Ipod or similar?

[CharlesW]

My wife thinks an Ipod would be a nice gift for my 15 year old granddaughter.
While I don`t really disagree, I do feel that most Apple products are very overpriced.
Is there an acceptable substitute or is the Ipod the way to go?

Charles

[travisdecpn]

Creative Labs makes the Zen series of mp3 players. They run a little less than Apple. Dell also makes mp3 players now. It all depends on how much disk space you want.

[CharlesW]

Creative Labs makes the Zen series of mp3 players. They run a little less than Apple. Dell also makes mp3 players now. It all depends on how much disk space you want.Thanks.
Are these something that I can go to Best Buy and look at?

Charles

[cwcad]

i have an ipod and my wife has to input all the stuff for it. i like to listen to audio books as i drive to alaska and back from texas. it is a good sound but it is not user friendly. it does workl but so do you to get it to do what you want.
i just recently purchased an iriver for my son. (my wife bought it) i was told that it is easier to get music downloaded or uploaded(i do not which is which) and it is lower in price. according to my wife(an she is an intergrated technolgy expert with a PH.D.) the i river gives better value for the buck. my son is the envy of the older daughter at this moment.

[MS22]

I would head to Circuit City or Best Buy and look around. While the iPod is nice they are a little too big for my liking (and drain batteries like crazy). I use a Rio with 512MB of space, it holds about 90 songs and is only about a 2.25" circle-shape and about .5" thick. It holds enough audio to last longer than you need at any one time and is small enough to put anywhere. Great for gym use, running, or anything else.

[norahcrv]

While I too agree that Apple products are a little steep & never on sale, if she already has an Apple computer, ITunes & the Ipod are the easiest way to go. How tech-savvy a fifteen year-old is she?

I have an Ipod and I love the convenience of the "auto update" feature -everytime it gets plugged into it`s cradle, it syncs with the playlists on my computer. Mine is a refurbished older 30Gb model which I picked up through Apple`s web-site for $270. I know the Ipod Mini`s are less than that.

While I believe that Best Buy carries the Creative Zen line, you would have to shop Dell on-line for their offerings.

Good luck with your search, I`m sure she`ll be thrilled with whatever you select!:)

[SpoiledMan]

I have had an iPod since the first one came out. All I can/will say is that there is a reason that it is best selling even though it`s the most expensive.

[CharlesW]

The replys are appreciated and it would be interesting to read more thoughts on the subject.

It has now become a moot point as my wife said, "Go buy the Ipod, tightwad".
Guess you know what I told her. Yeah, that`s right, yes dear.

Charles :)

[norahcrv]

:lol You`re a good man, CharlesW!! :bigups

And I`m sure that your granddaughter will be just thrilled to pieces with her present!!!

:bigups :bigups to Mrs. CharlesW, TOO!!


PS - my son wants to know if you`re adopting?

[hammondc]

I have a 4th gen 40GB Ipod. It is the best 350 bux I ever spent. It goes EVERYWHERE with me. I also have the IPOD linked to my headunit in my truck via the ALPINE IPOD link. I had a creative Zen NX before the IPOD and HATED it. Also, I haven`t heard anything great about the Dell DJ. Both of those have the buttons in odd spots and menus that are all but user friendly. The click wheel IPOD has ALL controls in 1 spot and you can do all functions with just your thumb. Yes, the IPOD is more expensive, but there are no substitutes. IMHO of course!! :mohawk

[Jngrbrdman]

I`m kind of anti-iPod. I like my mini discs. I look at it this way... If someone steals my mini disc player then all I have lost is the player and whatever disc was inside it. I don`t lose thousands of songs. I guess I`m just not as cool as I should be, but I don`t see what the deal is with this whole downloading all your music thing. My minidiscs are unscratchable, unskipable, and pretty much indestructible. I haven`t seen any advantage of an MP3 player to my mini disc player yet. Other than being able to have every song in your music collection on hand at once, what advantage does it have over the lower priced mini discs? Mini discs hold even more music than a normal CD-R does and will play in just as high quality as an iPod or any other MP3 system.

Anyway, an MD player is my suggestion. Its not something that is ever going to get stolen because nobody would know what to do with it. iPods are easy to steal and sell again. I don`t worry about my car stereo getting stolen simply because I know that nobody would know what to put in that narrow little slot. lol Make your grand daughter uncool by getting her something practical and virtually theft proof. Its worth taking a look at anyway. :dunno

[SpoiledMan]

I`m kind of anti-iPod. I like my mini discs. I look at it this way... If someone steals my mini disc player then all I have lost is the player and whatever disc was inside it. I don`t lose thousands of songs. I guess I`m just not as cool as I should be, but I don`t see what the deal is with this whole downloading all your music thing. My minidiscs are unscratchable, unskipable, and pretty much indestructible. I haven`t seen any advantage of an MP3 player to my mini disc player yet. Other than being able to have every song in your music collection on hand at once, what advantage does it have over the lower priced mini discs? Mini discs hold even more music than a normal CD-R does and will play in just as high quality as an iPod or any other MP3 system.

The iPod *copies* the songs from the computer so that your "loss" is still only the unit. When I take my Pod, I only have to know that I have it and not what disk I brought along to listen to. There is no timely process of making the disk with the songs that I want. It`s extremely simple and it works.

Owning Apple products is like being a "Z" user which means that I *will* be getting some for my lighter cars soon.

[Jngrbrdman]

I dunno.... The disc still has to be copied onto the PC and then onto the iPod. I don`t see the difference in copying it to a disc or an iPod. Obviously it is just a matter of preference, but I don`t think that an iPod is any more convinient other than being able to carry all of your music at once. In the same respect, you also lose all your music at once if it gets lost. Tip of the hat goes to the iPod for convience and the tip of the hat goes to mini discs in the event of theft. I say its sixes.

[SpoiledMan]

If you lose the Pod, you ONLY lose the pod as the music is still on your computer. With the iPod, you import to the computer and ALL songs are copied over unless you choose otherwise. Not trying to argue, just educate.

[Jngrbrdman]

Yeah, I`m aware of how the iPod works. Its the same way for mini discs. The music is still transfered onto the disc through your computer just like an iPod. ;)