ipod or mp3

[renate]

I am getting closer to the digital age and have decided to get an ipod or mp3 player.I know nothing.All I want to know is what is the best way to start out on this.I think my playlist will never top 1000 or 2000 songs.I have Windows Vista, and itunes.Any help would be greatly appreciated,please.

[nygiantzz1]

I prefer an mp3 player over an Ipod. Most of them today come with built in FM radio, play videos and display photos. MP3 players are usually a lot cheaper than Ipods. My wife has a Sandisk Sansa and my daughter has a Microsoft Zune. Both are nice players with lots of features for about half the price of an Ipod. The Zune has built in WiFi too. However, if you plan on spending a couple hundred dollars, I would consider the Ipod Touch, it's pretty slick and loaded with cool features. If you're keeping it under $100, go with a Sandisk Sansa or Creative Zen. The Zune is great but costs a bit more.

[lovemyraffe]

You can definitely find something cheaper than an iPod. However, I love my iPod. I have had a few different ones and they keep getting better.

[vibe11]

an ipod is just a really expensive mp3 player. i have a creative zen. mine is a 40 gb. it will hold 10,000 songs, plays video, photos, has an fmamplayer, etc i got it at costco a year ago for 200 dollars. plus ipod break easy. i have washed mine, dropped mine, but it has not broken yet. when i dropped my ipod (the 2nd month i had it) the screen cracked and it was not covered under warranty.

[ColonelPanic]

iPod FTW. Design, construction, quality, and ease of use are tops. And as far as accessories go, you'll have a much easier time finding compatible products, there's more out there for the iPod line than any other player. Others are far cheaper and may have more features, but long term reliability can be suspect, especially with the cheaper ones. I bought one of the cheap $30 players once to take when I didn't want to carry my full size iPod and it was cheap enough that I wouldn't worry too much if something happened to it. The controls were terrible, the FM radio was junk, and it broke after a month or so. I could have spent a few more bucks on a Shuffle and it probably would still be working to this day. Do stay away from the cheapies, they're garbage!

[renate]

Thanks, I am looking toward a Microsoft Zune or the ipod classic.But then theres choices again with itunes and rhapsody.Are they all compatable?

[ClunkClunk]

If you're only going to have a maximum of 2,000 songs, the iPod classic may be overkill in terms of storage.

[Tubaryan12]

I own both a Sandisk Sansa and a iPod.For listening to music, I use the Sansa. I like the fact that it is more "windows like" and used Media player to load music. The only reason I use the iPod is for podcasts. itunes could use an updated user interface to make it more user friendly. Get yourself a refurbed Sansa C240. It mounts quite nicely over the A/C button on the dashboard with velcro. I have had mine for over a year with no problems. You can find them for under $20

[vibolista]

Sansa Clip. Tiny size. Good FM tuner, offered with 2GB to 8GB capacity and robust enough to hang with me skiing, jogging, biking and work. I don't take it kayaking. Not water proof. Windows XP and Vista compatible. I use it a lot and have owned it over a year. The Sansa Clip doesn't have a lot of fancy features, but it does produce great sound, even with standard ear buds included. Compared to an Ipod it's really inexpensive. A fully charged battery lasts over 10 hours. If you buy one, make sure you source the butyl cover that will help protect it. About the only thing that's not included.

[nygiantzz1]

If you're thinking about the Zune, don't go bigger than 16GB. Everything larger is hard drive based and are prone to skipping when used for jogging, skiing, biking, etc. The smaller players are flash based and not prone to skipping (no moving parts). I'm pretty sure the smaller Ipods are flash based as well.

[northvibe]

I love my ipods and their ease of use, but you should test them out at a store before you buy. then your not just taking someones opinion.... the HDD based ones are fine for walking and car driving, its the consistant bouncing that will make them skip ie. running like nygiant said. I have a ipod shuffle for running, and hdd based ipod for everything else.

[ou.grizzly]

My iPod Nano serves me well, but of course it is the last generation and I bought it when they were getting rid of them to make room for the newest generation. I paid something like $95.00 for a 4 GB and I only have 35 songs on it. Sansa Clip does look nice and for the price you can no go wrong or you could get a Samsung brand.

[kunkstyle]

iPod. More accessory options. More head units that connect to them, more aftermarket support. Nanos are a good choice in the mid price range.

[northvibe]

Yeah best deal is a refurb from the apple store, cheaper and has the full warranty for 1yr. Thats how i got my shuffle, saved 20 bucks and its worked for over 3 yrs Yes ipods are the new "default" mp3 player...I personally only get ipods.

[ou.grizzly]

Might I add my Nano does not skip when I am @ the gym working out.

[Kevzaz]

The thing about apple is that its easy to use, They look great, and they sounds good...

[northvibe]

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »Might I add my Nano does not skip when I am @ the gym working out. theres no hdd in nano's. its a solid state "drive" aka ram chips. So is the shuffle, iphone and ipod touch.

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »theres no hdd in nano's. its a solid state "drive" aka ram chips. So is the shuffle, iphone and ipod touch.That just shows I know very little about electronics.

[northvibe]

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »That just shows I know very little about electronics. And you picked a good one

[ou.grizzly]

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »And you picked a good one Yeah, because it was new and $95 bucks with Tax...

[renate]

Ok after reading all of the posts and doing some research,and since I have Windows Vista,and this is my first MP3 player,I have purchased a 2gig Sansa Clip(blue) for 49.99 and a car charger/transmitter for 79.99.It also comes with a 30 free Rhapsody trial.I will use this mostly while working so I didn't want something with a hard drive.Also if I have 500 songs I think I will have a ton right there and I think it has at least 1000 song capability.I did think of the ipod,but since I don't even know if I am going to like wearing this at work,I didn't want to go overboard on price.I will like having it in my car,as I am tired of burning CD's and buying CD's where I only like one or two songs...and also I don't have the premium sound in my Vibe,so that leaves me with constantly changing the CD....

[kevera]

iPod FTW!!!Worth every penny.

[Eloi]

Quote, originally posted by renate »I am getting closer to the digital age and have decided to get an ipod or mp3 player.I know nothing.All I want to know is what is the best way to start out on this.I think my playlist will never top 1000 or 2000 songs.I have Windows Vista, and itunes.Any help would be greatly appreciated,please.I have a COWON D2 8GB. They are less known than Sansa or Zune or others, but they are killer MP3 players, with a touch screen interface, with the longest battery life, about 45-50 hours. The last "long" trip I did (11 hours back and forth) with the Cowon connected in the Vibe Aux. jack, when I came back home, the battery was still at more than 75% of charge. And the sound quality is excellent, lots of settings. This is also the "loudest" MP3 player for the car that I tried. With a Sansa, the volume of the radio had to be at 100% to have a decent loudness. This is not the case with the D2.Check out this review:http://www.anythingbutipod.com...w.php

[Kevzaz]

Quote, originally posted by Eloi »I have a COWON D2 8GB. They are less known than Sansa or Zune or others, but they are killer MP3 players, with a touch screen interface, with the longest battery life, about 45-50 hours. The last "long" trip I did (11 hours back and forth) with the Cowon connected in the Vibe Aux. jack, when I came back home, the battery was still at more than 75% of charge. And the sound quality is excellent, lots of settings. This is also the "loudest" MP3 player for the car that I tried. With a Sansa, the volume of the radio had to be at 100% to have a decent loudness. This is not the case with the D2.Check out this review:http://www.anythingbutipod.com...w.phpThe D2 is the only mp3 player I would consider outside of apple. But since I was getting a Macbook Pro soon, I wanted to stick to apple since it would most likely work best.

[northvibe]

I looked at that review...the con's seemed on par from what it looks like. touch screen isnt really needed on something so tiny and with only a select few options :/ cool product though, thing is slightly big but thats probably all the batteries to get it to last crazy long. without a touch screen I bet it would be lasting 30-50 precent longer.

[renate]

I got my Sansa Clip today.Its very good for what I need ,but the charger/transmitter I got is not for the Clip,so I noticed it before I opened it and its being returned for full credit.I have 75 songs loaded so far and that has used .3 gig because .2 gig is for the OS,so I'm looking at about 500 songs easily,and I don't have near that many,since I only load songs I really like.Its also very easy to use with Rhapsody.Definitely worth 49.99

[vibolista]

Great pick. Easy to use, very small and great sound. Not to mention inexpensive. Don't forget to find a Butyl cover for it. Really does help protect it from drops and the like.