[CallMeZsaZsa]

My son's ipod was stolen out of his locker at school

I'm going to get him a replacement but am trying to decide what to get. Hubby only thinks ipods are good but I'm looking around at our options (Im open to other brands since Im guessing there are better out there)

Biggest issue would be the ease of using. All DS has used has been the ipod/itunes. Second would be good sound (duh! lol)

He is almost 15 so I'd like something good quality and durable, but not too expensive (prefer under $200 if possible)

any recommendations? Ive seen lots of people talk about Cowon, Sansa, Sony etc.

 

[Bullseye]

Well you might try the Cowon D2. Excellent size, great sound, loads of things to play with.
You might also want to look at the Sony walkman players (A820, S630 X100) or Sansa clip/sansa Fuze. From Cowon there is also this very sexy S9, ipod touch-like AMOLED screen, excellent SQ...

I don't know if he can wait or you can wait, but there is a new Zune HD coming this september. Looks like a promising device.

EDIT:Cowons are pretty cheap, Sony on the expensive side, and sansa on the cheapest side. Sansa clip's SQ is very very nice. Cowon D2 is top notch. Zune is also pretty good.

 

[CallMeZsaZsa]

wow, thanks for all the ideas...will look into them. His b-day is in August so I could see if he'd want to wait til Sept

 

[NGPlease]

What type of Ipod did he have previously and how much of the space on the Ipod did he actually use? I know plenty of people with Ipods who barely use the entire available space. To them it's more like a status symbol then a listening device.

I was recently in the market for a new DAP and was looking at a 120gb Zune but found a Sansa Fuze 4gb for sale and went with that after hearing good things about it. I was able to fit about 600 mp3s on the 4gb and there's an expansion slot if I want to put more.

So what I'm saying is, evaluate the need and buy around that.

 

[CallMeZsaZsa]

He had a nano but it was an older one without video. Im sure he'd load it up pretty quickly since he is really into music and was always listening to the ipod. Im hoping this will last him a few years so I dont want to get anything too outdated but of course he is only 15 so doesnt need top of the line, kwim?

 

[NGPlease]

If I were to get a player primarily for listening to music I would go for the Cowon D2. It's been around for a while but I wouldn't say it's outdated and it's hailed for it's sound quality.

 

[stasher1]

If he has downloaded a bunch of music from iTunes, be aware that some of it may not be useable in whatever non-Apple DAP you may purchase.

When my kids upgraded from their 1GB Shuffles to the Sansa e250, they wound up losing a bunch of songs. iTunes let me make mp3 copies of some songs, but the rest were "protected" and couldn't be copied.

 

[bba1973]

Zunes are good too. I've got a 30 GB and a 120 GB, and they work great for my uses. The controls are easy to use, the software is easy to use, and they sound better than iPods. They're easy to find in stores too, unlike some other players.

For durability, make sure you get him some kind of case. I don't know how careful he might be, but some of my friends are pretty rough with theirs.

Get him some good earbuds too. The ones that came with both of my Zunes wouldn't even fit in my ears (not like I would use them...).

 

[CallMeZsaZsa]

I think he got a lot of music from limewire, frostwire and itunes. He does it himself so I havent really paid much attention to it.

 

[CallMeZsaZsa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bba1973 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Zunes are good too. I've got a 30 GB and a 120 GB, and they work great for my uses. The controls are easy to use, the software is easy to use, and they sound better than iPods. They're easy to find in stores too, unlike some other players. For durability, make sure you get him some kind of case. I don't know how careful he might be, but some of my friends are pretty rough with theirs. Get him some good earbuds too. The ones that came with both of my Zunes wouldn't even fit in my ears (not like I would use them...).

he's not too rough, typical teenage boy though lol. His ipod had some scratches etc but nothing broken. Already have some good earphones for him that I grabbed on sale

 

[bba1973]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CallMeZsaZsa /img/forum/go_quote.gif he's not too rough, typical teenage boy though lol. His ipod had some scratches etc but nothing broken. Already have some good earphones for him that I grabbed on sale

A case would still be a good investment. Good to know you got him some better earphones.

Maybe you should ask your son what he would like, unless you want it to be a surprise. There's definitely better stuff out there than iPods, so don't limit yourself to only them.

 

[bodine1231]

Cowon D2 or Zune. Zune marketplace is great if you want to try out new tunes.

 

[Thrashingshrimp]

Me, being 15, would love a D2. But I don't think every 15 year old boy would appreciate the design, GUI, sound, etc. I think a Sansa Fuze would be the cheapest and best MP3 player for him.

 

[mudkip]

I would go for a cowon d2, but honestly sq shouldn't be a huge object here since he is using poorly encoded songs from p2p networks.

 

[SOUNDinterpreter]

Considering his age, I bet he would really enjoy using an ipod touch. There are literally over 10,000 applications/games for the iphone/ipod touch that he might even find useful for school. Apple is predicted to be updating their lineup of ipods this September, so you could wait for that and he could have a brand spanking new ipod in time for the new school year.

Edit: The price of the 8gb ipod touch will likely drop from its current $229 price this September, similar to what they did with the iphone just recently.