IPod vs. other mp3 players?

Question

Ok, so I said to my friend one day that I wanted an iPod. (I'm looking at the Nano, if it makes any difference.) He sort of scoffed and said that it's so stupid that people are buying these expensive name brand things when you can get the same thing for way less. Is he right? Is iPod just a fancy name brand...

Answer 1

I have had four mp3 players (2 iPods, and 1 Rio, and 1 iRiver). It is true that iPod lacks many of the "cool" features that other mp3 players have like radio, voice recording, etc.

However, the iPod is not over priced. Look at other video mp3 players. Most hover around the $500 price range.

The nano is also a good deal though - the size of the thing is less bulky than just about any other mp3 player on the market. You could hardly notice it in your pocket because it is so thin. Not to mention, it can also display photos...

Ask yourself what you really want. If you want to upload the music on your computer to an mp3 player and listen to your music, then I would recommend an iPod. I tried the iRiver iHP 120 and found that, like many of the other non-iPod players out there, there was little customer help, and that the guidebooks were poorly translated into english. Not only that, but because these other mp3 players are confusing. The iRiver didn't come with a navigation system, so I had to scroll through all 976 of my songs to find the one I wanted to listen to at that moment. Not to mention the 5 or six plugs it came with...

The rio was bulky, and ugly. Now I know the aesthetic aspect of your mp3 player might not be an issue, but when I listen to my music, I want to be taken away. The iPod accomplished this with it's cloudy white exterior, and vibrant color display. Neither of the other mp3 players mentioned above can say the same...

Navigation in the ipod is SO EASY! You won't appreciate it unless you've had to deal with other navigation systems, like I have. The scroll wheel, and menu system couldn't be more intuitive. I forget about the old days when numerous clicking and holding down for five seconds were normal actions I would take.

iPods are built strong. both the iRiver and Rio broke with normal use in less than a year. My old ipod (the first generation, with a wheel that actually moved with your finger) broke after two years (in an overheated car). My current iPod (video ipod) hasn't given me any problems, and I'm delighted that I made this decision.

Unless you're a tech geek, I would say definitely go with the iPod. If you are a tech geek, reconsider your view on the iPod - it is a quality mp3 player.

Answer 2

It's true that iPod became famous as being the best by far, but now competition has picked up.

The company that makes iPod (Apple computers) could have been the biggest computer company in the world. Unfortunately it has a 20 year record of overpricing its products.

When comparing MP3 players:
1: Check the warrantee. A longer warrantee will insure you against poorly made devices. It shows that the manufacturer has confidence in its product.

2: Check the capacity to store songs. 1 song takes less than 4MB. 1GB will allow you to store more than 250 songs.

3: Compare the capacity with the price to evaluate value for money.

Answer 3

Here's the thing, if you like a lot of music, it is cheaper to get an MP3 player and rent music subscription music services like Yahoo Music, Rhapsody, and Napster than it is to buy music on iTunes for an iPod.

For less than the price of a CD a month (as little as $10 a month), you can subscribe to Yahoo Music, copy all the songs you want to the compatible MP3 player and play it as many times as you like.

I have over 1000 songs on my Creative Zen MicroPhoto that I didn't buy, I only rent them. I just have to keep my subscription up to date and periodically sync the player with the service. So, instead of paying $1000 to iTunes or buying hundreds of CDs to build that collection, I got it all NOW.

I have a collection of over 100 CDs and 100 albums and it didn't have all the songs I wanted and I kept losing CDs. I have been using subscription music services for over two years now and it is so much cheaper than buying music.

So, you should look for the following things: PlaysForSure which allows subscription music service rental of music.

And, some of these portable MP3 players are really cool looking too. Creative offers their players in many different colors for instance.

The PlaysForSure link below will take to the site that has a list of all the different compatible MP3 players.

Answer 4

iPod has a lot of deficiencies, the only strenght it has is the capacity which other players have. The only reason you should get one is that Apple, the manufacturer would soon make it possible to download music straight from the net to ur iPod. Other manufacturers don't have the market or funds to do that.

Answer 5

Currently have and iPod and another mp3 player in the household...Ipods are much easier to use and store music in, they cost more but it is a much nicer mp3