Quadrant Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 So I'm thinking of joining the 21st century and actually buying myself a proper mp3 player. A portable one. I strongly dislike Apple and their Tesco-like invasion of life, and I don't particularly trust iTunes, and after reading this link, I am scared of forking out so much money now: http://www.tomsguide.com/us/who-designed-this-crap,review-675.html So what's the best alternative? If someone can convince me an iPod, iPhone or whatever they're called is the way forward, or something else, please state your case! Thanks all, appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tremor Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Hi Quadders. I have an iPod nano and to be fair have never owned any other MP3 player for comparison so I can really only speak about that product. I've never had any problems with the nano and many of the issues raised in that article have been resolved since the article is from 2006. The guy in the article is making a number of points: 1. iPods scratch easily and it seems at the time of the article you couldn't get cases for them until some time after release. The issue of scratching the screens and casing of the iPod is still a problem in the same way as mobile phones and many other devices. You would be best advised to get a case for it to protect it and these are readily available in many types and styles these days for all models of nano. 2. Digital Rights Management (DRM). This is to with copyright protection placed on songs purchased from iTunes - the software you use to transfer music and other content to your iPod. iTunes is a music library which you can use to rip CDs you already own to the library and then transfer them to an iPod or just listen to tracks on your computer. It also has a digital music store - iTunes store which is a convenient way of purchasing music straight into the library and onto iPod. Basically the purchased tracks used to be very restricted by this thing called DRM. You couldn't use anything but iTunes to burn CDs, you couldn't use any other software to play the files and couldn't play the tracks in any other MP3 player because the tracks are not downloaded as MP3's as standard. This has been changed now. You can easily convert purchased music from Apple's AAC format into MP3 to allow use with devices other than iPods. Also you can burn purchased tracks to CD for use in CD players etc so you are far less restricted now with what you can do with your purchased music. 3. He is trying to say iPods are expensive and then they try to make money from you with the iTunes store etc. That might be true to an extent but actually unless you download music illegally from file share sites, you will always have paid for music. It's obvious people will still have to spend more money to obtain new music... so I don't see his point there really. iTunes store is no more expensive than buying music on CD. My personal view is that my nano has been a very useful device and has been reliable, easy to use etc. I would recommend it any day but do get some other views of other products. I didn't I just jumped in to the iPod world but have not regretted it personally. I've been using iTunes store for most music except trance for DJing for the last 3-4 years. No real complaints except beware the quality is not as good as CD even though it claims to be. If you really like something by an artist which is well produced and mixed - ie not heavily compressed by intention then it still makes sense to buy the CD and then rip it because the CD will sound better than the digital version on iTunes. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neuro Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 I've not warmed to iTunes because I've always organized my music collection in Windows Explorer (I know, I know) - if you rename and tag everything meticulously, you can get a nice neat music archive which I just find way easier. If I ever buy anything that isn't an unprotected mp3, I just convert it. So this Christmas I also purchased the Sony NWZ-A845. RRP is about £110 and it's a nice simple bit of kit, 16GB, and very light. I watched some default UEFA Champions League highlights clip that came on it and was astonished by the screen detail and quality. It plugs in like any other storage device via USB and is happy for you to simply drag movies, music or photos from Windows Explorer onto it. Job done. The only qualm I have with it is you have to charge the battery via your computer; it hasn't got a mains plug adaptor which I found slightly odd. In addition, if you want to squeeze out the best sound you'll need to tweak the equaliser settings to beef up the mid-range and bass, as the default levels are very flat. Overall, I would recommend this, but suggest you try out the iPods and Nanos and their patented scroll-wheely thing before you discard them entirely Forgot to say the headphones that came with this were surprisingly good, and if you use them you can activate the Noise Cancellation on the player. I still bought some separate Sennheiser bud 'phones but I'm keeping the original Sony ones for flights etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaSsJuNkiE Posted December 30, 2010 Report Share Posted December 30, 2010 Hi, I too dislike apple and all of its appley shit! My girlfriend and some of my friends own ipods, and I've tried them out but im not into them, mainly because iTunes is a pain, the sound quality on them is not that great when compared with Mp3 players in the same price range, and they dont do built-in FM radios... Why not? I just feel that your paying for the "apple" brand and not great sounding mp3 player. So if your looking for something all singing, all dancing, great sounding ipod alternative then have a look at some of the latest Cowon models. Something like this Cowon S9 On the other hand if your looking for a great sounding and easy to use mp3 player on a budget then I recommend the SanDisk Sansa Clip here Both beat an ipod by miles IMO ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissie Brown Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 I bought my first mp3 player 4 years ago, a (refurbished) "iriver" 20GB H10 as it had a built in FM tuner and as l wanted to record Jules's R1 shows it was perfect. 2 years ago l bought another "iriver" mp3 player (Clix2) 8GB which is a lot smaller than the H10 but records at a higher bit- rate than the H10. Very pleased with the sound quality of both these players. I downloaded the itunes programme when l bought my new computer and despite making sure WMP was the default player "itunes" took over all my music libraries ie; Windows Media Player (WMP) so l've removed it! I've heard that the Cowan is very good but at the moment both my iriver mp3 players are still working perfectly so won't be buying another one just yet! Unfortunately AMP3 (the company i bought my players from) don't appear to deal with iriver any more. :thumbsdown: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aza Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Quadrant, I think - many years ago - I found myself in the same predicament. I wasn't and are still not too fond of Apple, but have to concede that their MP3 players are by far the best. When it comes to a PC or a MAC, I'd go PC, but for music, definately an iPod. One other factor that swayed me was when I got a car for work that had an MP3 connection there as I always used to use MP3 CDR's. It's such a breeze now not to be able to burn CD's which often take a lot of time and also digitally take my collection with me wherever I go. I bought an iPod classic (80Gb) as I wanted everything, anywhere at anytime. I always subscribe to BBC Radio 1 and 4 podcasts so listen to these to and fro work. Also, take a look at the members section and everytime someone posts a mix, we all state we'll nab them for the MP3 players That's a neat device you got there, but for an extra £30 or so you could've got the latest iPod Nano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian_k Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 ipods work and are industry standard, they do the job, and if you dont like itunes, you can always use 3rd party applications to manage them......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number2Fan Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 I love my iPod, I have an iTouch and now I know how to use the iTunes properly, I love it even more. I sell many cheaper MP3's to people on a weekly basis, but all in all they tend to get bought back for varying reasons, I have not yet taken back an iPod, and when the cheaper ones come back I tend to suggest an iPod, there's different sorts for different usages, so why not. Get one Quadders, you'll love it. iTouch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissie Brown Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Hi Quadders, To be honest if the iPod had a built in radio l would probably have bought one instead of the iriver mp3 player. Once you get use to one operating system you tend to stick with it (that's if you're an oldie like me ) I take mine everywhere and would be lost without it. Whichever one you choose you'll love it, .........good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonman Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Creative Zen Touch 2 is the one i use. I used to want Apple stuff - but for the wrong reasons. They are very gimmicky, and once the novelty wears off, they simply become a fashion statement. I have the Creative Zen Touch x-Fi 2. I've always had Creative MP3 players, purely because they really do sound the best. Its also got an FM Tuner on it. I've never had any faults with it either, and Creative Central is waaaaaaay better than iTunes. I dont feel like I have the control over iTunes, which is why i never took to it. I had a Zen Touch 20gb and it was built like a tank, lasted me a good 5 years and wasnt treated well, but still marched on! Apple is a very trendy brand, i wanted a macbook pro a while back, but i'm now getting a tricked out Sony Vaio - for the same price you get much better spec, its upgradeable etc etc . Apple is just very, very well marketed, thats all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aza Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 Tend to agree with you on the first point, however, have learned how to use iTunes a bit better and 'smart' playlists are awesome. Not sure you about other proggy's but this is a big plus as you can build some pretty complex criteria to seamlessly manage your tracks, have them added and removed to playlists without even doing a thing, bar listen to it The other point - just don't update and don't remind me again I just update to the major releases... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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