iPod/MP3 player question

[TechDawgFan]

I've held off getting an iPod since they came out. A lot of my buddies have them and since I've started running and working out again, I've been giving it some thought.

For those of you who have them, how much are you spending on downloading music for it and how much are some of the subscriptions I've heard about? And what is free and what isn't? Is there enough free stuff out there to keep you busy or do you really need to be able to download pay stuff as well?

I'll admit that I haven't researched it much, so teach me a little here.

Chris

[GatorDawg]

I have an ipod and I pay very little into get music. In all honesty the only thing you really have to pay is the original purchase. You can put music you have or friends have on there for free. If you are looking to add more music from the internet, itunes charges .99 per song.

[Jen_Leigh]

ok heres the layout

Apple makes the best ones . . . the Sony Bean even though it is cute it is not very good in quality and sound.


512 MB- (Shuffle) holds 125 songs there is no screen on it at all but the controls are very simple
1 GB- (Shuffle) holds 250 songs " " " " " " " " " " "


1 GB-(Nano) holds 250 songs color screen and about the height of a #2 pencil can also be used as a thumb drive
2 GB- (Nano) holds 500 songs " " " " " " " " " " " " "
4 GB- (Nano) holds 1000 songs" " " " " " " " " " " " "


30 GB- (Video) holds 7500 songs same specs as the Nanos but they can hold videos (most movie trailers are free on apple.com)
60 GB- 15000 songs " " " " " " " " " " " " " " "

PS If you have a Tech e-mail account you can get a 10% discount I think thats what it is. Or its like a $20 discount. But hey its a discount!!!!

[TechDawgFan]

I'm not worried about the up front cost. It's the continuing cost that worry me.

BTW, if I buy a CD, can I download the songs into the iPod or do I have to pay to download them from iTunes?

[GatorDawg]

All cds you own (or can get in contact with) can be put on your ipod for free. The only costs you have are when you download something you don't have.

[Jen_Leigh]

the second you put the cd in you can import it into itunes then the next time you connect your iPod it will update itself . . . any other questions

[DocMarvin362]

I've held off getting an iPod since they came out. A lot of my buddies have them and since I've started running and working out again, I've been giving it some thought.

For those of you who have them, how much are you spending on downloading music for it and how much are some of the subscriptions I've heard about? And what is free and what isn't? Is there enough free stuff out there to keep you busy or do you really need to be able to download pay stuff as well?

I'll admit that I haven't researched it much, so teach me a little here.

Chris

Chris, I've got a Sony Walkman.

I truly LOVE IT!! It's about $120. I got it so that when I'm at work, I don't have to listen to the women gossip and stir up crap all night long. The ONLY problem that I've had with it is that I hit the carrier on a chair and it broke, but I bought another carrier for $5 and it was no problem. Sound quality to me is GREAT (hate earbuds, so I went and some clip headphones). The biggest thing that you should look for (if sound quality is important to you) is songs with a bitrate of 160, 192 or above. Radio quality is 128 and that's what most people use. CD quality is 192, but (logically) is a larger file, so a few less songs will fit.

The software that comes with the Walkman is pretty idiot proof. Click a song and hit the arrow to send it to a playlist for your player. You can set things in folders or just put everything in one directory. USB cable charges battery and uploads your songs as well. I'm not sure what my battery life is rated at, but can listened to it for 3 8-hour shifts (off and on) before it dies.

Pay for music?!?!?! HHAHAHA. Who does that crap!! HAHHAHAHA

Oh wait... gotta promote legal activity. Oh yes Chris; you must buy your songs from legal sites and do not go to Kazaa, Limewire, WinMX, etc. This is legally and morally wrong. Yea... that's it.

Whatever your choice, I hope that you love it! I wore it to a few TECH b-ball games and was able to listen to Dave while watching the game. T and myself got to listen to an away game while at Chili's. How did we not get kicked out for all the yelling and cheering that we were doing?!?!?!

[Jen_Leigh]

The sony is also a good choice as long as it is not the Bean MP3 player

[TechDawgFan]

Thanks, folks. That actually helps. I'll probably get something pretty small that I can strap to my arm while I'm running. And I won't need to worry about that 3-8 hour charge - I'm only running for between 40 - 60 minutes right now. Don't see a marathon in the real near future.

Chris

[splicer]

Chris,

If you're looking for it for running, I'd go with a flash based device, like the iPod Nano or shuffle. With a hard drive based player, you have the possibility of the head crashing into the disk (which could ruin your mp3 player). I would not get a hard drive based system. I don't know much abou the sony, you'd have to do a bit of research on it.

I've got 30GB iPod, and my wife has the 2Gb Nano. They're both great. I'd strongly recommend Apple products.

[splicer]

As far as the music, if you own it, you can put it on there. Getting a cd from a friend is the same as pirating music online. It's up to you and your morals.

[dhussdawg]

As far as the music, if you own it, you can put it on there. Getting a cd from a friend is the same as pirating music online. It's up to you and your morals.

Well, since the music industry rapes me with their prices, I dont feel too bad. Anyway, DocMarvin, I hate those earbuds too, they hurt my ears. I had a Rio one time that I broke. It wasnt as easy to operate as an IPod, but was great for running but you have to be careful because it will fall of if you are too dumb to take it off when you are taking your shirt off (me). It was pretty fragile, but only cost 60 and had an armband come with it. If you have huge biceps, it could get tight for you though. It was pretty tight on me (almost ran out fo strap) and I am average-sized.

BTW, to think that borrowing a CD from somebody is the same as illegal pirating is ridiculous. I guess if I go borrow a ladder from my neighbor, I am cheating because I should go buy my own. If my neighbor is willing to let me borrow it numerous times, what is the big deal?

[splicer]

I didn't say whether pirating music is right or wrong, I just said it's up to you.

[#1techfan]

If you are interested in downloading music online for free then you might want to go to google.com and search for the program named Ares. Its a file sharing program and its all free but you will be pirating music so it is up to you. I have an Ipod and I love it. I take it everywhere I go. Depending on how many songs you have would be what you consider when you decide on the size of the Ipod/MP3 player to get. I would personally reccomend and Ipod over an MP3 player. I've had both and I haven't had any trouble to speak of with my Ipod as opposed to the MP3 player that I had.

[DocMarvin362]

If you're looking for it for running, I'd go with a flash based device, like the iPod Nano or shuffle. With a hard drive based player, you have the possibility of the head crashing into the disk (which could ruin your mp3 player). I would not get a hard drive based system. I don't know much abou the sony, you'd have to do a bit of research on it.

Sound advice, I didn't think about that.