I-pods For Christmas

[Billyisgr8]

HELP!!!!!

Can someone explain the differences about I-pods compared to no name brand I-pods .  I only saw and held an I-pod yesterday at Staples for the first time, but really only have heard about these from my daughters.  What should I be looking for and what should be avoided with these?  Any advice would be great since I think we'll be getting a few soon and don't want to be paying top dollar for gadgets that will be outdated quickly.  I don't mind buying knock offs if they include some extra features and are cheaper.  Memory is smaller on some models, but how many things do you really need to store on one of these?



Fill me in on what  really is the basics for these. A couple of comparisons below

http://cgi.ebay.ca/NEW-iNANOz-2GB-BLACK-MP...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.ca/99-mp3-Player-4gb-Video...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.ca/NEW-APPLE-VIDEO-IPOD-30...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.ca/D0-New-1-5-65K-OLED-MP4...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.ca/NEW-Ultra-SLIM-1-GB-MP4...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.ca/New-i-super-2GB-MP4-MP3...1QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks

Kevin

[Chris]

Ipods are a specific product, and there is not much that really compares. They are easily connected to pc and mac for music download and contain the best of all features, I think in most cases any of the models will be sufficient for anyone.  Courteney has 2 of them, an Ipod Mini and an Ipod Nano and she likes them both.

[Russ]

my wife has a dell works great and a portion of the price of a ipod.
i just bought a nano and love it.
i think the biggest difference would be accesories along with the stuff Chris has already mentioned

[daniellevws]

It depends on the application you want to use it for. I have a 20gb and a 30gb video. I used the 20gb in college as a portable usb drive to store and transfer large graphic files and word documents. The nano's and mini's are good for music use only. the video's have games on them as well & movies. Great for roadtrips, etc. you can now download full length movies from apple store, or copy your own from dvd to i-pod. (i have a bunch of vw commercials on mine). I know the nano's have all kinds of cool add ons (like the nike running tracker). Microsoft just came out with a new comparable item, the zume. here is a link to c-net's comparisons:
http://reviews.cnet.com/Zune_30GB_black/45...32068976-4.html

[ScreamnStroker]

I've got a 4 gig ipod NANO,  like the other's have said there are alot of accesories for the ipods such as a FM transmitter which allows you to tune your car radio into a station and you can play your ipod.
I like the ipods but thats just my opinion.

[hellgti]

one of the big differences is that the nanos, razers etc all have flash memories.  I have a 40gig that is an actual hard drive so its sensitive to bumps and drops ie: it will freeze up.  They're not just for music.  You can store large files, download podcasts, have your daytimer on it, watch video's, movies, tv shows you've missed, keep phone numbers, email addresses.... and the pest part, at least for me, is that Alpine makes car stereo's that will interface with it and control everything throught the deck.  so no shitty FM transmitter sound.  You can litteraly have 10,000 songs in your car, at CD quality sound.

[daniellevws]

one of the big differences is that the nanos, razers etc all have flash memories.  I have a 40gig that is an actual hard drive so its sensitive to bumps and drops ie: it will freeze up.  They're not just for music.  You can store large files, download podcasts, have your daytimer on it, watch video's, movies, tv shows you've missed, keep phone numbers, email addresses.... and the pest part, at least for me, is that Alpine makes car stereo's that will interface with it and control everything throught the deck.  so no shitty FM transmitter sound.  You can litteraly have 10,000 songs in your car, at CD quality sound.

fm transmitters are available for all the nano's & ipods. Logiteck, belkin, and apple make them.
also, you can buy cables to hardwire an ipod into almost ALL stereos, simply by changing the pins in the rear of the radio to accomodate an aux output. The downside to this is that you cannot scroll through your tunes normally. You have to create 6 different playlists (unlimited # of songs.) You can then scroll between playlists and tracks through your radio control buttons. you will not be able see the artist and song on the cd display, but you can look at your i-pod for reference. You cannot simply change the song on the i-pod while the firewire is plugged into the radio... get it?
http://www.discountcarstereo.com/pdf/vwrpcpod.pdf
you can use the above for reference. Other in-car options include phatnoise systems (which vw has discontinued, but are still available. you can download tunes right to your car. nonetheless..
hardwire connections end up costing a couple hundred dollars. They're pretty easy to install for the most part.  

[OUTKAST]

Oh crap technology has passed me by, my cassette walkman went obsolete overnite ,Seriously though I try and read alot although not buyinging the latest of everything No cell, no digi camera ,Slow computer. One price, two, slow to change but man this stuff is growing in leaps and bounds. Man crazy what my kids are going to see in there lifetime ,Better start building the hover system for the bus  :lol:  

[hellgti]

fm transmitters are available for all the nano's & ipods. Logiteck, belkin, and apple make them.
also, you can buy cables to hardwire an ipod into almost ALL stereos, simply by changing the pins in the rear of the radio to accomodate an aux output. The downside to this is that you cannot scroll through your tunes normally. You have to create 6 different playlists (unlimited # of songs.) You can then scroll between playlists and tracks through your radio control buttons. you will not be able see the artist and song on the cd display, but you can look at your i-pod for reference. You cannot simply change the song on the i-pod while the firewire is plugged into the radio... get it?
http://www.discountcarstereo.com/pdf/vwrpcpod.pdf
you can use the above for reference. Other in-car options include phatnoise systems (which vw has discontinued, but are still available. you can download tunes right to your car. nonetheless..
hardwire connections end up costing a couple hundred dollars. They're pretty easy to install for the most part.

keep up with the times.  the Alpine 9856 and 9857 are base model head units that show album, song artist and allow you to control your ipod while its out of site in your glovebox etc.  FM transmitters suck.  ithey only sound as good as radio and transmission is effected the same as radio is.  so you can get wine and hum from electrical accessories in your car.  the Alpines are ipod ready without any box to convert info.  they only require the cable to hook up to your ipod.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-ZK8f8S4Klzz/c...fp&I=500CDA9856

[daniellevws]

fm transmitters are available for all the nano's & ipods. Logiteck, belkin, and apple make them.
also, you can buy cables to hardwire an ipod into almost ALL stereos, simply by changing the pins in the rear of the radio to accomodate an aux output. The downside to this is that you cannot scroll through your tunes normally. You have to create 6 different playlists (unlimited # of songs.) You can then scroll between playlists and tracks through your radio control buttons. you will not be able see the artist and song on the cd display, but you can look at your i-pod for reference. You cannot simply change the song on the i-pod while the firewire is plugged into the radio... get it?
http://www.discountcarstereo.com/pdf/vwrpcpod.pdf
you can use the above for reference. Other in-car options include phatnoise systems (which vw has discontinued, but are still available. you can download tunes right to your car. nonetheless..
hardwire connections end up costing a couple hundred dollars. They're pretty easy to install for the most part.

keep up with the times.  the Alpine 9856 and 9857 are base model head units that show album, song artist and allow you to control your ipod while its out of site in your glovebox etc.  FM transmitters suck.  ithey only sound as good as radio and transmission is effected the same as radio is.  so you can get wine and hum from electrical accessories in your car.  the Alpines are ipod ready without any box to convert info.  they only require the cable to hook up to your ipod.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-ZK8f8S4Klzz/c...fp&I=500CDA9856

i only deal with factory installed accessories (dealer,   )
the alpine is a good aftermarket option. i know there are others as well. do your research before purchasing though, some get a little deceptive with wording & their modes of song selection.
good looking out.

[hellgti]

fm transmitters are available for all the nano's & ipods. Logiteck, belkin, and apple make them.
also, you can buy cables to hardwire an ipod into almost ALL stereos, simply by changing the pins in the rear of the radio to accomodate an aux output. The downside to this is that you cannot scroll through your tunes normally. You have to create 6 different playlists (unlimited # of songs.) You can then scroll between playlists and tracks through your radio control buttons. you will not be able see the artist and song on the cd display, but you can look at your i-pod for reference. You cannot simply change the song on the i-pod while the firewire is plugged into the radio... get it?
http://www.discountcarstereo.com/pdf/vwrpcpod.pdf
you can use the above for reference. Other in-car options include phatnoise systems (which vw has discontinued, but are still available. you can download tunes right to your car. nonetheless..
hardwire connections end up costing a couple hundred dollars. They're pretty easy to install for the most part.

keep up with the times.  the Alpine 9856 and 9857 are base model head units that show album, song artist and allow you to control your ipod while its out of site in your glovebox etc.  FM transmitters suck.  ithey only sound as good as radio and transmission is effected the same as radio is.  so you can get wine and hum from electrical accessories in your car.  the Alpines are ipod ready without any box to convert info.  they only require the cable to hook up to your ipod.

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-ZK8f8S4Klzz/c...fp&I=500CDA9856

i only deal with factory installed accessories (dealer,   )
the alpine is a good aftermarket option. i know there are others as well. do your research before purchasing though, some get a little deceptive with wording & their modes of song selection.
good looking out.

aahh.  yes, I know a lot of people prefer the Denison Icelink for their factory stereos.  I personaly have the 9856 alpine and it's worth every penny, this was after fighting with an FM transmitter for months since my car came with an aftermarket stereo when I purhcased it.

[Shane]

I just had a pioneer installed in the Motorhome which comtrols the Ipod much like the Alpine, Best way to go..

[silas]

i put an LP in my 8-track and now it doesnt work.

are there some megawhatzitbites that i can side load to fix it?    

[OUTKAST]

Fancy pants   I remeber radio LG73  
Blondie call me
Floyd the wall
Boomtown rats
shane how about shaun cassidy  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

C.fox saved me  

[slugbug]

I have a Sandisk Sansa E130 512MB MP3 player that I paid $50 for at Future Shop. It has an SD card slot so you can add another 2GB of space.
Once you got the sound adjusted right it sounds pretty damn good.

[suburbiana]

Kevin, just my 2 cents, as we've been selling these since they first came out ...
every manufacturer out there is trying to figure out how to be the Ipod killer, but Apple is selling 100,000+ units a month now ...
if you are wanting something that looks like an Ipod and acts like an Ipod, go with an Ipod ... while they do have some knocks they have vastly improved battery performance, their iTunes online music store offerings, compatibility, etc over each successive generation of releases.  As well, there is a ton of 3rd party accessories, something that may be an important consideration down the road.  Aside from Apple, I would suggest considering Sandisk Sansa and some of the Creative Labs products (although I just tested a few that were extremely buggy/defective as they rushed them to market to compete w/ the Ipods).

BTW, I had a Creative Labs MP3 player for the past 3 yrs that was fantastic, decided to upgrade my capacity recently and went with one of the new Ipod Nanos ... they are very nice, small and user-friendly - something that I can guarantee is not true in all circumstances for most of the other manufacturered products.

For info on Ipods, and related accessories, news, reviews ... www.ilounge.com

For others, www.anythingbutipod.com

Cheers,
Craig

[Billyisgr8]

Good info

How does windows 98 play  into all of this, so far I have only read ipod is not compatible with windows 98,  is this true, or is there a driver available for this now that I hav'nt read about yet?

Kevin

[suburbiana]

unfortunately Ipods are not compatible w/Win 98 - you need to have Win XP and/or Win 2000 in order to use ...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60971

[moni]

kevin, first things first, come join us in the 21st century of computer technology.

your Win98 won't be compatible with the iPods, and even Win2000 will not be a happy camper with iTunes, etc. either. i was grappling with 2000 earlier this year, and there's only so many patches/drivers you can download before it craps out -- and mine did. the replacement has made an absolute world of difference in terms of surfing, multimedia, burning and anything else on the computer i manage to waste my time on.

so get your girls a couple of iPod nanos (best deal, IMHO) and pick up the family some base desktop, you can get stoopid deals with dell for like $400.

[Billyisgr8]

kevin, first things first, come join us in the 21st century of computer technology.

your Win98 won't be compatible with the iPods, and even Win2000 will not be a happy camper with iTunes, etc. either. i was grappling with 2000 earlier this year, and there's only so many patches/drivers you can download before it craps out -- and mine did. the replacement has made an absolute world of difference in terms of surfing, multimedia, burning and anything else on the computer i manage to waste my time on.

so get your girls a couple of iPod nanos (best deal, IMHO) and pick up the family some base desktop, you can get stoopid deals with dell for like $400.

Unfortinitly we have 6 computers and they are all business related somehow.  The problem is all the software we have especially the cnc software which costs $4000+ to replace which is not compatible with xp. Upgrade software means upgrading CNC drive computers which will not support the new program format

Still doing some soul searching on if it is really worth it.  It all comes down to $$$$$$$


Kevin