iPod ... should I or shouldn't I?

[NewHampshireDem]

I'm thinking about dropping $399 on the new 40gig iPod. Is it worth it or is it all hype? Any iPod owners out there have buyer's remorse, or was it worth every penny?

[Gryffindor_Bookworm]

1. Worth. Every. Penny.

Mine holds the contents of every music CD I've got and nearly two dozen unabridged audiobooks (including some long ones, like all five Harry Potters) with plenty of room left over. I *adore* my iPod. Go for it! :thumbsup:

[Florida_Geek]

2. Well they do not work well with

Apple computers and forget where they were if you pause them too long. I am not 100% happy with them. And the Powerbook I just brought a month ago sucks for software.

[FlashHarry]

8. "Sucks for software???"

My new iBook came loaded with actual usable software--not the bloatware you typically see from PCs. The only thing I added was the Student/Teacher version of Microsoft Office. Personally, I love the iLife suite--especially GarageBand.

[Gryffindor_Bookworm]

14. That's bizarre....

My iPod works *perfectly* with both of my macs, and the powerbook I bought in May came with everything I could conceivably ever want or need, including QuickBooks, which is the most amazing financial software I've ever used, iCal, which is a phenomenal dateplanner, Safari, Mail, iChat (no more AOL parasitic stuff), my Airport network took less than three minutes to set up and feeds my iTunes library to stereos in other parts of my house, and in almost three months it has frozen zero times, crashed zero times, and given me grief zero times.

Wow. I am stunned. I have never, ever, ever heard any actual Mac user say a bad thing about their Powerbook. I am just.... :wow:

[Florida_Geek]

20. Apple apps suck

FOR WHAT it worth I sent a 4 page letter to Jobs about his bad software.

things like Apple's Backup program goes into a hard loop writting to the iPod. I plug in my iPod and the system starts iTunes and then starts iPod updater and it tells me my iPod is out of date and would I like to update, IF I say Yes it tells me my iPod is not mounted and then dismounts my iPod.

Safari, iPhoto, iCal Mail all have hit the old trash can.

Poorly tested software that make Microsoft's software look go.

While they did not write it, the Unix is good.

[democracyindanger]

3. I've had one for a while

If you're set on getting an mp3 player, go for it, but I want to see what the new Sony players coming out are like.

[LowerManhattanite]

4. As a Mac fiend, let me say...

...get it---but get the 20 GB model. I have the last iteration 20GB version and it's a magnificent machine...but in spite of what you may think, it's fairly uncommon to see anyone with more than 15GBs of music on an iPod anyways. That's an awful lot of music---especially in MP3 form. You'll wear out your thumb joint scrolling through that much stuff.

Get the 20GB for $299. You will not be sorry. :)

[CanuckAmok]

30. Yes, I bought the 20 Gig because the 40 was sold out...

...and I have yet to fill the 20 gig. at 18gigs, it says I have something like nine days of contunuous music loaded in. That's plenty for my purposes, and perhaps yours too?

One beef: if you're using it with a PC, you need to get the split power/USB cable. since the iPod usually recharges throught the transfer port (and Macs have powered FireWire ports), it recharges as you upload things to it. But since USB ports are unpowered, you need the cable to keep the Ipod plugged into house power to charge while it interfaces with your PC. Otherwise, there's not enough battery life to upload more than a few gigs at a time.

[Zech Marquis]

5. go for it!

the 20 gig model that is. I might get a new one myself :-)

[Zech Marquis]

10. and he said what yesterday?

go tot he online Apple Store, and click on the Special Deals banner on the lower left hand side--they have the previous iPods for 169 last I checked, and those weren't bad! I havent sen the new ones in person yet, but I have a feeling those are even better :-)

[T Roosevelt]

6. Definitely

Check ebay and slickdeals.net first...you can find them much cheaper there (though only occassionally on slickdeals)...

[FlashHarry]

7. New ones are better and cheaper. Do it.

$100 less and a longer battery life. Now's the time.

[ScreamingMeemie]

9. Only if you will buy one for me as well...

Then I'm okay with it... ;)

Enjoy it!!!

:hi:

[Guy Fawkes]

11. If you're going to buy an MP3 player, buy an iPod...

And that's coming from a guy who hates apple

[vi5]

12. Do it! Do it! Do not hesitate.....worth every single penny.

I was hesitant. Especially since with almost 1,500 cds I would clearly need the 40 gig if I wanted to have even half my music on there. And it was a bear of a task loading that many cds onto a computer in MP3 format. But now that they are all on there and i have the ipod I love it. It's grea for driving in the car...it's great for the gym....it's great for just walking around and doing things. It's just great all around.

[slutticus]

13. Get it!!!

...If I had the cash I would definitly get one.

I can't wait until I can afford an iPod. Hopfully they will be cheaper by then.... :-(

[politicat]

15. Love mine. Worth it... but get the AppleCare with it.

That gives you 2 years of warranty. It's worth the money.

My first one died the first week - and with all electronics, that can happen. My second one lasted a solid 50 weeks with no problems until we took it from 6K feet elevation with 20% humidity to sea-level, 95 degree days with 90% humidity. The shock did the poor little thing in.

My husband's, however, has had no problems at all, and we bought them the same day.

It works seamlessly with my computers... Don't know what Pbook the poster above is talking about, but it's the first complaint I've ever heard on the issue. The iPod also worked really well with a friend's Linux box when he needed a quick and dirty backup and with a PC desktop where we loaded the backup. (The Linux box had a fried ethernet port.... )

Pcat

[Downtown Hound]

16. Me loves my Ipod

And it works flawlessly with my Mac. Go for it!

[gmoney]

17. Worth it if you'll use it... consider an alternative

I bought one the first night they came out, and while I love it as a technology, and it's tremendously well-designed and super easy to use, I just am not in a situation where I can wear headphones much -- I tried using it at work, but taking off the headphones everytime the phone rings just wasn't practical. And the first ones were a little heavy to wear in a shirt pocket without it sagging all out of shape. I found it much easier to use iTunes on my computer and just listen that way at work. Using it in the car, I was paranoid that it would get stolen, so I ended up not using it much in the car, either. Finally I sold it, and got almost all my money out of it.

Believe it or not, I tried again with the second generation iPod. I wanted SO badly to have it be something that worked for me, but it just wasn't a good fit. So I sold the second one, too. Maybe twice a month I think "If I had an iPod, I could use it right now..."

A much better fit for me is the Kenwood KDC-MP222 Car CD Player... it plays MP3 CDs, so I can put 10 or 15 hours worth of MP3 music on one CD-R... when I get tired of it, burn another CD. If the CD gets lost or scratched, I'm out about 50 cents and a few minutes of my time. It's also great for audiobooks... I just made a single MP3 disc out of the 9 CDs of "The Razor's Edge" that I borrowed from the library.

It looks like a regular CD player, so I'm not worried about it getting stolen, and I got mine for about $200 installed. Best money I've ever spent.

[gmoney]

18. Consider the $299 one...

I know it's tempting to get double the space, but do you really need to carry a month's worth of music around with you? The iTunes software makes it so easy to sync up, you can constantly update it to keep it full of fresh toons...

Spend the extra $100 on the extended warranty instead

[AlCzervik]

19. I have a mini and i love it

i don't need all the room of the big ones but mine holds 1,000 songs and it sounds great.

[Zech Marquis]

22. whoa

now how did you manage to get your hands on a Mini? :wow: in my area, none of the stores can even keep a display model out! And which color by the way? :evilgrin:
Meanwhile, the new iPod should be out now or this weekend.

[NewHampshireDem]

21. Thanks for the advice all!

I'm going for it ... gonna order it while they still have the free personalization, so I can get my name etched in the back of it. I'm going to get the 40 gig model only so I can get all my mp3's off my comp--I have 1,5000 files or 7 gigs worth and not a single one was ripped from a CD in my collection :gulp: Add to that the 500 or so CD's I have ...

I will definately go with the extended warranty as well. I worry about the battery life and would hate to have to buy a new one b/c the battery craps out.

Again, thanks everyone! :toast:

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

23. Should!

Do it baby!

[JohnKleeb]

24. Yeah but I would buy the 15 gig

just to save money but you could have tons more music than I. Though my 15 gig one has like 1.75 GB and it has some full CDs on their. If anyone wants to convert their CD files to MP3 I recommend a program called CDex, when I get back on a computer that has AIM at my house, I can transfer that file if anyone wants it.

[PatriotGames]

25. Hi all, first post here at DU!

I have the 15 GB model and it is quite an amazing little toy. If you like your music, then get one. You can take a lot of music with you.

I have heard that Apple might be coming out with cheaper Ipods eventually and there are some competitors out there aoming out with similar items.

[JohnKleeb]

26. Welcome, I got the 15 gig too

Its great, Ive filled it with 2 years worth of downloaded and my personal favorites, I even downloaded some speeches, comedy stuff like the Bush-Gore SNL debates. One of the best purchases I ever made, I think its the best MP3 player out there but I havent tried the others but I think those only use musicmatchbox and iPod uses iTunes which is much more easy to use.

[GOPisEvil]

27. The price just came down!

Oh, and if you have a friend in government, ask if Apple has a deal with their agency. My agency has a deal with Apple. I just bought an iPod (20GB) and paid $275. :thumbsup:

[NewHampshireDem]

29. Thanks for the tip ... I just ordered mine at a $30 discount!

I'm a high school teacher, so I was able to get the $399 model for $369! They are also running an offer for free personalization, so I made out! Now all I have to do is wait :sigh: Oh, and start ripping the rest of my CDs ...

[mrboba1]

28. Every. Last. Penny.

My wife says it was the best gift she ever got. And I mean ever. (aside from those non-monetary things of course)