iPod versus iRiver.

[Tristan23]

Yes, i searched. No, my questions were not answered.

Alrighty. My 80gig iPod video was stolen last night from a party, and while this sucks a whole lot more ****** than you can imagine, it affords me opportunities to try new products. One thing i've heard (mainly from Meet the Farkers, ha ha ha) is that iRiver's rip the sh*t outta iPods. Is this true?

I had a look on the iRiver site and it says the largest version of their product is 6GB? Is that true? And if so, what's the point of that? I've got 32GB's of music in my library, what am i meant to do with 6 meazly gigabytes of space? If it's not true, ignore the last paragraph.

So can someone hit me up with some real life opinions, as after 24 hours of not having music readily accessible, plus going away tomorrow and not having music for the 3 hour bus ride there and back, i'm in need of a new MP3 player. Video or not.

Cheers in advance.
Tristan

[Rider15]

Get one of these beasts.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/01/05/toshiba-gigabeat-s-portable-media-center-with-2-4-inch-qvga-lcd/

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/1090/gigabeatsn4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Chalkie]

If you didn't have any problems with the iPod you may as well stick to it. You're music will already be (i assume) in iTunes so you wont need to mess around with setting it up. If you do want a change maybe check out the creative zen as well. They're pretty good from what mates have said.

[Rider15]

As long as you didnt buy the music from Itunes you will be fine.

Seriously tho Ipods are WAY over priced

[Tristan23]

Seriously tho Ipods are WAY over priced

My reason exactly. I need other options without forking out $450. But, if nothing else is up to the job, i may have to.

[Rider15]

60Gb Toshiba for $399

[Ham]

60Gb Toshiba for $399

yep when i worked with them they were great never had one returned as a change of mind and Toshiba's repairs and warranties are top notch in the event that it stuffs up.

good interface and loads of features awesome value for money.

the i-rivers also rock you used to be able to get 30 gb ones but they were discontinued.

try and buy the Toshiba from dick smith and you have a 2 week change of mind policy so take it home use it if you don't like it you can take it back no questions asked.

[muzza167]

I know someone who bought an iRiver and it shat itself (froze/locked) in the first couple of days... In saying that, I have heard iPod aren't much better. :rolleyes:

[Dane]

My sisters had her iRiver h340 for a few years now. Its been dropped a few times etc but has never missed a beat. Really is a shame they were discontinued, i guess they weren't competitive enough with the slimmer new generation of ipods. Its an excellent unit though and is much better than the ipods of the same age.

[muzza167]

My sisters had her iRiver h340 for a few years now. Its been dropped a few times etc but has never missed a beat. Really is a shame they were discontinued, i guess they weren't competitive enough with the slimmer new generation of ipods. Its an excellent unit though and is much better than the ipods of the same age.

Yeah, the person I know, got a replacement and it has been fine ever since. One of the biggest problems with iPod is that the screens crack easily.

EDIT: Forgot to mention Battery life of the iPods... They suck. After like a year, expect them to fail.

[kjf]

Take play time into account.
New ipod videos get about 20hr music playback and 6.5 hr video.
I have the ipod photo, and in the two years ive had it, the playtimme has gone from like 15 hours to about 3.
Ipod batteries suck.

[Richo 18]

I got an iPod 30g, and people say it's way over priced, but the cost is the the details. You get much MUCH clearer music through an iPod, the video is also great if you use it, and a big advantage of the iPod is the support you can get.

They are the best known MP3 so they have the best support on websites, in stores, questions to people, etc more people are always gonna know about the iPod so the help is always there.

And if it does stuff up by manufacturing default, then you can send it back to apple. They either refurbish, or if that can't be done they just replace. So I reckon iPod is the way to go, 30 or 80.

[Matt H]

Aren't iPod batteries pretty much designed to fail after about a year or so anyway? They seem to stuff up waaaaaay too much and their stupid proprietary format is just well, stupid.

[Alec McJo]

Although Ipods are alright, theres so many better options for money.


I don't know much about these, but oh fuck they look nice. A little larger than most but oh baby... http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=210&subcategory=211&product=15752

[kjf]

And if it does stuff up by manufacturing default, then you can send it back to apple. They either refurbish, or if that can't be done they just replace. So I reckon iPod is the way to go, 30 or 80.

If it is in the waranty period. They will still do it but you have to pay the price.

[tu plang]

i know most people have issues with ipod battery life but i think it comes down to sensible charging habbits. sure, the batteries are meant to be uneffected by going completely flat and being regularly half charged but i think in practice they are. i have always been fairly concious to let it drain most of the way and then give it a complete charge and i haven't noticed any enormous drop in battery life.

i like my ipod because its simple and easy to navigate, if you like them be sensible: get an extended warranty on it and let the battery run in full charge/discharge cycles.

[/\/\3qq3/\/\]

I reckon just get a phone with a massive memory card, the reason for this is, well for me anyway, I hate having too many things in my pockets, especially when I'm riding. Just thought I'd throw that in.

[brisneyland]

i have always been fairly concious to let it drain most of the way and then give it a complete charge and i haven't noticed any enormous drop in battery life.


That's actually the worse thing you could do for it. iPod batteries are li-ion and complete charge-discharge cycles are not good for them.

The *best* thing you could do is charge it to about 40% and keep it at lowish temps (i.e 5ºC) but that's obviously not really feasible. So, just keep it charged up and only infrequently discharge it completely.

[tu plang]

That's actually the worse thing you could do for it. iPod batteries are li-ion and complete charge-discharge cycles are not good for them.

The *best* thing you could do is charge it to about 40% and keep it at lowish temps (i.e 5ºC) but that's obviously not really feasible. So, just keep it charged up and only infrequently discharge it completely.

it has always worked for me, i dont let it run completely flat mind you. li-ions are also meant to do a lot of things but seeing as my batteries haven't died and everyone i know's has i'll stick with it.

[brisneyland]

it has always worked for me, i dont let it run completely flat mind you. li-ions are also meant to do a lot of things but seeing as my batteries haven't died and everyone i know's has i'll stick with it.

AKAIK the theory is based on fairly basic chemical principles. I've seen the potential capacity of my laptop battery drop by a few percent after a single charge/discharge. Since then I've minimised full charge cycles and battery 'health' is much better over a long period of time (the first laptop battery pretty much died after ~18 months of hard use and subsequent batteries are fairing much better)

[LIAM?!]

I must have the coolest iPod mini... lasted me 3 years, nothing ever gone wrong with it...

[chelsea_fan7]

I would go with the creative zen vision: M... i've had one for 10 months and it hasnt played up on me at all. i think they are avaiable in 60GB but i only have a 30 GB one...

[m_g]

My sisters had her iRiver h340 for a few years now. Its been dropped a few times etc but has never missed a beat. Really is a shame they were discontinued, i guess they weren't competitive enough with the slimmer new generation of ipods. Its an excellent unit though and is much better than the ipods of the same age.

I bought one of these 6 months ago from a site that had discontinued goods...I love it, never had a problem with it, and heaps better/more reliable than any iPod I have heard of...
BUT, the software sucks so get irivium (google search)

[SkiTz-]

I've got a I river e10 and its great, never had a single problem with it. 6 gig is all I really need and the battery lasts a lot longer than a ipod, i listen to it on average 3-4 hours a day and it lasts a good week without having to charge it up.:)

[vgisit]

I sell both at a retail store. IPod's have their problems so I'd steer clear and they are overpriced for the features included.

Best mp3 player on the market is the iRiver x20, 8 gig version. Why ?

- built in speaker
- can add memory to it
- easily replacable battery ( just like mobile phone)
- large screen for vid's
- FM radio
- good price ~ $300

Toshiba gigabeats are also good if you are looking at a player with 30 -60 gig of memory.

The creative Zenvision W is great the best for watching movies though, but it more of a protable media player than a mp3 player

[and1]

the Ipod is way better than anything out there easily. Anyone who complains about the battery issue - you can buy replacement batteries not made by apple for $19.95 and they last about 3 times longer, it even comes with a kit to open the ipod and change the battery over. I've done it to a couple of mates ipods and its ridiculously easy to do.

I probably just wouldn't recommend it till after youve owned the ipod for 12 months, that way your warranty has expired and it wont matter what you do to it.

[Alec McJo]

That's actually the worse thing you could do for it. iPod batteries are li-ion and complete charge-discharge cycles are not good for them.

The *best* thing you could do is charge it to about 40% and keep it at lowish temps (i.e 5ºC) but that's obviously not really feasible. So, just keep it charged up and only infrequently discharge it completely.

Well Apples advice is to fully discharge then discharge the batteries more often as it makes it last longer. I had an Ipod for over 2 years and the battery was perfect, in the end it died of other problems. I got myself a small 1 Gig Creative MP3 which I'm so much happier with, it may not hold my whole library of music or movies but its so easy to get around with, and great when I'm at the gym (which is a lot) or running or at school or what not.

[noske]

HEY,
GET A IRIVERI have a h10 and they kick ipod's ass. There so much cheaper and have so many more features
DONT GET AN IPOD!

[lebronmtb]

I sell both at a retail store. IPod's have their problems so I'd steer clear and they are overpriced for the features included.

Best mp3 player on the market is the iRiver x20, 8 gig version. Why ?

- built in speaker
- can add memory to it
- easily replacable battery ( just like mobile phone)
- large screen for vid's
- FM radio
- good price ~ $300

Toshiba gigabeats are also good if you are looking at a player with 30 -60 gig of memory.

The creative Zenvision W is great the best for watching movies though, but it more of a protable media player than a mp3 player


sweet i bought one 2 days ago before even seeing this thread!

[brooko]

we love our apple 80 gb ipod, the sound through the headphones is awsome! i paid an extra $60 for 3 yr warranty as the guy selling them said allmost all ipods have problems after a year or so,this was from harvey norman, we have had it a while and never missed a beat!:cool:

[sockman]

In my far from expert opinion, ipods are shyte. Although they are the easiest to use, they continually f*ck up with bugs etc, and if your'e thinking of one of the 30gig+ models, its a hd not flash memory so it will die when taken riding...

ipods chuck s o c k s