Steely
Dumped Comcast for FiOS
Premium
join:2000-10-15
Princeton Junction, NJ
| Am I the only one not thrilled with my iPod?
I'm curious....am I the only one in the universe who doesn't think the iPod is the greatest gift to mankind since maybe fire or the wheel? Someone bought me a 40GB click-wheel (for full price) last January and I keep trying to love it. So far, I don't. The only good things about it that are obvious to me are the compactness, the responsive control wheel, and the fact that they make a gazillion (mostly overpriced) accessories for it.
What don't I like about it??? First of all, it doesn't use normal Windows directory/folder structures for organizing songs. It relies on ID Tag info for its database. And even though the majority of my four-or-whatever thousand songs ARE fairly well tagged, many aren't. And now they have strange names and designations on my iPod. Of course my carefully selected descriptive file names don't help because the iPod wants to use its own file-naming system (and doesn't display or sort by file name anyway). Then there's the issue of iTunes shoving Quicktime and some "services" down your throat. There's also the semi-permanent (read: hard to change) battery issue, a future annoyance in my case. Another thing: Sometimes I want to quickly know the bitrate of the song. (If there's a way to check that, I haven't figured it out yet.) And Apple wants you to store your music in their proprietary file format. Boo, hiss. How about when you want to move songs OFF your iPod and back onto your (or someone else's) computer? Not that straightforward from what I understand.
Yeah.....I know there are workarounds (some of them 3rd party) for a lot of these things. But the bottom line is that I find the iPod to be more of an overpriced, semi-alien annoyance than the perfect holy grail it's usually touted as being. Now to be fair, other than owning a very old Archos Jukebox (which works well), I've never tried the competing modern products from Dell, Creative, etc., but my gut feeling is I would like them more, not to mention they're almost certainly cheaper.
So please tell me why my thinking is faulty so I can love my little $400+ toy the way I'm supposed to. Please. |
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tke711
Premium
join:2001-03-31
Everywhere
| We went with the iRiver H10 for many of the same reasons you listed. Primarily because we didn't have to install any software. You can simply transfer to the device using WMP or MusicMatch.
Also, it comes included with an FM radio.
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You can't reason someone out of something they weren't reasoned into. -- Mark Twain |
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ke4pym
join:2004-07-24
Charlotte, NC
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1 edit | reply to Steely
I will gladly take your iPod off your hands if you're just that unhappy with it.
Taking song's of the iPod and just about every other complaint you have is addressed in RedChair Software's Anapod Explorer. If you know you're going to need to give a friend some music, use the iPod as a hard drive and whammo blamo that easy.
I also don't see an "FM radio" as a feature. I can't honestly tell you the last time I had FM radio on as a audio source.
Otherwise, use Windows nice little search utility to find the song you're looking for. It's really not that hard to goto (ipoddrive)\control\music (i think that's right, don't have my 'pod handy at this very second) and use Explorer's ID3 tag reader to find what you're looking for. Spend some time and clean up your tags. |
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imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
| reply to Steely
Have you ever been to »www.ilounge.com ?(I know you posted about the "workarounds" and 3rd party apps) Almost all your "issues" have been covered there. You are not forced to use iTunes, there are at least half a dozen different programs that you can use, including MusicMatch that tke711  says he uses. Also, Apple doesn't care what audio format you use, the iPod doesn't convert MP3s to AAC, they keep the form they were transferred to. Moving songs off the iPod is easy, you can either copy the directory right off the iPod to later transfer back on, or use one of the many 3rd part apps. None of the third party programs are workarounds.
Also note, the new Dell Junkbox now doesn't have a removable battery, so it seems as if the other manufacturers are now following Apple even more. I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't the last to do it. |
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Sarah
Premium,ExMod 2002-05
join:2001-01-09
Cambridge, MA
clubs:
| reply to Steely
You're not the only one. I sold my iPod and bought an iRiver H140, best decision I ever made.  Drove me nuts not having filetree navigation and not being able to copy files on and off without having to use extra software. I loathe iTunes as a music organizer.
Check out the iAudio X5 or X5L. »www.dapreview.net/content.php?review.201
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BEAT IT, BILL!
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ajlarue
join:2001-01-29
Coronado, CA
| reply to Steely
I like it, but I don't like the fact that it is hard to shut off. Just pushing the off button sometimes you have to do it a bunch of times then it'll finally shut down (it goes to pause then play then pause) And Itunes is not so user friendly either. |
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fegul
Premium
join:2004-08-23
united state
| reply to Steely
The main problems I've seen on Ipods are bad HD's and bad batteries. Those two things kill more Ipods than you'd believe, so get flash based MP3 players unless you want size. And yes, the Ipod is a proprietary piece of crap (IMHO) because I like playing different format audio files, and keeping my own structure.
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Jehu
Premium
join:2002-09-13
MA
| reply to Steely
HypePod!
I splurged and bought a 40gig 3rd gen a few years back. Cool-factor was definately involved.
It is a nice device.
I'm pretty sure that no portable music player is going to change my life significantly, but next go around I'll not get an ipod. There are plenty of other options out there that do a better job than the ipod, for quite less money.
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chRoniX10
Peace sells, but who's buying?
Premium
join:2004-05-22
Tarzana, CA | reply to Steely
I am enjoying my 4G 30gig photo IPOD. 
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gquiring
I Did It My Way
Premium
join:2001-04-07
Matawan, NJ
 ·Verizon FIOS
·Optimum Online
1 edit | reply to Steely
I agree with you Steely, the iPod is one much over-hyped product. Apple was lucky. The peer pressure from the younger folks not buying an iPod is another reason for it's success.
iTunes is one of the worst applications on Windows I have. I hate it 100%
Until recently iPods only came with firewire cables, the USB was an addtional cost. Considering how expensive it was I was shocked Apple could not include the USB converter.
The battery life/replacement cost is another issue. I have other gripes but it is a working product.
iPod's success is not worthy of what it is. |
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justin
Australian
join:1999-05-28
Brooklyn, NY
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1 edit | reply to Steely
Why should you love it? the ipod is a mass market device. Face it, most people reading and posting in these forums are geeks of one kind or another. We sometimes have different ideas about what is important in a device.
My ipod addicted friends have no idea what a "bitrate" is, they are not interested in learning intricate computer things and itunes, for its flaws, actually works without crashing and gets their music onto their ipod or sells them new music so they don't have to buy CDs anymore.
These people got bit by limewire or whatever, bit torrent is too complicated, and they don't have time to find out whether or not taking a copy of someone elses mp3 collection has been made in a practical sense a crime yet.
The music they get is all nicely tagged. It is backed up (on the ipod and on their PC). It sounds good. They can get on with doing whatever else they are like to do.
All that sense, I still think the ipod is cool, especially the nano. This probably is the secret to its success. Not only is it appealing to the masses, it is also at least partially appealing to the techno cognoscenti.
They did what AOL failed to do: made something easy to use that is also bearably good for (most) geeks. |
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Sunsetstrip
Go Kings
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-08
West Hollywood, CA
clubs:
| reply to Steely
I am in a 100% agreement with the tone of most posters here,when I was shopping a mp3 player iPod was being sued in a class action suit over the battery issue,the way that was handled by Apple was enough to make me not even consider a iPod.
The battery,the propriety files which I hate from any source,the cost all made iPods not viable,for $170 I bought a 30GB Creative Zen Xtra that has a 11 Hr battery,replacement batteries are available for a decent price($40)plays mp3,wma,wav,looks good,easy scroll wheel navigation,equalizer(wish it was 6 band not 4).To buy a iPod of the same size I would have to have come up with about $300,and I could care less about the "coolness" factor,I don't need nor do I want my player to do anything other than play music,I don't want to look at pictures on a tiny 2" screen,I don't want to make phone calls,I don't want it to be a PDA,and most of all I don't want anything else besides black,white,or silver...no neon pink,sunburst orange,apple green ....yuck 
Yes iPods have every conceivable 3rd party add on and accessory but I have no need for a Swiss Army Knife type device thank you.
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GeekNJ
Premium
join:2000-09-23
Waldwick, NJ
·Verizon FIOS
| reply to Steely
I have 2 iPods (one for me, 1 for my wife). My kids both want iPods - deciding whether it's the Nano or the new Video one.
I've never had an issue with the 2 I own. We use iTunes and all music is either purchased through the iTunes Music Store or "ripped" into iTunes for a CD we already owned.
I've never had to help my wife or kids use either iTunes or the iPod. They (and I) use it every day. I don't think there's any better product/software integration then iTunes. Any product a wife and kids can use that doesn't require a techy dad to help with gets top marks in my book.
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Corona
It's cool, I'm takin it back
Premium
join:2000-03-14
Aubrey, TX | reply to Steely
Apple is a marketing GENIUS. Everything else they do is "so-so". |
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signmeuptoo
Tune in to XM 120. BOO
Premium
join:2001-11-22
LOSTinSpace
clubs:
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 ·AT&T Southeast
| reply to Steely
First off: I LOVE MY iPod! I bought a mini, next to new, from another member here at DSLR. It is really nice how the click wheel works, it is so easy to use really. It has USB *and* firewire support (the new ones don't, major suckage IMHO). I happen to like that it is colored blue, and I **love** the aluminum chassis, it is a brilliant idea that they were stupid to abandon. There are tons of things that will work with it and some of them I dream of getting if I get my hands on some cash. The screen is clean and clear, and the illumination is awesome and looks pleasing. There is plenty of software out there (though I would like it if there was more). I can use it in Linux (I am a recent convert to Linux, a very dedicated convert, if you haven't tried to learn and use Linux, you are really missing out, it's a dog to learn and set up, but, considering the shear huge variety of versions out there, it **IS** the Swiss Army knife of OSs).
...
OTOH:
Unless you wanna spend money, it is likely, if you are a legal minded soul, that you will *have* to live with iTunes. Now, iTunes really ain't that bad, in fact, it is almost partially intuitive (ALMOST, but not quite, it can be a PITA to use in many ways). The other iPods (not the mini, thankfully) get scratches and cosmetic crap as easy as New Orleans is "The Big Easy". They have abandoned some of the few really neat aspects of it, such as the extended headphone port and firewire capability. They eliminated the included wall charger, a rotten move. My mini cannot record, let alone support an FM tuner (MAJOR suckage that I am bummed about). The clickwheel can get smudged because they insist on their goofy white theme. Everybody and their brother and sister have to sport and flaunt their iPods as though they are hip or something, all of the fitting in and keeping up with the Joneses gets on my NERVES. There are major limitations to the directory structure and navigation system. It is the most popular to steal, and it stands out too much. If you unplug it without safely disabling it, the thing gets borked, though not always.
That, including the above objections that others have stated.
Nevertheless, I am still pinching myself because I am poor and can't believe I actually have a 4 gig capacity digital music player. I only wish it were 10 gig, but 4 ain't too bad, it just means that I have to update it more often.
Now don't get me wrong, I love my player, my iPod. At least it ain't a chinzty plastic thing. It does it's job fairly well. It sounds ok, though I expect others might sound better, I would love to see some comparisons of sound quality, if there are any. It is pretty compact which is nice, it is good because I ride a bicycle to and from everywhere I go. The earbuds are better quality than those of some other players so I hear (though I prefer my Shure E2cs and I laugh at all of the dozens and dozens of clueless Cornell Student posers that are happy living with the stock earbuds (Lame, because these ARE rich spoiled kids who don't know any better, not a single one of them that I have seen had a good set of 'phones on, and just today I saw at least 20 Cornell Students with iPods alone. Not a single other personal digital player was to be found. Call them digital cattle, if you ask me.
I am a poor old bum of a guy, and it felt good to show that I had one too and was "just as hip as a spoiled rich kid", though I am not, and couldn't even care the less, I just like rubbing noses in it, it takes away their illusions that it is cool to own one.
For now, I will remain very thankful to God and the Universal Energy of space (as well as the member who took good care of it before selling it to me), that I own it. If I ever get my hands on the cash, I will get one of the superior players, like the two great ones posted about in this thread. I will also get some Shure E4c's or one of the other really good ones out there. I'd like a pair of dual driver phones though, so I could have great bass AND great uppers too. These E2c's are a little bit upper side heavy, though not so much that it isn't unpleasant.
Just my heartfelt opinion. When the battery dies, if the HD is still good I will replace the battery, because it is pretty easy to do on the mini 2nd gen., and even if it wasn't, I have well trained soldering skills. If the HD goes out, I still might fix it if HDs show up cheap enough, because these aluminum players are a great idea that shouldn't die, as a technician of engineering, I consider the chassis to be VERY elegant and well thought out, and well made (though I haven't yet taken it apart).
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aliasrlz
Premium
join:2000-09-01
the world
|  reply to justin
Well said Justin....Apple doesn't have 80% of the HDD based MP3 market for no reason....... Simplicity and ease of function is huge to Apple. For the non-geeks, firing up iTunes and getting their songs into the iPOD is all the care about....not this ID tagging, windows file structure, and moving songs all over the place. That is probably the minority-minority of their customer base.
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aliasrlz
Premium
join:2000-09-01
the world | reply to signmeuptoo
Geezuz! Is every message you write like 10 pages long? Where do you find the time? |
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signmeuptoo
Tune in to XM 120. BOO
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join:2001-11-22
LOSTinSpace
clubs: | Why how nice of you! |
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dumwaldo
Premium
join:2001-03-12
| reply to Steely
i actually agree with justin on this one. the ipod goes hand in hand with AOL. its designed to be used by the most computer illiterate people on the planet and that cost the device features.
if you are routinely outsmarted by your pet then the ipod is the right choice.
if you know how to hit the space bar instead of spending 20 minutes looking for the "ANY" key then you would probably be better off with a competent player that supports a variety of file formats and does not require extra software. |
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GeekNJ
Premium
join:2000-09-23
Waldwick, NJ | Thankfully, there's all us below average AOL users to make someone as mediocre as you look so good. |
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