| cycler15 |
Apple came out with the latest version of the iPod on Monday. It's slightly slimmer and lighter than previous versions. The biggest change is that it now has 12 hour battery life and uses the click wheel like the iPod mini. Prices have also dropped. The 20gig is $299 and the 40gig is $399. Very reasonable.
I'm debating whether to sell my 1st generation 20gig PC version for the newest one. Probably doesn't make sense other than to have the newest toy on the block... :D
I wonder if this means there will be a price drop on the iPod mini. Doesn't make sense for the 4gig mini to be $249 and the 20gig regular to be $299. But demand is still very high for the mini and there is currently a supply shortage. |
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| Blackura |
I'd been considering the iPod or an iRiver IHP 140, but never ended up buying one. One thing that concerns me is having 40gig (seemingly several lifetimes worth) of music loaded on a device where the battery can't be replaced. When the iPod goes, so does all that music.
Latest consideration is Sony's new Hi MD Minidisc recorder. Lots of high quality storage on each minidisc (up to 45 hours!), the batteries are replaceable, and if the machine dies, the music is on the cheap media not the expensive machine.
Also, the music is playable on other machines, so no need to loan out a $399 iPod to a friend when you can loan out a $3 disc and keep the machine as well as the rest of your tunes.
It's also data compatible for use as a computer hard drive (I think the iPod is too?) and you can select the "quality vs disc space used" feature to suit your needs for spoken word mono recordings vs . music.
Still sitting on the sidelines watching and thinking. The first basic version of the Hi MD machine is out now, but I'll probably wait for the US release of the more robust ones that are already out in Japan. I've been using regular 1st generation MiniDiscs for years now and I'm a fan. The new machines are backwards compatible so I won't have to orphan 50 MiniDiscs worth of recordings.
Your thoughts? Thanks!
http://www.sony.net/Products/Hi-MD/ |
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| perk |
You dont have to worry about battery failure in the iPod for two reasons. One, when the battery gets extremely low the iPod turns itself off, without losing any data. Two, you load music onto the iPod by synchronizing the iPod with iTunes software that comes with it. Even if you did somehow lose all your songs on iPod, you only have to hook it back up to computer and iTunes will copy them all back in minutes.
I've had the 40GB iPod since last xmas and I've been very pleased. Only a few of gripes. The iPod seems to hangup occasionally and you have to put it aside until it resets itself. The battery life is nowhere near 8 hours as advertised. And the clear face scratches very easily. But these are minor in comparison to the utility iPod brings. I use it every day on way to work and back. |
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| neide |
Don't forget the Sony uses a properietary music scheme. You can't play anything on it that isn't first converted into their propietary scheme, so if you've got loads of MP3's already ripped, you'll have to convert each one of them, a time consuming process.
I recently re-did the setup (new PC) on my 30GB iPod. Syncing all 15GB of songs (3150 songs) took just about 10 minutes over firewire. Now just imagine if you had to convert all of those to a new format first... |
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| Robyjo |
I've had the 3G 40GB iPod for a few weeks, and sold it Monday on eBay for ~ the $400 mark. I love the iPod except for battery life, and that's reason enough to go through the trouble and upgrade to the 4G click wheel 40GB...
Except for battery life, iPods are the way to go! I've become hooked to the iPod shuffle. And the music quiz is pretty fun too for those long plane rides...
Rob |
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| rfowkes |
After debating hard and long about getting a music device (iPod or Zen or whatever) I was torn by the plusses and minuses of the various contenders. When Apple announced the new click wheel (4th generation) 40gig iPod on Monday I decided to treat myself to a birthday present (my birthday was Tuesday) and order one at once. Not only did the $100 price reduction for the new model eliminate most of the "more Gigabytes for less" arguments for the competition, but the 12 hour battery life greatly improves on the major complaint of the previous iPod. Surprisingly, I ordered it on Monday night and it was in my hands via Fedex on Thursday at 9 a.m. for no additional shipping charge. (The bill of lading says it was shipped from Shanghai via Anchorage and Memphis to me here in NY.) Funny how I can get something from around the world in about 2 days and it can take up to a week for something to get to me from across town!
As much as I tend to be a PC person in most areas of computing I have to give props to Apple for the iPod in its latest 4G version. Not only is it a little slimmer than the 3G unit, it also has a handsome stainless steel back (not sure about the 3G) and is first class all the way. Even the packaging was well designed.
Of course all that would mean nothing if it didn't perform well and it certainly deserves the highest rating on that score. I found the iTunes software and the compatability with PCs excellent, which was a pleasant surprise. During the initial installation the software recognizes that the iPod is being used with a PC and reformats the unit on the fly to accommodate Windows instead of OS10.
And the difference between the new iPod and the old ones is not just a question of battery life and cosmetics. The new unit incorporates the "click wheel" of the iPod mini and does away with the buttons on front of the 3G model. Very, very intuitive and nice to work with. Also, there is a "faster" and "slower" option for audiobooks that allows you to speed up or slow down the reader's presentation without affecting the pitch of the voice. I would imagine that this will become something useful for me once I've had the unit for more than a few days. You can skim light reading and digest heavier tomes with this control.
Finally, I will be doing quite a bit of travelling over the next few months so I wanted something that would make my iPod portable in a variety of rental cars (I'll deal with some permanent connection in the MDX later on since I remember some good threads about that here.) One of the options I found on the Apple site was an FM module that plugs into a car power outlet and simultaneously charges the iPod and broadcasts content from it over FM (with a choice of eight frequencies starting at 88.1M on up in sequence). While I'm not the biggest fan of modulated connection for music listening I was pleasantly surprised at the performance of this accessory when I drove to my daughter's in PA yesterday in the MDX. It did a better than expected job (especially since road noise masks most if not all of the lost fidelity from the modulation of the iPod signal) and I think that I'm all set for my trips. As long as a car has a cigarette lighter and an FM radio it's extremely easy to connect/disconnect an iPod to the car's sound system in about five seconds.
Bottom line: If you have been on the fence regarding an iPod nows the time to act. If you are thinking of upgrading an older iPod to the new one consider how important the new and the improved features are to you. If you were lucky enough to be able to sell your iPod for close to what the new model costs then you've hit a home run. For me, the whole deal was a no brainer and I'm extremely satisfied with my latest toy. (It even matches my Aspen Pearl MDX!).
:D |
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| Wazowski |
quote:
Originally posted by Blackura
[B]I'd been considering the iPod or an iRiver IHP 140, but never ended up buying one. One thing that concerns me is having 40gig (seemingly several lifetimes worth) of music loaded on a device where the battery can't be replaced. When the iPod goes, so does all that music.
. . . .
FYI, iPod batteries are replaceable. Here are a few examples.
http://www.ipodbattery.com/
http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/service/battery.html
My iPod is 2 years old and is going strong. Quite honestly, I'd probably want to get one of the sexy newer models when my battery finally goes out instead of buying a new battery. I drool more and more with each newer generation model that Apple releases. My wife has the iPod mini and she loves it. The 4G model from Apple is looking extremely tempting with it's thinner size, longer battery life, new software features AND cheaper cost. Sigh.
BTW, when the battery finally does die, you don't lose all of your music. It's still of course on your PC and on the hard drive (non-volatile memory) on your iPod.
YMMV. |
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| Robyjo |
quote:
Originally posted by rfowkes
While I'm not the biggest fan of modulated connection for music listening I was pleasantly surprised at the performance of this accessory when I drove to my daughter's in PA yesterday in the MDX. It did a better than expected job (especially since road noise masks most if not all of the lost fidelity from the modulation of the iPod signal) and I think that I'm all set for my trips.
I got a little irritated with the FM interference w/ the iTrip--the cassette adapter is definitely a great alternative before configuring a permanent-type install in your X... |
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| rfowkes |
quote:
Originally posted by Robyjo
I got a little irritated with the FM interference w/ the iTrip--the cassette adapter is definitely a great alternative before configuring a permanent-type install in your X...
I understand what you are talking about and agree with your findings. There is no doubt that the cassette adapter is a sonic step up from the FM Modulator and that both methods are inferior in overall sound quality to a direct connection to your sound system for technological reasons. In fact, in lieu of hardwiring my 1Pod/MDX for now I've also tried out an existing cassette adapter that came with my Delphi XM Radio and it works just fine with the iPod as well.
As I stated, I purchased the FM Modulation cable (a Monster product) for use when I'm on the road for several reasons. Some of these include:- There is always a slight possibilty that a rental car might not have a cassette player (I've had some that now only include a CD player). On the other hand, I don't think that it is very likely that a car will not be equipped with an FM radio.
- The FM module cable also includes a charger that keeps the iPod fully charged while in the vehicle and this is a handy all-in-one solution.
- The FM module has a choice of eight frequencies and this usually can counter a lot of the cross interference. Granted, as you travel through different populated areas on a trip you might have to change frequencies when you get in range of a strong FM station at the low end of the dial but this tends to become a less significant problem in rural areas.
- There is one fewer wire to deal with without having to connect via the cassette adapter.
Don't misunderstand. I fully intend to pack my cassette adapter with the iPod as well as the FM modulator for trips and the cassette adapter is the mobile connection of choice where applicable. There is less hassle with cross talk, fade outs, etc. But if there's no cassette in the rental car I'm still set to go.
Thanks for the feedback. |
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| Robyjo |
Hey rfowkes,
Great points. We'll end up having the same setup, as I got the iPod packaged with the iTrip, the Monster Charger/FM Mod., and the Monster Cassette Adapter (iCarPlay).
Your findings are right on--the only thing I'd add is:
iTrip has some advantages--specifically you have the full FM band to pick a station, while Monster's is a selection of 8 stations on the bottom-end of the spectrum. Another advantage I REALLY love is the iTrip is completely independent of the car--that way when your 30 ft. from ANY radio, you have access to you iPod tunes. So if you have a radio in your hotel room when traveling, you also have all your music!
In any case, we should start our acuramdxerswholovetheiripods.org club!
Rob |
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