iPods for beginners

Minxy · 2 Feb 2009 at 17:40

Firstly I should point out that I am completely new to the world of iPods and know absolutely zilch about how they work.

Now that I have a car with a socket for an iPod I thought I really should enter the world of Apple and so empty my car of CD cases. I am looking at the 2Gb Shuffle and I have a few questions...

How easy are they to use?

What is the deal with the different versions/generations and should I be looking for a particular one?

How do you know how full they are?

If you fill up the memory and want to take a few songs off without wiping the list, is it just a case of plug it into your computer and it shows you what you have on there or are you completely blind?

These probably all seem like really obvious questions but I seriously don't have a clue about this so all help is appreciated.

Cheers

Strife212 · 2 Feb 2009 at 17:51

If you fill up the memory and want to take a few songs off without wiping the list, is it just a case of plug it into your computer and it shows you what you have on there or are you completely blind?

It shows you a list when plugged into a PC, you can delete or add what you want.

How do you know how full they are?

The others have screens and will show you, the shuffle will require plugging into a PC and it will then show you how much space is available.

Vonhelmet · 2 Feb 2009 at 20:23

Minxy said:
How easy are they to use?

A shuffle is spectacularly easy to use. Use Itunes to fill it with music, then there's just a few buttons on the thing to control it. A fancier Ipod (the Nano, or a full on Classic) is a bit more complex, but negligibly so. As far as UI goes they are very good.

Minxy said:
What is the deal with the different versions/generations and should I be looking for a particular one?

The original shuffle was a bit bigger sizewise and smaller capacity wise. The new one doesn't have it's own USB connector, it needs a dock. Not sure how that jives with your in car connector. If the connector only works for the bigger Ipods, I'd go for a low end Nano, if you're looking to save money.

Minxy said:
How do you know how full they are?

With the shuffle, you know when you plug it in. The rest have displays which can show you.

Minxy said:
If you fill up the memory and want to take a few songs off without wiping the list, is it just a case of plug it into your computer and it shows you what you have on there or are you completely blind?

You can use Itunes to show you what's on there and then you can pick and choose. I think Itunes will only add songs to the end of the list, so that can be a wee bit limiting, but that's the shuffle for you.

Bales1983 · 3 Feb 2009 at 14:47

Minxy said:
Now that I have a car with a socket for an iPod I thought I really should enter the world of Apple

Just to put my 2p in here chaps,

When you say has a socket, are we talking a 3.5mm jack or a proper ipod dock fitting? if its the later im assuming the shuffle wont be much use?

Opinions guys??

Lee

Minxy · 3 Feb 2009 at 21:08

I think it is a 3.5mm jack yes. Thanks for the feedback so far.

LordSplodge · 3 Feb 2009 at 21:48

Spend the extra cash for a Nano. You won't regret it.

placeholder · 4 Feb 2009 at 12:17

LordSplodge said:
Spend the extra cash for a Nano. You won't regret it.

This.

And also be prepared for the fact that whichever one you buy you will soon want the next one up the chain! Thats just the way it is!

LordSplodge · 4 Feb 2009 at 18:59

placeholder said:
This.

And also be prepared for the fact that whichever one you buy you will soon want the next one up the chain! Thats just the way it is!

I went Shuffle - Nano - iPhone. So placeholder speaks the truth.

Same rule applies to Apple computers. I'll probably be going from MacBook to MacBook Pro when I upgrade (and that's exactly what my brother did!

)

MumboJumbo · 4 Feb 2009 at 23:12

wouldn;'t buy a shuffle. The ability to make my own play lsits for differnt moods your pick specific artists to listern to is invalube to me and well worth the little bit extra. As far as im aware you cannot choose what song you start on with the shuffle? Further more i find the shuffle on the ipods to be quite frankly dire. While i use it on my play lists i oftern find it will do pritty bad orders, oftern putting many of the same artist together. Maybe im just noticing it when it does i dunno.

Strongly suggest a nano though. I got one of the old school ones and i love it, much rather them with the metal back and more boxy.

MivkM · 4 Feb 2009 at 23:20

Defo go with a classic with a decent amount of space, you'll only end upgrading a month or so down the line.