To Ipod or not to Ipod, that is the biggest question.

[Colophon]

You have to do it all again in iTunes. iTunes attaches a special code onto mp3 files; without it, the files won’t transfer to the player. My boyfriend spent weeks reentering his CDs in his computer so they would go into iTunes and could fit on the iPod.

Chalk up another point for the Archos, then - it happily plays any and all MP3s, including variable bit-rate.

By the way, I thought they had discontinued the model I’ve got, but they haven’t. It is this one.

(That links to the European site, but if you go through the http://www.archos.com front end you should be able to find a price in US$).

[Jervoise]

@continuity eror

You have to do it all again in iTunes. iTunes attaches a special code onto mp3 files; without it, the files won’t transfer to the player. My boyfriend spent weeks reentering his CDs in his computer so they would go into iTunes and could fit on the iPod.

Not true.

I had several thousand MP3s on my hard drive before I bought my iPod. They’re now all on my iPod, a simple matter of directing iPod to my existing music directory. No conversions, no attaching of code.

Are you confused with music bought from iTunes, which has copy protection?

[Priam]

@Jervoise

Not true.

I had several thousand MP3s on my hard drive before I bought my iPod. They’re now all on my iPod, a simple matter of directing iPod to my existing music directory. No conversions, no attaching of code.

Are you confused with music bought from iTunes, which has copy protection?

Agree with Jervoise. I have MP3s I ripped dating back to 2000 on my PC and my iPod plays them just fine. Just go File -> Add File to Library (if just a few mp3s) or Add Folder (if you’ve got all your mp3s in one spot).

Wham bam all set.

[Yookeroo]

@iamthewalrus(:3=

For the record, I have had exactly the opposite experience with Apple support. Every transaction I have had with them has been quick, free, and with knowledgeable support. In fact, they have so impressed me with their service that I plan to purchase all my future computers from them.

My iPod has worked just fine (I got it a few months ago). However, the iBook I bought over a year ago was plagued with problems. Every few months it would start to crash with greater frequency. I sent it back several times and it always returned fixed (for a while).

Eventually, they discovered that it was a design problem with a certain number of them, and they replaced my more than a year old laptop with a brand new (and much faster/bigger/better) one. Not only that, but they had the class to extend the warranty on those flawed units an extra year at no extra cost to the owners. Every time I called, the support person was nice and knew what they were talking about. I asked enough technical questions that I’m sure they were not just reading from a script.

Every time (save one) that I had to send my laptop back, it was on their dime, and the round trip time was less than a week. The one time that it took longer was because they had made a mistake processing the exchange when I got my replacement. After a week had gone by, I called and asked for the status. They became aware of their error, apologized profusely, and gave me an extra 512MB of RAM for my trouble. My new computer arrived a week later.

FWIW, I love my iPod, but you are paying a premium for it (like any Mac hardware). If cost is very important to you, you’ll be happier with something else.

I had to send my Powerbook in (via one one of the Apple retail stores), got it back two days later…all on their dime. Their customer service gets a A+ from me.

[Crusoe]

Chalk me up as another iPod owner who’s never had to re-rip mp3s via iTunes. I happily download (legal) mp3 files from the web and load these into my iPod via iTunes without any difficulty.

My sole gripes with the iPod are the poor quality headphones supplied as standard (not a problem for me, I just used my old Panasonic ones), and the battery life.

I had considered the new Sony hard disk player, which has rave reviews for its design and battery life, but doesn’t support mp3s natively and has poor software. When considering iPods, bear in mind that iTunes (even on Windows) is an excellent supporting product.

[rjung]

I’ll just point out that the iPods come with 20+ minutes of skip protection, so the whole “it’s gonna skip if you do any jogging with one” is ludicrous. Hell, I know folks who go cross-country skiing with their iPods playing 10+ hours nonstop…

[Tentacle_Monster]

Ladies and gentlemen, the Neuros.

It plays mp3’s. It plays Ogg Vorbis*. It recieves FM. It can record from FM, from its built-in microphone, or from its line-in jack. It can transmit FM, so you can play it on your car stereo without an adapter kit. It’s hard-drive based. And the backpack design allows you to actually swap drives, in case you fill one up. And my 20GB model, with the two-day shipping option ($20) and 100 free mp3’s from emusic.com, was still $50 cheaper than a 20GB iPod.

The only disadvantage I’ve seen is, it’s pretty big. About 5"x3"x1". But personally, I like my portable gadgets a bit on the chunky side. Harder to lose, harder to steal.`

*An open-source audio codec, with better compression and (according to some) sound quality.

[Caffeine.addict]

Well, I just got a deal on an Apple Ipod from HP. I got a 20GB open box model from pcmall.com for $227.00.

What is the difference between an Ipod, and an Ipod by HP? I looked at the HP website and I can’t see any difference.

What made a difference for me was actually going to a store and seeing what the thing looks like. I never realized how damn small they are. The Ipod mini looks like it is the size of a pack of cigarettes. Even the regular unit is pretty small.

Will the regular Ipod accessories work with this thing?

[rjung]

@brujo

What is the difference between an Ipod, and an Ipod by HP? I looked at the HP website and I can’t see any difference.

There ain’t any, aside from the box. I think HP gets a cut from sales of the “Apple iPod by HP,” but that’s about it.

@brujo

What made a difference for me was actually going to a store and seeing what the thing looks like. I never realized how damn small they are. The Ipod mini looks like it is the size of a pack of cigarettes. Even the regular unit is pretty small.

Rumors are that the thumbwheel is coated with a drug that makes you addicted to the iPod the moment you give it a spin.

@brujo

Will the regular Ipod accessories work with this thing?

A-yup. Note, though, that some accessories will only work with the iPod mini or the regular-sized iPod, so you want to make sure you get what’s right for your iPod. But stuff for the iPod and the “iPod by HP” should be interchangable.

[TJdude825]

I have an iRiver iHP-120. It has 20GB, sounds great, comes with a very high-quality microphone, and the best part is it has this little remote control. You plug the remote into the player, then the headphones into the remote, and you can clip the remote to a belt loop, so you don’t have to deal with the iPod-sized player.

Mainly, I just like it because it’s not an iPod, so I don’t feel like such a trendwhore.

[Dr_Paprika]

MP3 players are reviewed in the latest Consumer Reports. For the 20GB models, they seemed to score most of the models very similarly. They liked the design of the Ipod, but rated a few other ones higher. Ipod and Sony models tend to use proprietary recording formats and thus might be less useful. They don’t talk about accessories. I was also surprised to see their ‘quoted’ prices, which differ a lot from what I’ve seen on e-bay and in Canadian stores.

Bottom line: Consumer Reports says most of the MP3 players seem to be of roughly similar quality in terms of sound, earphones and ease of use. They gave the highest rating to the Creative Zen Touch. They also claimed the RCA Lyra 2850 was more expensive then the Ipod, which certainly was not my experience buying over e-bay (true, mine were older and bulkier models without FM radio).