Xmas question...

[Deleted deleted]

statik: I don't care about 'accessories' for my Creative Labs player. I just want a simple to use MP3 player to take to the gym. 50-60 songs is all I want, not 10,000. I want a easily replaceable battery. I want to be able to connect it to any PC without proprietary software. My Creative Labs player will do just that. An Apple iPod won't.



My wife has a iPod shuffle, and I have more trouble with it than any MP3 player I've ever owned. iTunes wants to run 2 little apps in the background EVERY time windows boots up whether I want to connect the Shuffle or not. Half the time I connect the Shuffle, iTunes won't recognize it and start 'freshening' my music as you stated. I don't need software to tell me what to listen to, I can pick my own music.



iPods are just wisely marketed, just like VHS players were, even though they were inferior to Betamax players.

 

[Keith McElroy]

I really like my dell DJ. I use it in my Trac with a FM transmitter, which is mounted on a arm that plugs into the cigarette lighter, and holds it next to the steering wheel. It came with the software to do a drag-n-drop and another that does autosynch with Internet update.



I've put my DJ through hell and it still works. It's all a matter of taste because I like the look of the metal DJ case versus the rounded look of the Ipod.

 

[Chops]

Wow, am I ever in the minority...

I have a 20g iPod, for a year now, and love it.

I'm also a weekend musician, and use the iPod as fill in music between sets.

I also run 5 miles/day with my iPod. Acid test.

I have 5g filled up, and have more to put on it.

And the kicker, I like iTunes. Yes there is a bug if you use the USB port, the PC won't always recognize the iPod, but firewire detects the iPod everytime. I'll take that little nuisance because there isn't any other product that comes close.

 

[Jake Levin]

I have an IRIVER H320, 20 GB HDD, full color display, built in mic for recording, replacable rechargable battery, alarm clock, line in, line out, USB etc etc. It supports MP3, windows media, and winamp files, winamp playlists,comes up in explorer as a HDD so you can drag and drop files, built in DB for handling all of your music and with a firmware update; video. I did a lot of research before I bought this particular one and decided I liked not being tied to itunes (even though there is nothing wrong with the software) I wanted to be able to connect to any PC and drop music onto my MP3 player without having to install software first. The model I have is now discontinued as IRIVER has bigger and better ones available. The only drawbacks I have found are

1. very limited accessories available, I bought an FM transmitter (not as good as the IPOO one) and I might purchase a remote control for it so I can shuffle through it while driving.

2. startup and scrolling functions are slow. It takes a good minute + to boot up as it has to read through the entire DB first (there are ways to speed this up, very good forum for IRIVER enthusiasts) . Scrolling though to find the song I want to play is much slower then with an IPOO.

I have over 10GB full already and love my MP3 player. It basically boils down to personal preference



Jake