iPods and other Mp3 players

[IrishDutchman]

Right, I want an upgrade from my Ipod shuffle (which I got from you guys <3). I have my eyes on an old 30 gig video one.

My dad's complaining that they have a hard disk. According to him they are all kinds of trouble, and that they crash, are fragile and use up way too much battery power.

He's the only person I've heard this from, so I have my doubts about it.

My question is:

Are hard disks really a liability? If so, do iPod nanos contain one? If not, what other options do I have?

Thanks!

[TimP]

Hard disk based MP3 players have an undeserved bad reputation. I've been using a hard disk based MP3 player for over three years and it's still running like a champ. Granted I've never dropped it on any hard surfaces or subjected it to other abuses that hard disks are particularly vulnerable to, but it's been shaken, left in cold cars, etc. and in general I consider them to be sufficiently robust.

iPod nanos are flash based and have no moving parts. If you want to store a lot of music (> 16GB), hard disk based players are the only financially feasible option, otherwise you can go either way. I get great battery life out of mine. I've never benchmarked it, but I can easily get over 10 hours per charge.

[Jimmy_the_saint]

Uhh personally, I don't believe in iPods. My friends ones always break or screw up in someway or another, so Creative has a "Vision:M" series that Is 30Gb with video compatability. They can Set aside a portion of thier storage space to create up to an 8Gb portable hard drive, so that gets rid of the problem of the hard drive crashing because you don't have to have one.

[MattTheFighter]

I have a Ipod Shuffle. If you plan on using your Ipod almost everyday or everyday, go with the Cheap Mp3's. If you use your Ipod alot, like my self, They will wear out and you won't have it a year.

[SuiCidAl-KiSmEt]

I have an IPod Classic, my first IPod for three months. But my dad bought me a hard plastic Griffin (http://www.griffintechnology.com/) case for it. They both look brand new... almost. I used to have a few cheap MP3s before, all broke. :o One of them, the screen suddenly stopped working except for the background light, and for the other one... accidentally slammed it on a car door. x.x It was in my jacket pocket as I entered and sat in the car. And that screen didn't work anymore. My dad knows about all my broken cheap MP3s, makes me wonder why he thought I was responsible enough to get an ($600?) IPod for my birthday... Anyway, I'm sure within our own experiences that for the cheap things 'you get what you pay for'. To be really happy, just get the best thing you want and take care of it. I'd like to challenge that 1 year thing for my part.

I don't know why I had to talk much there...

[hammocksleeper]

dude, now that the iPod Touch is out, that is really your only option. nothing else is even worth considering. movies, music, video, email, wifi internet, basically everything a iPhone does without the phone functionality.

Right, I want an upgrade from my Ipod shuffle (which I got from you guys <3). I have my eyes on an old 30 gig video one.

My dad's complaining that they have a hard disk. According to him they are all kinds of trouble, and that they crash, are fragile and use up way too much battery power.

He's the only person I've heard this from, so I have my doubts about it.

My question is:

Are hard disks really a liability? If so, do iPod nanos contain one? If not, what other options do I have?

Thanks!

[Neo]

dude, now that the iPod Touch is out, that is really your only option. nothing else is even worth considering. movies, music, video, email, wifi internet, basically everything a iPhone does without the phone functionality.

or for half the price you could pick something with 10x the space of a touch, similar functionality, and drop the apple-crap.

the touch is certainly pretty, but if he's looking to pick up an older 30gig, obviously he doesn't have the cash to pickup a brand new touch.

ooo touch screens are pretty

-Neo

[IrishDutchman]

iPod nanos are flash based and have no moving parts. If you want to store a lot of music (> 16GB), hard disk based players are the only financially feasible option, otherwise you can go either way. I get great battery life out of mine. I've never benchmarked it, but I can easily get over 10 hours per charge.

Alright, interesting. 16 Gb would probaby be enough. I'll see if I can get my hands on one of those. Thanks for the advice, guys.