iPod your BMW (1 Viewer)

[Julio H]

The value hasn't gone up. It's merely catching up with the likes of the iRiver H100 series, Dell DJ's and Cowon. Spin it anyway you like, Apple HAS been gouging the consumers with their high prices and accessories. That being said, I'm looking forward to upgrading.

 

[SethH]

That's a questionable statement. While it MAY be the case on paper based on features/price it is not represented in the market as Apple clearly has the majority market share. Also, most reviewers still prefer the Apple due to ease of use and quality of build (with the exception of the battery issue).

 

[Julio H]

As I said, spin it however you want, but when you can get the same amount of HD space and longer battery life for $100 less, that IS overpricing. But happily, that is no longer the case. Just ordered my brand spanking new iPod.

 

[MarkHastings]

The thing with Apple is, you are paying for "Compatibility". My Creative MP3 players ONLY work with PC's that have Creatvie sound cards.

I have a Mac (G5) and a Dell PC at work and I can't hook my player up to either one of them. At least I know 100% that if I buy an iPod, that it will work with basically every Mac - and even with virtually every PC.

I've been working with Macs and PC's for many years now and I know that every Mac accessory I buy will work with my Mac, there are too many requirments for 3rd party PC accessories. That's what gets reflected in the price.

Of course, that is also the downside. No competition (with the Mac) means, no price wars on accessories, but oh well, I'll deal with the price as long as I don't have to deal with worrying about it working with my system.

 

[Angelo.M]

Okay, but is price a direct consequence of feature-set? If so, then I can think of about half a dozen pre-processors (to pick an HT-related example) that are egregiously overpriced. Because a particular DAP has a bigger drive and longer battery life at a lower pricepoint doesn't make it a better value, necessarily, than an iPod. For some, like me, having an elegant GUI, a sleek form-factor, a community of thousands and thousands of folks to turn to for help, a large number of accessories, etc, constitutes a large part of the "value" of the iPod. I don't need more than 8 hours of battery life, so it's not a factor for me and it has nothing to do with value.

If you don't like that spin, I understand.

 

[Aurel Savin]

the new models are up for sale as of today at www.apple.com

 

[Julio H]

As long as the price is reasonable(as it is now), I'm fine with that. But there were sleeker players out there with better performance(Cowon) AT nearly a $100 less... That truly is a better value. Frankly, it's the chicness people were after. I guess you would say that Ferraris aren't overpriced. Maybe, but at least with a Ferrari, you actually get the best of everything with no compromises.

 

[MarkHastings]

OH MY GOD! I had originally ordered the iPod (Saturday afternoon) with personalization. How PISSED would I have been if I didn't cancel the order and found out today that the price dropped $100 (since you can't return personalized iPods)! Again, I can not say "WHEW!" enough.

Now bring on the 50GB model!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Angelo.M]

"Sleeker" and "better performance" are highly subjective descriptors. Concluding, therefore, that those players represented a "better value" is a dodgy (and, of course, subjective) proposition.

 

[Julio H]

To each his/her own then.


Gonna have to wait till September.:frowning: But it's actually a 60Gig model

 

[Chris Bardon]

Huh? Which Jukebox have you got? I'm pretty sure that my work machine doesn't have a creative sound card in it (just an onboard POS), and I've had my NJB3 hooked up to it many times. Plus, there's no DRM to contend with!

 

[MarkHastings]

The Nomad Jukebox 3. - The problem with it is, I can not install the creative drivers (i.e. the Creative Play Center) because the software says it's looking for a creative audio card.

I can't even see the player through Media Player because I can't load the drivers without a Creative card.

 

[MikeH1]

I guess I'm a crack smoker. Ok, so it does have a line out, but it costs money and needing an accessory to be able to use it. Things sure would have been a lot simpler if apple would have just included a direct line out in their units. I mean, for the hundreds they want for their iPods you would think it would be included...its not like having a rca cord/headphone pin attachment is new expensive technology.

But regardless, good news that there is a line out.

 

[Ken Chan]

Is BMW gouging their customers with their high prices?

Anyway, no sense wasting bandwidth here when all this is hashed out elsewhere.

Oh, and Mark, it seems like some orders were automatically upgraded. But better safe than sorry, I suppose.

 

[JustinT]

I have my iPod hooked up to my Accord. I bought an auxiliary input coverter from Here, which converts the cd changer input on my stereo to rca inputs. Then I use the Belkin Auto Kit, which charges the ipod and also provide a line out that I attach the aux converter to. The setup sounds great and I will never go back to listening to cd's in my car again!

 

[Julio H]

No. Some of their cars are actually real bargains, especially the M3's. Tight construction, wonderful design, top notch performance. At around $50000, it's a steal when compared to the Porsche Carreras or any other similar sports cars. You just can't convince me that the previous 3Gen. iPods were worth their high price tags. It's very well known that the sound quality wasn't equal to that of the iRiver H100 series, the Rio Karma, or the Creative Nomads. And on top of that, shorter battery life, and an extra 100 for the same amount of storage? Even Apple seems to be agreeing with me, seeing as how they HAVE lowered the prices But I'm sure Apple wouldn't mind having more consumers like you, Ken.

 

[Angelo.M]

Our loss, obviously.

 

[MarkHastings]

But that's to make way for the new iPod. I seriously doubt it has anything to do with Apple feeling they are inferior.

 

[Angelo.M]

Apple has never published the S/N data for the iPod, while other manufacturers have. The power of suggestion as abetted by the published numbers has, in my opinion, driven some folks to conclude that the Apple's "sound quality" isn't up to snuff compared with the Karma and others.

Be that as it may, there are as many reviews saying the iPod sounds better than the others as there are the converse. For example, CNET favors the competitors' "sound quality" while What HiFi favors the iPod over its competitors.

It's all subjective. And the iPod "sounds" great.

I agree that .mp4 "sounds better" than .mp3 at 128kbps. At higher bitrates, however, it's a wash for me. I encode everything in VBR .mp3 using CDex/Lame's -alt preset standard, which yields results that are transparent enough to my ear. The downloaded .mp4 tracks from the Apple store sound good enough for portable use to me.

 

[Peter Kim]

I believe the iPod is inimitable in its peer class in the area of design. However, I've also read reports of less than stellar sound quality in comparison to the Nomad and the iRiver.

For example:

http://gear.ign.com/articles/452/452815p1.html

http://www.austinv.com/reviews.htm#DR_PROnCON

Apparently, battery life was the more publicized and signifcant problem which afflicted the 3g iPod. It sounds like that has been remedied with the latest release of the 4g iPod.

More recent reviews of the iPod, iRiver, and Nomad Zen Xtra:

http://gear.ign.com/articles/503/503034p1.html

http://gear.ign.com/articles/457/457818p1.html

http://gear.ign.com/articles/442/442693p1.html