BL

Are these any good??

Please provide good and bad views.

Ta

Bob

class_A

iPod lovers (inc. me ) will say:
- Easy to use
- Loads of space
- iPod/iTunes integration is the best there is
- Doesn't skip
- Battery life great
- No.1 player by volumes and revenues, so well supported
- Plays MP3, AIFF, AAC and Audible content
- Small with brilliant ergonomics

iPod haters will say:
- Battery non-replaceable
- It's made by Apple, "who are for golfers/gays/hippies..."
- No WMA
- "Not worth it, my 128Mb Flash player cost £12"

I personally have a 10Gb scroll wheel model, girlfriend has a 20Gb 3G (touch wheel and buttons) model. A friend has a 30Gb 3G. No problems with battery life, hard discs or anything else.

AppleCare 2yr comprehensive warranty covering defects (inc. battery and hard disc) is now available for around £50, this includes telephone support as well.

Go to John Lewis, MicroAnvika, Selfridges, Carphone Warehouse or even PC World and try one out.

iPod Lounge is a useful resource, if a little fan-boyish at times.

Alex

12LEE

I think the iPod mini is going to be *rather* good.

Markus

Both the developers here have iPods (yes, we are mac developers) and they love them. Remember, it's not just a music device, it can be used as a hard drive too, the chaps backup all their code onto it, as well as thier music.

Do I have one? nope, why not? well, in the office I have all the MP3's on iTunes, in the car I could have an MP3 CD player but I dont, I just burn CD's, now it is silly as my DVD player does handle MP3's so I should just use MP3 in the car, but I'm a loony lol

Would I get one? well, for my curren situation, nope, no need for one really.

Do I think they are good? yup, I do, very sleek and funky looking, and there is something about having some really cool tech gadget. Do they work? yes, they do and with iTunes for PC, its nice to see PC users getting in on what was once Macintosh only.

As for the ipod mini, well, Apple's ad says it all, $249 for 100 songs (iPod mini) and from $299 for 3,500 songs, hmm, I think for 50 bucks more I'd go for the full size one, but that's just me. Think it works out to 25 cents a song for a mini, 8 cents for the lowest spec normal ipod, hmm, I know what I'd do!

[Edited by Markus - 1/19/2004 10:02:21 PM]

Markus

Oh and the battery IS replaceable, despite what people have said, it used to be expensive to do, but due it's popularity Apple cottoned on to this. Think it's a return to apple dealer thing to fix, but it can be done.

Mossman

Agree with all points raised above and yes, I have ab original 10gb and I love it!!!
Especially agree with the iTunes aspect - it really IS a superb bit of software.

Roll on iTunes music store in the UK!

Mossman

class_A

To clarify the battery situation as I didn't make a good job of it lol...

The battery is replaceable and parts are available from third-parties as a DIY or you can send the unit to Apple. Most users, even owners of original 5Gb models, haven't reported problems.

It's a simple procedure, much like swapping the battery on an original Compaq iPaq 3630 or similar and you'll probably never have to do it anyway.