IPOD?

[stonemaybe]

This might be the thread to ask a related question I have....

I'm thinking of getting one of these phones that act as an mp3 player as well. Seeing as I now never go anywhere without my music-player and my phone, I'm thinking I may as well just get one little device that does both!

Asking in the phone shop yesterday though, it seems that every single phone/player uses mp3's, and I have all my music (over 500 cds) on my hard drive as wmp files (about 23GB worth).

I'm pretty sure that if I go to iTunes or somesuch, it can change all my wmp music to mp3 music automatically.

But does anyone know how long this would take, and what advantages/disadvantages it would have for me?

[emotional leper]

I hate Apple for exactly that reason.

Why hate Apple? They just want to sell stuff. Hate the people who can't live without popular brand names.

Aaanyway, I have a 30 Gb iPod which I got as a present from work last year. I never would have bought one myself as they're way too expensive. But I must say I enjoy it a lot.

I do hate iTunes, though, what a piece of crap.

Apple has, up till very recently, fostered the image that Apple products are those used by the elite, the artists, the creative people. Apple products are a status symbol. There used to be some very little merit to this idea that Apples were better than other computers, but now, since they've switched Hardware, not so much. I dislike Apple products because kids want an apple computer that costs significantly more than a similiarly capable computer, not because they need something that Apple gives them, but simply because it's an Apple. And then they freak out when they can't play all their favourite games and such on an Apple, 'cause, well, they're Windows stuff.

[lucimay]

Oh, and if the kids say they want an ipod...then get an ipod...not something else....it's important

Sadly, this is the truth.

i concur. and...vain. nice avatar.

[Nav]

For the record, the new Zunes are awesome. Each one is better than it's equivalent in the iPod range, with the exception of the iPod touch (which has no direct Zune equivalent and is in general a cut above the rest of the market). The screens are bigger and of higher quality than the iPod Nano and Classic and the user interface is excellent, with a kind of hybrid trackpad/directional button affair that is more intuitive than it sounds and a step on from the clickwheel. Another neat trick is that the player knows which way round you're holding it and if you have it horizontal to watch videos, the UI switches round to match. Also nice are the high quality earbuds (which are magnetic and stick to the back of the player), FM radio with RDS and the ability to sync over your WiFi network.

The Zune's major weakness remains its software, although it is a vast improvement over the original version. It now has full podcasting support, a DRM-free music store and supports WMA-lossless and non-DRM AAC files. Unfortunately earlier iTunes AAC purchases cannot be played and, ironically, Microsoft's own DRM-WMA and WMV formats are not supported! Microsoft have impressed me with this new range though, the original Zune was a nice player with terrible software, but a year on and the second gen is a heck of a nice player with software only somewhat inferior to iTunes.

My 20gb 4th Gen iPod is busting at the seams and I'm in the market for a new, larger player. I was going to go for the iPod Classic, but the Zune 80 has totally swayed me.

Prizefight: iPod Classic vs. Zune 80

[Nav]

I'm pretty sure that if I go to iTunes or somesuch, it can change all my wmp music to mp3 music automatically.

But does anyone know how long this would take, and what advantages/disadvantages it would have for me?

iTunes will convert WMA files to Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) files, which are the standard for iPods and I think Sony players too. It would take a good while to get through 23gb of music (I'd estimate 5-6 hours for my computer), but the end result would be indistinguishable from the original WMAs. AFAIK, converting WMA to MP3 is quite difficult, certainly when I tried it a few years back the results were pretty awful. You can get players that will play MP3 and WMA though (generic ones too, not just Microsoft), which might be your best bet.

[stonemaybe]

I'm pretty sure that if I go to iTunes or somesuch, it can change all my wmp music to mp3 music automatically.

But does anyone know how long this would take, and what advantages/disadvantages it would have for me?

iTunes will convert WMA files to Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) files, which are the standard for iPods and I think Sony players too. It would take a good while to get through 23gb of music (I'd estimate 5-6 hours for my computer), but the end result would be indistinguishable from the original WMAs. AFAIK, converting WMA to MP3 is quite difficult, certainly when I tried it a few years back the results were pretty awful. You can get players that will play MP3 and WMA though (generic ones too, not just Microsoft), which might be your best bet.

Thanks Nav! Any idea, if I use iTunes to convert to mp3 and don't like it, whether it's easy to change back? I really would not like to have to manually save all my cds onto pc again!

[Cagliostro]

I don't have a fancy sound system, but I do have an iPod (30GB), and it makes me very happy. I guess some of the sound comes through what you dock it into, and while I don't remember the brand, the docking station with speakers I have sounds better than the stereo I have. I got one for Christmas a couple years ago not really knowing much about it other than I knew it for music and my fiance's (at the time) brother had one and loved it. I asked for it, not really expecting to get it, but I was out of ideas for gifts for me. Surprisingly, my family chipped in and got it. I wanted it because I heard you could play it on a radio station, and I was driving a van for work with only the radio, and I hate the radio. I saw what the big deal was with it after I got it. There is nothing cooler than, after going through the arduous task of putting all the cds into the sucker, hitting Shuffle on your entire music collection. And car trips...don't get me started on how wonderful it is to have a small little device holding all your CDs instead of dragging along a grocery bag with heaps of CDs that you are sick of halfway through the trip.

[aliantha]

The girls both had Minis to start with. Batty still has hers. MagickMaker upgraded to an iPod Classic a couple of months ago, and she's very happy with it, AFAIK. The choice was between an 8 GB Nano for $200 or an 80 GB Classic for $250. Gotta love that Apple pricing scheme...

I bought myself a Shuffle last year. It works fine for me. The beefier models have stuff like the video screen, a calendar function, and so on, which I wasn't interested in.

"iPod" became the generic term for mp3 players because Apple's click-wheel controller was the best thing on the market at the time. You have to give them credit for setting the industry standard -- even though, as EL says, they charge big bucks for that cachet.

[Damelon]

I got to check out the Ipod Touch for the first time yesterday. I like it, and it is a cut above, but having bought an ipod last year, I'm not in the market.

[aliantha]

And anyhow, if you wait a month, Apple will drop the price by 200 bucks and refuse to give you a refund.

[Fist and Faith]

I ended up going with this:
www.target.com/Memorex-2G-MP3-Player-Ra ... rh=&page=7

I guess the 2GB is enough for several hundred songs. The iPod brand is not an issue; the screen is not an issue.

[Cagliostro]

Wow...with the reviews on this.........I dunno.

[Fist and Faith]

Heh. I bought it at the store, with the help of the clerk, who has an iPod, and seemed to know quite a bit about them. I didn't even know there were reviews at the link until you said that. Maybe I'll reconsider...

[Cagliostro]

Maybe the clerk was trying to get rid of them so they wouldn't have to go on clearance. Clerks ain't always that trustworthy.

[wayfriend]

CNET's reviews of $50-$100 MP3 players, sorted by ratings: link

Was FM capability important to you, FnF?

[Fist and Faith]

Thanks for the link, WF.

And no, I don't think FM is an issue. It just happened to come with that one.

[Nav]

Thanks Nav! Any idea, if I use iTunes to convert to mp3 and don't like it, whether it's easy to change back? I really would not like to have to manually save all my cds onto pc again!

As far as I know iTunes doesn't alter the original files, it makes a new AAC file in the iTunes library folder, so all the original WMA files should stay where they are now.

Looking around though, both Sony and Creative's players support a variety of formats, including WMA, which would save the hassle of converting or ripping again to MP3. I guess staying out of the MS/Apple crossfire has its advantages!

Creative Zen Stone

Sony Walkman

[I'm Murrin]

I've been thinking of getting something myself recently, and the one I've ended up liking the look of is an Archos media player. Their 605 model has a big touch screen with decent res (800x480), high capacity memory, wifi (including internet browser), built-in speaker, and if you buy an accessory you can watch and record TV on the thing.
It's roughly the equivalent of an iPod Touch, without the good looks but with better image resolution and much, much bigger memory (up to 160GB HDD, compared to Apple's 16GB flash drives).

[wayfriend]

Sandisk seems to be an up-and-comer in the MP3 player market. People I talk to like them. I saw one the other day, 2 gig, clip-on, tiny LCD screen, $40 (on black friday tho). They also make the Shaker.

[DukkhaWaynhim]

I've been thinking of getting something myself recently, and the one I've ended up liking the look of is an Archos media player. Their 605 model has a big touch screen with decent res (800x480), high capacity memory, wifi (including internet browser), built-in speaker, and if you buy an accessory you can watch and record TV on the thing.
It's roughly the equivalent of an iPod Touch, without the good looks but with better image resolution and much, much bigger memory (up to 160GB HDD, compared to Apple's 16GB flash drives).

Murrin, you may want to be careful with the HDD models. They are great, but I have found them to be extremely unforgiving if dropped or otherwise mishandled. If you go with one and travel with it or are in anyway prone to oopsies, definitely get a shock-absorbing protector case. Otherwise, you'll quickly end up with an expensive (and completely mute) coaster for your pint.

dw