User Panel
User Panel
User Panel
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 3:14:28 AM EDT
Tell me your good, your bad. All your stories.
Yes, I know about the battery issues. Yes, I know Apple is an evil corporation. Yes, I know Steve Jobs is an arsehole. Bought a Creative Labs Zen Touch on Thursday, screen screwed up last night. Thinking about spending the extra $70 and getting the iPod. Or spending $30 less and getting the iPod Mini. So spill your beans iPod owners. Start a second account if you must. 
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 4:15:02 AM EDT
[#1]
no problem with mine. solid piece of gear the stock headphones are crap let me add- I tunes and the apple music format suck. Get anapod explorer and you'll get more control over your syncing. It asically makes the ipod like any other drive on your computer...except the drive plays music. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 4:16:21 AM EDT
[#2]
Apple is evil?
No more so than Creative or Microsoft. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 4:26:23 AM EDT
[#3]
Hey, if my 30G iPod Photo can take 120+ degree heat and the dust/sand of Kuwait and not miss a beat that qualifies as good in my book. As mentioned before the stock headphones aren't all that, but, they work fine for me. Several people over here have bought other brands of MP3 player and they always seem to have problems. I like the simple to use iPod over those. You just connect it and it gets updated automatically. Piece O Cake!
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 4:46:46 AM EDT
[#4]
I have an Ipod mini 6G. I use it mainly for those long distance redeye airline flights. Plug that sucker in and out like a light I go. The newer version with the new long life battery, I have no idea how long it actually lasts since I don't use it more than five or six hours at a time.
I like the automatic update feature and use it with my laptop which has wireless internet connection. Takes a tad of getting use to the one hand touch operation but once you do it's awfully simple. The divisions into Genres is especially handy for someone like me who likes a variety of different music types. Biggest mistake was buying the FM transmitter. It's POS. Doesn't have that much power and allows bleed over too easy. Best option was the leather case. I simply put it in my shirt pocket. Tj |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 5:09:10 AM EDT
[#5]
It's a neat toy, I guess. I had a 2nd gen 20gb for quite awhile, until the screen finally gave up the ghost (the ipod was *several* years old), so I sold that one on eBay (and got about 75% of what I paid for it).
Just ordered a 4th gen U2. I don't really need one. . .I have streaming music at home and work, and catch NPR news (yes, but it beats commercials) on the way to and from work. . . But like Jefferson said, they are *super* nice for flights. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 5:16:08 AM EDT
[#6]
I originally had a Samsung Napster player that was the biggest piece of crap since... well... ever... in my book at least. It had more issues than a newsstand and could only be depended on to give me trouble. I finally got sick of it and bought a 40GB Ipod Photo (which they stopped making like two days after I bought it).
The Ipod has not given me one problem since buying it. I love it to death. In fact I spoke so highly of it that one of my relatives bought one as well. He is older than me and nowhere near as computer saavy (30 something compared to a 60 year old) and he had some initial troubles getting it set up. Something about it not properly installing itself and it's drivers onto his computer and he had to call Apple's help department like four times... which is when he made a horrible discovery. Apple's Technical Help phone center charges you like $50 a call for their technical help if you did not purchase an extended warranty. Luckaly my relative bought an extended warranty otherwise they would have billed him almost $200 for simple technical help phone calls that most companies let you have FOR FREE. Since getting his Ipod up and running (he got the 60GB Photo) he loves it to death as well and I guess because he was not actually bent over and ass raped by Apple Tech Support's billing thanks to his extended warranty he is not angry at it... but after hearing about that I sort of look sideways at my Ipod from time to time now. I still love the little guy but I can't help but feel Apple is milking every angle of this thing. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 5:22:43 AM EDT
[#7]
I have a 4gen 20 gig model and my wife has had two mini 4 gig models. Great little gadgets, the only negative to the 20 gig model and similar units is the back of the case is super shinny and scratches easily however if you put it in a case this is a mute point. I have mine in a silicon case and it works well. My wife had a problem with one of her mini ipods. She took it jogging in the rain
 so I can tell you not to do that Needless to say we had to get her a new one, ya cant blame apple for that though.The other nice thing about ipods is the shitload of accs you can get for them. My next ipod accs is going to be one of these Vaja Cases they are pricy but really sweet looking. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 5:23:16 AM EDT
[#8]
mini IPOD
+2
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 5:30:15 AM EDT
[#9]
I am thinking about getting an Ipod too. My major need, in addition to needing lots of music storage, is gigs of data storage; word, excel, pictures (don't need to view them on the ipod), PDF, etc.
How well do Ipods work as USB massive jump drives or external hard drives? |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 5:32:02 AM EDT
[#10]
I recently bougth a 20G 4 Gen. ipod. I love it! My old (and cheap 128mb) mp3 player locked up and bit the dust... SO I broke down and bought the ipod. I actually like the itunes software, but I haven't used a bunch of different programs so I can't compare. I download, burn to disk then rip it right back off the disk and change to Mp3 format. With itunes and the ipod you don't have to switch formats, but I do just in case.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 6:23:33 AM EDT
[#11]
I bought a RIO Sport about a year and a half ago becuase of its sturdyness and the shape. I use it when I run, ride, shoot, lift weights, play racket-ball and any other activity I could think of. The small size and its round shape is definately a plus because it never gets in the way. There have been many days where the sweat has just saturated it through and through. It had been dropped about a million times and the only problem I have is ripping apart the wire on the headphones.
My remedy for that was, I bought new ear-phones at radio-shack and got the one year warrenty so everytime I tear them up I get new ones. I really cant make a comparison to the IPOD but this thing is bullet-proof. I have definately put it through the paces and have had no problems. I paid 139.00 for it and it holds 300 songs, gets FM radio too. I do love it. The IPOD seems to have lots of goodies you could get but I guess it all depends on what you are going to be doing with it. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 6:30:33 AM EDT
[#12]
A+
I have had nothing but good experiences with my 3rd Gen iPod (current is 4th gen with photo). I must disagree with NoVaGator and say that very much enjoy the iTunes interface to organizing my collosal music library. It helps out a great deal because I have a wide variety across genres, artists, etc. As far as the headphone thing goes, no, they aren't audiophile quality, but they are the best included headphones of any portable device I've ever bought. Now, the really great stuff happens if you also own a Mac computer (or soon, are running OS X on your Intel machine!!). It syncs with my Addressbook and Calendar so that I have both of those things available on my iPod. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 6:33:33 AM EDT
[#13]
I like my iPod, the ONLY complaint is, I have had a hard time ripping my CD's.
Some CD's that play perfectly, will not download on to my computer. It will start to download and only do a few seconds, or only a portion of the song. Does anyone know what is up with that? |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 6:49:53 AM EDT
[#14]
I gave my 4gb IPOD mini to my wife. Then I bought the 30gb photo IPOD for myself!
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 7:27:03 AM EDT
[#15]
Wife has one. A 30G photo. No problems with the machine. The software she has seems to suck. She buys songs online then tries to burn them (cause the FM transmitter sucks). Burning never gets past track 6.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 11:01:04 AM EDT
[#16]
I have the latest 20GB color iPod. I am very happy with it. Acutal usable storage is more like 18.5GB. I have about 16GB on it so far.
The battery life sucks. Fully charged it will lose it's charge completely after like 3 days of zero use. I use it in my vehicle mostly with a cassete adapter. Having a cig. lighter adapter makes the battery issue mute. I haven't tried puttnig pictures on it yet. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 11:08:18 AM EDT
[#17]
ipod saved my life in the army. i know that people complain that it isnt rugged- but mine is surviving just fine i have it since march04.
I dont know what I would have done on forced marches @ night without ipod and audible books. splice that wire into your headset selector, and you are good to go! |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 1:09:02 PM EDT
[#18]
Get the extended 3 year warrenty---the hard drive went bad on mine after 18 months---but over all it is pretty good
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 1:11:55 PM EDT
[#19]
I've got an iPod Shuffle, works great for me. Never had any problems and I've used it for hiding porn on. I've got the 1gb version. Anyways, it works well for me and I've never had a problem. Only minor complaint is that getting a belt clip/holster for it has to be bought separately. I bought a black rubber cover for it when I bought it, so at least I know I can drop it without hurting it. They're pretty tough, you'd have to start bashing one with a hammer or run it over or something to really hurt it. Hey, I wonder if Old_Painless wants to do an iPods o' Truth test, lol.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 1:38:05 PM EDT
[#20]
I've got the Creative Labs Zen Micro 5gb modle Its great!
Something you might want to check out is www.cnet.com and see how all the different MP3 players are being rated not to mention the cheapest places on the internet to buy them. HTH Sgt Bingham |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 2:16:18 PM EDT
[#21]
I don't get anywhere near the advertised battery life, and the battery is getting worse with every charge. You can't just drag and drop to load it, you need their software. The software is completely retarded (or I am because I can't figure out how to do a lot of stuff). The fact that you can't pop a spare battery in the back really pisses me off
 .I wish the IPOD was able to support drag and drop, just like my 256MB Creative Labs MP3 player. You just plug it into a usb port, and drag mp3's into the window. You don't even need to use the software that comes with it, the computer recognizes it as a drive. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 2:21:06 PM EDT
[#22]
I have a mini.
It rocks. Like somebody said, the headphones you get are crap, but different ones. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 4:17:43 PM EDT
[#23]
Thanks for all the responses. My gadget-loving side really wanted to get the 20 gig iPod, but in the end I just couldn't justify getting it. At least not for it's intended purpose (listening to Coast to Coast AM podcasts in bed).
So I spent a whole lot less and got a little Creative 256 MB player. Should hold enough to do me. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 4:27:38 PM EDT
[#24]
I have a 20 gb and my wife has a 4gb Mini. We both love them.
Get the Monster tape adaptor rather than an FM transmitter if you can - I live where there are a lot of radio stations so the channel bleed through is bad. Also, I have never heard of Apple charging 50 bucks per tech support call I have had my own Macs for over ten years now and have had to call tech support a couple of times - never got charged or anything. If true, it's a brand new thing.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 4:28:53 PM EDT
[#25]
Don't worry about it being apple. Microsoft owns all the rights to Microsoft iPods. 
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 4:33:06 PM EDT
[#26]
Love mine. About to buy another for wifey.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 4:34:05 PM EDT
[#27]
Microsoft holds the patent on the click wheel, they beat Apple to the punch. |
||
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 6:24:32 PM EDT
[#28]
i like my ipod. my former mp3 player was/is a perception digital and it stinks. ipod sound quality is excellent.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 8:12:41 PM EDT
[#29]
From perusing many reviews and such, the Ipod Mini has the best sound output circuitry followed by the Creative Labs models and then the regular Ipods. Of course to hear it, you have to have good quality encoded music "and" a good set of earbuds. None of them have very good earbuds, but a good set of Sennheiser earbuds (which make them all sound better), will cost you another $40 easy.
With even the cheap players, a good bitrate sound file and good earbuds sound better than an expensive player with crappy MP3's and cheap earbuds. That being said, I am no picky audiophile at the gym and since I only listen to MP3's while working out, I just use my Nokia 6230 and a Nokia headset. No it doesn't sound very good, but when I'm working out, I just want some rhythm and noise. When I listen at home, I pipe MP3's through my PC connected to Klipsch Ultra 5.1's so it sounds great. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 8:14:46 PM EDT
[#30]
The Creative Zen Touch I had sounded great through a pair of Sony ear buds. The ones that came with the player barely fit in my ears.
This new Creative MuVo sounds pretty good as well. If it wouldn't suck battery, I use a good set of big phones when listening. |
|
|
|
Posted: 8/27/2005 8:19:54 PM EDT
[#31]
By the way, I have the Dension Ice Link hooked up in my car (I did it in about 30 min). Basically, its just a wire that plugs to where a cd changer goes. Now I can operate my IPOD from the steering wheel controls and song/artist displays on my radio. To say the least, fucking awesome
(notice the "fucking" to emphasise how awesome it is)!!!
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/11/2005 10:52:24 AM EDT
[#32]
Right now I play all my mp3's on an mp3 CD player. Obviously it's a few years old.
I've been thinking about getting at least an iPod mini as well as a removable HD to back-up all my music since the CD's are showing some wear. I have a question about the iPod file transfer though. If I have a bunch of mp3's can I just drag and drop them into the iPod or is there some proprietary BS software that transfers the files to a special format that doesn't let you transfer the files to another computer or some BS like that for copyright protection? I could care less about being able to do that really. I just want to know that it's not some big pain in the ass process where a computer resource killing program has to be used to do the transfer. Thanks ETA: About the earphones: Is the earphone jack on the iPod a standard headphone jack? What is a good replacement set of ear/headphones for it? ETA2:    Which iPod is this?  
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/11/2005 11:20:56 AM EDT
[#33]
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/11/2005 11:25:44 AM EDT
[#34]
I love my iPod. I don't have a single complaint. I use it with a Monster 12-volt powered radio tuner that also charges it while I drive. It's awesome. I never listen to CDs anymore. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/11/2005 11:28:47 AM EDT
[#35]
4th Gen 40GB model. The stock earphones suck, but since they're cheap so I can beat on them.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/11/2005 11:29:49 AM EDT
[#36]
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/22/2005 10:36:04 PM EDT
[#37]
my ear phones went to shit quickly. I bought some new ones from Brookstone which have been holding up well. I would like to try some noise cancellation ones but dont feel the urge to spend over $100 on ear phones.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/22/2005 10:41:26 PM EDT
[#38]
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/22/2005 10:42:15 PM EDT
[#39]
They dont own ALL If they did, do you think apple would be selling them? |
||
|
|
|
Posted: 9/22/2005 10:44:56 PM EDT
[#40]
Here's my Ipod experience.
I plug it into my head, the entire world turns lime green, I turn coal black and I start dancing like a fucking retard. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/22/2005 10:49:33 PM EDT
[#41]
Is there a way to replace the "crappy headphones" that the iPods come with? Is the battery really that bad?
*is starting to want one* |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/22/2005 10:50:51 PM EDT
[#42]
Are you sure that's not uh..drugs? How can you not love the ever-so-creative ads? 
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/22/2005 10:51:55 PM EDT
[#43]
The iPod Mini is no more. Only the iPod Nano. Pretty sweet. My mom just got one but I have yet so see/play with it.
 I have the 30gb iPod Photo (4gb on the Nano would not be enough space for me). It wet the bed while I was in China, it just said it couldn't read the data and needed to be reformatted. Which means losing all of my 1500 songs. But luckily I was able to pull the files off my iPod and onto my laptop through the back door. I think what happened is the firmware upgrade did not install correctly, and it went corrupt. But after a reformat and retrying the firmware upgrade, it has not given me any problems. Bottom line is I love it. I beats the hell out of packing around a discman and a huge CD wallet. Best money I've ever spent on an electronic device. Brian |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/22/2005 11:06:17 PM EDT
[#44]
The iPod Nano (to me) almost looks too small.
It does seem much easier than lugging around a cd player and a cd, though I like having a cd there to hold rather than staring at MusicFile.mp3. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/23/2005 3:19:39 AM EDT
[#45]
I have a 60G iPod Photo and have over 13,000 songs on it thus far, this includes over 110 entire Grateful Dead shows, all transferred at 256k plus. I love it, I love it, I LOVE IT. Oh, and I still have 35g left to fill!!!
High bitrates do SUBSTANTIALLY reduce battery time, be warned. Who cares, I plug mine in. |
|
|
|
Posted: 9/23/2005 3:35:31 AM EDT
[#46]
I recently bought the iPod 60Gb Photo, and I have no complaints at all. I did ditch the standard earbuds in favor of my trusty old Sony MDR-V6 isolating headphones, and it almost impossible to discern between raw CD's and the iPod's sound (I use 320kBPS MP3 format). Also, as mentioned, the Monster FM transmitter works great (at least in my area). In my car I have direct inputs to the stereo so it isn't needed, but for my company vehicle it's the only way to go. I actually ripped most of my CD's using Media Player before I had bought the iPod, but it was no trouble to import the folders to iTunes. Right now I have about 280 CD's on it at 320k bandwidth, and it's just slightly more than half full!!
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/23/2005 3:38:58 AM EDT
[#47]
You can use any headphones with a 1/8" stereo plug. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/23/2005 3:52:33 AM EDT
[#48]
Having done the MP3 dance for others and now on my own, I can offer some insight. When considering an MP3 player, you need to ask yourself what you want from it. If you want a device that will let you store your entire CD collection for easy retrieval on the go, then a hard drive based player is not a bad idea. The downside to a hard drive based player is that it has moving parts and is thus not very happy with lots of movement. HD based players are also harder on batteries, as it takes more power to spin up a hard drive. If, on the other hand, you want to have access to a portion of your CD collection, or if you have a rather small CD collection, and you want to take the music with you as you jog/workout/etc, then a flash based player is your answer. Flash based players use memory chips much like the RAM chips in your computer to store information on them. This means that there aren't any moving parts, and the flash players can thus be used even if you are doing jumping-jacks during an earthquake, and they do well on battery life too. I just bought a Jet Audio I5 that runs on a single AAA for well over 20 hours. The iPod itself is considered the cream of the MP3 player crop. But when you get past the glitzy advertising and cool-ness factor of its looks, you begin to see the cons of the system too. Personally, I loathe iTunes and don't want to manage my music and MP3 player through it. There are other folks who share that view who have programmed some unauthorized utilities to make management of the iPod easier on a Windows system. Lots of folks I know have had problems with their iPods, but they are also the type of people who watch the Apple webcasts with a credit card ready. They want to be the first to own tech toys, which means that they will experience more problems than those who can hold their water. The iPod is cool and is specifically designed to be cool, but there are other players out there that have more features, better battery life, and are preferable in my opinion. |
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/23/2005 3:54:35 AM EDT
[#49]
.
|
|
|
|
Posted: 9/23/2005 4:25:00 AM EDT
[#50]
Just bought a new Mustang GT that has MP3 stereo. All I can say is ITunes rocks. It converts about any format to another. I've made so many playlists when I plug my IPOD in it will go crazy updating.
|
|
|
Win a FREE Membership!
Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!
You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.
AR15.COM is the world's largest firearm community and is a gathering place for firearm enthusiasts of all types.
From hunters and military members, to competition shooters and general firearm enthusiasts, we welcome anyone who values and respects the way of the firearm.
Subscribe to our monthly Newsletter to receive firearm news, product discounts from your favorite Industry Partners, and more.
Copyright © 1996-2024 AR15.COM LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Any use of this content without express written consent is prohibited.
AR15.Com reserves the right to overwrite or replace any affiliate, commercial, or monetizable links, posted by users, with our own.
