[courierdriver]

Voted out the Ipod-Shuffle...no-display. Not a big fan of Ipods, period. Poorly made, from several different countries. And I don't own a Mac.

For $30-bucks less than a Nano, I bought a 5-gig Creative Zen Micro. Great sounding unit, easy to operate, and no compatability-issues. Has a removeable battery that lasts about 10-12 hours, and has never-yet malfunctioned in the 3-months I've owned it. I'm totally happy with it.

 

[mateo05]

I have serious issues with Apple as a company, and try as much as possible to avoid feeding their bullsh*t by boycotting their products, but come on people...why so many votes for the iPod video? Considering what's on the list, by far it's not the worst. I mean, really...give it EQ, maybe optical out, a metal body, a better headphone out, remove it from iTunes slavery, and the player is simply the best there is. As it stands now, its easily in the upper half (though not the best standalone). Popularity has to do with things, and I absolutely hate how "iPod" is the new generic name for "digital audio player", but recognize good hardware when you see it. A 5G + Hornet rig is verrry tempting...

On the other hand, the Shuffle deserves every vote everyone gives for any player on the list. Selling a control-less DAP, which by definition makes it a POS despite whatever SQ it may have, because "life is random" or some similar feel-good crap is the typical Apple style I expect. I guess you can tell where my vote went

 

[DigDub]

i voted for shuffle too. same reason as others - no screen. Great SQ means nothing when i can't find the things i want.

 

[meat01]

To each his own. The Shuffle is great for jogging and biking, sounds great and is lightweight. I don't need to find my songs when I am exercising, I need them to play. I can understand though how a lack of a screen is a big negative though. What I can't understand is how people actually think the ipod video is the worst MP3 player when the Karmas had alot of hard drive problems and the Gigabeat is less than spectacular and has a crappy interface and navigation system. I guess people are just trying to dis Apple rather than use logic.

 

[y0da]

The shuffle is the ultimate example of apple fanboyism
yes it has good sound but that is meaningless compared to the lack of screen or for that matter even the capacity or lack of any sort of features other then the one

still it sold like hotcakes...there are clearly much more superior products in the flash DAP market...but it sold because of its appearence and the apple logo all over it

i am by no means an apple hater i think the last 2 generations of the ipod where solid products but seriously the shuffle does not deserve to be defended

 

[Kirosia]

Though I shouldn't get into this idiotic argument, I actually see more ipod haters than fanboys. While I was researching mp3 players on the forum, I couldn't believe what the haters were saying. Hell I hate the fanboys too, but damnit, y'all can say some crazy stuff in turn. Funny thing is most of the fanboys of whatever company have never really lived with an ipod, creative, rio, iaudio, etc. Sure each product has flaws, but the fact that people still buy them means a lot. I personally admit I'm not fond of the ipod folks who use theirs as sort of a status symbol, or make fun of me and my former "tape player". But you know what? That didn't deter me from getting an ipod. I realized that if you truly need something like a purse or player or whatever to make yourself feel like you're somebody; you're already pathetic in my book.


Also, if no one realizes, my first post in this thread was a joke. It was pretty obvious. As for the shuffle, I can see it's uses. I got parents who're quite old and wouldn't mind a few of their albums on a tiny stick. They don't really need a screen. Y'all don't realize that not every product is marketed to the same consumers.

 

[mateo05]

It's not the matter of not having a screen just to see stuff or have pretty colors, its a matter of having a complete lack of control over what's playing. But, as a general rule, Apple's entire philosophy doesn't really encourage that concept anyways.

 

[Kirosia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mateo05 It's not the matter of not having a screen just to see stuff or have pretty colors, its a matter of having a complete lack of control over what's playing. But, as a general rule, Apple's entire philosophy doesn't really encourage that concept anyways.

Some peopel don't care about features. My dad just hits play, ff, rewind, and stop on his CD player, so he'd be fine with a shuffle.

 

[mateo05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia Some peopel don't care about features. My dad just hits play, ff, rewind, and stop on his CD player, so he'd be fine with a shuffle.

Which misses my point. "Features" in my post include "just to see stuff and pretty colors". "Features" implies extras. Being able to choose which tracks you will play and in what order is too integral to be a mere "feature".

 

[Kirosia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mateo05 Being able to choose which tracks you will play and in what order is too integral to be a mere "feature".

Yeah, I misread your somewhat vague post so relax.

And I'll say it again, some people just don't care. There are those who only need a few songs for their daily jog or walk, and don't mind ff to find the next song they want. Hell, with so few songs, order is sometimes not that big a deal. Yeah, if you had like 5+ albums I'd see a real problem, but the shuffle isn't marketed for those people, the mini and nano are. The shuffle isn't for people like us, but joe schoe runner/old man walker, etc. Someone will always find a use for some product, otherwise it wouldn't sell.

 

[mateo05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia Yeah, I misread your somewhat vague post so relax.

Sorry, didn't mean to be overbearing. It's all good

 

[Dustin24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia Also, if no one realizes, my first post in this thread was a joke. It was pretty obvious. As for the shuffle, I can see it's uses. I got parents who're quite old and wouldn't mind a few of their albums on a tiny stick. They don't really need a screen. Y'all don't realize that not every product is marketed to the same consumers.

Yeah....I remember seeing a lot of old people in the shuffle ads.

 

[Kirosia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dustin24 Yeah....I remember seeing a lot of old people in the shuffle ads.

So, you telling me people wouldn't buy it for their old folks even if the evil apple ad didn't tell them to? Hell, all the ads show are people dancing. Ever. I don't dance (well) and I like mp3 players. If anyone else has something stupid to say hold it, cuz I really got better things to do than argue with fools.

 

[mateo05]

How long will it take you to defend iBuds?

j/k

 

[Dustin24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia Though I shouldn't get into this idiotic argument, I actually see more ipod haters than fanboys. While I was researching mp3 players on the forum, I couldn't believe what the haters were saying. Hell I hate the fanboys too, but damnit, y'all can say some crazy stuff in turn. Funny thing is most of the fanboys of whatever company have never really lived with an ipod, creative, rio, iaudio, etc. Sure each product has flaws, but the fact that people still buy them means a lot. I personally admit I'm not fond of the ipod folks who use theirs as sort of a status symbol, or make fun of me and my former "tape player". But you know what? That didn't deter me from getting an ipod. I realized that if you truly need something like a purse or player or whatever to make yourself feel like you're somebody; you're already pathetic in my book. So, you telling me people wouldn't buy it for their old folks even if the evil apple ad didn't tell them to? Hell, all the ads show are people dancing. Ever. I don't dance (well) and I like mp3 players. If anyone else has something stupid to say hold it, cuz I really got better things to do than argue with fools.

How about calling people names to increase the size of your ewang, does that make you pathetic?

The ads were clearly directed at the youth of the world, not the old. The shuffle, like any other ipod I've listened to, is just an average sounding dap. It's most definitely not the best flash based sound quality for the buck. This is of course only my opinion from having owned one for a 29 days. People have said that they need only to hear the music and don't need the screen. But why limit yourself? When for the same or less money you can get an as good or better sounding flash dap that has a screen and most likely an EQ and FM.