partable mp3 player question (1 Viewer)

[brianacook]

are there currently any portable mp3 players other than apple's ipod that utilize firewire? i have seen none. since i am a windows user, i will have to wait for ipod to be made for windows or just get a usb player. any suggestions.

brian

 

[Camp]

It's my understanding that ipod was just announced for Windows. Should be hitting stores soon.

 

[Thomas Newton]

There is no indication on the Apple Web site of an iPod for Windows machines. Why would Apple want to give up such a good tool for getting people to consider a new iBook/iMac?

 

[Michael*K]

I think there are software hacks out there that people claim allow iPod use with Windows machines. Other than those suspect hacks, the iPod is currently Mac-only.

 

[Jesse Leonard]

There is no indication on the Apple Web site of an iPod for Windows machines. Why would Apple want to give up such a good tool for getting people to consider a new iBook/iMac?

Because Apple understands that the average person is more likely to spend $400 on an MP3 player than $2K. It's a nice little gadget, but is not great enough to move the masses to an Apple based system. There is far more money to be made by providing a Window's based iPod than by hoping that consumers will buy an entire Apple system to listen to their music.

 

[Mike Sogge]

You CAN use an iPod with Windows RIGHT NOW!
xPlay by Mediafour

 

[Eric Gan]

The iPod is a nicely built machine. However, 5 Gb is just not enough. If you're gonna go with a jukebox type device where you can carry your entire music collection, might as well go all the way. 20 Gb minimum....40 would be better.
Given only 5 Gb, I'd rather go with an $89 Rio Volt SP90 and burn 7 CDs.
Archos has one for the PC that holds 20 Gb with USB 2.0. In either case, USB 2.0 or Firewire is a must have feature when considering one of these mass storage mp3 players, or else you'll be waiting all day and night to upload.
p.s. Oh yeah, I think you can stick an OS on the iPod and boot off it. That's pretty cool...it's like carrying your computer around on your mp3 player.
Regards,
Eric

 

[Joseph S]

The iPod is a nicely built machine. However, 5 Gb is just not enough.

For some maybe, but there's nothing stopping anyone from popping open the case and upgrading the HD when new editions of the tiny HD become available.

I've got days worth of music and a fully configured OS X bootable partition on my iPod and still have 300MB available. With firewire you can upload and download a song as you wish in a second or two.

 

[Mike Sogge]

Sure, 5gb is not enough for a lot of us to hold our whole music collections on, but exactly how often would you listen to 5gb worth of music w/o using your computer sometime in between? My collection is 28+gb, and there is no way I listen to 5 gb worth of it at a time.

The size factor is also a MAJOR thing to consider. How much space and how ackward would it be to carry around 7 cd's and your gigantic cd playing MP3 player compared to the tiny iPod? Then there's the battery life factor, etc, etc, etc... All of which make the iPod a VERY attractive item for a music lover who always on the go.

 

[brianacook]

does anyone know how long it takes to download an mp3 to a portable player via usb? i know with the ipod (firewire), it takes seconds, but i was wondering if the difference was staggering or not.

i am definitely interested in a 20g model. sure, 5g is plenty, but i would rather throw it all on there and NEVER have to think about what i want to remove to make room for something else.