if not an ipod, then what?

geeeeoffff

sup guys

i have a 4 gig mp3 player from meizu, the chinese company that makes mp3 players that oddly resemble ipods

it's not bad, but it takes like 20-30 seconds to start up, occasionally it'll play really loud static at the end of a song, cut off songs, and other random bugs

needless to say i'm searching for a new mp3 player. i'm not a big fan of the ipods but if not an ipod then what? i'm looking for competitors to the ipod nano. i don't really care about video, but i do care about being able to easily browse my music.

suggestions?

Zoolander

Zune

Centipede Damascus

Get a Zune.

maximumzero

Get an iPod anyway.

I Win Swordfights

A zune

EDIT: Why?

Because an 80 gig zune, which look damn nice and has a super easy to use interface, will only run you 200 bucks!

Want MORE bang for your buck?

The recently released 120 gig zune is retailing right now for only fifty dollars more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqsHBJg3aB8



Need I say more?

Desert_Eagle25

Zune.

Trentus

Perhaps have a look at Creative and see if they offer anything you fancy.

UnknownSaint

I'd be curious to know the OPs reasons for not wanting an iPod. I reluctantly recommend a Zune as second choice, though I believe it still may prove productive to at least state why he doesn't like iPods, as that may better inform people to make more appropriate suggestions.

geeeeoffff

I Win Swordfights wrote: »

A zune

EDIT: Why?

Because an 80 gig zune, which look damn nice and has a super easy to use interface, will only run you 200 bucks!

Want MORE bang for your buck?

The recently released 120 gig zune is retailing right now for only fifty dollars more!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqsHBJg3aB8



Need I say more?

woah

that is actually pretty neat. i didn't know that they had expanded the wifi capabilities so much.

i'm not sure if i want a hard drive player since it has moving parts, and i might be working out with it.

Dehumanized

Yeah, that video was pretty awesome. I think if my ipod ever died -- which is a possibility, it's seen better days, I'd be heavily considering a Zune to replace it.

fightinfilipino

does the Zune have the ability to browse the web like the iPod touch?

i'm in the market for a new mp3 device and really want the wifi websurfing capability...

Legacy

No, it does not.

fightinfilipino

Legacy wrote: »

No, it does not.

d-d-d-d-d-deal breaker!

guess i'm going with a touch then.

geeeeoffff

fightinfilipino wrote: »

Legacy wrote: »

No, it does not.

d-d-d-d-d-deal breaker!

guess i'm going with a touch then.

i was considering the touch, but the htc g1 dream is coming out in a couple weeks. it's the phone with androidOS from google. it isn't multi touch, but it is open source, so anyone can develop for it. so you won't be forced to use apple's instant messenger client and web browser. imo, a far better choice. it supports wifi AND you do not need to buy a data package like with the iphone. so if you're like me and you're around wifi all day, you can skip the data plan.

plus the htc g1 slides to reveal a keyboard. which makes typing a little easier.

Jake!

There isn't an apple im app for the ipod touch/iphone is there?

There are third party ones though.

Glorfindel

geeeeoffff wrote: »

fightinfilipino wrote: »

Legacy wrote: »

No, it does not.

d-d-d-d-d-deal breaker!

guess i'm going with a touch then.

i was considering the touch, but the htc g1 dream is coming out in a couple weeks. it's the phone with androidOS from google. it isn't multi touch, but it is open source, so anyone can develop for it. so you won't be forced to use apple's instant messenger client and web browser. imo, a far better choice. it supports wifi AND you do not need to buy a data package like with the iphone. so if you're like me and you're around wifi all day, you can skip the data plan.

plus the htc g1 slides to reveal a keyboard. which makes typing a little easier.

he's talking about the touch ipod, not the iphone, which doesn't require a data package either.

Ghostly Clockwork

Go Zune. All-you-can-eat Music For the WIN

RBach

Sandisk's Sansa line is also good, but if you're looking for Zune/iPod Classic capacities I don't think they offer anything for you.

Centipede Damascus

geeeeoffff wrote: »

woah

that is actually pretty neat. i didn't know that they had expanded the wifi capabilities so much.

i'm not sure if i want a hard drive player since it has moving parts, and i might be working out with it.

Zune comes in both Flash and HD flavors, and they both have the same wifi functionality. The only difference is the amount of space.

4, 8, 16 - Flash

80, 120 - HD

Daedalus

Got a DS that you already carry everywhere?

Get a DSTT and a nice, big (yet tiny!) MicroSDHC card.

edit: you'll even have (limited) Wi-Fi web browsing capabilities.

archonwarp

Daedalus wrote: »

Got a DS that you already carry everywhere?

Get a DSTT and a nice, big (yet tiny!) MicroSDHC card.

edit: you'll even have (limited) Wi-Fi web browsing capabilities.

Wicked impractical though. They're huge comparded to any MP3 player. I am a former zune owner-- hardware failure ftl. It can happen to any hard drive based player though, so I suggest going flash. Also, Zunepass is awesome. For the price of about a new CD a month, I have unlimited CD downloading.

JustinSane07

I'd check out Cowon Audio. I have an older X5 (two years old) and the output quality is superior to even the IPod Touch.

Also, Fuck IPod. ITunes was the sole reason I returned my IPod and got the X5.

Dark Shroud

The only mp3 player that has more functionality than the Zune is the iPod Touch. The Zune 80gig is a great deal and MS will continue to update them.

If you don't go iPod Touch go Zune.

maximumzero

The way it works is that no portable media player is worth anything unless you have the proper software to interface with it.

In the 18+ years I've been using computers nothing has matched iTunes in terms of ease-of-use and power.

Thus iPod is the way to go, in my eyes.

DigDug2000

RBach wrote: »

Sandisk's Sansa line is also good, but if you're looking for Zune/iPod Classic capacities I don't think they offer anything for you.

I have the cheap ass version of one of these and it works fine for everything I do. Built in FM tuner, recording capabilities, SD expansion slot, built in USB plug so I don't need a cable. Sadly it doesn't hold much, but it turns out I'm happy with about 2GB of music anyway. And all for a quarter the price and a smaller form factor. Conclusion: I've never been that sad that my nano was stolen.

If I was looking to go the ultracheap route again, I'd probably look through their outlet section, although I've never owned any of those and can't vouch for anything about them.

Zoolander

maximumzero wrote: »

The way it works is that no portable media player is worth anything unless you have the proper software to interface with it.

In the 18+ years I've been using computers nothing has matched iTunes in terms of ease-of-use and power.

Thus iPod is the way to go, in my eyes.

The Zune 2.0 software was a giant leap forward. Zune 3.0 software adds evolutionary improvement. I think I like the Zune software more than iTunes now. Its interface is really modern-looking, unlike iTunes which is getting very long-in-the-tooth. And the Zune firmware is much better than any iPod's besides the Touch (which costs insanely more).

I have yet to see any other companies come out with a good software/firmware combo. The Creative Zen I owned briefly, while a nice piece of hardware and ridiculously cheap, had the shittiest firmware ever. They came out with a new model recently, and one of the most pertinent improvements they made was to make the reset button easier to press. From what I've seen, none of the Asian mp3 player makers come even close to the firmware and software quality of the Zune and iPod.

wunderbar

there is no better mobile browsing experience than the iPod touch. A d that is the truth. I am at my girlfriends house right now, been helping her with her homework. I have been using my iPod touch to browse the Internet pretty heavily for the past 2 hours, and except for the lack of flash support I have not felt restricted by the device at all. Browsing the web on the iPod touch is simply a fantastic experience. In fact, I just typed this post on the touch itself.

Ayulin

I'd say try out the Zune. The new update has some really neat features (as already been said), and I find the software more pleasant to use than iTunes (at least on Windows.)

That being said, I've noticed somewhat high memory usage for the Zune software, similar to what I've seen some people mention about iTunes for Windows; last night it hit about 200MB, downloading several podcasts while listening to another. I didn't notice any slowdown, but I just thought I'd throw that out there (I still stand firmly by recommending the Zune :P)

YesNoMu

I've had two Creative mp3 players, and have been very satisfied with both. (Only upgraded for more capacity-- 5GB gets pretty tight.) I got my Vision:M two years ago, and it's still going strong. For that reason, I have no idea what new players are out there! But I can warrant for Creative's build quality.

I use it with WMP11, which is pretty solid. With the WMPKeys plugin (F7 is back, F8 is play/pause, F9 is next), I don't really need anything else.

wasted pixels

I came here to say how great Sansas are because they aren't all bloated with useless "extras" you'll never touch.

I left wanting a Zune.

Trentus

YesNoMu wrote: »

I've had two Creative mp3 players, and have been very satisfied with both. (Only upgraded for more capacity-- 5GB gets pretty tight.) I got my Vision:M two years ago, and it's still going strong. For that reason, I have no idea what new players are out there! But I can warrant for Creative's build quality.

I use it with WMP11, which is pretty solid. With the WMPKeys plugin (F7 is back, F8 is play/pause, F9 is next), I don't really need anything else.

My Zen Vision:M (which I got maybe... 3ish years ago) locks up quite frequently, but so long as the paper clip I carry around in the pouch hasn't fallen out somewhere, it isn't that big of a deal. All in all, I'm quite happy with it, and I would certainly check out their newer players if I was looking to buy.

Cokomon

My first MP3 player was a Sansa, which was a great MP3 player. I recently got the 120 gig Zune and it is awesome. I got that mainly for the video, though. Also, the Zune software is nice, and I have finally been listening to those dang fangled PA podcasts everyone is talking about.

So I would recommend a Sansa or a flash Zune. The blue ones look sweet, too bad the 120s only came in black :-(

maximumzero

I think the digital copy thing alot of studios are doing now is the best idea ever. Having to work with Mactheripper and handbrake was beginning to get tedious.

Wall-E on Nov 18...can't wait to get that onto my touch.

Desert_Eagle25

maximumzero wrote: »

The way it works is that no portable media player is worth anything unless you have the proper software to interface with it.

In the 18+ years I've been using computers nothing has matched iTunes in terms of ease-of-use and power.

Thus iPod is the way to go, in my eyes.

Zune software is better, in my opinion. They nailed it.

RBach

How does the Zune software handle audiobooks? IIRC it still doesn't have Audible support, but can I arbitrarily mark files as books (or at least tell it to save my position in them) in it? I'm mainly asking out of curiosity--I have an iPod Touch and won't be giving it up any time soon--but such features were the original reason I went with iPods (and iTunes) in the first place. Well, audiobooks and podcasts...

Zoolander

RBach wrote: »

How does the Zune software handle audiobooks? IIRC it still doesn't have Audible support, but can I arbitrarily mark files as books (or at least tell it to save my position in them) in it? I'm mainly asking out of curiosity--I have an iPod Touch and won't be giving it up any time soon--but such features were the original reason I went with iPods (and iTunes) in the first place. Well, audiobooks and podcasts...

The Zune PC software itself still doesn't handle audiobooks, but you can use Audible's software to sync up your Zune. Podcast support was added a while back, I believe.

Centipede Damascus

Audible support for audiobooks was added with the 3.0 software release.

And Zune has always been really good for podcasts, in my opinion.

Tiant

So I'm getting a new player and at the moment I can get an 8gb for $150 or an 8gb nano for $170 (In Canada). I'm leaning slightly towards the zune but I have no experience with them. How is podcast support and their reliability?

Centipede Damascus

Well, CNet says that the Zune is better for podcasts than the iPod (I think so too).

They're very reliable devices too. I've never had a real problem with mine.

Ayulin

Yeah, it's pretty good at podcasts. If there's one that you want to subscribe to that isn't in the Zune Marketplace (podcasts are under there, but you don't have to pay for them, obviously), you can just plug the podcast feed into the software and it'll figure it out.

(I'm sure iTunes has this too, but in case there were doubts about podcasts that aren't in the Zune directory.)

Beck

geeeeoffff wrote: »

sup guys

i have a 4 gig mp3 player from meizu, the chinese company that makes mp3 players that oddly resemble ipods

it's not bad, but it takes like 20-30 seconds to start up, occasionally it'll play really loud static at the end of a song, cut off songs, and other random bugs

needless to say i'm searching for a new mp3 player. i'm not a big fan of the ipods but if not an ipod then what? i'm looking for competitors to the ipod nano. i don't really care about video, but i do care about being able to easily browse my music.

suggestions?

I was wondering, is there any particular reason you're not a fan of the iPods? I know it's weird to say this, but the new Nano is probably the best option. I was using the 2nd gen nano until I got my 2nd gen touch, actually, and even though I upgraded for video it was still going strong. Plus, those yellow nanos are sexy.

I could be a little bit bias because I prefer the iTunes software to the Zune software.