Whch mp3 player to buy

[browski]

The Apple ipod is not going to be suitable for your needs. Excuse the rubbish advice given by this board, for they know not what they do.

The downside with Ipods are that they are not convenient for activities where you need to have a tiny mp3 player; let's say for when walking around airports, or listening on a plane, or jogging.

The 2 smallest devices available (with a LCD screen) are the Sansa Clip and the Zen Stone plus.

The Zen stone plus is a great device but the Sansa Clip gets my vote because of it's superior battery life.

I like Apple products - I use their Airport Express Wireless N Router. I use Apple TV and I use Itunes. Apple make good products but the Ipod is just not good for travel. It is just too big. In a previous life I found the Ipod useful in my car. It was great to have my full music collection with me whilst on the road for lengthy car rides.

However for leisure travel - go small, with a big battery life.

 

[djfuzz]

The Apple ipod is not going to be suitable for your needs. Excuse the rubbish advice given by this board, for they know not what they do.

The downside with Ipods are that they are not convenient for activities where you need to have a tiny mp3 player; let's say for when walking around airports, or listening on a plane, or jogging.

Size doesn't seem to be one of the OP's major concerns, but they do want WiFi browsing. Good luck doing that on a Clip or a Stone. I agree there are reasonable alternatives, but I don't think any of them have WiFi in a size smaller than the touch.

(Excuse the repeated rubbish advice, I know not what I do, but I do try to know what I say ).

 

[djfuzz]

Good to see that BB has covered the fact that there is a 16 gig version, so there is an in between option available.

There's no 16GB iPod Touch (any more), only a 16GB iPhone.

You may still be able to get a refurbed 16GB iPod Touch, but it's not much more expensive to get the 32GB.

 

[Skyring]

I love my iPhone. Our lives are increasingly ruled by little boxes with buttons on, and with the iPhone two boxes are rolled into one, plus it's pretty much a small computer for immediate use.

More memory equals more speed and more stuff. In the long run, we fill up the capacity, whether it's a shed, a bookshelf, a hard drive or an iPod.

The iPhone isn't just an iTouch with a phone. It also has a camera (still and video) plus GPS.

Buy an unlocked iPhone and slot in whatever SIM is appropriate for the country of travel. Global roaming can really chew through the dollars.

 

[Chimpy]

I have an ipod touch and a Walkman x series and love both but if sound quality is important the Walkman is defiantly the winner it also has built in noise canceling and a very clear oled screen.
Just my two cents worth.

 

[simongr]

I would strong suggest ignoring the advice about memory size. If you get the touch then you will eventually put video on it. I have a 16GB iphone, with only about 4GB free, Itis filled with about 120 songs, about 100 apps and the rest is basically video. So that is 3 hours for Paris series, 1 hour for HMAS Sydney doco, 1 Ep media watch, 11 eps new inventors. I guess if I drop Paris then I'd be close to 8GB

I cycle about 2-4gig per week through my iPhone - load, watch, delete. I then have around 6 gig of music on there permanently out of 42 gig on the desktop.

 

[djfuzz]

I cycle about 2-4gig per week through my iPhone - load, watch, delete. I then have around 6 gig of music on there permanently out of 42 gig on the desktop.

Yeah, I tend to do the same - I have the 32GB iPhone, but my music/video/photo/app collection is far too big for any sized iPod/iPhone, so I've compiled an essential playlist that's about 4GB and cycle the rest with whatever is new / on my mind at any particular time - and I also delete videos I've already watched. But I do have the time and wherewithal to do that regularly.

medhead makes a good point about having some room to grow (I'm thinking about these exact issues in the lead up to the iPad, as I had initially thought I'd just get the cheapest/smallest one). It's something for the OP to consider, but there are equally good reasons for them to get the smaller capacity iPod, or any other media player for that matter - namely, having a (relatively) small collection of music, not having any need for lots of video, or wanting to cycle through music/video rather than having to carry around everything. You can still fit a 4GB collection of music (1000 songs / 100 albums) on 8GB, plus some photo albums and a few TV shows or movies.

Not everyone uses a media player in the same way - my folks have been using 8GB iPhones for a couple of years, and they've never gone beyond about 2GB of songs that they like on it, because they simply aren't interested in having loads of video on there. Similarly, we gave a friend a 120GB iPod Classic a few years ago and I was shocked when I visited him again and saw he'd only used 2GB of it, because that's all he needed. I put a few TV show episodes on it to get them interested, but they barely get watched.

 

[medhead]

I cycle about 2-4gig per week through my iPhone - load, watch, delete. I then have around 6 gig of music on there permanently out of 42 gig on the desktop.

Yeah, I definitely don't use it efficiently - note 11 eps of new inventors. I tend to record stuff with EyeTV and then load it over to iphone for inflight entertainment. so I'll load up a fair bit and then watch it over time and then load on the next lot of recordings that I want to catch up on. Plus there are the subscriptions to vodcasts like media watch and new inventors

Just don't ever seem to get in the mood to watch new inventors. Maybe I should unsubscribe.

 

[NM]

I use my phone as a 16GB MP3 player. Works well for me. I retired the 4GB iPod Nano and now have one less device to carry. There are plenty of phones that can perform the function well, including 3.5mm earphone socket, for about the same price as a MP3 player.

 

[blueflamenco]

Just a quick question regarding the Ipod Touch.. There would be no issues with purchasing this product in the US and using it in Australia? I can't see any reason for problems but I just thought I would double check with those who know more about this!

 

[djfuzz]

Wow, February - that's some decent thread necro!

Just a quick question regarding the Ipod Touch.. There would be no issues with purchasing this product in the US and using it in Australia? I can't see any reason for problems but I just thought I would double check with those who know more about this!

No problems with what you're asking - they don't even come with a power adapter any more, just a USB cable, so there's no difference at all (except a healthy saving thanks to the exchange rate).

Of course, you can always buy one here at a reseller (JB, Officeworks etc) for as cheap as you can and get the GST back on TRS if you have a total purchase of >$300 on the same receipt - could work out to be fairly competitive with the US in terms of price.

 

[blueflamenco]

^^ Thank you!

 

[samh004]

Of course, you can always buy one here at a reseller (JB, Officeworks etc) for as cheap as you can and get the GST back on TRS if you have a total purchase of >$300 on the same receipt - could work out to be fairly competitive with the US in terms of price.

^^ Thank you!

Markis10 mentions that WOW Sight & Sound are having 10% off Apple products this weekend, so there’s something to consider too.

 

[markis10]

Markis10 mentions that WOW Sight & Sound are having 10% off Apple products this weekend, so there’s something to consider too.

Markis10 is $720 poorer now but the owner of an IPad 16Gb 3G + WiFi

 

[djfuzz]

Markis10 is $720 poorer now but the owner of an IPad 16Gb 3G + WiFi

Haha, nice - an excellent deal too.

If only they had WOW's in Vic. Oh well, my wallet thanks them.

 

[samh004]

Markis10 is $720 poorer now but the owner of an IPad 16Gb 3G + WiFi

Jealous, but I’m going to hold out till V2 and see what I get.

 

[markis10]

Jealous, but I’m going to hold out till V2 and see what I get.

I was going to do the same but the 10% off, me leaving my touch on the plane and the fact that it halves my internet costs tipped the balance in the favour of lashing out.

 

[samh004]

I was going to do the same but the 10% off, me leaving my touch on the plane and the fact that it halves my internet costs tipped the balance in the favour of lashing out.

I lost my touch too, but it’s in the house somewhere and I have an iPhone… so I’m going to do my best to hold out