Help a highly conflicted consumer out here: I need a new mp3 player in the worst way. My 3G 30Gb iPod’s hard drive died an ignominious death a while back, and my [freebie] 4Gb Mini’s screen got crushed in November, rendering it useless as anything but a quasi-Shuffle with no indicator as to its battery status.
I’ve been waffling back and forth and buck and froth for at least a month now, and I can’t for the life of me decide between the 8Gb Nano (the red one) or a 30 Gb 5G. I think that, once all the pros and cons are sorted out, it comes down to the spacious but heavier (and possibly more delicate hard drive) of the 5G versus the relative puny capacity but lightness and (I would hope) slight robustness of the Nano with its flash drive. Both cost the same, so that doesn’t factor into it. And I’ll buy a case for either (probably the Marware Sportsuit Convertible), so scratching/durability isn’t such an issue.
I’ll mostly use it for exercise (stationary bike), subway commutiing, air travel, and sitting at my desk trying to drown out loud and/or cackling coworkers. I’m not that interested in being able to watch videos or play games on this device.
And there probably are other models that cost less, offer more, and have their own charms — I just haven’t read reviews of any that have seduced me yet. Am I deafened by the Cupertino siren song? Is the choice obvious to all but me?
Joe says:
January 5th, 2007 at 2:41 pm ESTVisit Joe
Get the 5G. Videos & what not!
Ezra says:
January 5th, 2007 at 3:32 pm ESTVisit Ezra
Like a modern day Odysseus, I have stuffed my ears with the buds of other manufacturers, so have never heard this Cupertino siren song myself. I almost did, but then I got lured by a free Creative Nano for signing up for eMusic (sorry to Doug for not signing him up as my recommender), which was great and still works, but its case is shot after 3 months of moderate use so I’m holding it together with a rubber band.
You burn through these things at an alarming rate, my friend; have you considered just getting something cheap and planning to upgrade every year?
I have always had the flash kind. I would love to try one that I could just put all my music on and not have to worry about what I should put on this week, or getting trapped on the subway without having anything I actually feel like listening to.
LLA says:
January 5th, 2007 at 4:15 pm ESTVisit LLA
I, too, totally suck at shopping, so I will be no help at all. Esp. since my very first gut reaction upon reading the choices presented to me was “Ooooh. Red! Pretty…” (my inner child must be a squirrel, or a magpie, or something else that is easily lured by the shiny thing….)
As far as being deafened by the Cupertino siren song - I think you’re just fine. Love me some Apple products. And I mean, what else are you going to get, a Zune? Hideously ugly…
Sue says:
January 5th, 2007 at 8:16 pm ESTVisit Sue
I have the 4 Gb iPod mini, which is practically an antique by now, but I must say the thing is remarkably durable — I’ve never kept it in a case and have dropped it on the floor at least twice, and it still works. If I have to replace it, I’ll probably go with one of the Nanos, since I like the small size & can’t imagine wanting to watch video on an iPod. The Macworld expo is going to take place next week in San Francisco — it’ll be interesting to see what Apple announces… there’s always some big news.
Terri says:
January 9th, 2007 at 1:38 pm ESTVisit Terri
I’m happy with my Creative Zen V. They come in 1G, 2G, and 4G versions–maybe not enough space for you?–and have a line in (woo!), but not very good software for dealing with whatever you use the line in for. Still, it sounds WAY better than my old mp3 player (which wasn’t an iPod, either). I guess I’m no help in this department, since I’ve never had an iPod, but if you’re ever considering a switch, then I’ll recommend the Zen. I’ve dropped it a couple of times, not very violently, but it’s fine. It’s very light and pretty darn small–probably along the lines of the iPod Nano, but the Nano seems more fragile to me.
Editrix says:
January 9th, 2007 at 2:51 pm ESTVisit Editrix
Thanks for all the input — I wound up going with the red Nano, mostly because of the flash drive and because it had a lot of the features of my poor, beloved, busted-LCD Mini.
It should arrive in the next couple of days, as my obsessive refreshing of the FedEx tracking page indicates.