ipod nano, hope its a good buy

miketv

Think I've made up my mind that I'm gonna purchase it this week, thats unless over the xmas period people have had horror stories with it..

Bard

I sell MP3 players for a living. If you want to buy an iPod nano, work away, but on your own head be it.

They're small, fiddly, easily broken, massively over-priced for their capacity and are reliant on software to put music onto them (i.e.: it's not as simple as drag and drop).

They look nice though. ... although they're easily scratched, so even their good looks don't last.

dahamsta

Hiya Bard, long time no natter.

Bard wrote:

massively over-priced for their capacity

Are they really though? What other flash-based MP3 players are there for an equivalent price; or alternatively what HDD-based players of an equivalent size?

although they're easily scratched, so even their good looks don't last.

I thought that too, it's the one thing that's prevented me buying one - and of course Apple's attitude about it - however I saw a white one in the flesh for the first time recently and it was perfect. Guy that had it reckoned the white ones weren't affected?

adam

Bard

Ken Shabby wrote:

Are they really though? What other flash-based MP3 players are there for an equivalent price; or alternatively what HDD-based players of an equivalent size?

Well yes, they are. I mean - sure, the one for €209 is a 2GB player, but as it doesn't support WMA, OGG, FLAC, or other compressed formats, it only will hold about 500 songs.

Spend €60 LESS and you can get a 1GB Sony Walkman Bean which, using Sony's ATRAC3 format, can hold up to 695 songs - or you can spend €50 less and get a Creative Zen Nano Plus 1GB, which holds up to 500 songs (WMA) and has an FM radio.

Granted, neither of these has a colour screen for displaying photos, and no FLASH based players quite match the 4GB iPod Nano, which sells for €259 ... but spend a mere TENNER more and you'll get the iRiver H10 6GB, which holds 3,000 songs, displays photos and text documents, has a line-in, voice-recorder and FM radio with recorder. Granted, it's a Hard Drive player, but it's still a better machine than the iPod nano for practically the same price. Most people who came into the store I work in, looking for the iPod nano when we were out of stock of them, bought a 6GB H10 instead.

Ken Shabby wrote:

I thought that too, it's the one thing that's prevented me buying one - and of course Apple's attitude about it - however I saw a white one in the flesh for the first time recently and it was perfect. Guy that had it reckoned the white ones weren't affected?

The guy isn't 100% right there. The surface cover of the white ones is made of the same easily scratched "bullet proof" plastic as the black ones. The scratches are just not as easy to see against white as they are against black, that's all. If I were to buy one (which, granted, is seriously unlikely), it wouldn't be the black one - for that very reason.

spartacus93

I know a few lads with them, and they're all fairly happy. I would buy one, however the scroll wheel is very thin, and can get a bit annoying, but i'm sure you would get used to it in no time.

dahamsta

That's the problem though Bard, 1GB is too small (in capacity) and the iRiver is too big (in dimensions). The iPod nano is an entirely different breed, and a very attractive one to me. As to the scratching, well, if I can't see it...

Bard

Fine, don't listen to me then

Just make sure you get a white one if you don't want to see the scratches so easily.

blorg

miketv, go for it, there is nothing that comes close to the Nano for price/size/capacity/ease of use. I have one myself and am very happy with it. You don't have to use iTunes, I prefer ephPod myself which is free and enables drag-and-drop.

blorg

Well yes, they are. I mean - sure, the one for €209 is a 2GB player, but as it doesn't support WMA, OGG, FLAC, or other compressed formats, it only will hold about 500 songs.

Spend €60 LESS and you can get a 1GB Sony Walkman Bean which, using Sony's ATRAC3 format, can hold up to 695 songs - or you can spend €50 less and get a Creative Zen Nano Plus 1GB, which holds up to 500 songs (WMA) and has an FM radio.

What!? The iPod supports AAC which is at least the equivalent of WMA or ATRAC3 at low bitrates. Besides which, 64k sounds like crap with any of these codecs (AAC, WMA or ATRAC).

The only relevant metric here is the actual capacity, otherwise you are being hoodwinked by Microsoft/Sony propaganda, which although partially justifed against mp3-only players does not stand up with the iPod.

Oh, by the way - the iPod Nano will actually hold ten zillion songs, they just need to be one-second long and encoded at 1 byte per second...

dahamsta

Bard wrote:

Fine, don't listen to me then

Ah jesus no, I'd /like/ an alternative to the nano - don't like the company at all, find their arrogance appalling - I just don't see one out there. If there is one, by all means tell me. However I've had a 40GB iRiver, which was great but too big, and I don't fancy a 1GB flash player because I think they're too small. Rock and a hard place, which Apple seems to have filled, and no-one else has yet.

adam

tk123

OP - where are you buying it from - most places are sold out!

flogen

Just get a good case for it, something all ipod owners should do no matter what.
They scuff very easily (my ipod photo got a bad one after 1 hour in my pocket), and I hear the nano is worse yet.
They are lovely machines, they look good, control well and taste delicious. I would get a nano just because they're so cool but I know thats pointless. my pocket is big enough for the photo I have, and that's good enough for me.

blorg

My philosophy is that the cases take up too much room and defeat the point of the things being so compact. Result, both big iPod and Nano now are scratched as hell but that doesn't seem to affect their functionality any (which is after all why I bought them.)

dahamsta

blorg wrote:

My philosophy is that the cases take up too much room and defeat the point of the things being so compact.

Same here.

Result, both big iPod and Nano now are scratched as hell but that doesn't seem to affect their functionality any (which is after all why I bought them.)

I realise that too, but I like nice things, and I hate seeing them damaged. I guess I want the best of both worlds, and it's just not available yet. I guess the nano will have to stay on the wishlist until Apple sort it out.

adam

tk123

you can just get a silicone skin for it - they are really thin and don't hamper the size!

dahamsta

tk123 wrote:

you can just get a silicone skin for it - they are really thin and don't hamper the size!

Yeah, but they look like a frickin' condom! I don't like having a condom on my willy, never mind on my fudgies!

So to speak.

alastair

Ordered a 4gig nano (in white - to avoid the scratching issue), and wouldn't opt for any alternative currently on sale. The 2 gig is too low capacity for me, and, in any case, the 4 gig offers the best value for money in a flash player (smaller form factor, longer battery life) that I've seen. Look at the price of flash cards with the same capacity, then consider the player you get thrown in for the same price.

I just want to llisten to a decent selection of MP3's (minimum 192kbps thanks) on a dinky thing that has good battery life and reasonable audio quality, and the added do-daa's it provides are either a bonus or a distraction. I don't want a radio, and I don't want to look at postage stamp sized video. Never bothered with the full sized iPod personally, but bought one last year for my girlfriend who loves the thing, and still hasn't filled it to capacity. Itunes and the iPod interface are pretty well designed, and little more burden than a drag and drop scenario.

It serves my needs better than a sony flash player, or a bulkier iRiver, and I'll opt to keep it in one of those little leather Conico wallets that cost all of 99p, and should keep it safe from pocket scuffs.

tk123

alastair wrote:

Ordered a 4gig nano (in white - to avoid the scratching issue),

Where did you order it from?! I was on the Apple site but it's taking 2 weeks to ship!

Fighting Irish

Don't buy one, the only thing the nano has going for it is looks!

alastair

tk123 wrote:

Where did you order it from?! I was on the Apple site but it's taking 2 weeks to ship!

From the Apple store online. What's a fortnight wait?

melekalikimaka

a fool and his money is easily parted