make sure that the iPod software is compatible with your Windows operating system. When I started looking into buying an iPod I was still running on Windows 98 which was not a compatible system. I actually had to put off purchasing my iPod until after I had purchased a new computer.

Money - Be warned! Your $500 iPod will probably cost you, at least, another $200 by the time you are done with accessories and add-ons. As a minimum, you will probably want to get the following...a case; FM Transmitter; Car charger; Docking Station (unless you buy the 40 gig). You may also decide that you want...external speakers (which you may already have); portable speakers (external speakers that you can travel with or use outside); a remote control (probably my next purchase).

Good Luck and Happy iPoding!

[audiobill]

[QUOTE=ForeverAutumn]Hey Bill, I purchased my iPod about 6 months ago...here's a couple of additional comments based on my experiences.

/QUOTE]


Thanks ForeveAutumn.

It certainly helps hearing from people who live in the GTA. I would have never have known about the FM interference downtown. It seems that a good prowl at Futureshop may be in order. I've also heard that teachers can get discounts directly from Apple. So much to investigate, but as you can tell I'm taking my time.

Apparently, there is an Apple Expo in Paris Sept.20th. Chances are they might make some new product announcements.

For now, High speed internet will be my first new toy. Arriving this Monday.
Can't wait.

Thanks-a-ton,
Bill

[Mr MidFi]

I just discovered a feature I didn't realize I had...Album Shuffle. I've been shuffling songs all the time, occasionally playing an album from start to finish. Today I'm shuffling one complete album after another. Cool feature, and I wish I had noticed it earlier.

[BarryL]

Can I erase or transfer songs to my computer's hard-drive once my ipod is full?? or am I stuck with a full ipod and then need to buy another?


Thanks, btw, for all the new-to-me information regarding your pro-ipod experiences.

I really appreciate your opinions.

Cheers,

Bill

Oh yeah, Is it going to be a problem that I have a Dell PC pentm 4? (it has 2.O usb as far as that issues goes)? But it is not an apple.

I have a Mac version, so I don't know if it is the same with PC, but you sync songs through iTunes to your iPod. If you want to remove a song from your iPod, you remove it from iTunes on your computer. I see no reason why you have to remove the MP3 from your computer, but you have to remove it (delete) from iTunes.

Second, the FM transmitter works great in between cities and in smaller cities, but you may have a problem here in the T.O. area. You really need a station with no existing signal or a very weak signal. I doubt that you will find one here, so this feature will be worthless in the GTA area. You may want to try one first. That only leaves having a direct connection installed, which is a bit more expensive. I have a cassette player in my van, so I can plug it in that way. I've used my iTrip on the road, for example from Toronto to Montreal, and it worked well until we hit the Quebec border, where it became hard to find a station that didn't create interference. At that point it's better to put the radio back on.

[audiobill]

I have a Mac version, so I don't know if it is the same with PC, but you sync songs through iTunes to your iPod. If you want to remove a song from your iPod, you remove it from iTunes on your computer. I see no reason why you have to remove the MP3 from your computer, but you have to remove it (delete) from iTunes.

Second, the FM transmitter works great in between cities and in smaller cities, but you may have a problem here in the T.O. area. You really need a station with no existing signal or a very weak signal. I doubt that you will find one here, so this feature will be worthless in the GTA area. You may want to try one first. That only leaves having a direct connection installed, which is a bit more expensive. I have a cassette player in my van, so I can plug it in that way. I've used my iTrip on the road, for example from Toronto to Montreal, and it worked well until we hit the Quebec border, where it became hard to find a station that didn't create interference. At that point it's better to put the radio back on.

Thanks-a-ton, Barry.

Your explanation of removing files makes sense.

Question becomes...... do I buy ipod now, or do I wait for the 5th generation machines.

Cheers,

Bill

[BarryL]

Thanks-a-ton, Barry.

Your explanation of removing files makes sense.

Question becomes...... do I buy ipod now, or do I wait for the 5th generation machines.

Cheers,

Bill

So I say, buy now. I upgraded from first to third generation. There were rumours at the time that it would have a colour screen, but when it came out, it didn't. I was maxing out my 10GB machine, so when they came out in August 2004, I bought a new 40GB version. Within six months the next generation was released with the colour screen. Those bastards! ;-) I would have waited if I had known. You might want to check out what the rumours are for the next generation. Try Troy, he's the Apple genius on this board.

Whichever way you go, like others on this post, you will very soon love your iPod. My advice is not to buy anything but an iPod. It's worth the few extra bucks. Between Marlaine and I, we've owned three and have not had any battery problems.

[unleasHell]

you may want to check out the Sony-Ericsson cell phone site, I was on there today and saw a Cell phone (W800?) that was being called a "Walkman". I bet it has Mp3 capabilities and st $500, it better be a good one. I was there to read about my new phone (S710a) which I just posted a help thread about...if anyone can help...

[Troy]

I have a 20gig iPod that was a hand me down. I put about 10 CDs worth of songs in it. Hardly ever use it, but when I do, I enjoy it. I just can't be bothered with the effort of converting CDs to mp3 and putting them in there. Maybe if I had more reason to use it I would feel differently about it, but I can't be bothered.

I coulda sworn there was some lawsuit over the battery repacement issue and Apple will replace your early model batteries for free . . .

Mp3s sound like crap on a good hi-fi, but are fine for computer, portables, car. Save them at 192k. Makes a world of difference.

There IS a new model on the horizon, due for announcement next week. All very hush hush at the moment. My $ is on a combo-camera-phone-mp3 player. Actually, release my be a month or so later, typical for Apple.

Article:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/08/30/BUG4OEF5FD1.DTL&type=tech

Frankly, making the jump to hi-speed internet will be life changing for you moreso than an ipod. You've been missing out on a lot with a dial up.

[Mr MidFi]

I second Troy's suggestion of ripping tracks at 192kps. The first 1000 or so songs I put on the pod were at 160, which sounds OK...but 192 sounds a lot better. It takes up more hard drive real estate, of course, but I think it's worth it for the sound quality.