IPOD/MP3 player help!!

[derekpfeiffer]

I don't know how many of you on here know much about these but I figured I'd ask. I'm wanting to buy an MP3 player of some sort for the truck and the boat, but know nothing about them.

I've heard that the Ipods you have to download your music from Itunes is this ture??? If so that sux since I have thousands of songs already downloaded on my computer and in Windows media player....doesn't make sense to buy the same songs I already have. What about like the Sony Walkman MP3 player??? Can you download songs directly from the ones you have in Windows media player?? And if so what's the availablity of accesories for these other brands instead of apple?? I know its really easy to get accessories for them.

Any guidance would be great

THANKS,

 

[mthieme]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

I made the mistake of purchasing an iPod. I'm not going to go into the gorey details, but never again will Apple get another dime of my money.
Yes you need their iTunes software to download. It doesn't end there. I HIGHLY recommend something that is not proprietary.

 

[i386]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

This topic comes up from time to time.

My vote is on mp3 players that you plug into your computer and they just show up as a removable hard drive. You're not locked into any particular software to sync them though Windows Media Player works fine. You can even just copy the files onto the drive if you want. They normally play .mp3 and .wma files.

Any of the players Sandisk makes will work as I described and they are cheap.

 

[ebry710]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

I work on Ipods (my kids) and Sansa (me). Both are mp3 players, but Ipod uses itunes.com and itunes software to work.

If you buy stuff from itunes, the itunes software registers all music on you computer including none itunes songs. It is great software and it allows for album pictures, but it is stubborn and doesn't allows for changes.

Mp3 players usually use Microsoft media player to organize songs. It is a lot easier to make changes. I like it.

Apple Ipod and Itunes have won the hearts of teenagers and yuppies, but for me mp3 units are cheaper and just as functional. Mine you just plug it into the Aux port in my radio and its plays through my speakers.

 

[derekpfeiffer]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

So it sounds kinda like the consenus is just go with an MP3 player. So does anyone have any recomendations on what kind of one to buy(brand and size)??? I want to be able to easily get accessories for it like an FM transmitter and such.

Thanks guys for the input!!

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

Ummm. what?

Love my ipod just bought girlfriend one.

Don't have to buy songs from itunes you can load in whatever you want from your collection or you can steal them off limewire, just like any other mp3.

I not only love apple products I can't stand microsoft junk and will never own another microsoft product.

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

Oh and if you really want a different one Sansa makes the guts for almost every mp3 player, a couple years ago they started putting out their own.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

I have 3 iPods. I love the functionality of them. I not yet used anything else that I liked nearly as much. However, I have had issues with all of them but I think the issues were just about always related to the hard drives in them. I'm sure the newer ones with large solid state storage (no moving parts) are much more reliable (like the iPod Touch). The touch is the coolest mp3 player I've seen yet and I'd love to have one. I also have an Alpine stereo in my truck with the iPod interface and it works awesome. As far as I know iPods are the only mp3 player where you can get this kind of interface and actually control the unit from your stereo.

That being said, I also have a Sansa that I picked up from TigerDirect refurbed really cheap. It is also a very nice unit and I do like that is can just show up on your PC as a drive and you can drag/drop files to it. Itunes does, admittedly, take some getting used to.

 

[chicknwing]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

I have 3 ipods, 2 touches and a nano. I use all of them while on the boat in the car etc. I have had no problems with using them with my existing library of music (over 13000 songs) I still use p2p software to d/l music and i can immediately add that music to my itunes library. That said I also have a sansa, IMHO i would by the apple every time. I've had ZERO issues using itunes and ipod with my music collection.

TC

 

[BlazinKuztumz]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

My wife and I went to Wal-Mart, bought a 2g Phillips Go-Gear that has FM tuner, video, and MP3 capabilities. Both units together were $100 + tax. We love them. We even picked up the accessory packs from Wal-Mart.com for $10/each + shipping to make them more mobile. They are great little units, don't take up much space, charge the battery off of a powered USB connection, and you can download whatever you want to it, plus it has a conversion program that comes with the player. I'd say for our $120 investment, we got our money's worth and more. Just my two pennies in the pot.

 

[Pony]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

I have used sandisk and other brands, but after buying an Ipod I am sort of mad the I wasted money on the other stuff. There are many misconceptions about itunes.....in actuality it is very easy to use, and does a VERY good job organizing music. Right now I have 145 Gigs worth of music in my itunes library and I couldn't be happier with how it is organized. It takes awhile to convert WMA music files, but it does convert them. You DON'T need to buy a single thing on itunes if you don't want to. I have purchased maybe 10 songs from itunes out of the 45,000+ in my library.............the rest were already on my computer.

I use my Ipod EVERY day for a minimum of 8 hours. I sometimes go 2-3 days without charging it. It has help up to extreme usage very well. All the other brands (Sandisk x2, Samsung) failed after 3-4 months of that sort of usage.

The first people who complain about Ipods/Itunes typically just don't know how to use the software, but if you take the time to figure it out, its well worth the effort.

I used to be one of those people who didn't buy into the Apple hype with the Ipod, but then I bought one and now will never buy anything else. FWIW I have many friends who have zunes and are happy as well. I have played around with them and they are nice, I just prefer the way the Ipod navigates.

 

[mthieme]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

My grandson has a Zen MP3 player by Creative Labs.
It's the size of a pack of matches.
This will be my next player.

 

[ebry710]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

So it sounds kinda like the consenus is just go with an MP3 player. So does anyone have any recomendations on what kind of one to buy(brand and size)??? I want to be able to easily get accessories for it like an FM transmitter and such.
Thanks guys for the input!!

Yes you can get an FM transmitter, but sometimes there is still static on a FM transmitter.

If your radio has a 3.5mm auxiliary plug in the front it is better. You can then plug your headphone output directly into the aux using a 3.5 male x 3.5 male plug.

 

[derekpfeiffer]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

Well I think I'm going to get the Ipod...seems like the accessories are very easy to come by and they've had more experience building them than any other company. I think i'm going to buy two...the 120g classic to hold all of the music and yet alot of movies too for when we go down to the lake. and also an 8g nano for the wife so she can listen to music in her car. Thanks for the help guys I can't wait to get them and i'm sure i'll have a bunch of questions after I start messing around with them!!!

Thanks again,

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

they've had more experience building them than any other company.

FYI- Apple didn't invent the mp3 player. Or the home computer, or mobile phones. They do a damn good job on most things they choose to get into, but their strength is not "inventing", but in really perfecting the entire "user experience" with a seamless, easy to use user interface. Eiger labs sold the MPMan in the US in early 1998. The Diamond Rio was available by Christmas 1998. Apple's 1st gen Ipod came out late in 2001.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

i386 likes sandisk so I got one based on what he had written a while back. I bought the 4GB sandisk Sansa and I like it. I even keep pictures of the grandkids in it. I got mine cheap from ecost.com and mine was a refurb. No complaints from me.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

For some good Apple/iPod humor watch this http://adage.com/adages/post?article_id=133612

 

[ebry710]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

There are a number of ipod compatible marine stereo. These units act as docking stations for the ipods and you can use the radio controls to operate the ipod remotely. Although I opted not to buy the ipod, it is sounds like a real nice feature.

 

[i386]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

There are a number of ipod compatible marine stereo. These units act as docking stations for the ipods and you can use the radio controls to operate the ipod remotely. Although I opted not to buy the ipod, it is sounds like a real nice feature.

Something like that would be the only reason I'd get an iPod. My trucks's factory stereo will do that if you have the cable which is $250. That's more than I'm willing to swallow for a cable. My player works fine with the input jack in my truck. It would be nice to see the songs on my truck stereo and control the ipod with my stereo/steering wheel controls. $250 for a cable plus whatever an ipod costs is a lot to do just that.

 

[ebry710]

Re: IPOD/MP3 player help!!

Something like that would be the only reason I'd get an iPod. My trucks's factory stereo will do that if you have the cable which is $250. That's more than I'm willing to swallow for a cable. My player works fine with the input jack in my truck. It would be nice to see the songs on my truck stereo and control the ipod with my stereo/steering wheel controls. $250 for a cable plus whatever an ipod costs is a lot to do just that.

The technology is there at a cost, but I'll stick to my aux jack.