Welcome to our website

To take full advantage of all features you need to login or register. Registration is completely free and takes only a few seconds.

There's a new ipod in town

Posted by: BuyALambo on: 07/19/2004 09:15 PM [ Print | 35 comment(s) ]

Comment

Athemeus SMP Decepticon Posts: 576 Joined: 2002-03-02

#30720 Posted on: 07/20/2004 02:19 AM Silly Apple...advertising "Shuffling" as a feature...too bad Nomads have had that since I bought my first one in '02? 20GB for 299!!! And my Zen NX, 6 months ago only had 30GB for $250... 2 x 2.8 Xeons on a PC-DL I am an out of control, hardware junkie.

Comment

sAvAgE69 Unregistered

#30721 Posted on: 07/20/2004 02:31 AM Remember Mac people are Smarter

Comment

Occupant Registered User Posts: 2405 Joined: 2002-03-04

#30722 Posted on: 07/20/2004 02:55 AM Arent Ipod's pretty sad? dont they have a limited bit rate, thus have poorer sound quality than other 3rd party mp3 players?

Comment

plympton Registered User Posts: 147 Joined: 2001-06-21

#30723 Posted on: 07/20/2004 03:31 AM Originally posted by Occupant Arent Ipod's pretty sad? dont they have a limited bit rate, thus have poorer sound quality than other 3rd party mp3 players? Um.. no. You're probably thinking about the 128 kbit AAC downloads from the iTunes music store. I'm sure you can have 256 or 320 kbit MP3's if you so desire (and have headphones that can handle that). I got a good deal on a Gen 2 10 GB one, and it's still going strong. Not sure I'd have paid full price, but for $100, it was worth it! -Dan

Comment

Mr. Hahn Unregistered

#30724 Posted on: 07/20/2004 05:35 AM Crap, I just bought one a week ago Damn it damn it damn it. I like it though.

Comment

LRSeriesIII Aspiring Rocket Scientist Posts: 1120 Joined: 2002-08-29

#30725 Posted on: 07/20/2004 05:46 AM Originally posted by Mr. Hahn Crap, I just bought one a week ago Damn it damn it damn it. I like it though. Hey, it could have been worse. This seems to have been a minor upgrade. (Now if they had made a major price drop...that would have been painful. ) ->Computers ->Folding for team 3074

Comment

plympton Registered User Posts: 147 Joined: 2001-06-21

#30726 Posted on: 07/20/2004 06:52 AM Originally posted by Mr. Hahn Crap, I just bought one a week ago Damn it damn it damn it. I like it though. If you got it from Apple (and a lot of other places) there's like a 7-10 day price protection / exchange policy... -Dan

Comment

Vericious Knid I eat oompaloompas Posts: 32 Joined: 2004-07-08

#30727 Posted on: 07/20/2004 07:07 AM stereophile review On page 3 I'll quote the relevant part... "Things are somewhat better at 128kbps in both MP3 and AAC, but neither cuts the mustard for critical listening at home. MP3 robbed Steve Swallow's pulsing bass lines of dynamics and punch on the Carla Bley album, while blunting the shimmer of the brass overtones. AAC fared slightly better, offering better bass response (although it was still pretty lightweight compared to the original CD) and slightly more extended HF (again, shelved down in comparison to the CD). Surprisingly, upping the bit rate to 160kbps did not result in major improvements for either format. Bass impact remained MIA in MP3, and the upper frequencies sounded strident, with that unmistakable "too much compression" punchiness. AAC again sounded marginally better, although Bley's big band still seemed flattened and lacking in dynamic variation. The audiophile in me began to pay attention at 192kbps. Both MP3 and AAC began to exhibit a small degree of soundstaging, albeit not with great amounts of front-to-back dimensionality or layering. MP3's highs began to lose their stridence, and AAC sounded fairly detailed and revealing. The compressed formats began to show some real promise at 320kbps. Definition, detail, and soundstaging were all impressive, and high-frequency response was almost liquid in its lack of edge effects. At this rate, differences between the two formats jumped into sharper focus: MP3 made transients "splashy," while AAC just sounded anemic compared to the original. With both formats, dynamic variation was considerably reduced compared to the CD. Best of all Insert witty sig [here]

Comment

Mr. Hahn Unregistered

#30728 Posted on: 07/20/2004 10:20 AM Originally posted by plympton If you got it from Apple (and a lot of other places) there's like a 7-10 day price protection / exchange policy... -Dan yeah well it is like the 12th day but I am going to go see what I can do tommorow. bought it from the apple store.

Comment

Saundie Asthenia Posts: 96 Joined: 2003-05-04

#30729 Posted on: 07/20/2004 01:28 PM That looks exactly as I described in my news post back in April. If only more people read my site Originally posted by Athemeus: And my Zen NX, 6 months ago only had 30GB for $250.. I got my Zen Xtra 30gb back in February, it cost me The Americans will always do the right thing... after they have exhausted all the alternatives - Sir Winston Churchill eBay & Heat feedback Phoenix -i7-3960x, 32gb PC3-12800, Asus P9X79 Pro, nVidia GTX 560Ti, 128GB & 256GB Crucial M4

Comment

Mr. Hahn Unregistered

#30730 Posted on: 07/20/2004 01:42 PM Originally posted by Saundie That looks exactly as I described in my news post back in April. If only more people read my site I got my Zen Xtra 30gb back in February, it cost me

Comment

Mr. Hahn Unregistered

#30731 Posted on: 07/20/2004 01:46 PM Originally posted by plympton Um.. no. You're probably thinking about the 128 kbit AAC downloads from the iTunes music store. I'm sure you can have 256 or 320 kbit MP3's if you so desire (and have headphones that can handle that). I got a good deal on a Gen 2 10 GB one, and it's still going strong. Not sure I'd have paid full price, but for $100, it was worth it! -Dan Nice deal. I am going to kill some people in an attempt to get the new one w/ 12 hour batery life though. That is the best part of the new one imo. That basically gurantees that you will never run out of bateries in the middle of a trip (longest plane flight I have ever been on was about that much and I have noticed that my ipod goes for a lot longer than spec if I turn off the backlight.

Comment

scheme SMP user Posts: 257 Joined: 2002-01-18

#30732 Posted on: 07/20/2004 07:26 PM Originally posted by Vericious Knid stereophile review On page 3 I'll quote the relevant part... The compressed formats began to show some real promise at 320kbps. Definition, detail, and soundstaging were all impressive, and high-frequency response was almost liquid in its lack of edge effects. At this rate, differences between the two formats jumped into sharper focus: MP3 made transients "splashy," while AAC just sounded anemic compared to the original. With both formats, dynamic variation was considerably reduced compared to the CD. Best of all

Comment

Mr. Hahn Unregistered

#30733 Posted on: 07/20/2004 08:10 PM Originally posted by scheme I would discount most things given in stereophile magazines. They tend to go into some odd theories (e.g. putting green ink on the edge of a cd enhances playbay, oxygen free cables help improve the quality of digital streams, etc). The lack of ABX testing also tends to make things iffy as to whether the differences they are talking about are really there or whether they are psychological artifacts. Yeah really. One of the writters in sound and vision seems to bash anything that isn't a vinyl record. Digital musics seems to be the thing that pisses him off the most. On my ipod, especially if I have the music ripped at a recent bit rate w/ vbr and a decent set of earphones (I am using the apple in ear head phones which I like more than the stock ones), I really can't hear any real quality differences between the original cds at all. I actually kinda like the look of the previous gen a little more though, not too crazy about the click wheel. I am going to go to the store and fight for the new ones w/ 12 hour batery life today though. I like to go on hiking trips, and sometimes that involves really long flights, so I definetly want something that lasts the longest.

Comment

i_wolf labhair dom as gaelige Posts: 2034 Joined: 2002-11-19

#30734 Posted on: 07/20/2004 08:57 PM I have a zen and originally I would have agreed that the zen sounded better than the ipod.. but with firmware 2.2 it seams that at the very least the sound quality has improved significantly to the point where it is at least as good as the zen ... sometimes if Im honest I think it actually sounds better on the same mp3. As for the comparison between different codecs, generally speaking I personally find that AAC has a nicer sound at the majority of bitrates to mp3 encoded with LAME. But I would take findings in these magazines with a grain of salt because most of these reviews are based on older versions of these codecs so their results may not be applicable to todays versions. AAC in quicktime has gone through many different revisions over the past. Similarly with LAME. As a device, I think the ipod is fantastic. It has a lovely user interface, its small, light and sounds great. What it does, it does exceptionally well. It plays music. I don't own one myself, my zen has another 30gig's of space left but if I was looking for another jukebox today, I would probably go for an ipod.... primarily for a few reasons... 1) One of smallest high capacity players 2) One of the lightest 3) Excellent screen .. much better than my zen's tiny screen 4) Excellent sound quality 5) Lots of additional available peripherals 6) Quick and easy access to music via the scroll wheel. It really is an improvement over the scroller in my Zen. Especially when a device is crammed with music. 7) Battery life is not bad in the new version... not great however. I see the new zen touch has 24 hours of battery and its replacable too! I guess it depends on what your needs are. Some people might need something like the Archos videa and music player... Hung like a donkey. Go like a horse!

Comment

ReMeDy labhair dom as gaelige Posts: 12389 Joined: 2001-02-10

#30735 Posted on: 07/20/2004 11:54 PM I am going to kill some people in an attempt to get the new one w/ 12 hour batery life though. You paid all that money for an "iPod" and it doesn't even have a double digit battery capacity?:confused: People actually praise this product?:confused: If it isn't zealotry... |[size=1][url=http://forums.2cpu.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=279831#post279831][color=yellow]FAQ's[/url][/color][/size]|Heatware-Remedy{WcS}|Dual760|Beerology|

Comment

Mr. Hahn Unregistered

#30736 Posted on: 07/21/2004 12:38 AM Originally posted by ReMeDy You paid all that money for an "iPod" and it doesn't even have a double digit battery capacity?:confused: People actually praise this product?:confused: If it isn't zealotry... Since when was 8 hours bad? It is very compact and has a good interface. All I really want in a device. I want something to integrate well with itunes aswell. I don't think it is perfect, nothing is. But it is a pretty good product imo.

Comment

jives BP6 User Posts: 2399 Joined: 2001-05-18

#30737 Posted on: 07/21/2004 01:20 AM Ok but how long will these "batteries" last? Wasn't one of the big problems with the ipod the fact that the batteries failed after a year or so and weren't user replaceable?

Comment

Mr. Hahn Unregistered

#30738 Posted on: 07/21/2004 02:47 AM Originally posted by jives Ok but how long will these "batteries" last? Wasn't one of the big problems with the ipod the fact that the batteries failed after a year or so and weren't user replaceable? Dude that was like the first generation or something. I know someone that had problems. The batteries don't really cease to work at all, the life just decreases quite a bit. Anyways they have a program to replace bateries. I heard it is somewhat resonable.

Comment

ReMeDy Unregistered Posts: 12389 Joined: 2001-02-10

#30739 Posted on: 07/21/2004 02:56 AM Since when was 8 hours bad? Hmm... The Dell 'DJ' can run up to 16.5 hours on a single charge. Average. The iRiver IHP series can run up to 14.5+ hours on a single charge. The Creative Zen Xtra & Touch are surpassing 11+ hours on a single charge. So yes, 8 hours is pretty bad for a device that is supposed to be the paradigm of 'audiomobility'. And it still cost more than a Zen Xtra that has 30GB capacity and longer running lithium life. Yet, People pay more for an iPod? :confused: ...... I don't think it is perfect You can sure say that again... But it is a pretty good product imo. For the dollar amount Apple is requesting, it had better be a good product. Or else, what would be the justification of its price(over the alternatives)? Clout?:confused: |[size=1][url=http://forums.2cpu.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=279831#post279831][color=yellow]FAQ's[/url][/color][/size]|Heatware-Remedy{WcS}|Dual760|Beerology|

Comment

Vericious Knid I eat oompaloompas Posts: 32 Joined: 2004-07-08

#30740 Posted on: 07/21/2004 05:50 AM It is a good product. People tend to be satisfied with it. I'm gonna look around at the win versions, I'm sure for the most part they are good as well. Insert witty sig [here]

Comment

Mr. Hahn Unregistered

#30741 Posted on: 07/21/2004 06:21 AM Originally posted by ReMeDy Hmm... The Dell 'DJ' can run up to 16.5 hours on a single charge. Average. The iRiver IHP series can run up to 14.5+ hours on a single charge. The Creative Zen Xtra & Touch are surpassing 11+ hours on a single charge. So yes, 8 hours is pretty bad for a device that is supposed to be the paradigm of 'audiomobility'. And it still cost more than a Zen Xtra that has 30GB capacity and longer running lithium life. Yet, People pay more for an iPod? :confused: ...... You can sure say that again... For the dollar amount Apple is requesting, it had better be a good product. Or else, what would be the justification of its price(over the alternatives)? Clout?:confused: Most of the ones you mention from what I have seen in stores are either a lot bigger than the ipod, or they use flash media. So of course they should have better batery life, either are bigger than the ipod and should have a bigger better battery or use flash media which greatly improves batery life because there are no moving parts. The battery doesn't have anything to do with how good the ipod is dude, same damn battery. Now I could be wrong, never held a dell dj in my hands but from what I have seen on tv it looks quite a bit bulkier than the ipod. Iriver is just a stupid example to bring up because it uses flash media, it is like comparing apples and oranges.

Comment

Mr. Hahn Unregistered

#30742 Posted on: 07/21/2004 06:34 AM As I suspected, dell's is roughtly 7 oz , zen is about 8 oz, and the ipod is roughtly 6 oz. With 12 hours batery life, and such nice integration w/ itunes along with it looking a hell of a lot better (yeah call me superficial, but for a portable devices like that I kinda like it to look cool and be as light as possible) I would go for the ipod. The ipod mini is about 3 to 4 oz believe. Who needs more than 8 - 12 hours of battery? Mine actually goes for a bit more than 8 anyways. I mean a plane flight from atlanta to frankfurt is roughly 9 hours, that is the longest I will ever go w/o a recharge so the battery is not even an issues. Plus belkin makes nice external batery for say, if I wanted to listen to my ipod on the flight to a hiking trip on the moon.

Comment

LRSeriesIII Aspiring Rocket Scientist Posts: 1120 Joined: 2002-08-29

#30743 Posted on: 07/21/2004 07:30 AM Originally posted by Mr. Hahn yeah call me superficial, but for a portable devices like that I kinda like it to look cool and be as light as possible For the price of any of those music players, they had better look good. They should make you happy you bought it when you look at it. To me, looking at a product and feeling like I got my money's worth is one of the most important factors. In the case of something like the iPod, that means having nice aesthetics. (And this is coming from a guy who thinks computer cases that are not beige are too extravagant.) If I was in the market for a portable media player right now, I would definitely go with the iPod. Two major reasons: 1.) I love iTunes. 2.) The overall look and feel of the iPod is supposed to be second to none. This is what I have seen in every review. (Well, the reviews talk about the feel, I can judge the look on my own.) The aesthetics, ergonomics, and interface of the iPod just seem to be a cut above everything else. The gap is really closing, but it still seems to be there. That said, I thought about buying an iPod not long ago, but not yet...too many other cool things, not enough money. ->Computers ->Folding for team 3074

Comment

ReMeDy Aspiring Rocket Scientist Posts: 12389 Joined: 2001-02-10

#30744 Posted on: 07/21/2004 08:17 AM Iriver is just a stupid example to bring up because it uses flash media, it is like comparing apples and oranges. Yawn...Do you even do your research before making paradoxical statement(s)? " * Plays over 600 hours of digital music* * Up to 16 hours of battery life * Supports MP3, WMA, ASF, WAV and OGG music files * Ultra-fast USB 2.0 transfers (up to 40 times faster than USB 1.0) * Integrated FM tuner * Backlit remote control with 4-line display * Built-in voice recorder * Intuitive music navigation * Real-time MP3 encoding (no PC required) * 20GB of internal storage * Store or transfer files of any type * Extra-large, 8-line, backlit LCD * Rechargeable Lithium Polymer battery * Optical input and output * Upgradeable to future formats and features " All that in 5.1 oz dell's is roughtly 7 oz , zen is about 8 oz, and the ipod is roughtly 6 oz You can actually denote weight differential of 7,6, and 8 ounces? It weighs 2 ounces less and that is being regarded as a positive grade for purchasing? You must be a supernatural. :^) The average box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese from a local grocer is 8oz. So will this mean the end of lifting a box of Mac & cheese to cook because Tofu weight less? :^) :^) For reference, I looked up that battery from belkin that you mentioned. Its weight is 7oz. 7+6(ipod) is 13oz. Move over Macaroni, audio obesity is here. Thy name, !p0d. :^) Who needs more than 8 - 12 hours of battery? Worst case scenario; Geek rides public transportation to work. Bus, Train and then a short walk to job location. One way. Total duration o home tof work destination; 88 minutes. An hour and a half if you will. Average 3G iPod lithium life, 7.5 hours. 88 minute trip to work. You now have 6 hours left of play time. Average work day: 8 hours + a lunch break. 30 minutes. Geek decides to bee bop to iPod for fraction of his work day while working(courrier). (Motivation) 2.5 hours of playtime subtracted from the pod now. Battery level hovering around 4 hours. End of the day, geek now punches out of work and begins commute home. (88m). Hunger strikes geek, now geek is craving for food and beverage. A quick pit stop to Subway/Papa Ginos for slice of nourishment. 30 minute supper, now heads on homeward. Now you're down to 3.5 hours of time. Geek boards transportation. Subtract 88 minutes from the batt. Now you're down to 2 hours left. Moral of the story, Had the public transportation took a fault between stops, Bye bye iPut. Was the dollar amount spent worth every penny? Maybe, maybe not. I didn't come to attack you Mr. Hahn. But what irritates me most about the iPodeaots, they seem bash every other HD Mp3 player when it's announced. (They haven't even hit stores yet and already predicting doom). But yet, when the iPod has a know flaw like amp not being upto par with the Zen, the minuses becomes ignored. Sweep it under the rug, point the finger at the competition to justify the purchase of 399 or 499 for 3G iPod. Giving a failing grade to a product because of its few millimeters of its leading competeting product is pretty assinine. Hmmm, a few mm larger in volume with a larger capacity HD, a long running batt., and a superior amp to the phones. Not to mention almost $99+ cheaper than the leading product and it becomes excluded from a purchase of because of the size is a few mm larger? I just can't see the logic... |[size=1][url=http://forums.2cpu.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=279831#post279831][color=yellow]FAQ's[/url][/color][/size]|Heatware-Remedy{WcS}|Dual760|Beerology|