What am i "missing" about ipods?

[Hatter The Mad]

The earphones that come with ipod's are actually pretty good quality to be honest.

No, they are terrible. If you think they are of good quality, then you don't have much experience of good quality.

 

[Pixel]

No, they are terrible. If you think they are of good quality, then you don't have much experience of good quality.

This.

I hate people who use these gimmicky gadgets, then (with no real basis for comparison) go around telling everyone that it's good quality sound. They're probably doing this in an attempt to justify why they just spent a huge amount of money on a pretty standard mp3 player.

The majority of people have never experienced good quality audio, get yourself over to Head-Fi if you want to start.

 

[Mucky_Pup]

I was ultimately anti-apple for quite a while, until I needed to replace my Creative Zen, I wanted a large capacity MP3 player so recently went for a 64GB Ipod Touch, it's ok, like having different apps put on it, and the wifi is good when I find an unprotected network. The only thing I don't like is itunes.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

I like how the majority of the people in this thread that have bashed iPod's for 'lack of features' or poor sound quality never mention an alternative. You can't compare 1 product (an iPod) to other MP3's because think how many other MP3 players there are on the market. That's like saying an iMac is rubbish compared to PC's... Which PC's?

Just making vague statements doesn't really back up an argument and a few pages back I gave a list of all the features on my iPod Nano and nobody has commented on that for having lack of features, and that isn't even the most feature packed iPod, I didn't even begin to list all of the iPod Touch's features.

What I feel is the primary reason people don't like iTunes... cont

Good post by the way, I totally agree. I guarantee that the majority of people here that have said iPod's are rubbish are PC users. I'm a PC user as well as a Macintosh user and I certainly wouldn't discount any other MP3 players just on the basis that they aren't made by my favorite brand. There's a fair bit of pig headed-ness in this thread.

I've had a Creative Zen nano in the past and the sound on that was no better or worse than the two iPod's that I've had since, the only differences were that my iPod's have better build quality, better UI, easier integration with my MacBook. Most of the comments here on iPods or iTunes being rubbish is just user error. I wouldn't bash Windows because I can't find out how to do something even if that feature exists.

And as for the posts such as "I had an iPod and after using it once it wouldn't charge up"... Well that means that ALL iPod's must be like that right? Because iPod's are renowned for their horrific failure rate.

 

[Al Vallario]

If we can get back to the OP instead of continuing the irrational hatred of Apple and irrelevant musical snobbery, the point is this...

The Nokia 6700c costs £219.00 with a 1GB memory card. An 8GB MicroSD card to bring the phone up to the storage capacity of an iPod nano will cost £10-20. An 8GB iPod nano costs £115, or about half the price.

In terms of hardware, the Nokia is taller, wider, almost twice as thick and three times as heavy as an iPod nano. The Nokia has cheap plastic with a painted chrome finish to contend with the iPod nano's polished anodised aluminium finish. The display is the same physical size as the iPod but has a lower pixel density and will be of lower quality.

With regards to interfaces, the Nokia's will be clumsy, unintuitive and not designed with the intended purpose (listening to music) in mind, whereas Apple are revered for their aesthetically pleasing and user friendly interfaces.

You can argue that drag and dropping files is simpler and more intuitive than using software like iTunes all day long, and you'll still be wrong. When you're dealing with 8GB of music it is much more preferable to have music library software that organises your music, allows you to create playlists, decide what you'd like transferred to the device, etc.

It is quite possible to argue that if you don't mind the Nokia being larger, heavier, constructed in cheap plastic, having a relatively poor display, an unaesthetic and unintuitive user interface, and a clumsy file transfer process, and you don't mind paying twice as much for it... it's perfect.

If you want to argue that, good for you. You're easily pleased. But don't pretend the iPod is an irrational purchase.

 

[just Scott]

I like how the majority of the people in this thread that have bashed iPod's for 'lack of features' or poor sound quality never mention an alternative. You can't compare 1 product (an iPod) to other MP3's because think how many other MP3 players there are on the market. That's like saying an iMac is rubbish compared to PC's... Which PC's?

Just making vague statements doesn't really back up an argument and a few pages back I gave a list of all the features on my iPod Nano and nobody has commented on that for having lack of features, and that isn't even the most feature packed iPod, I didn't even begin to list all of the iPod Touch's features.



Good post by the way, I totally agree. I guarantee that the majority of people here that have said iPod's are rubbish are PC users. I'm a PC user as well as a Macintosh user and I certainly wouldn't discount any other MP3 players just on the basis that they aren't made by my favorite brand. There's a fair bit of pig headed-ness in this thread.

I've had a Creative Zen nano in the past and the sound on that was no better or worse than the two iPod's that I've had since, the only differences were that my iPod's have better build quality, better UI, easier integration with my MacBook. Most of the comments here on iPods or iTunes being rubbish is just user error. I wouldn't bash Windows because I can't find out how to do something even if that feature exists.

And as for the posts such as "I had an iPod and after using it once it wouldn't charge up"... Well that means that ALL iPod's must be like that right? Because iPod's are renowned for their horrific failure rate.

Noody needs to list the features of the mp3 players we suggest, we're on OcUK here - I'm sure we're capable of googling something. I've given some direct competitors the Nano, Classic and Touch. The 3 I mentioned out class the iPod in every way conceivable. Except for the looks I guess but that's irrelevant.

Nano - Clix 2
Classic - Cowon D2 (removable SD storage)
Touch - Cowon S9 (better audio quality, better video quality, more formats, completely customisable UI, better battery life, but nowhere near as many apps)

You can argue that drag and dropping files is simpler and more intuitive than using software like iTunes all day long, and you'll still be wrong. When you're dealing with 8GB of music it is much more preferable to have music library software that organises your music, allows you to create playlists, decide what you'd like transferred to the device, etc.

How can you possibly say this?

I've used both and drag and drop just makes so much more sense. How can I possibly be wrong about that?

 

[gurusan]

I'm just one of those people who hates all things Apple. Maybe sort of a reverse fanboy, but I just refuse to be ripped off for simplistic gadgets whose performance is underwhelming.

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

I've no problem with people such as yourself who list decent alternatives and if I was in the market for a new media player then I'd certainly shop around and not just choose something because it's Apple. That isn't my problem.

My problem is with people just leave a comment bashing a certain player with no real reason for doing so. Also, people DO need to list features, I don't care if people are able to Google, if someone makes a point that proves other points wrongly then it's up to the others to say "fair play I was wrong" or for them to say "actually this Media Player does this, this and this".

I don't think anybody can accuse iPod's of having a lack of features, certainly not the decently priced Touch.

How can you possibly say this?

I've used both and drag and drop just makes so much more sense. How can I possibly be wrong about that?

Example, I add a new CD to my iTunes library. I later want said music on my iPod. I plug my iPod into my Mac, iTunes automatically opens, adds music to my iPod and then automatically makes my iPod safe for disconnecting should I choose to do so without me having to make a single mouse click or keystroke.

How is that not easier or more intuitive than having to arse around with folders and files?

 

[m4cc45]

Even though you missed it in my last post my alternative was a Creative Zen. I have the Creative Zen Xtra - 30GB - which is more than enough for the music I listen to. I find it very intuitive to go around and the sound quality is superb. The battery life could be better but then it is around 6 years old now.

The drag and drop of MP3's to it is superb as well - it means I don't have to worry about them being in a hidden folder, renamed, etc. I simply connect it to my PC, Windows installs the removable storage drivers and away I go. I also use it for file storage as well.

Think I paid.. hmm... £45 for it. Mrs paid nigh on £200 for her iPod - the music quality isn't as good in my opinion. The LCD screen is nice but do you really look at a screen for playing MP3's? Obviously it can probably play movies but the screen is way to small for that.

Just my 2p worth.



M.

 

[just Scott]

I've no problem with people such as yourself who list decent alternatives and if I was in the market for a new media player then I'd certainly shop around and not just choose something because it's Apple. That isn't my problem.

My problem is with people just leave a comment bashing a certain player with no real reason for doing so. Also, people DO need to list features, I don't care if people are able to Google, if someone makes a point that proves other points wrongly then it's up to the others to say "fair play I was wrong" or for them to say "actually this Media Player does this, this and this".

I don't think anybody can accuse iPod's of having a lack of features, certainly not the decently priced Touch.



Example, I add a new CD to my iTunes library. I later want said music on my iPod. I plug my iPod into my Mac, iTunes automatically opens, adds music to my iPod and then automatically makes my iPod safe for disconnecting should I choose to do so without me having to make a single mouse click or keystroke.

How is that not easier or more intuitive than having to arse around with folders and files?

Because I don't want all my music on my mp3 player. I have about 80GB of music and an 8GB iriver Clix 2. Which is fine, because I don't need all my music on it at once. When I plug it in to charge it, I take off what albums I'm not going to listen to and put different ones on. Dragging folders is the easiest way to do this because of how I organise my music on my hard drive. It's not arsing around either, it takes about 3 seconds to open my music folder, another 3 seconds to open an artist folder then another 3 seconds to click and drag the album into another folder (my Clix 2)

 

[K1LLSW1TCH]

Because I don't want all my music on my mp3 player. I have about 80GB of music and an 8GB iriver Clix 2. Which is fine, because I don't need all my music on it at once. When I plug it in to charge it, I take off what albums I'm not going to listen to and put different ones on. Dragging folders is the easiest way to do this because of how I organise my music on my hard drive. It's not arsing around either, it takes about 3 seconds to open my music folder, another 3 seconds to open an artist folder then another 3 seconds to click and drag the album into another folder (my Clix 2)

You can actually uncheck songs in itunes, there's a tick box next to each track. What you don't want, you untick, you only have to do this once, so I dont see what the problem is. User error.

 

[just Scott]

You can actually uncheck songs in itunes, there's a tick box next to each track. What you don't want, you untick, you only have to do this once, so I dont see what the problem is. User error.

Why would I want to untick thousands of songs when I can just drag the 12 I want? If you have to untick every song you don't want then it sounds like your way is far more unintuitive to mine. How much music do you have by the way? Maybe iTunes is easier if you don't have much music?

 

[gurusan]

Some people just prefer drag and drop, it's just preference. I for one, refuse to use iTunes or be forced to use any additional software to store music on my mp3 player.

 

[tedmaul]

Because I don't want all my music on my mp3 player.

Why would having itunes/an ipod cause that to happen?

I wouldn't of thought many people want ALL their music on their ipod either. So in itunes, you simply have a playlist called 'ipod' - add/remove whatever tunes you want on your ipod into that playlist (by - shock, horror!! - dragging and dropping!!) and then let it sync automatically whenever you plug the device in.

That seems about as simple as messing around with folders to me. It's certainly no more complicated, and gives you the same amount of control.

 

[just Scott]

Why would having itunes/an ipod cause that to happen?

I wouldn't of thought many people want ALL their music on their ipod either. So in itunes, you simply have a playlist called 'ipod' - add/remove whatever tunes you want on your ipod into that playlist (by - shock, horror!! - dragging and dropping!!) and then let it sync automatically whenever you plug the device in.

That seems about as simple as messing around with folders to me. It's certainly no more complicated, and gives you the same amount of control.

So it's just the same then? Why does K1LLSW1TCH insist that it's user error that some might prefer drag and drop then?

 

[tedmaul]

So it's just the same then? Why does K1LLSW1TCH insist that it's user error that some might prefer drag and drop then?

No idea. My point was simply that i don't see the problem with the way itunes organises my music when compared with managing things via folders. It's all personal preference really - there's about the same amount of effort and control involved in both.

Anyhoo - as a more direct response to the topic i personally have an iphone as it's a convenient way to carry my music around, my phone, have internet access on the move and a host of random apps to mess around with. It's a real pleasure to use, and the ease of use and the general design of the GUI is a step above any of the more powerful smart phones i've had in the past. The sound quality is not outstanding but it's perfectly acceptable for a portable music player - which, lets face it, I will probably be using in locations where i constantly have to battle background noise anyway.

 

[Al Vallario]

So it's just the same then? Why does K1LLSW1TCH insist that it's user error that some might prefer drag and drop then?

In iTunes you drag and drop within the interface, you don't have to rummage through folders on your hard drive to find the music you want. iTunes provides searching and advanced sorting functions that you just don't get browsing through files and folders.

Besides, how does your music come to be organised in the first place? If you are organising your music into folders arranged by artist and album name by hand, that in itself is far too complex for most users.

iTunes provides a great end-to-end music management solution that is easy enough for the most inexperienced, and extensible enough for the most experienced of users.

Sure you can organise your music collection by hand and manually drag and drop folders, but why would you do that when using something such as iTunes is so much easier?

 

[OspreyO]

You don't have to use sync with iTunes you can turn that off and simply drag things onto the iPod.

I use media monkey instead of iTunes for my iPod though. With media monkey I can use a mix of filetree and tags and it's much faster than iTunes. It also works with all my mp3 players including iPods.

That said almost all music manager software handles tags differently to each other so you get inconsistencies between apps. So I might cross check between iTunes and media monkey if there's weirdness in the tags.

The upside of not using tags and libraries/databases is you don't need an app installed and it's usually quicker. The downside is you. Loose the neat features like play counts, ratings, fancy playlists, compliation albums etc.

The plus and minus about both approaches. Neither is perfect.

 

[Le_Petit_Lapin]

Who unleashed the fanboys?

 

[Efour]

its the ultimate advertising campaign gone well.

I use my phone, I charge it every 3 days and listen to music/radio for about 1h a day. It sounds fine.