Buy an iPod

After months of trying to deal with my Clip, I’ve come to the conclusion that if you are serious about an mp3 player, you should spend the extra money on an iPod. The Clip is a nice mp3 player for maybe someone’s teen where you’re worried about being out a couple of hundred dollars if he/she loses it, or you want an mp3 player, but you really don’t want to invest a lot of money in it. If you want a reliable player with software that is excellent and with universal compatibility, buy an iPod. I own both, and the iPod is less adventurous and much less hassle to deal with. Just read the posts on this forum and you’ll know what a problem it is owning a Clip.

www.anythingbutipod.com
Message Edited by Lucky_Luciano on 06-08-2008 07:26 PM

Baaaaaaahhh!

Apples and oranges.  The Clip is simply the best bang for the buck.  I challenge the iPod to even come close to the sound quality of the SanDisk.

If conformity is your cup of tea, enjoy your iTunes (an homage to George Orwell), and the new Credit Card Synchronization slot on the new iPod, coming soon.

Were it not for competition from others like SanDisk, can you imagine what the price of those Apples would be?

I have watched “They Live”, and having seen the incredible barrage of iPod advertising, I will venture that Apple is spending a disproportionate percentage of their money on marketing rather than innovation.

Besides, if the display blows out on the Clip, think of it as advanced training for the Shuffle.

Bob  :smileyvery-happy:

I don’t get people’s issues–I’ve had no issues with my Clip whatsoever.  (OK, a too dim 4gb …)

And talk about value and features, compared to other players.

:slight_smile:

An ipod may be a good choice for someone who is either not computer literate or has too much money.  For the rest of us MP3 players are the way to go.  I have been happy with my trusty old Truly player and my wife just got a new Sansa Clip.  From what I’ve observed it’s a really handy gadget and no one is going to mug her to steal it.

the sansa has more features…it has longer battery life, a fm radio player, a recorder, and it’s cheaper…it’s cheaper was the selling point for me…

@miikerman wrote:

I don’t get people’s issues–I’ve had no issues with my Clip whatsoever.  (OK, a too dim 4gb …)

And talk about value and features, compared to other players.

 

:slight_smile:

I agree, I’ve got both a Clip and a Fuze and haven’t had any issues at all.  Both absolutley crush their ipod counterparts in terms of value, features and sound quality.

I think ipod mainly commands a premium because most people percieve it as a desired fashion/status accessory, not because it’s “better” than other players.  That’s not to say they are bad, but they certainly are not a good value.

I’ll let you SanDisk evangelists continue this after this last post. A couple of things: the first thing I did after I bought my Clip was seek out a forum because of the problems I had. Then, when I saw the number of posts with the number of varied problems (short battery life, problems with connectivity, problems creating/finding folders, crashing issues, etc.), I knew the Clip would require some work to use. In all the years I’ve had iPods, I’ve never had a need to look for a help forum. I’m not even sure one exists. That isn’t to say that iPods are perfect. Of course, they aren’t. However, I’ve never had one problem with either the hardware or the software. And, even though I’m an iPod owner, I’m not “computer illiterate,” (in fact, I probably bought my first computer when most on this forum were still a twinkle in their mother’s eyes), and I have never had a need for the online help from Apple.

All of that said, I really do enjoy my Clip. The sound is excellent, I love having a radio in my mp3 player. I guess it’s nice that there are so many choices for so many people. I choose to own both a Clip and an iPod for different reasons.

Not an “evangelist” here, just someone who purchased the product and had it work with no issue.  As far as I can recall, I guess the only thing I needed instruction on was the fact that tunes transferred in one USB mode are only viewable on a computer when connected in that mode.  But I’ll take that “complication,” as the Clip then gives me the universal MSP mode rather than only offering MTP mode which I neither need nor reaqlly want.

Oh, plus updating on the various firmware enhancements.  :wink:

Granted, the Clip can be a bit quirky and buggy- and there was definitely a quality-control problem at SanDisk…but until the Clip came along, I’d check out MP3 players- desiring to have one…but never bought one, because the iPod and others just didn’t cut it for me!

If we’re comparing apples to apples (under $100 flash-based players), there is just no contest. Clip wins…hands down. If you gave me an iPod Shuffle for free, I’d have no use for it, as I don’t consider a player with no way to adjust the sound quality (i.e. no customizeable EQ), no screen; no voice recorder…etc. to be a viable option. It’s like comparinmg a Fisher-Price toy cassette recorder to a Harmon-Kardon stereo.

The only thing nice I can think of to say about iPods…is that they come in nicer colors and look nice.

I have an IPod Video 60GB and it needs periodic resets when it freezes abut once a month or so. Also iTunes is rather buggy. It will convert parts of some music files (and not let you know that it is partial). Recently when it converts videos (.mov files), the sound stutters. Also, IPods (classics) are heavy and slippery. The Shuttle (comparable to the Clip) has a maximum of 2GB and costs $150. I thought my wife was nuts for buying the Clip as she already had the iPod. I thought she should buy a Shuttle, but now I see the genius of her purchase. You can be the cool one and give Jobs the extra cash. I will remain nerdy and keep my money.

@cllipman wrote:

The only thing nice I can think of to say about iPods…is that they come in nicer colors and look nice.

Except:  there’s nothing to compare with the Clip’s silver reflective–you’d have to buy a separate case for that.  :slight_smile:

After months of trying to deal with my iPod, I’ve come to the conclusion that if you are serious about an mp3 player, you can both save money and get a better product by buying something other than an iPod.  The iPod is a nice mp3 player for someone who cares more about looking “cool” than features or audio quality and generally has more money than brains.  If you want a reliable player that doesn’t lock you into shoddily written software, proprietary file formats, and terrible customer support, buy something other than an iPod.  I own both (I’m almost embarassed to admit it, but I was lured by the 160GB iPod’s capacity), and the iPod is a constant source of hassle and angst in my life. Just read the posts on discussions.apple.com (good luck finding anyone from Apple there to help you, or firmware release notes that are more descriptive than “bug fixes” ) and you’ll know what a problem it is owning an iPod.

Especially in this price range (~$50), it’s no contest whatsoever.  The only competition for the Clip is the Creative Zen Stone.  The iPod Shuffle is a complete joke by comparison - no display, no FM tuner, no voice recording, no EQ - and only 1GB for that price vs. 2GB for the Clip/Stone!

Now, Sandisk, about that 160GB player…  Please save my sanity. :slight_smile:

Message Edited by tjderr on 06-10-2008 08:28 AM

@tjderr wrote:

After months of trying to deal with my iPod, I’ve come to the conclusion that if you are serious about an mp3 player, you can both save money and get a better product by buying something other than an iPod.  The iPod is a nice mp3 player for someone who cares more about looking “cool” than features or audio quality and generally has more money than brains.  If you want a reliable player that doesn’t lock you into shoddily written software, proprietary file formats, and terrible customer support, buy something other than an iPod.  I own both (I’m almost embarassed to admit it, but I was lured by the 160GB iPod’s capacity), and the iPod is a constant source of hassle and angst in my life. Just read the posts on discussions.apple.com (good luck finding anyone from Apple there to help you, or firmware release notes that are more descriptive than “bug fixes” ) and you’ll know what a problem it is owning an iPod.

 

Especially in this price range (~$50), it’s no contest whatsoever.  The only competition for the Clip is the Creative Zen Stone.  The iPod Shuffle is a complete joke by comparison - no display, no FM tuner, no voice recording, no EQ - and only 1GB for that price vs. 2GB for the Clip/Stone!

Post of the week!

An Ipod owner told me yesterday that Steve Jobs himself wrote this post and he is also in the official apple forum under the nickname “Ipodfix” if you want to contact him for free Rockboxed Ipods…:manvery-happy:

OK, maybe we are all dellussional and so the guys from Head-Fi, ABI and other audiophile forums.

Seriously, I have two Clips and no problems at all, I come here for ideas and suggestions. No many companies are so open to listen their customers like Sandisk, even when they promoting the competition. No experience with Ipod but here in my country some people are making big money servicing faulty Ipods, they’re not perfect at all.

I have an ipod shuffle and a Clip. Very similar, except the clip has a display (+2 point) I was given the shuffle by a company I used to work for;  it has their logo on it, etc.  I would say it is bad advertising.

I use my iPod to ski because it has a little bit more volume(+1), however, I couldn’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve gotten to the top of the lift, everyone is ready to go, I push the play button (through my jacket, with gloves on - I have to admit I like the big button for this (+1)  and nothing happens.  Once again that darned ipod is locked up.  So everyone waits on me to take off my gloves, open my jacket, pull my ipod out, turn it off, wait a bit, turn it on, wait for music to start, put ipod back in pocket and bundle back up (-3)   Many times I have thought to throw it away so I won’t be tempted to take it with me again.

Then there’s the difficulty putting music on the ipod.  This is on Linux. I had to find special software for it (gtkpod), build and install that, then everytime I want to change the music I have to run that special app (-2).  I don’t know how to make it open automatically when I plug in the ipod - I know I could figure it out but I ain’t motivated enough to do it (and I bet that the average user could not do it).

With the clip, I plug it in, it pops up on my desktop, I just drag songs on,and hit ‘delete’ to remove them, click unmount (wait for icon to disappear) and unplug.  I can’t think of how it could be be any easier (+2).

I have had one issue with my clip doing something funny with the display.  That was a one time thing so far and it went away by powering off and charging it.

So, for grins, start with 5 each, add it up (let’s see if I can add), I give the clip 9 points and the ipod shuffle gets 2.

Robert 

@tjderr - great post!

But why are we even still talking about this?  Go buy the **bleep** ipod already.  Sheesh…

@rwuest wrote:

  Many times I have thought to throw it away [iPod] so I won’t be tempted to take it with me again.

 

Robert 

HAHAHahaha!!! Thanks for my biggest laugh of the day!! From what I’ve heard and seen…that about sums it up! (I’ve seen more people [usually kids] with annoyed looks on their faces, pulling out iPods and cursing them, than any other player. Any time I see that…I just KNOW they’re gonna be pulling an iPod out of their pocket).

Robert, you win the award for best damnation of a product with faint praise! :smileyvery-happy:

@dpd wrote:
If you want a reliable player with software that is excellent and with universal compatibility, buy an iPod.

Since when did Itunes become a universal compatibility software??? Ipod uses itunes… only. Sansa players use… well too many to list…

Oh and um… have you looked at Ipods forums lately?? Just as many pissed people there as you’ll find at any forum site… but hey, first time you drop the Ipod and the heads crash into the harddrive rendering it useless… Ipod FTL 

Message Edited by Apix on 06-11-2008 02:42 PM