ok let me get this straight (i own an ipod mini btw), y'all are willing to shell out 100 or even 150 bucks for an mp3 player that has: -no screen -no playlist editing capabilities -no fm tuner -no innovative features (random play ain't nothing new) and still call it a deal? i'm sorry but even though i own a mini, i am pretty disappointed by apple's lack of innovation on a flash-based mp3 player. ok so you can wear it around your neck and it's small...big deal. 100 bucks for 512 mb is hardly a deal especially when you have no screen. and if this is a way for consumers to step into the ipod family...at least make the thing look like an ipod. looks like a flattened tampon strapped around your neck. anyone thinking about getting this should seriously consider iRiver's line of flash mp3 players.
The Apple store around the corner from my office (Santa Monica, CA) has them. I plan to buy a few at lunch and sell 'em on eBay.
Under no circumstances would I buy anything Rio. I have a Nitrus. I bought it Oct 2004. It stopped working December 2004. I'm waiting to hear back from Rio. This is apparently nothing new. link
I think you're probably right about Rio. I really like their players when they work. I'm a five month Karma owner, and mine still works great. But I don't recommend them to people, because they have the worst Quality Control of any company ever. I spend a bit of time on the Riovolution forums, and there are lots of Rio diehards there, but even they would agree that Rio sucks as a company. Virtually every single person who's ever bought a Rio product has had some sort of problem with it. For me, my Karma has been stuck on the loading screen three times. Solution -- hit it REALLY HARD. If you buy a Rio, expect to have to return it once to the store (at least once), and expect it to die within a year. Oh, and Rio has the worst tech support ever. I really love my Rio Karma, but I consider myself lucky. My first Karma had to be returned because the dock wasn't playing sound out of the left channel. But the second one has been good. The thing is, there aren't any players that can do all the stuff the Karma can, but if it's unreliable, who cares.
As a non-Ipod (of any type) owner at the moment, I don't understand... The regular Ipods are unable to do a random shuffle of your songs?
Rather than starting a new thread, I'm going to bring up something related in this thread: I wonder how Microsoft's Janus technology is going to affect the iPod/iTunes combo -- the ability to download any and every song you want from services like Napster and store them on your portable player (if it supports the Janus technology, which not many do yet). For $15 a month, you can have access to a million songs -- even on your MP3 player. There is a catch or two. If you cancel your subscription, you have nothing to show for it. You still have to buy the songs in order to keep them. The songs "expire," and you have to hook up your MP3 player to your computer at least once a month so that it will continue to play them (that is, if your subscription is still current). Also, I assume you can't burn CD's. Still, it's pretty interesting. I hope Apple comes up with something like this as well. I'm not especially interested in having a subscription myself, but I think Apple will need something like this to compete long-term. I don't want them to assume that just because they are sitting pretty at the moment, they can afford to ignore things like this. I've got to admit, if I had an iPod that would hold 10,000 songs, I might like to be able to fill it legally for only $15 a month. I certainly couldn't fill one at $ .99 a song -- not legally. The fact that other players are going to have this option might give a few more people the incentive to opt for something other than an iPod. I just hope Apple learned a lesson from the past and is taking this seriously. They play things close to the vest, so they might be working on something like this -- along with that sub-$200 flash iPod with a screen that I want.
Didn't want to start a new thread... Just bought an Ipod off a dude from the street for REALLY REALLY low price, meaning maybe HOT. No cables, no dock, no manual, no software, no nothing. Where do I go from here...? I'd like to buy a DOCK, Charger for the CAR, manual to know what the heck to do with it... etc. www.ipod.com doesn't have manuals... what to do ?
Try these links instead: http://www.info.apple.com/support/manuals.html http://www.apple.com/ipod/accessories.html The most important thing you need is the dock connector/firewire or USB cable. With out it you can't use Itunes with your Ipod to put music on your Ipod. Beyond that if you spend a lot of time in your car get the FM transmitter and the car charger. You can find these at Target, Best Buy, Wal Mart, etc. And if you don't just want to only charge the Ipod through the computer, get a Dock. Hope this helps.
Furthermore, you need the Ipod install CD that comes when you buy an IPod, without it, there is no way of setting the IPod and ITunes up. If he gave you an IPod without it, go to www.apple.com and see if you can get it from them or see if any friends you know that have an IPod kept that install CD and borrow it from them. Sorry for not mentioning that in the previous post.
Good suggestion, 3814--I had not thought about that--but I am thinking of keeping it... . Found the manual. Thanks DVauthrin. A friend who used to work where I am now has the mini... I will ask him for the CD. In the meantime, I am scouring eBay for the dock... $30 sounds about what the winning BID will go for most of the docks... I have already tried the FM tuner and might buy it instead... that is a good thing, but I will be on the bus from the Park & Ride most of the time... I think I will be missing Chris Baker in the afternoons... DVauthrin... I am guessing the nick means Digital Video Authoring via the iMac...?
I just bought a 1GB shuffle from buy.com for $124.99 w/free shipping. Going to use it for the gym and working out. The "shuffle" feature wasn't a big deal for me, but how small and lightweight this thing is will be perfect for the gym and for running, etc.... Plus I don't even like 1GB worth of songs so its plenty of storage for me!!
I have a 512 mb version I got for my birthday and I love it. It's perfect for when I go jogging, or working out. It is so weightless and small.
I have one sitting right in front of me.I was scared about the no screen but its not biggie. Itunes are a biatch but i found a way to just get illegal downloads and turn them into itunes.
