Yep, I drag and drop music on to my iPod constantly when I use it with our second laptop. It couldn’t be simpler.
How on earth some people manage to be so misinformed about the iPod completely escapes me.
An alternative would be to install the Rockbox firmware on an existing MP3 player.
I don’t sync.
Can I drag and drop without iTunes? Can I completely forgo additional software and just use my browsing folders to transfer music to my iPod? Can I move those same files from the iPod to a computer without iTunes, and without digging through hundreds and non-descriptive, numbers/lettered folders with my unlabeled files apparently arranged in no way that makes any sense at all (how did “Laid so Low” end up in the same batch as “Phrenthow”? They’re not the same artist, album, playlist, genre, year, or anything else! :mad: )? Because that’s what I’m referring to.
I know what you’re saying. I’m saying that you can drag and drop into the iPod’s section of iTunes instead of to the device itself. It’s the same action–why object to dragging something onto the iTunes window instead of the iPod’s directory when it’s plugged in?
That wasn’t part of your original complaint, but it does blow. Of course, you could easily dump that music into your iTunes directory, make iTunes organize it, and then turn organization back off. The directories and files would stay organized in that logical manner.
I’ve lived in Australia for a year, in Victoria, and I have seen other mp3 players in the shops. I don’t know what it’s like in other states. Also, online retailers do returns, if they’re any good that is.
Main reason I wont buy an iPod is a) my experience with them is that they have a very short battery life for my purposes and b) They don’t support wma and Ogg Vorbis. I don’t want to have to convert my files, simple as.
I also don’t like being popular, don’t like how they look, and refuse to support the product on the obscure grounds that iPod is apparently what everyone calls mp3 players. I find it oddly satisfying to correct people that ‘No, it’s not an iPod’. Also, I find iTunes looks too Maccy (I actually like the Zune software, but don’t like the player) and I’d prefer not to have any pointless software on my system anyway. I like my windows media player skins.
Psst, I hear eating food is very popular. Don’t be a sheep in the herd - stop eating! 
I was responding to the only specific reason he actually gave for not wanting to buy online. To wit:
But you have interpolated ex recto a reason that he did not in fact give. Since the thing you’re snapping at me for not reading was a product of your imagination, am I to understand that you’re angry I can’t read your mind? I apologize. I’ll try harder.
Doops! It turns out my smarmy comeback was wrong. The OP does specify wanting to exchange an item in person.
In my defense, however, you were ignoring the fact that I was addressing a specific point.
I should mention that warranties in Australia are for a period of one year (usually), and on items under around $125 or so, they’re quite often an “exchange” warranty- the retailer goes “Fine, have a new one” and then either “writes off” the defective item and throws it out, or sends the faulty one off to the manufacturer to get a replacement item. Works pretty well, for the most part.
I’m only after a 4Gb player (I’m on a budget, you see). There are a few 4Gb players made by Not Apple that have decent battery lives and basically do what I need them to do. But, as Duke says, Apple’s competitors are basically aiming very low, at the almost “disposable” end of the market. There is a market for that sort of thing, obviously, but for anything between “Disposable” and “Funky iPod” there’s… not a lot readily available. The Zune is not available in Australia, and looks to be just as bad as the iPod with regards to “baggage”, IMHO.
I hate to think what would happen if I wanted an MP3 player with more then 8Gb storage in it- I don’t think I’ve seen a single one in a store that wasn’t an iPod.
The company I used to work for made it an official policy just before I left that they were going to phase out all windows-based MP3 players over $100 because… well, then there would be more room for the iPod display, because that’s where the money was. (Actually, the money was in the accessories, but even so.) It seems that most other retailers have followed suit, which I think is causing a vicious circle- people want iPods, so the retailers only stock iPods which means that when people come into a store looking for an MP3 player they only see iPods (pretty colours!), so that’s what they buy, and the retailers say “iPods are the only brand that sells, so that’s all we stock.”
Besides the inability to return a faulty or unsuitable item, I’m also reluctant to buy online as the exchange rate differences between here and the US, along with (IME) astronomical shipping charges. And it’s also been my experience (again, at the front lines in retail) that a lot of Australian distributors/manufacturers won’t honour warranties on electrical stuff brought over the internet.
Just an FYI to those grousing about the iPod’s short battery life: your information is out of date. Apple has licked that problem. Compared to my old 15G model which had to be recharged every few days (but which does still function after six years), the battery performance on my year-and-a-half-old 80G Classic is a dramatic improvement. I go for weeks without a recharge. Not only is the nominal battery life longer, but the new unit is also much better about holding its charge while inactive, which makes a huge difference.
Get an iPod. Join ussssss.
hissssss
Braaaiiins.
Not everybody wants to use i-Tunes. Why is immaterail. For whatever reason, Martini doesn’t want to have to arrange his music around i-Tunes. I would be betting he already has it in folders by genre and artist on his hard drive - just drag the whole folder to an mp3 and done - why the shit re-org everything for i-Tunes?
I second (or third or fourth?) the Sansa suggestions. I bought an 8GB Sansa Clip from Walmart for $70 a few months ago. It’s great–small, easy to navigate, easy to drag and drop songs onto, long battery life. It gets great reviews for sound quality, though most of the same reviews recommend using better quality headphones than the included ones. Don’t know anything about what stores in Oz might carry them.
I couldn’t find a single store with a Sandisk MP3 player in stock, which is a shame because the 4Gb model was the one I wanted to get and I’ve heard lots of good things about them.
In the end, however, I managed to find a 4Gb Iriver MP3 player at a very agreeable price that looks like it’s exactly what I’m after- nothing fancy, decent screen, drag-and-drop, easy to use, good sound quality, and a battery life around the 25 hour mark. But it’s still been a huge amount of hassle for what should have been a relatively straightforward thing.
I feel sorry for anyone wanting a large-capacity MP3 player that isn’t an iPod, though…
I use my 40-gig iRiver H340 that I bought 4 years ago everyday. It stores documents, plays a variety of audio file formats, records with built-in microphone and plays video as well.
Try finding something like that today in a retail store and see how far you get, though. That’s my point.
Do you have office stores like Staples or Office Max, Martini? I got a Sansa Fuze (4G) at Staples for under $50 (after a mail-in rebate). I was thinking about an iPod, but the Sansa has some features that I needed:
- FM tuner
- You can record your FM tuner, and transfer the files to your computer
- You can record voice with a built-in mic, and transfer the files.
Other points:
–You can drag and drop files, or sync it.
–At least six hours battery life, if not more.
–You can expand memory and transfer files with a removable microSD memory card.
–I really don’t need to have my entire record collection in my hands at all times. It’s pretty easy just to copy what I’ll want for the next few days.
–It’s solid state.
–I don’t need to store lots of video (though it will play video).
–It’s small, but has proportionately large display.
ETA: The iPod wasn’t the first of it’s kind, though Apple would have you think so. Archos had the same thing long before (granted, a little larger). And “iPod” is such a stupid name.
Sort of- we have Officeworks, but their electronics section is (IMHO) largely an afterthought and doesn’t have the sort of range you’d get from a dedicated electronics retailer.
That’s okay. It was totally worth it to pick up the phrase ex recto.
Too bad you didn’t want to go the online route… Woot had a helluva deal yesterday on an 80GB Zune with a Home Audio/Video Docker for $149.99.