NEW IPOD classic or Nano

[AFLflyer]

wondering if anyone here knows where the best cheapest / safest online shop to purchase a new ipod? anyone with any experience doing this. or would it be better to buy from an actual shop? there's heaps off stuff online, which I can't be arsed sifting through.

[Dog_ger]

ipods seem to be updating annually.

Be cautious.

Everywhere seems to be the same price.....

One thinks, Price Fixing here

[Dissident]

If you HAVE to get an iPOD, get it from a shop. Easier for warranty if/WHEN it stops working.
Oh, and be prepared to send it back if the battery fails - you can open it yourself.

[AFLflyer]

So you guys reckon a skop is the way to go...... ? ok might call into JB. i heard Apple try and keep their preices fairly standard, which makes shopping for one easier i guess.

[Dissident]

Yep

An iPod is an iPod wherever you get it - average

[AFLflyer]

Yep

An iPod is an iPod wherever you get it - average

+

why do you reckon their average? - does the job nicely IMO.

[Dissident]

There are better mp3 players out there, that's for sure.

Just seems to be that iPod = Mp3 player.. which isn't right IMHO.

I detest needing software installed just to put songs on my mp3 player!

But, each to their own

[AFLflyer]

There are better mp3 players out there, that's for sure.

Just seems to be that iPod = Mp3 player.. which isn't right IMHO.

I detest needing software installed just to put songs on my mp3 player!

But, each to their own

yeah, i see your point about the market domination they have!

[Pseudo]

I detest needing software installed just to put songs on my mp3 player!

Ayup. Later generation Sony MP3 players give drag-and-drop functionality. This, and the standard inbuilt FM receiver, is why I don't own an iPod.

However, if one must buy an iPod, then do shop around. While considering purchase of a new MP3 player recently I noticed that 8Gb iPod nanos could sell at anywhere between $180 and $199 in your typical shopping mall store (JB, Tandys, Dick Smiths). Sometimes the more expensive ones had a little bonus thrown in like a stand-alone USB charger.

[zipzap]

Ayup. Later generation Sony MP3 players give drag-and-drop functionality. This, and the standard inbuilt FM receiver, is why I don't own an iPod.

There's something decent on FM?

[Psyber]

Ayup. Later generation Sony MP3 players give drag-and-drop functionality. This, and the standard inbuilt FM receiver, is why I don't own an iPod.

There's something decent on FM?

There's the ABC classical music station, which is what I listen to.

[gadj1976]

There are better mp3 players out there, that's for sure.

Just seems to be that iPod = Mp3 player.. which isn't right IMHO.

I detest needing software installed just to put songs on my mp3 player!

But, each to their own

*sigh* just wiped out my entire song list this morning by 'unchecking selection(s)'. Now it will take 10 hours to restore them. Stupid software - stupid me for autosyncing.

[Dissident]

Ahh the beauty of Asian-made MP3 players... no AM band.

(well, from anywhere really)

[Pseudo]

Ayup. Later generation Sony MP3 players give drag-and-drop functionality. This, and the standard inbuilt FM receiver, is why I don't own an iPod.

There's something decent on FM?

Life FM SANFL broadcasts, natch!

[HH3]

Iriver MP3 players are pretty decent for the price.

They have video, FM, pics and music. I used to have an Iriver Clix and i just recently bought an Iriver E100. Does the job. Has SRS, WOW and some other sound settings, customisable EQ, and it was only $116 from JBs.

Comes with a video converter and the best thing is you just drag your music into the folder and its saved. No stupid programs like Itunes.

[AFLflyer]

Ayup. Later generation Sony MP3 players give drag-and-drop functionality. This, and the standard inbuilt FM receiver, is why I don't own an iPod.

There's something decent on FM?

Life FM SANFL broadcasts, natch!

triple J!!!

[zipzap]

Ayup. Later generation Sony MP3 players give drag-and-drop functionality. This, and the standard inbuilt FM receiver, is why I don't own an iPod.

There's something decent on FM?

Life FM SANFL broadcasts, natch!

triple J!!!

Maybe 15 years ago when it used to be about music...

I'm an iPod convert (after years of bagging them before I had one) and don't understand the inverted snobbery surrounding them (though I do understand you not wanting to be part of a herd mentality - sometimes it does seem like everyone has one).

Some say they don't like being forced to have software to rip and synch their mp3 player yet probably have several programs installed to do just that. You can't do it without software and don't get me started on how bad Media Player is - bloatware at its worst. iTunes does tons of jobs and does them well, especially if you subscribe to podcasts and actually like managing your library.

Some will tell you that other mp3 players sound so much better than the iPod. Hmm... any improvement would be minimal at best since mp3s (or whatever flavour you encode in) are compressed files and are going to sound way inferior to the original source on whatever you play them on. It's about convenience not pure audio.

FM? Yeah OK. I thought the point of an mp3 player was to listen to your mp3s but if you want FM you can add it to an iPod with one of the millions of accessories made especially for the iPod. Yes you might frown at the commercialism but it is the mp3 player by far the most supported with such a huge range of integrated accessories from speakers to cables to software so you can customise it how you want.

One thing some players definitely have on the ipod though is the customisable EQ - I really wish Apple would implement that as their one-size-fits-all options are very limiting.

There may certainly be players with better tech specs but none can touch the ipod yet for size, support and general functionality IMO.

Fire away

[Wedgie]

I disagree with your point about sound quality.
Ive played the same mp3 file on different devices and the difference in quality is HUGE!
Im not saying the IPOD is crap (even though I would never get one unless they change or improve a lot of things, similar to the Iphone) but I will take you to task on the difference in quality on different mp3 players.
I have nothing against Apple, I'd love one of their top of the range PCs or laptops if there was a larger range of software for them.

[zipzap]

Sorry Pseudo - I think I accidentally deleted your post but rescued it somewhat.

Pseudo wrote:
I'll bite at this one. My previous MP3 player - early flash-memory Sony walkman - would only play files encoded in the Sony proprietary format. As far as I could tell this was little more than a wrapper around the original MP3 file, but it meant that music could not be transferred to the device without using the supplied SonicStage (tm) software. Which would not have been quite so bad, were SonicStage (tm) not a huge steaming pile of sh!t.

SonicStage (tm) was s-l-o-w. It was memory intensive. On several occasions it managed to lock up the computer, requiring a reboot. SonicStage (tm) is quite simply a very poorly written piece of software. It exists only so that the Sony corporate leviathan can exert slightly more control over how you, the consumer, listens to your music: not only can you not transfer music TO the device without it, you cannot transfer music FROM the device either, since it must be unwrapped from the Sony file format to be useful. Sony is happy for you to take your music with you, but not transfer it to other devices, for that would be PIRACY! Never mind if you're transferring the file for your own personal use. Your rights as a consumer do not matter. Cough up your money and move to the side.

SonicStage (tm) did have its good points; the ability handle playlists (statically or dynamically) was quite nice, and no doubt having the computer-end software do this left more memory free for songs on the device itself. Nevertheless this did not compensate for the bad points, which were legion.

After some poking around on the net, I found a third-party program which would sit on the device and open up a window-like interface, allowing drag-and-drop functionality. Unfortunately this doesn't permit any of the cool features like playlists, but if you're just after the simple ability to transfer albums to - or FROM - the device with a few mouse clicks then it works a treat.

Nevertheless, in a possible world first, Sony realised its attempt to control consumers through sh!tty software was ultimately unworkable and was actually turning people off their products. In the later model walkmans (walkmen?) the dependence on SonicStage (tm) has been removed, and one can now load up the device via your favourite graphical file browser - and I suspect even from a command line shell, though I have yet to test this out. The files remain in MP3 format on the device. Because of this I cannot speak highly enough of the later model walkmans. To date the only grizzle I have is that the battery life does not come close to the advertised claims. There are a couple of behavioural quirks, but these are more "cute" than a nuisance.

Another rant over.

[zipzap]

I don't doubt SonicStage is rubbish (if it's anything like the photo editing software that came with my Sony camera) - I guess I was more defending iTunes which cops a bagging from many detractors. Depends what you want it for but for me it works, simple as that, as I want more than just drag n drop though I appreciate that's what some people are after. (incidentally I've got some bit of free software on my ipod which lets me transfer music - drag n drop - easily to another computer which by default Apple does not like you to do).

Wedgie I'll bow to your judgement on that, never having done any comparison testing. But mp3s just don't stack up in general to CD and vinyl source material and neither should you expect them to, so I've always been able to live with the quality drop. As I said the ipod sorely lacks a decent EQ which would improve the sound quality dramatically (especially the mid-range) so I'd be genuinely keen to hear how much better a different brand could actually sound (ie which one does a better job at polishing a turd).