New iPod Shuffle
Jan 14, 2005 at 2:58 AM Post #241 of 356
Quote:

Originally Posted by jesse_w
I'd honestly be interested in something that can actually compete though...


Quote:

Originally Posted by IstariAsuka
$60 - 128MB Rio Forge (Also on Amazon for this price)
$36.50 - 512MB SD card
=
$96.50 - 640MB flash player
or
$60 - Rio Forge
$69.50 - 1GB SD card
$129.50 - 1.152GB flash player


The Forge gets you more space for less cost.

The Forge is a little bit larger, though this chart is deceiving. Being shorter than the Shuffle is actually pretty significant to perceived largeness.
2.5 x 2.7 x 0.9 [HxWxD]
3.3 x 1.0 x 0.3 [HxWxD]

The Forge gets longer battery life (20hrs vs 12hrs).

It does not come with a recharageable battery. However, with the money you saved over the Shuffle, especially a 1GB version, you can pick these up. And use the charger and stuff for other applications as well.

You can use the Forge as a usb device, just like the Shuffle, as it is an MSC device. It's just a little less convenient since there is not an integrated male usb connector. Then again, you don't have to worry about the cap breaking off, like you will with the Shuffle.

This setup would also allow you to use the SD card for other things, if need be, or once the player is ancient and unused.

The Forge of course has many more features. Such as a screen! And an equalizer! etc.

Finally, with a simple plugin you can use the Forge with iTunes.

It's not comparable on all fronts with the Shuffle, but neither is the Shuffle with it. In almost every way, however, the Forge is clearly superior.

580smile.gif
 
Jan 14, 2005 at 3:25 AM Post #243 of 356
I bought these little Sandisks as stocking stuffers from JourneyEd.com for Christmas. Close out from $49.95. Lots of people did. It is a New Year now, but the iPod Shuffle at $99 or $149 looks like a decent uptick from that. Not the low cost solution, but nobody uses SanDisk to play music, look cool and meet girls. I believe that Steve Jobs is selling the cool factor, as much as the hardware. I had several non-Mac people mention Shuffle today as something they wanted. Good when you want to go light on a backpacking trip, a workout, or an overnight business trip.

Love the outboard battery. Bet they add that as an option to the others if they can.

Do you think it will work better with AIFF or Lossless than the hard disk iPod, or will it still eat batteries. It would seem that the buffer issue on the hard disk iPod which causes skipping and shorter battery life would go away with flash. Maybe? If so, that is a plus.
 
Jan 14, 2005 at 3:31 AM Post #244 of 356
Quote:

Originally Posted by daphox
Both were dead ugly & 1 had 512MB....try again.

(The only thing that's even close is the iriver, don't know the price though...)


So now it's about aesthetics? Funny how the requirement changes from features/space/sq/price to "oh it doesn't look as cute", granted in the exercise segment if you're going to work out in a meat market then yeah I guess having that little apple logo could help. Otherwise, I'll take the features instead, and for the record, I think the Sandisk is pretty good looking.
 
Jan 14, 2005 at 3:35 AM Post #245 of 356
Quote:

Originally Posted by sclemmons
Do you think it will work better with AIFF or Lossless than the hard disk iPod, or will it still eat batteries. It would seem that the buffer issue on the hard disk iPod which causes skipping and shorter battery life would go away with flash. Maybe? If so, that is a plus.


It does not support anything other than MP3 and AAC. No lossless.
 
Jan 14, 2005 at 4:30 AM Post #248 of 356
Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx
I'm always amazed by the animosity towards Apple here. Kinda funny.


maybe, just maybe, apple could have come out with a product that does not actually rip un-informed consumers off?
wink.gif
 
Jan 14, 2005 at 5:00 AM Post #249 of 356
I'm gonna be devil's advocate here.

I voted against the shuffle when i first heard about it in the poll in the other thread. However, I've kinda realized that it might be the perfect way to augment my original 5 gig ipod, which is only halfway full. I can never decide what to listen to, and I usually end up using half of my walk to class scrolling through artist names. I'd much rather let the device do it for me, and I know everyone is gonna tell me that ANY flash player can do this-- very true. However, I use a mac, and the shuffle will integrate perfectly whereas many others will not. I love the idea of the random loading, and just taking whatever it gives me. I'd still have my 'big' ipod for longer trips and stuff, but as far as walking around campus is concerned, the shuffle would be damn near perfect for me. If the device is INTENDED to be used on shuffle only, then you don't really need a screen, although I can see how it would be nice.

I wasn't sure for awhile if apple was just being lazy in design or if they're really trying to "change" how people use these devices; however, I realized that the simple screenless design is probably how they kept the price so damn low while still making it (arguably) attractive. The price per megabyte isn't bad, not the absolute best, but I'd say still much better than average. In any case, they had to keep the price low somehow to get the rest of the market.

Y'all are gonna hate me, but I plan on picking up a 512mb model the next time I make to the apple store.
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Jan 14, 2005 at 5:04 AM Post #250 of 356
The only person here who has come up with anything that remotely competes is the Rio combination IstariAsuka posted (thanks). It, however, is much bigger, and a more awkward form factor. Definately the way to go if a screen is necessary, but for me I'll have to take a look at both in person before I can decide. The new iPod offers more storage space than anything else anyone has mentioned, in the same or smaller form factor; its inexpensive and easily availible, and more convenient. The players you (DigDub) posted are vaguely availible (or not at all) here and little information is availible on their physical size or anything else, other than their (inferior) memory capacity. Most don't have rechargeable batteries, there are no prices, etc.

jesse
 
Jan 14, 2005 at 5:21 AM Post #251 of 356
Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmmmmm
it's funny, people are arguing so vehemently for or against this stupid little thing. if creative or iriver released the exact same product, no one would have even noticed. apple sneezes and everyone runs over to see what's going on. oh well, that's how it is..congrats, apple


Thats the whole point. Apple is milking their brand. I used to think any player without a screen was ugly and not worth buying, but the shuffle is the only player that I would buy if it came to choosing a flash player, just because it has that apple logo on it.
 
Jan 14, 2005 at 5:30 AM Post #252 of 356
lol...somebody's got apple stock (jesse)

there is not a single mp3 player out there that doesn't have the features of the shuffle, plus a lot more. The only thing this has going for it is that it is pretty cheap. Well, that and the word 'ipod'. So if cheap is the reason, I understand. Otherwise, it's a stupid buy.
 
Jan 14, 2005 at 5:50 AM Post #253 of 356
Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmmmmm
it's funny, people are arguing so vehemently for or against this stupid little thing. if creative or iriver released the exact same product, no one would have even noticed. apple sneezes and everyone runs over to see what's going on. oh well, that's how it is..congrats, apple


No, if Creative or iRiver made something exactly like the iShuffle, then it would've been panned all across the board, and rightly so. This won't be the case for iShuffle because of its Apple Logo and the iPod name. This is what drives me nuts.

If you do a bit of backtracking, the iShuffle uses Sigmatel DSP (like pretty much most flash players), so there will be very little difference in sound quality. All they did was slap in a non-removable battery (which I still think is a big minus for any and all portable audio), and didn't slap on a LCD (which makes it equivalent ot a first gen Muvo). And this thing gets acclaim as if it's the best thing since sliced bread?

Let us do the thinking for you, because in the eys of Jobs and Apple, you're too damn lazy to do any sort of critical thinking.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
 
Jan 14, 2005 at 6:02 AM Post #254 of 356
Reading through the postings from the anti-Shuffle crowd, I've noticed that the features that are always listed as "important", are LCD, radio, battery life, storage capacity, etc. Nowhere is ease-of-use, looks, the trendy/coolness factor, etc even a consideration.

While I would agree that concrete features are important, people seem to be missing the fact that the intangible ones are the things that tend to sell products like this to the masses. You can rant and rave about how dumb people are all you want, but that's just how it is.

I will note that my initial reaction to the Shuttle was "What were they thinking, leaving out the LCD???" I was also very disappointed with the lack of a replaceable battery. However, as I thought about it, I realized these things won't matter too much with many people. Even if people would like to have an LCD, the ease-of-use (integration with iTunes) will be enough to sell the Shuffle.

Will I buy one? Initially, I said "no way". Then, it changed to "probably not". Now, I would say "maybe"... According to some people here, it means I'm getting dumber every minute
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Jan 14, 2005 at 6:03 AM Post #255 of 356
Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx
I'm always amazed by the animosity towards Apple here. Kinda funny.


No offense, but have you ever noticed the animosity apple fans have against everyone else? =)

(please don't take this too seriously
tongue.gif
)
 
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