Rich Malloy

Any reason NOT to get an iPod?

My wife and daughter are really interested in getting some iPods, and I also think they look fantastic. We've only got Windows-based PCs, none with Firewire connections. Any reason NOT to get iPods?

Would the 10GB model be sufficient (is it still on the market)?

What about the mini iPods?

THANKS!

Mike Broadman

My only problem with iPods is the cost, but if you're comfortable with that, than go for it.

I have a 30GB Creative Nomad Jukebox that suits my needs and was way cheaper than an iPod with equivalent capacity. It's not as slim, but I'm fine with that, and it doesn't have the iTunes support, but I don't care about that either, as I rarely if ever download music.

My awesome music collection

Michael St. Clair

The cost isn't that big of a factor with me, but I'm not crazy about the (actual) battery life and the lack of gapless playback for tracks that segue.

The iPod is not the only player with these drawbacks. I'm very interested in the Karma for the gapless playback...I'm still procrastinating.

I may even get one of the new Hi-MD portables from Sony come April. I still love how lightweight my MD players are compared to the hard drive music players.

Tim H

I've never noticed this issue with my iPod. I've got a live Guster concert that segues just fine. How big of a gap are you referring to?

Michael St. Clair

My VP put 'Dark Side of the Moon' in his iPod and we both hear little gaps between songs. The gaps are tiny, but that doesn't make them less irritating to me. Did he do something wrong?

Rich Malloy

The "gaps" thing would be an issue for me, too. Is this an easy fix (like burning "disc-at-once" on CD-R), or a much more difficult thing to work around?

Any comments on the battery life issue? Does this just mean more recharging, or is the life of the iPod itself limited as a result?

andrew markworthy

I think it depends how much music you're going to listen to and whether you need to carry other things around with you. I have a Sony Clie PDA that with a couple of memory sticks can carry around all the music I need, plus of course I have the advantage of the PDA as well. I've found battery life to be acceptable (whilst playing, you can switch off the screen which tends to be the real power hog). Not a patch on the capacity and cuteness of the iPod, I know, but it depends how much music you really need to have on you at any one time.

Cameron Yee

This might give you more bang for the buck. From what I've researched this is considered the best competitor to the iPod, at least for now.

http://www.compuplus.com/insidepage....com&id=1001602

Tim Markley

I bought myself a Rio Karma for Christmas and it's an awesome player. A little over $250 (after mail in $20 rebate) for a 20GB player. Even though I like the Ipod, I couldn't justify the much higher price ($400 for 20GB). IMO the Karma also sounds better than the Ipod and the battery charge lasts for around 15 hours.

Danny Tse

Originally, I was thinking of getting an iPod. But with Sony's pending release of Hi-MD, I am waiting for the new MD recorders/players.

Here's some info on Hi-MD.

DonRoeber

I love my iPods. I have a 5gb one, my wife has a 5gb one, and I just ordered an iPod Mini for myself. Having said that, Penny Arcade did the best comic I've ever seen about why you shouldn't buy an iPod.

A Penny Saved...

Luckily, right at that moment, an unconscious Argentinean fell through my roof.

He was quickly joined by a dwarf dressed as a nun.

Garrett Lundy

I own a 10Gig third gen iPod. (They new smallest regular iPod is 15Gig).

My gripes:

*Scratches way too easy. I would have prefered the minipods aluminum case.

*Only comes in white.

Thats it. I like it except for the easy to scratch white. You'll need to buy a protective cover for your iPod. Had I waited until they were available I would have bought a mini-iPod, because my whole music collection is under 4 Gigs