MP3 players/ Ipods/ etc.
 

Anyone got a favorite? Ipod seems to be the champ on the top of the mountain, but I've been reading good reviews on a couple others. Give your favorite, with pros/cons- flash or hard drive memory- etc.

I am currently considering the Rio Karma- can be had for much less than Ipod and reviewers give it high marks for audiophile sound compared to the others. It's not as aesthetically pleasing, but I have huge hands, so the slightly thicker and boxier unit works a bit better for me than Ipod. It also comes with all the stuff apple makes you buy separately.

What do you use?

We just bought an Ipod shuffle for the better half. She loves it so far, uses it at the gym. For the money ($99) I doubt that it is a good deal but she liked the brand Apple.

I initialized it on a WinXP computer with the Itunes software. Our everyday computer runs WinME, holds our music collection ripped to MP3 files and I am using Winamp to interface to the Ipod.

It is just a memory stick with a USB port, a battery and a couple buttons for play and volume, really simple.

iPod all the way!
 

iPods rock. We have a 20GB 3G. We used to have an Archos Jukebox,
which worked really well, but the interface was clunky. It is also much
bigger than the iPod, though the batteries did last longer.

We've had 3 warranty replacements on our Karma (bad karma???) and
we finally returned it and bought another iPod. There are tons of farkles
for it, such as the iTrip FM transmitter for car integration and the media
reader, which lets you download your digital camera photos to the iPod
without a computer...which is great for long trips.

Ipod is the way to go, in combination with ITunes no comparison.

iRiver
 

I use a tiny iRiver flash player. My 256 MB version will hold about 6 or 7 full albums, even more if you're willing to downsample. And it's available in versions up to 1 GB in capacity. It plays wma files and has a built-in FM tuner. Aside from size, I like it for its extremely logical menu and its tweakability. You can adjust all sorts of things from backlight duration to graphic EQ, sleep timer, shuffle, playlist, repeat within directory, repeat file, etc. This description just scratches the surface - the unit has a very indepth menu which allows you to customize it in many ways to your liking. And it's never obsolete - iRiver updates their firmware periodically which adds new features such as 3D sound and longer battery life. A firmware flash takes just a couple minutes using your PC and USB cable.

But the best feature of the iRiver has got to be its recording capabilities. Along with voice recording through the online mic, you can record directly from the built-in tuner. And with the line-in jack, you can capture any source as a 16 bit 44.1 KHz file encoded up to 128 KBps as an mp3! This last feature makes the iRiver worth every penny in my book. I have used it to capture and create mp3 files from sources that are otherwise inaccessible. I don't know if you can do that with an iPod or any of the other players, but you can with an iRiver.

Oh, last but not least it fits perfectly in the ashtray of my 300E - looks like it was made for that slot! I plug it into the input jack on my stereo. Got rid of the bulky CD changer and CDs, and have never looked back...

Wait till Apple enters the handheld personal video market now occupied by Creative Lab's Zen handheld. That's going to be interesting.

hmmm, anyone know where I can get a free Ipod. (ha ha!)

Yeah, I've been checking out Itunes and it seems great so far. I might start out with a flash player to run with and see if I use it. no moving parts... and I tend to listen to one album again and again and then move on. Or a couple albums back to back to back then on to something else that suits my mood. One thing that really appeals to me about the hard drive Ipod/etc. is the potential to get my classical library up to snuff. I could buy the composers and conductors/orchestras that I enjoy and not get the add-on 50th copy of Bolero to numb my mind!

well, thanks for the insights!
k

Yes! Well, maybe. There was a bank that offered a free Ipod for opening an account. Seems like you had to use automatic deposit and bill pay to get the Ipod for free. If you feel like pursuing it I can probably find details.

http://www.freeipods.com/
This one could be a scam.

search google for free ipod

Thanks TwitchKitty; I was being fecitious...

but, I have now decided to determine if this is indeed a scam. I looked up that company, and they are BBB members since 2000. The 'offers' you need to complete are from real companies- Blockbuster Video, USA Today, etc. I decided to give it a shot.

So far, no spam emails.

Basically, I need to find five people to refer to the site who will also complete an 'offer' and then my Ipod is in the mail. Sounds too good to be true, probably is, but I was planning on doing either NetFlix or Blockbuster's online thing anyway, so I gave it a shot.

Anyone want to help with my experiment? I'll be sure to let everyone know if it actually works- or not. You can PM or email me for instructions if you want to try, or click this link: http://www.freeiPods.com/?r=16311229

Let me know if you are going to help so I can tell others NOT to help after five people have done it. No sense getting more involved than is neccessary.

I've been on here for a couple years, and have met some of you in person, so I'm not trying to scam anyone- I'm just curious.

Mods: if this is inappropriate, let me know and I'll get rid of it.

Cheers,
Kevin

I Love my 20GB iPOD . . . I've had it for a few months and I have not had a single problem with it. It's very easy to use . . . the thing works like Magic! The battery lasts & lasts . . . so far I can't think of a single flaw. BTW I have dropped my iPOD a few times (hard surfaces) but I still haven't had a sing glitch : ) . . . so the thing is Built really well. It maybe expensive, but as I look at it . . . it's the Benz of MP3 players :D

I had a Philips mp3 player for a while, but that thing kept on shutting down, I always had problems with it. So have my other friends, so DONT buy a Philips!

Good Luck

Daughter bought one of those with her iBook (saved for two years...). Both worked flawlessly out of the box and without reading anything. Very intuitive. The downside for me is that she doesn't let anybody else touch them.

http://citi.bridgetrack.com/cbol/iPod/CK51/default.htm?BT_TX=1

Here is the link to the free Ipod from Citibank if you want another. I have not done this deal and don't know anything about it. The date says the offer has expired but I heard that it still can be done. There may be a newer link. I think I would call them if I were going to try it.

www.freeoffersguide.net
I found this site with reviews and discussion forums related to these free stuff websites... Looks like Gratis Internet is the one they are all sure is on the up and up.

C'mon, help my experiment! http://www.freeiPods.com/?r=16311229