Let’s Shuffle
Using some gift cards and Christmas money, I went shopping today. There was something I’ve had my eye on for a while, but didn’t feel it was worth it at the time. Now that I had the money and a reason to get it, I bought myself an iPod. Not the full size one (my 4 yr. old mp3 player still works just fine), but the iPod Shuffle. Wow, this thing is tiny! That’s why I wanted it, though. My 30GB Nomad Jukebox Zen is perfect for work, road trips, and other things of that type since it could hold a ton of music, but it was a pain to lug around (doesn’t fit easily in the pockets) and was very awkward to have while running. The shuffle easily clips to anything and is very small and lightweight, though it doesn’t hold nearly as many songs (it’s only 1GB) . I’ll hardly notice it’s there while I’m doing my training for the Flying Pig
More on that later… 
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Jan 6th, 2007 at 16:47:13
hey, this is totally unrelated but is there a free version of spybot that you would recommend? i found a few, but i didn’t know if they were reputable or not. my windows media player is now starting to lock up, so i figure i have too much stuff still on my computer. thanks!
Jan 6th, 2007 at 19:44:49
TRAITOR!!!
I recently typed this up for a friend that is having MULTIPLE problems with her iPod she just got (after I suggested not to get one) She has a Nano, I believe. Not a Shuffle, Video, Mini, etc. It’s flash based. And I would imagine so is yours:
iPod bashing 101:
Exhibit A: The Battery - The average lifespan of an iPod battery is only two years. Sometimes they only last a few months, sometimes they make it a little longer than expected (inconsistancy!). Once your battery dies you MUST send it into Apple (it’s impossible to replace it yourself). For $65 (used to be $100), plus shipping, and several weeks of waiting, your iPod may be fixed and sent back to you. Though often they just toss it (with all your music and data on it!) and send you a brand new one. (This makes you think–”What kind of quality is it if they can simply pitch them and send brand new ones out all the time?”)
Alternative: For ALL other players on the market you can buy batteries either retail, or online, for around $35. And you can (and are expected to) simply replace it yourself like you would any other battery. Plus, they last at least three years, if not 4-5.
Exhibit B: Equalizer & Bass Response - They’re horriable. If you have the equalizers turned off, often the bass is nearly abscent. And the equalizers you can use don’t work so hot–They greatly distort the sound.
Alternative: Eh, okay, so most equalizer options on any player don’t work very well. But as a MUSIC player, the bass shouldn’t be a problem. And the automatic equalization of the music should be a given.
Exhibit C: Durability and Reliability - The surfaces of the iPods scratch far too easily as you’ll find out. And the player is so flippin’ delicate. It can’t get too cold, hot, be dropped or tapped in the lightest without a HIGH risk of being internally damaged. It’s not like it’s a high-powered desktop PC–as a PORTABLE device it should be able to take a little bit of a beating. Also, the iPod is subject to TONS of glitches and viruses.
Exhibit D: iTunes - You can ONLY use iTunes. And if you’ve got music elsewhere on your PC, you’ve got to convert it to iTunes format. I don’t know about you, but I don’t use a Mac, and thus my music isn’t stored and organized in iTunes (I personally use Windows Media Player). Plus, iTunes updates are known to be notoriously full of issues.
Alternative: Most other players, which are geared towards Windows, allow you to use pretty much whatever music program you want. And updating it, if ever even necessary, doesn’t take a week to get done properly. Or, there are some open source options out there. Such as iPodLunix (You just installed Linux, right?)
Why not get something from the Creative MuVo line? Or something from iRiver? I don’t see why anybody, unless you’re a Mac user, would ever get an iPod.
Oh, and that friend of mine with the dysfunctional iPod is returning it and puting the money towards somthing from Creative.
Bad, Chris! Bad!
Later.
Jan 7th, 2007 at 03:09:42
First off, I’m not sure where you got some of your “facts,” but some are flat out wrong.
Secondly, most of what you said doesn’t apply to the Shuffle at all. There are no battery problems with it to my knowledge. That’s a known problem with the iPod itself, but not the Shuffle. There are no bass/equalizer settings on the Shuffle, either, so I don’t see why that was even brought up. And since when is an iPod *subject* to a virus?!? There were some Video iPods accidentally shipped with a virus, but there are no reports of them contracting viruses, and the Shuffle was not affected in the least.
Also, there are ALWAYS ways around being forced to use certain software. I don’t have to use iTunes with the Shuffle if I don’t want to.
Lastly, I have a Creative product and have had it for many years, as I stated in the post. I had one loooong before you even knew what an mp3 player was. You’re preaching to the choir with your pro-Creative propaganda. Remember, I’m the one that recommended it to you. I did my research, and if that makes me a “traitor” then so be it. For the price point and the use I had in mind for the product, this Shuffle was what I wanted, especially since it was the best one that Best Buy had and that was where my gift card was for.
Now, I advise you to take your pro-Creative, anti-Apple opinions and blog about it on your own website. I thought you said you were taking up blogging again… I’ve seen one post in the past 6+ months… Whatever happened to the writeup on that music festival you went to? Maybe if you spent less time bashing things of other sites and more time on yours…