pslewis

That is NOT a poxy iPOD!?

I hate those with a passion - only sheep buy them

SONY? SAMSUNG? CREATIVE ZEN? TOSHIBA even?

Hanslow

Creative for me. Missus has a Sony one which is good but I prefer my Zen.

555-Shaggy

Having spent ages looking at them and weighing up the options then trying a few out in shops trying to avoid iPods cos I didn't want to jump on the bandwagon either, I bought an iPod - they are about the best on the market and this time the sheep are right

Failing that, I've got a 4Gb MP3 player with Samsung chip inside, for sale at the moment - brand new, never been out of the box. Similar size to an iPod Nano and half the price...

mart360

ZZZZZZZZZ


gosh mum its the bi weekly pissy whats best- what should i, wind up,



mods rtm and move to muppets where it and he belongs


Mart

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Creative are excellent if you want to avoid iPod sheep.

Various utilities and much better software for them than in the past. Integrates with Windows Media.

Shane

iTrader: (6)

Creative Zen Vision M. Had one for 4 months and can't fault it.

Gordo

I'd look to buy a valve based player which will then be backward compatabile with your gramophone.

swaussie

I have a creative ZEN 4GB and its a pretty decent player. The touch sensitive controls can be a bit hard to get used to but once you do they are fine. Music quality is fine. I bought the girlfriend a Sandisk 2GB player for flying to Aus and I liked it because it has a miniSD slot so its upgradeable.

pslewis

Now, don't get me wrong, I have read the reviews on iPODS and they do very well - most who own them love them.

But, is it a bit like the CockLink Saga?? Where someone buys something that others tell them to - they pay good money - realise down the line it's crap - but cannot admit it so tell everyone else it's great??

So, are iPODS really good - really the best, where everyone else is playing catch-up??

It would pain me to follow the sheep, as that goes against the grain, but ..... like said above, the crowd could sometimes be right??

Dracoro

Pete, you've been buying Sony all your life, if that's not following the herd then what is? The iPod is todays Sony Walkman.

Anyway, buy what fits your requirements, if it ends up being an iPod, so be it.

I ended up with an iPod a while ago. I needed a 60GB mp3 player and there were only 2 on the market, the iPod and some Creative thing. the Creative thing was crap, dire, clunky, poorly built, bad UI etc. so I went for the iPod. I don't know if now there's other 60GB+ mp3 players that fit the bill but at the time when I bought mine, there wasn't. I was tempted by the iRiver at the time but they didn't make one with a 60GB or more capacity.

Granted there are a LOT of sheep buying iPods, however for people to disregard a great product just because loads of people buy them shows a great deal of irrationality, immaturity, hypocracy and patheticness. I wonder if they avoid beer, wine etc. because loads of 'sheep' drink them too. Those who won't buy iPods simply on the basis of it being popular, I wonder if they drink snowball instead of beer.

SWRTWannabe

I've been looking at MP3 players for Mrs SWRTWannabe's Xmas pressie, and was torn between the iPOD Nano and the Creative Zen V+ - my only concern with the Creative is the "integral battery". Presumably once it starts to go downhill and not hold it's charge, it's game over for the whole player?

BrettC

Toshiba Gigabeat F40. I can't fault mine.

RMA26

Anyone have the Sony pebble thingy?

GaryK

If you want something with the largest accessory range and has the best support from car manufacturers then it *has* to be an ipod.

Simple!

RMA26

Yeah, but there's been numerous problems with em, hasn't there?

ScoobyDoo555

I was the exact same Pete - and I'm an avid Mac affecionado

However, after weighing up the pros & cons, I still went Ipod. Apple have just got it right.

However, I keep saying this - with a TV, you go and LOOK at all the pictures of the competing brands.
Surely it would be advisable to do the same with the MP3 players - go and LISTEN to them. Make your mind up from that. (most are hearing aid compatible! )

Dan

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Creative were a bit clunky but the sound quality has always been better than the iPod. This is not important to a lot of people anyway - design over substance

However now I have a Mac I am sure I will end up with an iPod too!

R

David Lock

I bought my little lambs Ipods. Now here is a product with a consumeable item - the battery - which when it packs up after 18 months and the product is out of normal warranty an Apple agent wants £50+ to replace it. The alternative is to DIY by breaking open the case and risk damaging the player (which I did ). So here is the latest technology but it's cheaper to replace a bloody car battery Are other MP3s the same?

When I replaced bust machine I got another Ipod but got an additional year's warranty (free at the time) because they don't seem that robust. Kids love them. I don't.

RMA26

One of my concerns answered, thanks

pslewis

Scoobydoo 555 - "However, I keep saying this - with a TV, you go and LOOK at all the pictures of the competing brands.Surely it would be advisable to do the same with the MP3 players - go and LISTEN to them. Make your mind up from that"

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I have never yet seen a place where you can actually try out MP3 players??

They are always behind glass or else have a dummy glued to a chain .... they certainly wouldn't let you put the earphones in your ears for a bit of a listen (although I could take some?) then there is the issue that the battery isn't charged and theres no songs on it!!!

So, testing in the shop is totally impossible!

ScoobyDoo555

true - they wouldn't let you try the ear buds, but for example, the Apple ones are like shoving rusty spikes in your ears They don't do the machine justice.

I've been to several PC worlds, where the demo machine is on and loaded with music - granted, it's being run through speakers (for hygiene reasons! ) I have taken my own ear buds in, and no problem with trying it out.

If your local store won't play ball, surely you must know somebody who's got an Ipod/MP3 player (or if they don't, their grand kids do ).......

Just an idea

Dan

Hanslow

Speaking as a Creative Zen owner....Gary has it spot on.

I've managed to connect my player to my pioneer head unit in the car, but only through a 3.5mm jack to phono lead plugged into my RCA-Bus lead. It sure would be nice to be able to control the Creative from the head unit, but alas I bung it in my arm rest and am done with it. The plus side is I have to listen to songs that I would sometimes skip and grow to like them

So, if you value compatibility and add ons, go for the Pod.

I preferred the Creative interface and sound quality, so went for the things that mattered to me.

AudiLover

As a actual player the ipod is aprobably teh 3rd best on the market, however due to the sheer number of accesories available for it, if you want to use it in your car etc then it will have to be a ipod for a hassle free connection.

pslewis

What is 1st and 2nd then??

AudiLover

I dont know, but pc geeks keep telling me the ipod is third best. I think the zen is one of the better ones and also some other more expensive machine. Ipods do have a habit of breaking and their battery is ****.

KiwiGTI

Of course sound quality is a complete fallacy, it is pretty much universally agreed that comparisons of sound quality on MP3 players is pretty pointless as they don't really differ (unless they are terrible), the difference between Ipods, Creative, SanDisk etc would be imperceptible to 99.99% of listeners.

Jamescsti

I had a creative Zen, and later did away with it and got an Ipod Nano, have to say the Ipod is far superior in terms of ease of use and overall quality.

I think in terms of sound quality it has more to do with the earphones you use than the actual player

scoob_babe

Pete, Our local Dixons / currys digital let me try the ipod and the creative zen vision m instore - they were quite helpful in there. You could always take a pair of your own head / earphones to try them out with.
I spent months weighing up the pros and cons but what did it for me was the hard drive space for what I wanted it for which is why I got the iPod - I still think I have sold my soul to the devil though

MattW

Well just about to replace my Ipod Mini with an 8gb Nano cos i need some more space. only mp3 player that integrates with the car so not choice really. Am out in the US so no volume limitation and a few quid cheaper as well

ADILM

i think the creative Zen are decent and cheap . But i suppose in the end, the Ipod's are the best, however not the cheapest!