iDiscussion

[chavvah]

So after a lengthy and traumatic illness, my Discman has finally expired. When I turn it on, it spins for a bit, then commences to making a sort of knocking noise that usually signals imminent doom. People have been understandably nervous sitting next to me on the bus, as I have made numerous home repairs to the Discman and, to the untrained eye, it's possible that I appear to be carrying some sort of ticking incendiary device. (For those of you who listen to the Vinyl Cafe, c.f. Dave's razor.)

I would like to replace my dear departed with an iPod. I feel that the technology has reached a point where I feel comfortable relying on it for my music needs, and the iPod costs as much as I would expect to pay for a quality Discman (I am a Sony label whore). I'm willing to pay for quality because I am extremely hard on my Walkmans/Discmans (men?) and I need something that can stand up to the constant punishment of a winter in Winnipeg, the indignity of being shoved in a backpack and mercilessly jostled, and the occasional horror of being dropped down a flight of stairs or into a bucket of soapy water. (Not to say that these things will happen, but they might, and have.)

I am interested in hearing everyone's opinions on the pros and cons of various memory sizes, etc, of iPods.

iDiscuss.

Comments

[archaica.livejournal.com]

OK, well, if you're looking in the price range of a Discman, then the Shuffle is the iPod for you. Frankly, I find them quite nice, and they double as a USB drive, which is nice if you have files to take from place to place.

The real question is, what do you need to do with it? How much music do you want to be able to carry with you? If you're worried about durability, the Shuffle or the Nano are probably your safest bet; a hard-drive-based player has more moving parts, and thus, more to break (it should be noted that I've owned iPods for 3 1/2 years and never had hard-drive-related issues).

I own the highest-capacity iPod because I like to carry all my music with me everywhere. But that's me. I know some people who actually own both a gigantoPod and a Shuffle because sometimes they like to just carry a little bit with them, and sometimes they like the whole shmear. But they're rich, rich as Nazis!

[chavvah.livejournal.com]

I would like to carry a lot of music with me. And I spent $200 on my last Discman (and that was on clearance!). It lasted me five or six years, so I found it to be a pretty worthwhile investment.

I bought my mum a Shuffle, and, while I was impressed with it, I think I want more.

/greedypants

[archaica.livejournal.com]

OK, well, then it's the nano or the iPod video for you. Frankly, I would spend the extra $50 over the top nano and get the 30 GB model. Much much much more space - yes, it may not be SQUEEEE!Ohsosmall! but hey, that would just mean you'd lose it more easily. I know I would!

[chavvah.livejournal.com]

Yeah, considering that I've been hauling around a big giant Discman for all these years, I think I'm cool with the "large" iPod.

[archaica.livejournal.com]

Well, then I'd go for either the 30GB video, or the 4 GB nano, depending on your needs. Very similar functionality, only difference is size and $50. You make the call!

[chavvah.livejournal.com]

Here's another question for you: Staples is selling the 30 GB HP video iPod. Apparently HP doesn't make iPods anymore, but their tech support is supposed to be way better. Thoughts?

[chavvah.livejournal.com]

P.S. I have a HP computer and I love it beyond all reason.

[jandyle.livejournal.com]

I have a 20G iPod (which I believe has been replaced by a 30G) and my girlfriend has the 10G (back one generation from my 20G). They each were the smallest full size (i.e. not nano, shuffle, or mini) iPod on the market at the time we purchased them (mine back in March and hers almost two years ago). She takes hers on the bus/train to work every day, complete with jostling and shoving in backpacks. I've dropped mine down (carpeted) stairs and had it fall off the tredmill while I was working out. All in all, they are still surviving.

I like the full size or minis best since you can make playlists and go on-screen and find particular songs/albums (the nano does this, too). The shuffle I don't like because everything you have in it is always on random. I likes me my playlists. Then I'd look at the size you want. I know my 20G holds approx. 5,000 songs. At the time I bought mine, the next size down held only 1,500 songs. So I went for the full size (a price difference of $50) and I'm glad I did since I'm well over 1,500 songs. I think the two sizes of minis hold 1,000 or 1,500 songs, and the nano is around there, too. You'd have to look on the web site. But I'd advise that bigger is better. You may not need the biggest one, but anyone I know with a shuffle/mini/nano topped out their songs pretty quickly, where I still have room to add.

[archaica.livejournal.com]

My iPod is holding about 6,000 songs right now, and it's NOT EVEN HALF FULL! ph3@r my l337 skillz!!!1!!!

[chavvah.livejournal.com]

I like the full size or minis best since you can make playlists and go on-screen and find particular songs/albums (the nano does this, too). The shuffle I don't like because everything you have in it is always on random. I likes me my playlists.

This is totally me.

I'm glad to hear you have dropped your iPod and it still works, because a salesdude at some electronics store told my mum that they weren't very hard-wearing in that sense, because of the internal thingymadeal. I think I might go for the Mini, actually, with as much memory as I can afford.

[jandyle.livejournal.com]

I think the nano replaced the mini, now that I've had time to look online at the apple store. Same size of storage as the old minis, but more durable. you could also probably find a mini on ebay or the like, though. Or at a secondhand electronics store. But I do advise against the shuffle because of the no-screen thing.

And iPods survive the winter in Minnesota just fine, by the way, so you should be fine there, too.

[october31st.livejournal.com]

I know nothing of mp3 players, but I would like to throw in that I misread part of this, to humorous effect. The part where you're wondering how to pluralize Discman, I thought you were instead musing over whether you were hard on men as well as machines. Hee.

[chavvah.livejournal.com]

Well, there is that. ;) I suppose one of these days I will have to trade in the Jamie when he gets obsolete. I wonder how much I will get for him? I've done a lot of work to get him up to code... ;)

[nolemonsnomelon.livejournal.com]

you people and your perpetual internet access. i always miss everything!

anyway, late as i am, i'm still jumping in. i loves me my 6 gig iPod mini. she's been dropped, wrenched, accidentally stepped on and is still chiming on like a charm. 6 gigs is more than enough for me and half my hardrive is music. i have never even managed to have it half full yet, because i like to empty and rearrange so much. i guess it depends if you get obsessive and then abandon things for long stretches like i do (the only band that doesn't fit this pattern with me is of course Moz/The Smiths). i like everything on my iPod to be exactly what i want to listen to at all times. i make playlists, but i don't want to ever feel the impulse to skip songs, you know? for me that is the point of the iPod.

i think anything bigger and i would be mad with power and downloading obscene things like "The Gambler" as performed by various barnyard animals because i would feel pressure to try and fill the space. so basically, what i'm actually trying to say here is that i am totally neurotic and a female woody allen. go me.

[chavvah.livejournal.com]

How many songs is 6 GB? I have a feeling that might be enough for me too (or at least for my price range).

I wish they still made the Mini though. The Nano is too freakin' small!

[evangelion842.livejournal.com]

Well, I have 18 gigs of music and I would feel the need to take it with me everywhere I possibly could while not listening to half of it the majority of the time, so I know which one I want for christmas *hint hint mother*. Not that she reads this thing. Oh damn, I guess I'll have to mention it in some other subtle yet blatantly obvious way *plot plot* . . . .