iPod Nano - alternatives?

peckerhead · 25-09-2005 1:53pm #1

Sorry if something similar to this has been posted, but...

Kid sister wants — or thinks she does — an iPod Nano (4GB), and has asked me for the benefit of my 'wisdom'... :eek:

I can see the mass appeal of the Nano (and the advantages of flash vs. microdrive memory), but still I reckon it's over-priced and I don't like a few things about it — iTunes/DRM issues/non-user-replaceable battery, and so on. I've often read comments here and elsewhere to the effect of "for the same money, you'd be far better off with a Zen Micro/Rio Carbon/iRiver H10, etc., etc."

I've compared the specs and was just wondering if any one actually owns one of these beasties, and can speak from experience? Also whether there are any particularly good deals going at the moment, in the 4GB/6GB range? I imagine the arrival of the Nano should be pushing those prices downwards a bit...

Thanks in advance for any tips you can offer.

johnplayerblue · 25-09-2005 2:16pm

Hey
Well this is what i would do, Buy a Sony PSP.
Reason i say this is simple for the price of a psp with a gig of memory €400 (without shoping around) the list of things that can be done in one package is unreal,Movies, Music, Games, Wireless Internet, Wireless Game play, Pictures and more to come in the near future, it really is an all in one device with a perfect screen to boot. Since i bought one i haven't looked at either my mp3 player or my beloved mini disc player which i've had for years and if what i have been reading on various sites my palm will soon be a dust collector as the reading of books is not far away on the psp.
Apart from the quality of this product, its the all in one factor thats most appealing to me.
Just an opinion

peckerhead · 25-09-2005 2:39pm

I take your point, but ehr, she's a girl...:rolleyes: (I'll be in trouble now!)

No, but seriously, all she's gonna do with it is listen to music. She's no interest in games, she watches movies on her DVD player and (sometimes) uses the interweb for sending emails...

johnplayerblue · 25-09-2005 2:46pm

Yea i know what you mean but tought id better not open that can of worms!
In that case id go for creative labs! Any thing i've bought from creative has never let me down and is so easy to use even a girl could use it -:>
Ps IPODS are a rip off

peckerhead · 25-09-2005 2:50pm

Only niggling doubt I have about the Zen Micro is I keep seeing user reviews bitching about a poorly-designed earphone jack that comes loose and starts crackling after a month...

RicardoSmith · 25-09-2005 3:12pm

I say let her buy the one she wants, not the one that you think she should have. Unless of course she travelling so far she'll need more than battery or listens to the Radio a lot. All of these MP3 player break quite easily so a good warranty is important. Most of the major manufacturers have good warranties in place now. DRM is on all players if they have an online store. If you are just using MP3's then one player is pretty much the same as the other.

The only different is those that use the file tree, don't need software, like iRiver and Cowon, and those that use tags, and require proprietery software like Creative and Apple and Sony.

Its a bit crazy to say a PSP is a alternative to a Nano. Completely different products and market. An iRiver or a Creative Zen Vision and a PSP maybe.

RicardoSmith · 25-09-2005 3:25pm

peckerhead wrote:

Only niggling doubt I have about the Zen Micro is I keep seeing user reviews bitching about a poorly-designed earphone jack that comes loose and starts crackling after a month...

Theres a lots of failures on Zens and iPods. But they seem to repair and exchange units quite fast. I had to return my first Zen Micro after 1 day because it was faulty. The 2nd one has been ok. But to be honest I wouldn't buy another, the touch pad is too fiddily. The Zen Sleek has buttons, I'd have prefered that. Also I bought the Zen because it has a radio, but the reception is dire. So I'm not using the radio as much as I would normally. It does sound good though. I'm not a fan of the sound of the iPods myself which is why I went for the Zen. The Nano is meant to sound better then the older iPods though.

Theres more comments on the Nano over here
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=22.

peckerhead · 25-09-2005 3:29pm

RicardoSmith wrote:

I say let her buy the one she wants, not the one that you think she should have.

Good point. Admittedly the iPod's UI looks to be a doddle compared to the Creative/iRiver models (do you really have to access menus and sub-menus to turn the volume up/down, for example?) :eek:

Just makes me a bit mad that she'll have to hand over another €100 to change the battery, a year down the road...

[Edit: Ta for the link...]

RicardoSmith · 25-09-2005 3:48pm

peckerhead wrote:

Good point. Admittedly the iPod's UI looks to be a doddle compared to the Creative/iRiver models (do you really have to access menus and sub-menus to turn the volume up/down, for example?) :eek:

Just makes me a bit mad that she'll have to hand over another €100 to change the battery, a year down the road...

Well on the zen you don't. The Volume is up and down on the slider when a song is playing. No need for any menus. Dunno about the iRiver. I use Sennhesier MX500 Ear buds which have a volume slider on the cable. So I don't need to take the player out of my pocket. One of the best sounding ear buds around. Only €25 from Argos. Better than the supplied earphones, with most portables.

I find the controls on both the iPod and the Zen equally easy to use. iTunes though is a lot easier then the Creative tripe. I use Nomad Explorer with mine. http://www.redchairsoftware.com/notmad/. I don't like iTunes not because its hard to use, but because it doesn't allow me to organise my music the way I like. But I do use it for somethings. Just got a Shuffle, so I'm using it for that. Or when a friend has their iPod etc.

I don't think the batteries fail as often as you hear. But you could take out an extended warranty, to cover it for a couple of years. It will probably be dropped or lost before the battery becomes an issue. Being able to change is a plus though. Its was one of the reason I bought a Zen. But if its like Mobiles, even if you change the battery theres always some other problem that makes you change it after a year or more.

peckerhead · 25-09-2005 3:57pm

I've seen a few people praising the (2nd-generation) 4Gb iPod mini, especially for battery life. And they're going a lot cheaper on eBay...:)

Any views on that particular beastie?

greglo23 · 25-09-2005 3:58pm

a lot of the stuff you hear about ipod batteries is crap. my brothers 1st gen ipod is still running on the same battery. the nano is far from delicate as you can see from this review; http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/nano.ars

peckerhead · 25-09-2005 5:17pm

Quick pricecheck: I've just seen that DID (God bless 'em!:D) have knocked €50 off the Zen Micro 6GB, bringing it down to €241.95 (the offer isn't on the website yet, I saw it in the paper).

Best offer in town for the Nano 4GB seems to be the student-discounted €238.37 from the Apple Store.

Both of those prices are surprisingly good for old "rip-off Ireland", methinks — better than most of the big UK stores (when you add shipping). I can see a few cheaper deals on the likes of eBay, but I'm beginning to think the saving isn't worth it in terms of ease of return, if there's a problem...

All of these MP3 player break quite easily so a good warranty is important.

tallus · 26-09-2005 11:14am

The Ipod is now a lot more user friendly since someone released a handy little addon for Winamp that allows you to send songs directly to the ipod. It has alredy been posted on here but here it is again : http://www.winamp.com/plugins/details.php?id=138888
Been using it for a few days and it's excellent. beats the sh*t out of itunes i.m.o.
T

lemonjelly · 26-09-2005 12:03pm

maybe a flash memory player would be the way to go.. alot cheaper and still holds loads of music at 256 mb. i got one of these iriver ones online a few weeks ago its quality for €150

http://komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=307747&cks=SPK

SixShot · 26-09-2005 5:09pm

Mpio Mp3 players there a nice little Alt for the nano

muckwarrior · 26-09-2005 8:20pm

This is a pretty damn good alternative to a 2GB nano.

MorningStar · 28-09-2005 9:44am

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4286294.stm

Sounds like it is not worth getting.

I think the phones with expandable memory might be better value considering the price of multimedia cards now.

rubadub · 28-09-2005 6:12pm

MorningStar wrote:

I think the phones with expandable memory might be better value considering the price of multimedia cards now.

Yeah a 2GB sd is about 100 these days. So are there good phones out there? Most people have a phone these days so if you got a good combination phone/mp3 player it is only one thing in your pocket. Hopefully 2 companies will come together like creative and nokia and make one good product, though I dont care about the phone functions much.

muckwarrior · 28-09-2005 6:22pm

rubadub wrote:

So are there good phones out there?

I'm well impressed with the mp3 player on my Sharp 902. Not to mention the 2MP camera with optical zoom! Also the handsfree that comes with it lets you plug your own headphones in.

GoneShootin · 28-09-2005 11:47pm

Creative Zen for the win. The only thing against it vs the iPod is the lack of the iTrip. The iTrip + iPod Nano = extremely convenient listening!

a bald bloke · 29-09-2005 2:42am

i could be very wrong but i don't think griffin have an iTrip for the nano yet, i have one for my 3rd gen 30Gb and they are very handy esp for parties and the like, have a few playlists and you just let them off for the night.

was looking into a flash based unit for stuff where I would not want a hard disc based player and as far as i could see the nano despite it's price worked out cheapest in bang for buck / € for Gb which i was very surprised at

MorningStar · 29-09-2005 12:01pm

GoneShootin wrote:

Creative Zen for the win. The only thing against it vs the iPod is the lack of the iTrip. The iTrip + iPod Nano = extremely convenient listening!

I think the use of a phone is the most convenient. Most people carry a phone anyway so the duel use and constant charging makes it easier in general. You can't use it on a plane is the real disadvantage though.

Nokia 6230 is a good choice and has a camera too!

Cutie18Ireland · 29-09-2005 3:27pm

id definetly recommend the zen micro, i really dont like ipods there's a new version of the zen out at the mon its called zenmicro photo they are colour screen and can store photos, dunno if they're avaliable here yet but there's loads of them on ebay at the mo

Jimi-Spandex · 29-09-2005 4:22pm

I'd just like to point you toward this thing from cnet Supercute mp3 players

I'd go for the Sony Network Walkman NW-HD5. It's cheaper than the nano, smaller than the 20gb ipod, and cnet tested the battery life to a pretty impressive 28 hrs. The battery is removable.

The only problem is sony connect software. If you have regular mp3's then it's fine and it's even better if she's just ripping from cd's as sony's atrac standard isn't that bad.

blorg · 30-09-2005 4:54pm

You might bear in mind that the Nano is _significantly_ smaller and lighter than the Zen Micro. It looks like a really nice little player IMHO.

Wertz · 01-10-2005 5:02pm

rubadub wrote:

Yeah a 2GB sd is about 100 these days. So are there good phones out there? Most people have a phone these days so if you got a good combination phone/mp3 player it is only one thing in your pocket. Hopefully 2 companies will come together like creative and nokia and make one good product, though I dont care about the phone functions much.

http://www.sonyericsson.com/spg.jsp?cc=ie&lc=en&ver=4000&template=pp1_loader&php=php1_10245&zone=pp&lm=pp1&pid=10245

/drool

JPA · 01-10-2005 6:05pm

I found a good site about upgrading the storage on an ipod Nano. Cool!

copacetic · 01-10-2005 6:40pm

JPA wrote:

I found a good site about upgrading the storage on an ipod Nano. Cool!

wanna post the link??

JPA · 01-10-2005 6:49pm

D'oh!

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Ipod_Nano_200gb_Instructions

Wertz · 01-10-2005 7:22pm

JPA wrote:

D'oh!

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Ipod_Nano_200gb_Instructions

Nice.

copacetic · 01-10-2005 7:41pm

JPA wrote:

D'oh!

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Ipod_Nano_200gb_Instructions

cheers! nice link, pity it isn't a chip upgrade to 10GB or something, but
deffo the best hard drive option you could get!

iPod Nano - alternatives?

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