Advice on buying an iPod

[KingMike]

Hi first of all not sure if this is the right place for it but if not please slap me and move it to the right place.

Im looking in to buying an iPod with the money from my birthday at the end of the month. First of all anything i should know about them? Any advice on which one to go for? I gather there are 10gb, 15gb and 30gb models but realistically how much music do they hold?

Are they worth getting and if so have you any advice on where to buy from or what the best price is for each of the above.

I am looking in to buying one because i heard that you can put all your cd collection on to it and play them all. This particularly interests me because wherever i go i lug around a big cd case along with me so obviously with an Ipod this would allow me to have all my cds without physically carrying them all around with me if i have been told correctly.

Sorry for all the questions but thats all... for now

Mike.

[Olympichero]

I'm getting one soon too (For my birthday/with the money), personally I would go for the 15GB as I dont need 20GB worth and theres a bit of a price difference. I wouldnt go for the 10GB version as it lacks all the accessories that the 15 and 20 GB models come with.

[Garibaldi Biscuit]

No personal experience with them myself, but you might want to check out consumer review sites such as www.dooyoo.co.uk as these sort of reviews are usually better in picking up on any long-term problems with the product ( the contributers to the site have no deadline after all, so they may only post the review a month or two after owning the product, unlike a tech website and/or magazine ).

[dataDave]

Both me and my mate have filled a 20gb HD here at work with MP3s - There's no way we'd listen to it all. Most of it is crap that we just downloaded for the sake of it.

You could fit around 330 CDs on 20gb worth of space I reckon.

[Kirby]

Hi,

Apple run a price fixing cartel on the iPod so you wont get one any cheaper than their RRP. The best thing to do is look for any general money off vouchers for shops that sell it (John Lewis for example) and use the voucher on an iPod. AMEX recently sent me a newsletter with the very promising "EXCLUSIVE IPOD DEAL!!!!!!". And what was this appetising deal? Free engraved message on the back. WOW!

Personally i would (and probably will) go for one of either the new 15Gb or 30Gb models. They really are the best MP3 players out there. If you want something slightly less chic then you could take a look at the Creative Labs Zen range.

As for filesizes, an example: The MP3 folder on my PC is 8Gb and that is 1271 files (playtime of 102 hours or so), all encocded with LAME --alt preset extreme (best MP3 encoder out there). So you're looking at around double that for the 15Gb iPod model!

[KingMike]

Thanks to you guys who replied. Im now looking around at places that sell the 15gb version and the best price i can get it for. Any places you suggest?

Stupidly i forgot to ask if the damn thing actually works with a normal pc running xp. Could anybody confirm to me whether it is mac only or windows compatible?

[jimtendo]

Try the Apple ipod site for more details.

Mac Requirements and Software:
Apple computer with built-in FireWire port; Mac OS X v10.1.5 or later (Mac OS X 10.2 or later recommended); CD includes iTunes(7) for Mac OS X

Windows Requirements and Software:
PC with built-in FireWire or USB 2.04, or Windows-certified FireWire or USB 2.0 card; Windows Me, Windows 2000 or Windows XP Home or Professional; CD includes MUSICMATCH Jukebox Plus 7.5 software

As for price... well for a 15GB ipod, they seem to be around the ?299.99 mark from a UK outlet.

[Dee]

Apple have PC and Mac versions of each iPod so simply pick which ever one matches your platform.

I currently have one of the 10gb older models (no docking station) and its one of the best investments I ever made. Its well made and is nowhere near as fragile as some people make it out to be (I've dropped mine a number of times on marble/hardwood floors and there's not a scratch on it).

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the new iPod 2s are firewire and USB compatible? If not, then make sure you have a firewire card. Firewire can charge and supply power to the iPod while you're transferring files over. Beware of using the Creative Labs Audigy souncard with built in firewire port though, Creative decided to cut corners with the firewire compatibility and a lot of users have reported not being able to connect the iPod using it.

The iPod comes with Musicmatch Jukebox (iTunes for Macs) which does the job of transferring files over. It can be quite complicated so I recommend using a program called ephPod. Much simpler interface and it doesn't have the urge to take everything over as is the case with Musicmatch. I personally use a program called Xplay which uses a simple Windows interface so all I have to do is drag and drop. Really classy and clean design, though it comes at a price (about ?19).

If you're a student and live near an Apple Centre, you can get an educational establishment discount on the iPod. At the time, my 10gb was ?329.99, I was able to get it for just under ?300 for being a student.

Hope this helps.

[Valken]

Be warned... the battery lasts about 2 years after which you need to pay Apple a small fortune just to get it replaced.

[CFS Dubois]

John Lewis have the 15GB iPod in stock for ?299.99 but you can use this to get 10% off.
You've only got till midnight on the 17th July before the coupon is out of date though.

I got my 30GB iPod (for ?360 with 10% off of course ) from them a few weeks ago and I think its bloody lovely!

[Mayhem]

I am thinking of getting an iPod at some point in the near future. I know my PC does not have a Firewire port, but how can I check to see if any of the USB ports are the USB2 variety?

[Baroque]

Thanks to you guys who replied. Im now looking around at places that sell the 15gb version and the best price i can get it for. Any places you suggest?

http://www.apple.com/uk/thestore/

Not the cheapest, but it's direct from Apple.

Stupidly i forgot to ask if the damn thing actually works with a normal pc running xp. Could anybody confirm to me whether it is mac only or windows compatible?

It's Mac/Windows compatible out of the box; you'll need either a Firewire 400 Card or a USB 2.0 interface for it to work though. You can pick up a FW card either on the Applestore for ?49, or get one yourself somewhere cheaper. FireWire is the most desirable option as USB 2 has a habit (I say habit but it's part of the design) of locking the primary device to a transfer rate of 14something Mbps and as such may not perform as quickly as you'd expect it to.

Of course if your PC is a bit on the slow side it won't matter a damn as it'll never push the IO fast enough to max that out anyway.

iTunes for Windows is due out before the end of the year, so you can kiss the Musicmatch software which comes with it goodbye in a few months.
(I find iTunes to be just better.)

[KingMike]

John Lewis have the 15GB iPod in stock for ?299.99 but you can use this to get 10% off.
You've only got till midnight on the 17th July before the coupon is out of date though.

I got my 30GB iPod (for ?360 with 10% off of course ) from them a few weeks ago and I think its bloody lovely!

BASTARD!!! My birthday is on 30th July so i wont have the money until then. damn im pissed ft:

Im looking at getting a 15gb as i dont think ill need 30gb of goodness.

?299 sounds ok but with 10% that would be nice thanks very much but i need to find a 10% voucher valid in August

[112]

When you say a small fortune for a replacementbattery how much we talkin here? i mean 2 years is not very long! especially if yah on the go all the time, yah battery will be dead in no time!

112

[bowser123]

The best size to get is probably 15GB as you get extras like the dock and carry case that you don't with the 10GB.
As mentioned previously, there isn't any difference in prices. Basically apple have stitched up the market and only the rrp of ?250 (10GB), ?300 (15GB) and ?400 (30GB) really exist.
I have had my new 15GB iPod since the week they were released and really are the fantastic. They are so much better than every other MP3 player around too. I use mine everyday and love it, they can also be used in conjuction as a nd hard drive should you be say moving large files from home to work/uni.
I'd get a firewire card put in (actually, my mac came with one as standard ) as USB2 is only supported if you download a 30MB file and isn't as fast as firewire in practice.