20 Gb mp3 player - recomendations please

[flyingrhino]

I've been thinking of buying the 20Gb ipod device.

can anyone tell me if it plays mp3 files without having to convert them first ?

also can anyone recommend a different brand / model to check out too.

thanks mates.

[wonderboy2005]

Yes, the iPod does play strait mp3 files.

There are a lot of other players out there - what features in particular are you looking for?

[flyingrhino]

not many features actually -
play straight , random within folder, random everywhere
display song filename & id tag
search for a file by part of filename (nice to have)
bass & treble

[ferrarimodena360]

ipod photo

[tomars]

Apple only colour screen iPods now, so the regular ones might be reduced price if you have a look around online.

[Slycktom]

Dont be so quick to settle on an iPod. Like the previous posters have said, there are many other mp3 players out there that are just as good, if not better.

[crash4419]

CREATIVE ZEN!!!!!!!!!!!!! google it

I HAVE 7 IPODS THEY SUCK

ABOUT 15 MP3 players 2

[Auggie2k]

20Gb iPod, simple as!

[WE_DELIVER]

I have an iPod and I like it a lot.
I think PC Magazine has an issue out right now with a bunch of MP3 player reviews, both big and small.
You should check it out. Its pretty informative.

[Andrew110]

Actually if I were you, I would get a Creative Zen Touch. It holds 20 gigs and the battery life is 24 hours!!! Ipod is only 12. Plus it's almost $100 cheaper and comes with a case. Ipods are VERY over-rated in my opinion, a lot of people think it's the only choice they have.
http://creative.com/products/product.asp?category=213&subcategory=214&product=10274

[crash4419]

YUPPP THE ZENS R SOOO MUCHHHH BETTERRR

dont get an ipod

apple is becoming a monopoly with it jeeze

all my friends and i hate it think everything is an ipod even when ni brought my damn Treo 600 to school

hell

GET THE ZEN MAN

THERE CHEAPER! AND COOLER :icon_thum

or a Rio there cool

[Digital Bliss]

Well ipods are gay and are made for gays by gays thats about it. Who in the right mind is going to pay 300 bucks for a 20gb mp3 player its really sad if you ask me just burn some fucking cds

[rastabob2]

I just ordered myself the sony nw-hd3, which looks pretty slick in my opinion, and also has a much larger battery life and better sound than the ipod.

Though I must admit that this was mainly not to do the "ipod thing" like everybody else.
the 4th gen ipod 20Gb's price has dropped quite a bit and is still the one to beat.
Now that price is no longer an issue compared to other players, unless you have a very specific idea of a feature that you might prefer on another player, just go for the ipod.

I would however recommend a creative if you plan on going with one of the "as much music as you want" services like yahoo.

[WE_DELIVER]

Well ipods are gay and are made for gays by gays thats about it.
Youre a huge fag for saying that. How bout some serious opinions.

just ordered myself the sony nw-hd3, which looks pretty slick in my opinion, and also has a much larger battery life and better sound than the ipod.

About the sonys, the bad thing is that they convert all the mp3s that u throw at it to ATRAK format. That kind of sux in my opinion. The good thing is that u can use that thing as an external hard drive.

[flyingrhino]

well in new zeland (where i live), ipods sell for around 530NZ$ (370 US$), and I can get
a creative zen for around 420$ (290 US$). so we are being ripped off anyway.

the problem is that the battery on the zen is not replaceable. when it dies no music till recharge.

BTW, both of them use laptop drives, don't they ? that means I can replace the drive at some
stage with a larger one ?

[WE_DELIVER]

The iPod battery is technically not user replaceble unless u go through buying a kit and an expensive battery. Or u can send your iPod in for like a $100 dollar service. Thats one of the things that sux about the iPod.

U cant upgrade drives as far as i know on the iPod. Although reg iPods use a laptop drive, they are partitioned in such a way that just a regular drive will not be recognized.

[broadwayrock]

The very old mp3 players used the laptop drives, but the new ones use a smaller kind so you wont be able to replace them.

The creative zen micro has a replacable battery.

The newer Sony players do not require any conversion to play mp3s, but you do need to endure Sony Sonicstage to put the music on the player.

flyingrhino, could you provide us with some more info on what you want.

Do you mind having to use software to load the music onto the player?, is sound quality important?, is the size of the player important? is battery life important? etc

[DwarfBaby]

Add one more to the Creative club. I've had my creative Zen 40 gig for more then a year with absolutely no problems whatsoever. Battery is down to about 6 hours due to the age of battery (Li-Ion) but the newer smaller models are supposed last like twenty hours or so. Plus I can get a new battery from anyone and will cost me between $20 for a generic or $45 for a creative approved. No need to ship the bloody thing to apple and have them charge whatever they feel like to fix it. Simply flip the switch pull the lid off and change the battery. No screws, no chance to mess something up. I've dropped the thing several times both on and off with no damage other then a small dent and a few small scratches.

And of course creative is always much cheaper then apple. The software is integrated with Windows Explorer and is simple to figure out and organize. All in all a great product.

[rastabob2]

About the sonys, the bad thing is that they convert all the mp3s that u throw at it to ATRAK format. That kind of sux in my opinion. The good thing is that u can use that thing as an external hard drive.

Actually no! the later models are capable of reading actual mp3s (from the nw-hd3 onwards).
That was true of the hd1 though.

There is also an even newer model the hd5 but it looks like somebody in design was trying to draw an ipod in the dark with a blindfold on, which I find is a problem with many of the other mp3 players.

[zarquon]

Ipods lack too many features. True audiophiles would never touch it. I myself have an iriver H10 20gb. Awesome player with photo ability.

[flyingrhino]

1. i prefer the mp3 player appearing as a drive on my windows box.
2. battery life over 10-15 hours is ok
3. size is not much of a problem, as long as it can be put in a pocket and walk around with it
4. sound quality - well mp3 isn't top quality anyway, and most of my mp3 are vinyl rips. if it sounds as good as a decent PC soundcard, then i'll be happy. anyway, the noise from the surroundings (car, street) spoil the experience anyway.

[crash4419]

dude once the ipod battery dies which is often its dead u gotta recharge it for like hours go with the zen im telling ya or even the zen micro

[Siskabush]

Its like buying Chef boyardee ravioli when no name is cheaper and better.

Get a Zen. Or a car with a MP3 CD player, which is still cheaper then an Ipod :)

[tomars]

I bought an iPod. Then I bought a car and turned into a lazy bugger so I havent switched my iPod on for ages :D
I would rather have a DAB in all honesty, I get sick of listening to the same music over and over again.

And about iPod bashing, who cares if everyone else has one? That shouldn't affect wether or not you buy one. I think they look cool, and they have all the features I need. Sure you might be able to get 'more' for your money but I LIKE MY SHINY WHITE IPOD!

:D

[flyingrhino]

ok, seems like i'm going for a zen. will probably buy one sometime next week, once i find the
lowest price.

thanks guys.

[Auggie2k]

Its funny - the ipod -v- zen is just like the ie -v- firefox war!

[flyingrhino]

i've got a clarion 846 in my car - so mp3 at quality is no problem. the ipod is for mostly my wife to use. sometimes i will take it on holidays where i have no car.

[broadwayrock]

flyingrhino, when you say you're getting the zen you mean the Zen Touch?:

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/3574/zentouch5qn.jpg

because this is the Creative Zen:

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/9027/zen2hs.jpg
Its a 20gb version of the Micro, although a bit bigger.

and this is the Creative Zen Sleek which is replacing the Touch:

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/3928/zensleek9aj.jpg

just to confuse you even more,
the new Sony 20gb player has a 30 hour removerable battery and got rated 1st in a mp3 player sound quality comparison on cnet:

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/8991/sonyvsipod0eo.jpg
But it requires probably the worst first party software to load music onto it.

[flyingrhino]

the one we get in new zealand is the top photo you presented.
is this the right choice ?

[SanDiegoKid]

The iRiver H10 series is my player of choice.

iPod is more style than substance, and every style ends up going out of style.
When poseurs are wearing white earbuds that aren't connected to anything at all, you know it's time ot find another mp3 player.
http://www.iriveramerica.com/prod/hd/h10_20gb.aspx

[chipface]

I have a Zen Micro so I'd say got for a Zen. It's not that I find the iPod a bad mp3 player, it's just that there are better ones for much cheaper.

[mountain_rage]

Like others have said iriver and zen are good alternatives. Personally ive never used any player as I dont think I would use one enough to buy one. But whenever people ask for alternatives to apple people say either the zen or iriver players. Personally I hate sony, their stuff always breaks down, they are also getting pressure placed on them from investors so im worried the quality of there products will drop once more.

[zarquon]

I have a Zen Micro so I'd say got for a Zen. It's not that I find the iPod a bad mp3 player, it's just that there are better ones for much cheaper.

Umm, read the thread title, it says 20gb. Micro is only 5gb.

[chipface]

Yes but a zen holds 20gb.

[silentscream]

Yes but a zen holds 20gb.
the zen touch also has bad third party software (not as bas as sony though. but can be replaced with the "notmad"browser i think)

.

[boogiedan]

v nice thread n postin
ive also been thinking of 1