What would it take for you to buy an iPod?

[Frenchman]

I'm still trying to figure out if that last post is supposed to be sarcastic or not.

 

[daphox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frenchman I'm still trying to figure out if that last post is supposed to be sarcastic or not.

It was.

 

[allenf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beethovenian In any event, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't mind having gapless playback as well

You bet!

Incidentally, do any software players (Musicmatch, WMP, Winamp etc) do gapless (crossfade doesn't count)?

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Meh.

 

[Frenchman]

Despite the fact I don't generally like Apple, I actually do like their iPods. The scroll wheel was a good idea. Granted, it isn't anything new, just a synaptics touchpad. But it was a good idea of creating a new and different method of interacting with the user. The UI of the iPod is extremely good as well.

But for the money you put down for one, I would expect a rich set of features along with that good UI. For less I can get a lot of features, and the UI isn't worth an equal amount.

 

[philodox]

To answer the original question: My Wife.

I used to be the biggest iPod naysayer out there, but, well, she wanted one. So I got her one... an alpine green one to be exact. []www.colorwarepc.com]

I must say that it is the sexiest DAP I have ever seen and the UI is incredible. It sounds nearly as good as my av320 with my K271S and has some very cool features that almost might sway me to buying one if I didnt already have a plan to use the digital out of my av320. I can completely understand why people pay what they do to get an iPod as I payed significantly more to get a green one.

 

[Rkawa]

I've read some pretty odd remarks here. For instance, I don't understand why people won't get the iPod for the sole reason of not being like everyone else (?).

Some people are just like that. Not for anyone else to understand, just how they are.

Personally I might get one if it were a little more affordable and I had a use for it (the hard drive in a portable is an issue for me). Gapless playback would be a big plus too. Currently I have a Rio Forge which I like because it is a flash player with expandability.

 

[Beethovenian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhcarlos That much said, I'm glad I only have a few albums with tracks that need to play continuously so it doesn't bother me. I actually signed the petition to do fix the gaps in the iPod. Honestly, I don't think Apple would care at all. Audiophiles and hard-core music lovers probably comprise a minority in their market. It's a business and they've been successful at cornering the market and selling their image and they probably won't make any extra effort (no matter how little) if it doesn't affect the bottom line.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frenchman Gapless doesn't matter to me or 90% of the population buying iPods. But that isn't an excuse. It should be simple (but might not be since only two companies have done it on their players) so they should do it. Same with the EQ stuff.

Thanks to you two. That's what I many times miss when the gapless issue comes up. People who may not care about it, but don't think because of that others shouldn't care either, or who don't claim that any type of complaint about it is out of whack. I believe we shouldn't take criticism to our player of choice as criticism to us, as if somebody pointing out a flaw would mean we were fools for buying a flawed product. If the flaw doesn't affect you, there's a legitimate reason to ignore it. Yet that doesn't mean it's not a flaw. And honestly, I think lack of gapless is a flaw, simply because music requires it. But that's a digression.

allenf, Windows Media Player plays WMA files gaplessly, though I don't know why only it can do it. Winamp does gapless with a plug-in. Foobar2000 is gapless. I don't know Musicmatch. But I was told even iTunes has a gapless option.

 

[kugino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beethovenian But I was told even iTunes has a gapless option.

yeah, it's called "join tracks"

 

[allenf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beethovenian allenf, Windows Media Player plays WMA files gaplessly, though I don't know why only it can do it. Winamp does gapless with a plug-in. Foobar2000 is gapless. I don't know Musicmatch. But I was told even iTunes has a gapless option.

Thanx!
Foobar seems to get a lot of good press here, will check it out.

 

[Thisp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by easypeasy Click wheel! Click wheel! It's what separates iPod from other button based HD DAPs

Mine has a wheel also.

 

[mhcarlos]

I wish it was more scratch-resistant. I can't help handling mine like a baby, especially sinceI don't have a proper case yet (I don't really like the Apple includes).

 

[Juggularity]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot Even joining tracks doesn't work with a Mahler symphony. You end up with forty minute tracks that don't cache because they're too big a file. See ya Steve

This was a problem on my original iPod (1st gen, 5Gb) but it was fixed with a firmware update. When I first got my 1st generation iPod the hard drive would spin the whole time the track was palying. This doesn't happen with either of my iPods (1st & 3rd gen).

I have ripped some of my classical, all of my Pink Floyd plus some live R&R albums into single files (MP3). I never hear a gap when the HD is reloading.

Now with Podcasting becomming so popular almost everything I listen to are files that are too big to fit into the 32Mb buffer.

I agree that the iPod isn't perfect but it is the best I have used so far. In fact Creative gave me a few Nomads (II, IIC, Jukebox) for some work I was going to do for them, way before the iPod came out. My wife refused to touch the Jukebox (too complex) and it took some coaxing to get her to use the flash players. She has no problems with the iPods. I spent a couple of years with the Jukebox as my main player and my main complaint was that it was hard to find what you wanted to play and then had to queue it up and unloading the main playlist was a pain if you changed your mind and wanted to quickly flip to another album. The other complaints were minor (speed (USB 1.1), size 5GB) compared to how hard it was to use.

 

[Michael1980]

To the original question:

Not much really, different colour (and NO signatures on the back!) and a recording ability (aac/mp3/pcm).

 

[Mike Scarpitti]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beethovenian I saw this thread on a minidisc forum and thought it was an interesting question. We all know the iPod has the best software/player integration, reportedly very good sound and an absurd amount of accessories. It now has even quite cheap versions (if they can be considered so). So for those who don't currently own an iPod, what is it that's preventing you from joining the cult? My reasons: - The crucial one: lack of gapless playback. I'll simply never buy a player that's uncapable of correctly playing an album. - The very important one: size. The iPod is certainly not a brick, but it could be more pocketable. At least considering Sony has something like the NW-HD1. - The important one: battery life. I could live with the 12 hours of the iPod, but obviously the more, the better. - The "it makes a difference" one: interface. Granted, the iPod is easy to use. But Apple could make artist and album's names scroll through the screen when you're browsing your lists. Sometimes you need more than the information that fits the screen, especially when looking for classical music, when albums can have names like Piano Sonata Op. 10 No. 1 or Piano Sonata Op. 10 No. 2. - The "it's not important but I'd consider" one: design. The iPod is reasonably cute, but it's getting old. A rejuvenation (and the addition of some colors) would be nice. (I'm talking here about 20GB-plus players. The mini looks very nice, but it's just too small in terms of capacity.) I have to admit the iPod's absurd popularity could still be an obstacle, since I really don't like to feel like a lemming. But if those issues listed were addressed I wouldn't have any real reason to not buy one.

I own a Sony MZ-R50 minidisc. Not interested in i-pod.