The LJ Boycott and iPod advice

[icarus]

*sighs happily*

That was a nice break. I think I'll spam my f-list less, write more.

I'm collecting the pressies for wildernessguru's birthday this week. I'd like to get him an iPod.

So. iPod users -- what should I buy him?


ETA: Cool. Now I'm learning the questions I should ask.

- This will be music-only, for a guy who just graduated from cassette tapes to CDs and eyes mp3s with suspicion. Simple is the idea.
- Bear in mind my student budget. Top of the line is almost certainly out of reach.
- No extra features such as vids, games, phone, etc. Just music. I have 8 gigs of music ready to upload onto it.
- P.S. I am not brand loyal, so I'm using "iPod" in the sense of "portable device that plays mp3s," rather like using Xerox for any kind of copier. So please, do recommend other brands.
- P.P.S. We're on a PC, not Mac. My last Mac was 15 years ago when only Macs had a decent Tibetan font.

Comments

[lunamazes.livejournal.com]

music only? or with video, games and read document?

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Music only. (Ooo. Your response sounds very expert-ish. I didn't even know iPods could do all that.)

[kerri]

Depends on what he's likely to use it for? If he doesn't have very many songs and wants video capability, I'd suggest one of the Nanos, now that they've updated the screens. If he wants PDA type functionality (without the phone), then an iPod touch will be great, and it has a really sleek design and a lot of cool applications. It doesn't have much space, though - the Classic is still the one to beat when it comes to size, since they've come out with newer ones that practically equal hard drives :P

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Music only. He's just graduated from his cassette-based Walkman. No. Really. I'm not kidding. The simpler to use, the better. Also, I have a student's budget so top of the line is almost certainly out of reach.

[rikibeth.livejournal.com]

My take on the iPod is "buy the biggest damn one you can afford." I have a 30g model and I've nearly filled it up. My housemate has the 80g model. I lust after the 160.

I care not about video, wireless downloading, or so-tiny-it-fits-in-a-watch-pocket. I just like having my entire music collection with me all the time.

[boniblithe.livejournal.com]

I just like having my entire music collection with me all the time.

me too - I had to settle for a 4 GB nano for a while after my original 60GB broke, and it was torture! HOW COULD I CHOOSE WHAT TO LEAVE OFF!

Although, I upgraded to the 160, and I have to say - having video has spoiled me now. I didn't think I wanted it, until I had it :D

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Yep. I'm looking at my budget, and either the 4gig or the 8gig (if I want to push it) Nano seem to be it.

[pinkfinity.livejournal.com]

If you can afford a 160, get a 160 - it's worth it to have all that space for everything. I have an 80, and it's more than enough for 3 seasons of Supernatural, a season of Heroes, 4300 songs, ten episodes of kids' shows and five films. And it's about 2/3 full.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I've a student budget these days, so I'm going to make a wild guess that the 160 is out of reach. But I know he's not going to be interested in videos on his iPod. I just pried the Walkman out of his hands. He's asking for a CD version of a Walkman for his birthday and I'm thinking, "No, no, no honey, you need an iPod."

[kijikun.livejournal.com]

We'll if your willing to by a non-current ipod from someplace you can get one that doesn't have video. The shuffle might work for him if he doesn't mind having no control over the order of his music and what song if playing, the nano is still a good way to go though imo.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I think he'll hate the shuffle. I'm going to have to get him something a little more current, or I might risk turning him off iPods and back to the Walkman for good.

[kijikun.livejournal.com]

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?nnmm=browse&mco=44BD9AA4&node=home/specialdeals/clearance

They have older gen ipod that are right in your price range with none of the added extra features. :D

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Okay, cool. *hums* Happy birthday to WG... happy birthday to WG....

[dunv-i.livejournal.com]

If you don't want to kill your budget and he doesn't care about brand-name prestige (I would guess no...), I would go for non-iPod, truthfully. iPods are seriously three times as much money for half the stuff. My sister just got a refurbished 2GB iPod nano for basically the exact same price as my 4GB brand new ZEN with features like picture viewing, microphone, FM radio, and scary pixel density. You said he doesn't need all of this stuff, of course, but basically you might want to consider looking at other brands (Creative has very basic ones available; I've heard good stuff about Sony; etc.).

*ducks*

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Cool. I don't need the iPod name brand, just the features. I was using "iPod" in the generic sense of "portable machine that plays mp3s" (like using "Xerox" for a Canon copier).

[sodamnquirky.livejournal.com]

Zunes are better priced than iPods. Zens also work.

Also, you can get any generic mp3 player with just the right amount of gigs you need and no additional features.

I have always had iPods but my brother likes the generic ones. His favorite is the Zune. For the price, it's amazing.

[abigail89.livejournal.com]

I have a 4G Mini-iPod (2005 vintage). Can't play video, but I'm not interested in watching anything on a 1x1 screen.

Try eBay. You can find a good deal there.

[wickedelf.livejournal.com]

I'm using Creative instead of Apple. Mine's the smaller one (Creative Zen Stone Plus - 2GBs), but I know they've got bigger ones in that line as well. It was half the price of an iPod, no complicated syncing issues (drag and drop, or use their downloadable software... which is essentially drag and drop), and I've had absolutely no issues with it. I ♥ it.

[perfica.livejournal.com]

Another vote for a Nano or Shuffle. It doesn't matter that you have a PC; you're already using iTunes and it'll come with a plug that goes directly into your PC and will update automatically.

[bramble-rose.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you've already got your answer ;-) I love my old 2gig nano, and prefer it over the shuffles that I set up for the kids. On the nano you can set up multiple playlists and choose a particular song to play whenever you want, things the shuffle can't do. Itunes is proprietal and converts music to mp4 format. You also have to be careful to not overwrite every time you plug it in; mine's set to load manually.

Or you might want to start him off with a cheaper mp3 player (my youngest son has a little 1g KIX Insignia usb mp3 player from Best Buy (~$50)that is super easy to load and has a screen so you can browse through your loaded music. Holds about 250 songs, plays both mp3 and wmv files. Just plug it into any available usb port and drag music onto it. Very user friendly.

[starrylizard.livejournal.com]

I have a "Creative Zen" and I love it! Mine current one has more bells and whistles, plays movies (insane 40gb storage) etc, but you can get smaller ones like I used to have that just do music. My old one was 8GB, but I've seen even smaller ones.

Personally I think they're heaps better than ipods for the money and the way they are set up, you can use the space you aren't using for music to transport files etc. Plus they play wma and mp3, rather than whatever ipods play (mp4 or something?). Oh and they have a voice recorder built in which is great if you need to record a lecture or some ideas on the fly. (ipod makes you buy that stuff separately) They're just very versatile and hard to stuff up. I say this as a person who has broken or somehow killed off three previous MP3 players, but never had any trouble with this brand. *hugs Creative* [/sales pitch] lol

[lherelenfeline.livejournal.com]

What she said. I've had my Creative for 3 years now, almost 4, and it hasn't let me down once.

[sarka.livejournal.com]

I have a 4 year old 20 GB iPod. First generation and everything... it doesn't even have a colour screen. I'm just saying that these things last if you treat them well, so he might like an older model if you can find it somewhere.

Other than that, my friend has a Zen that she really likes :)

[dancing-moon.livejournal.com]

I've got a great three and a half year old Creative Nomad Muvo, which I bought at some outlet place (er, in Japan). It's held up well and while it lacks the Ipod screen, I can make playlists on the comp and load onto it and it's never given me any hassle with a PC or a Mac. I just plug the cord in and it acts as an extra harddrive, so you drag and drop the mp3-files and folder. So don't get too stuck on the iPod brand =) And check around if you have some place near you where you can try them out, even if it's an expensive place it's good to be able to fiddle with things before you buy them.

[libitina]

If you end up deciding you want a 2 gig iPod nano, I have a 2-year-old virginal one... and would be willing to negotiate a cheap price.

ETA: virginal/never used - yes redundant. But I really wanted to work the word virginal in since it is all white and in a little plastic sarcophagus.

[http://users.livejournal.com/shadowkittykat_/]

dunno if anyone has suggested this yet, but for a not-iPod iPod, how about iRiver?
They don't have the vid-capable screens, but you can still navigate, see what song it is, etc. I think you can get them in pretty good sizes (not sure exactly what's available atm, mine's ancient) and they are AM/FM capable, as far as I recall, and most, if not all, can record. The software is Windows-intended, they're regular [AA, I think] battery-powered, they aren't too pricey (compared to iPods, at least) and mine lasted ... 3, 3 1/2 years of hard use by a ... somewhat irresponsible teen, heh.

cons: software and navigation isn't as intuitive as iTunes/iPod [to me, at least], no AC charge for most, maybe all, models. I'm not sure exactly what their repair policy is, but if they have one, I sure haven't heard of it.

[kijikun.livejournal.com]

To let you know refurbished last gen nanos just came up on the apple site for 59 dollars. http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=44BD9AA2&nclm=Certified