iPod or Nomad Zen? (1 Viewer)

[John-Miles]

Can I get some opinions on this? I can get a 20Gb Zen for 430 plus tax or a 15Gb iPod for 547.

As far as i can tell the Zen is a little bigger, and has batteries that last about 4 hours longer. but the iPod has more features and an expansion battery pack that takes 4AA batteries which I really like.

one feature the Zen has that Im not sure the iPod has is you can use the Zen as a portable harddrive can you do the same with the iPod ie have non music files stored on it so you can transfer them to another comp?

 

[Robert Bailey]

Personally, I don't think any of the iPod's competition can come close to it... Especially if you have an iTunes compatible Mac.

It is just so well thought out and the user interface is quite good as well.

I bought a second generation 20GB iPod about 6 weeks ago for $279 US shipped, about $390 CAD at the time.

 

[Jim Garbern]

One of the most useful features of the iPod is it's ability to be used as a spare Firewire hard drive. In addition the the elegance and ease of use on a Mac (with iTunes to boot), it's a breeze to use as a hard drive. It can also automatically sync files, address books and calendar reminders just by connecting it through the Firewire cable. I haven't tried it, but it can also be used as a spare hard drive on those inelegant PeeCees, I'm pretty sure
http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html

 

[John-Miles]

Wait, a 20Gb for 275 american????? damn where can i get my hands on this, best price i can find is 547 cad for a 15 Gb if i could get a 20 Gb for under 500 CAD id be all over it.

 

[Robert Bailey]

I got it from Dell small business, but I had to call the order in because their online system wouldn't take an order from Canada. Some reps are better than others, you may have to call a few times to get them to take the order...

They may not have 20GB models anymore, but I've seen posts elsewhere indicating you can get the 30GB model for around $400 US.

 

[Jim Garbern]

John,
If you're not able to find this through Dell, check out dealmac.com and search for ipod for various deals. Unfortunately the Apple store seems to be out of the refurbed ipods which were a real bargain. I suspect they've also been depleted at BB and CC or your local electronics B&M. BTW, the PC version of iTunes is supposed to be available by year's end.
JG

 

[Doug Schiller]

Well, unless you have a Mac or enjoy paying the $100 Apple tax, I would get the Zen.

Doug

 

[Richard Travale]

enjoy paying the $100 Apple tax

What is this?

 

[Robert Bailey]

quote:

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enjoy paying the $100 Apple tax
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What is this?

It's a comment from someone that obviously has something against Apple.

If you want quality, get the iPod. If quality doesn't mean anything to you, get something else.

I paid less for my iPod than a Zen would have cost, but if it was more, I would have paid more. On paper, the Zen sounds fine, but just use both and tell me the Zen is better.

 

[John-Miles]

Robert I have searched on Dell and dealmac without any luck in finding a better price than i can get at the Memorial University's computer purchasing center which is 547 cad.

if you know of more specific places i can get an ipod for a cheaper price than a ZEN I would be very happy, truth be told I am seriously leaning toward an ipod, but id love to pay less than a zen for one

 

[Robert Bailey]

MacWarehouse in the US has the 20GB on right now for $299 US. I have no idea if you will be able to convince them to ship to Canada or not, as I've never bought anything from their US website. Their site mentions that they ship to Canada, however. Beware of brokerage fees!

http://www2.warehouse.com/product.asp?pf%5Fid=ACC5888

Compusmart (in Canada) had the 20GB's for $549 (higher than US deals, but better than some), but they are no longer on their website, so YMMV.

 

[John-Miles]

Thanks Robert I just checked and i found the 20Gb model, I assume that it is the old model as it dosent seem to have all tyhe same features of the new ones, i think i will be getting the 15 Gb model

 

[Bob Tarabella]

iPod is the new Walkman. Everything else is an imitation.

There's a good reason why Apple sold 350,000 iPods in the last quarter. It's simply the best portable music player ever made. If you have an opportunity to borrow one and spend a day or two with it, you'll understand.

The integration with iTunes is remarkable. It works so well you don't even think about it as a device, you just think about it as your music collection.

 

[John-Miles]

Well I'm a Pee-Cee user, so that brings to mind another question, is there any other software the ipod works with on a PC besides musicmatch? i had that software once and it totally blew, it took over the sound controls of everythign on my computer.... grrrrr

 

[Jim Garbern]

John,
I haven't used them but there are some other programs, such as EphPod, that will let you manage your music files and contacts. Go to versiontracker.com to get the latest version (search for ipod after selecting the Windows tab). There will be a Windows version of iTunes later in the year, so this may do until then. I'm sure you'll be happy with it. PC owners are actually outnumbering Mac users as iPod purchasers in a recent new article I saw somewhere.
Jim

 

[Robert Bailey]

Thanks Robert I just checked and i found the 20Gb model, I assume that it is the old model as it dosent seem to have all tyhe same features of the new ones, i think i will be getting the 15 Gb model

The 20GB models are all the old ones. There are very few features that the new ones have that the old ones don't have. The only real difference would be the new ones have USB 2.0 and are slimmer.

On the other hand, the old ones have close to 50% longer battery life and I also prefer the old button layout.

 

[Joseph S]

The only real difference would be the new ones have USB 2.0 and are slimmer.

There are several features missing that are present in the new iPod but aren't/won't be available for the old iPods such as playlist creation. Hardware features like the line out aren't on the old models either.

 

[Skippy]

John,
I've had my 20gb Zen for about two weeks now and love it. Got it for $199 (got $100 off of it when I bought it with my new laptop), and could not be happier with the purchase. Especially considering that to get something near that size in an ipod I would have had to spend twice as much.

As far as comparisons go, I haven't used the ipod (old or new), but have a friend who has one and loves it. If you give any credence to tech sites like cnet.com you may be interested to know that many are claiming the Zen as a very good alternative to the ipod.

Whatever you decide, I hope you enjoy it. It's great having such a huge amount of music (or files for that matter) in such a small package!

 

[Doug Schiller]

Nothing against Apple. I think the iPod is an amazing product. It forced Creative Labs to get off their butts and compete.
But the truth remains, it is easily $100 more than it has to be. When you see what the Jukebox and Zen offers, I don't see where they can justify the price difference.

If I had a Mac, then I would seriously consider it because of the synch features.

As a PC owner, the iPod isn't even an option.

Doug

 

[Robert Bailey]

There are several features missing that are present in the new iPod but aren't/won't be available for the old iPods such as playlist creation. Hardware features like the line out aren't on the old models either.

Neither of those I would consider "major". Playlist creation would be OK, but it doesn't work like I'd like it to.

Fix the volume at a high level and the headphone out basically becomes a lineout.