Mini-Disks are nice now that they are 1 gig. I'm not sure why anyone would buy an iPod ~ limited life span - expensive - plus all the battery issues...
that ZX looks like a 'Pride Computer' - actually it goes back to a different time when a rainbow was just a rainbow.
If I have the choice of Iriver, or Ipod, I would definitly choose the Iriver HP. The main reason is that it's build very solid and have a lot of good feater, and also the battery life is longer than most of the MP3 player. But it's not as good design as Ipod and it's a bit bigger than the Ipod, But I don't really care. For the Ipod, I won't even consider it until their battery life can last for at least 14 hrs.
Hey, you can still buy beta max tapes at stores up here, but I do live in Arkansas and we are about 30 years behind the rest of the nation. PS: Nice sig, DOD!
See, I just like listening to the same Sam and Dave tape over and over again. What player is right for me?
The mp3 player may have more impact on mankind than any other invention. First of all, it's redefining copywright law as we speak. An issue that has plagued the world since the begininng of time. It may single handedly be responsible for allowing copywright law to adavance into the 20th century. Second, music inspires us all physically and mentally, and the fact that we have it now 24-7 should irreversibly alter the landscape of life. And boy do we need it. I mean we are still driving cars after all these years. I can hosetly say, it has been worth every penny to me. Of course, we all will lose our hearing soon, but who cares.
Hey Doc.... the Rio Krma holds 20G for the price of a Ipod...and supports FLAC,Ogg, mp3, wma and a couple of others... just picked one up this past week and Im loving it...great sound, easy interface and multiple format supoprt...check into it..
I hear you R2K. If people would just open their minds instead of their wallets and not do what everyone else is doing... I have a Neuros 20GB/128MB that has an open architecture. It is flash upgradable so that the next new music/file format, when it comes along, won't make the player it obsolete. It also has an FM modulator built into it so you can take it into your car and pipe music into the car's head unit or pipe mp3's through your stereo at home. It can record snippets of songs off the air and once you get home can attempt to identify what song that was that was playing - great if you hear something you like but have no clue who it was singing it. I also use it as a portable hard drive. I'll give the iPod one thing - it looks good and is small. Neither of those mattered to me, though. Functionality before aesthetics. By the way, Toshiba makes a 20GB MP3 player that's smaller than the iPod.
OK, so there are now only 2 iPod models (60GB rumoured to be on the way) 20GB - $299 40GB - $399 Battery life is now rated at 12 hours. I'm tempted to replace my first-gen iPod... it's £219 here for the 20GB model. For information, the iPod plays MP3, AAC, AAC (with Apple DRM, Fairplay), Apple Lossless Codec, Audible format, AIFF and WAV. edit: Also, it's worth noting that the chipset used in the iPod can decode WMA, but Apple chooses not to enable it (clearly a commercial decision). The firmware on my iPod has been updated a few times, and some of these updates have included the ability to play new formats (AAC wasn't supported in the initial release).
DoD -- That Neuros is looking pretty tempting, I really like the idea of the broadcast feature... any cons to the device?
The problem with the Iriver is the firmware. They said they were going to update it back in April... it's already July, and it's updating stuff that should have been in the orginal in the first place. For instance they don't have on the fly playlist, you can only play one artist or album at a time, you cannot delete anything straight from the Iriver, and it's navigation sucks. I've also tried a Creative Zen NX (30gig), and I loved it while it worked, but I let the battery drain all the way once and it messes up the hard drive. I sent it in to be repaired (only a 6 month war.?????), and they told me it would be upwards to about 250, the damn thing cost 230. That's why I like the IPod. It has easy navigation that even a baby could use, and it has great tech support (most people just bring it into one of their stores and they hand them a new one!). It will cost more, but it's worth it.
