[superbeast5]

There is nothing good about ipods, they are faulty hardware after 1 year of use, i bought a 30gig ipod and now if i want to hea it i have to hold the line in headphones or i cant hear it (its not the headphones i have tried 20 different pairs) and itunes? haha wow itunes is the worst thing to happen to anything, its no good, if you upload music to it off your computer half the time it wont read it. and when you try to upload videos they wont work, along with photos unless you buy their $20 converter or find a free one, apple is a joke. dont ever buy an ipod

[new tech guy]

Originally Posted by superbeast5

There is nothing good about ipods, they are faulty hardware after 1 year of use, i bought a 30gig ipod and now if i want to hea it i have to hold the line in headphones or i cant hear it (its not the headphones i have tried 20 different pairs)

What do you mean by "line in headphones" if you have that many problems, you should have called apple support. Because it sounds like you are having a bit of a problem with the device. I have already stated that mine has taken a good bit of a beating and still runs perfectly fine.

[lexmarks567]

this is what ipods are good for

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8H29jU8Wrs

[new tech guy]

Heh i wanna know where they got that blender lol. .

[superbeast5]

that video was the funniest thing i have ever seen

[RootbeaR]

Originally Posted by superbeast5

There is nothing good about ipods, they are faulty hardware after 1 year of use, i bought a 30gig ipod and now if i want to hea it i have to hold the line in headphones or i cant hear it (its not the headphones i have tried 20 different pairs) and itunes? haha wow itunes is the worst thing to happen to anything, its no good, if you upload music to it off your computer half the time it wont read it. and when you try to upload videos they wont work, along with photos unless you buy their $20 converter or find a free one, apple is a joke. dont ever buy an ipod

I heard lots of same similar comments about most mp3 players regarding the headphones.
(Can't recall anyone having a Zune. I polled many many students before I made purchase)

Solution is to jam paper/toothpick or something into the slot with the headphone jack to tighten the fit and secure it in place.

Edit: Just one side so that there is still a connection.

[DarqueMist]

Originally Posted by RootbeaR

Solution is to jam paper/toothpick or something into the slot with the headphone jack to tighten the fit and secure it in place.
.

and the problem can be prevented by not abusing it, my nano is over 3 years old still on its original headphones with no connection problems.
Whats being described there is a loose connector in the iPod, the most common reason being side pressure on the headphone jack while it is plugged into the player. That same thing will happen to any player carried around in pant pockets ... Apple is the only company I know of that has tried to address this issue, which is why the headphone jack is so much shorter than what you are used to seeing.

on another note RB, how do you like the Zen? Thats one of the ones I'm considering for my next purchase.

[RootbeaR]

Originally Posted by DarqueMist

and the problem can be prevented by not abusing it, my nano is over 3 years old still on its original headphones with no connection problems.
Whats being described there is a loose connector in the iPod, the most common reason being side pressure on the headphone jack while it is plugged into the player. That same thing will happen to any player carried around in pant pockets ... Apple is the only company I know of that has tried to address this issue, which is why the headphone jack is so much shorter than what you are used to seeing.

on another note RB, how do you like the Zen? Thats one of the ones I'm considering for my next purchase.

I've never used it. It is my girlfriends. I just bought it for her.

She loves it. Not one problem yet (gave it to her beginning of dec.). It was after talking to her that my friend and his girlfriend decided to get rid of the iPod and get a Zen. I didn't ask what was wrong with the iPod and he is away ice fishing. That's not to say he didn't get a lemon, can happen with any product from any company.

Must be easy to use. I run Linux and have not had to help her with anything (dual boot XP but she can't boot it up as I deleted her account, not sure if she is aware of that yet, and she doesn't know my passwords. Plus I asked her not to).

Neither of us has used an iPod. I talked to a lot of people first. I can't see the iPod being worth the extra money.

The Zen has FM radio as well which she can record right onto the unit. Can record conversations.
She has nothing bad at all to say about it and uses it all the time. It is even her alarm clock now (2nd part of Christmas gift but made her wait for that one, portable ac/dc dock with external speakers)

The only negative thing I can say, and I can only say it about where I live, it is similar to Linux in that most accessories are made specifically for iPod. Hopefully that will change for both. Also like Linux though, apparently a lot of that stuff works with the Zen too.

I just asked her if she could say one negative thing about it, anything. That is a negative.

If it needs to be replaced for any reason, she wants another Zen.

I am not trying to run down the iPod, she may have been just as happy with one of them, I just couldn't justify the price difference. I believe part of the price is the name, and that to me is worthless.

I can also tell you that I didn't hear anything bad about it when polling people that didn't apply to them all. The jack thing for example.

Now I have to go listen to The Jack by AC/DC.

Have a good evening,
RootbeaR

[RedHelix]

Originally Posted by DarqueMist

My opinion is not uninformed, it has passable sound quality almost on par with an iPod. It has an ok appearance (which I couldn't care less about, I want to listen to it not look at it). The one advantage it really has over an iPod is its wifi ability but because of the way M$ has implemented its DRM use that is seriously hobbled. I was curious about the zune when it was introduced so like with any "major" purchase I make I researched it and read the reviews

...the Zune software can burn tracks to CD, but those with a monthly subscription will find that they have no burn rights unless they buy the files first. Again, it's understandable but annoying. It rules out both mix CDs that use subscription songs and listening to music from the stereo in my kitchen at home, which has a CD player but no inputs. For your fifteen bucks a month, you get to listen to music on one PC and one Zune. That's it.
...When a device promises "the social" but drastically limits file-sharing, can't swap video clips, and only works with identical devices, it's a tough sell in a world dominated by iPods. All Apple has to do is release a model with WiFi and Microsoft's major advantage is wiped out. And because that "advantage" isn't used well, the Zune will face an uphill path to broader market adoption.

all the legitimate reviews I read echoed those sentiments and emphasize the hobbling M$ has done with how they chose to use DRM. The zune may be a decent product mechanically but thats where it ends .. .the software side of the equation is important to[/quote]

The Zune software takes a back seat to burning music CDs without exception. Any songs, whether you bought them from the Zune marketplace or ripped them from CD, can easily be burned via Windows Media Player, and when you pop a blank CD into an XP or Vista machine it will prompt you with WMP as your default burning option. So when you harp on the Zune software's "development afterthought" burning component you are making a mountain out of a molehill.

Secondly, yeah, the inter-zune connectivity is limited. But considering how infrequently users take advantage of it, again you are harping on a very minor flaw. For me, the only use I have for the Zune's wi-fi is the ability to sync it wirelessly on my network at home. It is a spectacular feature that allows me to update my library and not have to go out of my way to plug in my Zune and wait for it to sync in the morning.

You are also quick to downplay pretty much all of the reasons I also picked a Zune over iPods. At the time I bought my Zune 1.0, it cost the same as an equivalent capacity 30GB iPod, but it also packed a larger screen which maintains the original aspect ratio of movies, and FM tuner. It is also much easier to convert movie files into a format the Zune can use from a Windows box.

Finally, you won't find a single objective review discussing the sound quality of the Zune versus the iPod that concludes there's a difference noticeable to the human ear. Why? Because they both use 3.5mm jacks, which is hardly the standard for high-quality audio output, and the earbuds for both mp3 players are almost identical in construction.

None of the problems you harp on regarding the Zune are any real problem to the typical Zune owner, and pale in comparison to the horrors many people experience owning an iPod. I used to fix iPods for $15/hr; believe me, I don't dislike them for no reason.

Oh yeah, and Ars Technica is not a source for objective reviews on Microsoft products. A Zune review on AT is about as balanced as a Linux discussion on Slashdot. You should know that.

[jaimemiranda]

My opinion would be that the ipod has become more of a fashion type of thing as someone said in an earlier post. At my school the kid with an ipod is considered "cool" and the ones with other mp3 players are just whatever. The popularity on this product has hit teenagers in particular and see it as a must have to fit in. That is one reason why the ipod would be so popular and the other for the simple reason that it's small, easy to use and basically does the job.

[Trogador]

I think Ipods are so popular because they're the only MP3 players advertized. You see a thousand ads for iPods, but not one ad for a CreAtive Zen mp3 player . And not a single ad for the Zune either.

[RootbeaR]

Originally Posted by Trogador

I think Ipods are so popular because they're the only MP3 players advertized. You see a thousand ads for iPods, but not one ad for a CreAtive Zen mp3 player . And not a single ad for the Zune either.

Excellent point.

[dugq]

Originally Posted by RedHelix

[webquote="http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/zune.ars/6"] [color="Black"]Finally, you won't find a single objective review discussing the sound quality of the Zune versus the iPod that concludes there's a difference noticeable to the human ear. Why? Because they both use 3.5mm jacks, which is hardly the standard for high-quality audio output, and the earbuds for both mp3 players are almost identical in construction.

I've read many reviews that conclude that the Zune has far superior sound quality than the Ipod, many regard it as one of the best DAPs available in that respect. Of course, that is with replacement headphones.

[ferrija1]

The sound quality is mainly based on the earphones, and the iPod's earphones aren't very good.

[alexon]

Here are some advantages of the iPod:
*Current versions offer 20 gigabyte and 40 gigabyte storage capacity.
*iPods shuffle feature allows you to listen to music you've selected yourself, such as listening to a radio station that plays only the music you like. Thats why Apple added the Shuffle Songs feature this saves you from having to activate the shuffle in the iPods settings menu and then browse through several levels just so you can select songs.

-- It really depends on what you like whether it be IPOD or not as long as you get the benefit out of it then thats' good enough. IPOD is still a good technology for me and it's nice to carry 1 though...

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