BleepingComputer.com: Ipod or MP3?

I have an 8GB Ipod which currently has a bend in it (dont ask how, because i have no idea). What i hate about ipods is that you need itunes, and you can't drag and drop.

What sort of MP3 should i buy, it should be about 4-8GB, and either an ipod or mp3, but i would prefer mp3

Personally, I love my 4GB SanDisk Sansa with a 16GB MicroSD card installed.

I've got a couple "no-name" flash players that I use to listen to podcasts.

For "good" music listening I'm a big fan of Creative players. I started with a 10 Gig Creative Nomad Jukebox 2. I still have it, but after all these years the hard disk has gotten more than a little flukey. My next was a Creative Zen Sleek Photo 20 Gig -- great sound, but the controls were a bit twitchy. My two main players today are a Creative Zen Vision:M 30 Gig, and a flash based Creative Zen V Plus 4 Gig. My only problem so far has been Creative's love of long, clumsy names.

One thing I do recommend, depending on your inclination, is to look for a player that makes it easy to change the battery. Most of these players use Li-Ion batteries and they are noticeably weaker after about 3 years, but a hard disk should last about 5 years and flash memory should last a lot longer. My Nomad 2 was designed for user battery replacement -- swapping in the second battery was a breeze. The others were technically not designed for a user to replace the battery, but it's not too difficult if you know what you're doing.

you dont need itunes, you can use this awesome freeware tool to sync, manage and listen to your music: http://www.mediamonkey.com/information/free/

I hate all I products. It started back when the first couple of generations of Ipod were exposed to have cruddy batteries that could only be replaced if you sent the whole thing in and paid 60 bucks or whatever it was. Then there was the issue about having to format it one way or another and losing your playlist. Then I had people complaining about it only being usable with ITunes or something. I think that issue, like most of them, have been resolved by now.

Then the Iphone comes out and is missing many features that most phones already had (MMS messaging, audio recording, video recording, etc.). I thought about it and came to the conclusion that it was their quirky advertising that made these inferior products so popular. They also always have nifty but useless features (like how the screen orients itself based on the angle you're holding it at). The number one reason that I'm against all "smart" phones in general is that they usually have exclusive contracts with certain carriers. I don't believe in that sort of business practice and I think that it harms us all. The only reason I think that it's relevant is that, if you buy and Ipod, you're supporting the same industry that gave us the Iphone.

Cliff notes: Go with a historically more compatible mp3 player like Zune, or even a "generic" one. Whatever's cheaper and actually functions well with your current setup (SD compatible devices get extra points).

Download a prog called sharepod, with that you can drag n drop, with ease, instead of the itunes interfering methods.

Not saying that anyone is wrong or right for anything, just keep in mind if you already own an I-pod and you don't like I-Tunes because you think it's too hard to use or whatever your reason is for not liking it, then obviously you do want to avoid getting yourself another I-Pod, you're already complaining about it, why would you buy another?

If you're looking for durability, you want an i-pod.

If you're looking for something that your 85 year old neighbor can use, buy something else, like anything from creative labs which are pretty dependable devices and are by far the easiest to use.

Keep in mind you get what you pay for.

I have a 2nd gen nano, 4 gigs. I do not have a problem with my battery life, I literally used it on a trip for 18 straight hours and still wound up with 1/3 of the battery life left(at this point the nano was 1 year old) and I was skipping through songs and what not.

I-Tunes while seems difficult to use, it isn't, if you sit down and pay attention for 15-20 minutes I-Tunes is as easy to use as Word, Powerpoint or any other MS application you can name(outside of C++ or something along those lines).

My grandmother of 72 years of age operates her I-pod and I-tunes without issue, it shouldn't be an issue for anyone if she can.

So just base your decision around what you want.



The only thing I've found with the I-Pod is not being able to move music off of the I-Pod itself, then again I really haven't looked into it too much but I'm sure there is an app out there for that as there is an app for everything these days.

Easy to use = MP3
Easy to use + realibility = I-Pod


As far as battery life and replacement go...I've had the same I-Pod for 3-4 years now....first battery....I get about 12 hours of non-stop use out of it to this day, so that being said as long as you don't abuse the I-Pod(leave in your car overnight so it gets cold, get it wet, leave it in the sun, place it somewhere it'll get too hot, or anything else that's known to ruin a battery) it'll last for as long as you'll need it, anyone that claims they took excellent care of their I-Pod but had battery problems is probably(not all cases but most) is lying or just repeating something someone else said so they sound like they know something(which is really common these days if you think about it).

Facts about I-Pod battery life(from personal experience):

1. My I-Pod is old as dirt and still when fully charged last 12 straight hours
2. My siblings and myself where given I-Pods as Christmas gifts...all of us got them at the same time, same generation just different colors.
3. Mine, and my two brothers still have their I-pods with the original batteries in them and none of us have a problem with battery life.
4. My sister's I-Pod has had two battery replacements, however she has a habit of leaving it in the console of her car in Southern California with the car locked up when it's really hot out, and she's as clumsy as they get and it's dropped daily I'd assume.

You have 4 I-Pods...all the same type and used for the same time duration and only 1 of them has had battery problems and it's because she didn't take care of it.

I'm not saying this to be true in all cases, I'm just saying abuse and not ideal care is more often than not the reason for anything(car's, computers, phones, TV's, etc) not lasting like it should.

Sharepod is pretty cool.

I didn't like ipod/itunes until I actually tried it. Originally I had a Creative Zen and thought it was the best thing ever until I got an Ipod Classic 80GB and I think nearly everything about it and iTunes is better than what I had before. (And this is from someone who was anti-Apple before. Of course, given all of the problems I have heard from people with iTunes upgrades, I'm still using a ver 7.

SharePod is great. I use iTunes exclusively, but use SharePod whenever I need to drag and drop songs from my ipod to my computer, or vice-versa.

I prefer apple ipod, powerful than mp3 player.

I used to have an ipod. I couldn't say that it is just a brand because my old ipod is very durable and still trendy. Now, I have Philipps MP3, same quality, although not that trendy.

they are more convenient, and they are more then just music players.. they have almost everything..
unlike mp3 which obliviosly has limited features..

The latest iPod nano (5G) is a small wonder, literally!

I really want to know why Apple decided to give the Nano a camera instead of the iPod touch 3G. Makes no sense at all to me, unless its a marketing ploy to try and get more people to buy the iPhone sine it has more features.