Steve Jobs owned

[Porkchop]

Originally Posted by derf

Problem is that there really isnt any mp3 player out there that is as good as the ipod is. Apple really did do something good when they designed it and through improvements through the years. Zune came close, but never really caught on. So instead we are all stuck with ipods

Have had a gen 1 zune for 5 years now. I've beat the ever living hell out of it, and I've had 5 problem free years. I think I have dropped it on every surface I can imagine, been down a flight of stairs 3 times, and into a puddle twice. Starts up and plays just like the day I bought it. That's the kind of product that will make me a customer for life.

The same can't be said for the countless friends who have had multiple ipods shit out on them, almost like they have a planed life cycle. Hmmmm.....

[Corey]

Originally Posted by Porkchop

Have had a gen 1 zune for 5 years now. I've beat the ever living hell out of it, and I've had 5 problem free years. I think I have dropped it on every surface I can imagine, been down a flight of stairs 3 times, and into a puddle twice. Starts up and plays just like the day I bought it. That's the kind of product that will make me a customer for life.

The same can't be said for the countless friends who have had multiple ipods shit out on them, almost like they have a planed life cycle. Hmmmm.....

This. I've gone through a couple of ipods that crap out for no god damn fucking reason at all. Zune still chugs along. I know I can dump all my music on my X, but I like having a separate mp3 player.

[Flexin]

Originally Posted by derf

Problem is that there really isnt any mp3 player out there that is as good as the ipod is. Apple really did do something good when they designed it and through improvements through the years. Zune came close, but never really caught on. So instead we are all stuck with ipods

I have heard good things about the Archos 43. I might check one out. I have a Creative Zen which I like but I want much more memory then the 8 gb I have now.

IMO the only thing(s) Ipods have is the aftermarket support and the connection. The location of the connector and the type allows the use of the dock. This will also charge it which is good and bad. Some people don't want the battery being charged all the time. Those are the only real benefits I see with the Ipod.

I don't think Ipods are bad (priced too high but anyway) but I don't think they are THAT good.

James

[derf]

I have tried a few of the alternate MP3 players out there and have been very dissapointed, but the ipod line really hasnt let me down too much. Granted my experience is based on the original shuffle, a gen 5 classic and the last gen nano. I lost the shuffle, the gen 5 worked great until I started to need something smaller which is why I bought the nano, and now I cant seem to find the gen 5, and now the nano which I destroyed in the washing machine and dryer. Overall it is a very user friendly product, and pretty durable.

Really what I see the ipods have over the competition is the memory size, and ease of use of the actual music player. Itunes software is a whole nother story all together, it blows donkey balls.

I also include in my assessment the aftermarket support of a product.

[Flexin]

Originally Posted by derf

I have tried a few of the alternate MP3 players out there and have been very dissapointed, but the ipod line really hasnt let me down too much. Granted my experience is based on the original shuffle, a gen 5 classic and the last gen nano. I lost the shuffle, the gen 5 worked great until I started to need something smaller which is why I bought the nano, and now I cant seem to find the gen 5, and now the nano which I destroyed in the washing machine and dryer. Overall it is a very user friendly product, and pretty durable.

Really what I see the ipods have over the competition is the memory size, and ease of use of the actual music player. Itunes software is a whole nother story all together, it blows donkey balls.

I also include in my assessment the aftermarket support of a product.

When I was looking for an MP3 player I thought about it for a second, but my Zen had the same memory and half the price. It also has a radio which the Ipod of the time didn't have (I don't like the radio so I it doesn't matter but its a feature that the Ipod of the time didn't have. And it worked well.)

And its no harder to use then an Ipod. And as far as Ipods being easy to use I don't feel they are that easy until you are shown how to use them. I sold electronics an people didn't seem to know how to use them without a demo. The Touch is a little better.

As far as memory my Zen has an SD slot so I can upgrade the memory. The only problem is I have to check it on its own. It just won't see all music/pictures/videos. If I knew this I would have bought the Zen with the larger drive. Now on the Archos 43 it has and SD slot that the player read on its own. If you look at your music it will show you whats on the card and on the drive. This is something that you can't get with an Apple product and I'm willing to bet that you might not ever be able to.

What Apple has is the after market support. You get Ipod pockets in yoga pants, docks, cases and so on. Other mp3 players are hurting when it comes to after market products.

I don't really like the Android but I think it has a chance to hurt Apple. So many companies are using it. If enough companies start using it they should move to a standard Ipod like connection. That would allow a dock to be made that would support multiple players. This could help them and hurt Apple.

As far as Itunes goes that is a pain in the ass. I have used it a bit and I don't like the program at all. What I do like is the ease of buying music on the Iphone/Touch if you do buy music. My sister likes to get Itunes cards as gifts and every now and then she will buy some old song we were talking about. But with that said we can also just jump on Youtube on them or on my Blackberry and play the song there. But that is one good thing I can say about Itunes.

James

[anthonyk]

Shit, my first gen iPod is still going strong. Anecdotes work both ways, I guess.

[MILK]

Originally Posted by anthonyk

Shit, my first gen iPod is still going strong. Anecdotes work both ways, I guess.

Me too. The ex bought me one 5 or 6 years ago. Use it riding and used to run with it until I bought my iPhone. Its just now starting to lose battery life.

[Homeslice]

Originally Posted by anthonyk

Shit, my first gen iPod is still going strong. Anecdotes work both ways, I guess.

All 3 pounds of it?

I have a 2nd gen lying around somewhere, but its battery only lasts 3 hours at best..........and that was after getting a new one under "warranty". The same was true for everyone else I knew who had one of those.

[anthonyk]

Originally Posted by Homeslice

All 3 pounds of it?

I have a 2nd gen lying around somewhere, but its battery only lasts 3 hours at best..........and that was after getting a new one under "warranty". The same was true for everyone else I knew who had one of those.

Come on now, compared to the giant Creative Zen player it was competing against, it was positively microscopic.

Originally Posted by Trip

The copyright/patent ones are getting old too. Apple sued Amazon yesterday for using the words "App Store."

It's all part of the industry. Hell, British Telecom tried to sue that it had a patent on the hyperlink, if I remember right.

[Flexin]

This could be my next player. http://www.archos.com/products/ta/ar...try=ca&lang=en In a way I don't know why I want to go to a player as big as a Touch when I use them in the gym and in construction equipment.

Oh one thing I LOVE about the Ipod Touch is the kinda Jukebox view of of the music. The one with the Album/CD covers. The Archos 43 has something like this, I haven't tried it but from picture it looks like the next best thing. I still like the way the Ipod Touch does it but the Archos is a step in the right direction I think.

James