Chris L

Very amusing thread Buy what YOU like - simple as that. I've been using iTunes for ages. Don't understand this 'buggy' jibe aimed at it. It has worked faultlessly for me since day one. I was in Singapore a few weeks ago and I decided it was time to get a decent player - the best deal I found was a 60Gb iPod photo for £200. The design and ease of use are great - simplicity itself - which is always the sign of good design.

Music quality is always a subjective thing. I would agree that the standard iPod headphones are appallingly crap and I don't know why Apple even bothered to package them with the player. A quick trip over to Shure has sorted that out - got a stunning set for about £60 (and they have black leads, so it doesn't say 'mug me for my iPod' ). The actual quality of the music really depends on the level of compression used. Most of my stuff is encoded at 128 or 160 and sounds fine. I note Andy's bit about the payment system and he makes some good points. But from MY point-of-view, this suits me down to the ground. Updating the iPod and the software has been easy as was installation. Battery life is excellent and I'll also be using it to store photos when I'm out with my camera. Have to say I'm very impressed so far. It does everything I want it to do.

KiwiGTI

It's also worth noting that Apples AAC encoding is widely accepted to be better than MP3 ad certainly better than WMA.

And another advantage of the Ipods is the sheer amount of accessories and 3rd party support.

Luan Pra bang

I spent over 500 quid on two of the ******* before I found out they were ****e thats what pisses me off. I could have spent that cash on hookers or lapdancers.

scoobyster

Toshiba Gigabeat is out soon. I find they tend to make good kit and iirc they make all these mini hard drives anyway so I'd bet they've made a good product. Specs look good, if only the battery life were a bit better I'd be tempted to pre-order.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...id=1117401888/

Bit tempted by a Sony HD5 myself, if only that supported WMA

I think the iPod-BMW analogy hits the nail on the head.

jonc

...and we all know what the general population think of BMW drivers!!!!

G00ner

Sony, I River and Creative seem to be pissing on Ipod right now, buy an Ipod and buy it for the name only imo.

Big Bear

I've got a 20gig zen , got it because it was cheaper than ipod , am very happy with it battery life and sound is very good.

richs2891

OK then the build quality - we sold approx 400 iPods in the last month - and have had 52 returned so far (i'm expecting more), for non functioning buttons, non charging batteries, sound only working on one channel, a couple of screens damaged out of the box (box pefect & unopened !), problems with the connectors on the bottom. Just not powering on etc. Freezing after a turn off seems common as well. These are all on iPods less than 30 days old.
iTunes IMHO works on pc that have had no previous other mp3 players software on, put it on a pc that has had the iRiver software on and start getting not recognised errors etc. Its even worse if start swapping USB leads around and different gen of iPods, and capacity eg 20G Gen 3 and 60G Photo etc. Interupt it mid transfer with AV software kicking in for example and it seems to get it self in a right knot.
I know that there are a lot of happy iPod user out there but I dont not feel that they are the best by a long way - I still dont feel as I've already stated that there is one player out that does it all.
Love Dracoco comment re iPods like BMW !! Very true.

Chris L

Richard I take it you don't work for the Sales dept of your company then

The point about the software screwing up after other software has been installed is fair enough - although in this may not be Apple's fault. More likely to do with vageries of PC design - most of the other problems you mention are not uncommon to other USB type devices. Incidently - you said you sold 400 iPods - how many Creative's / Zen's did you sell?

The other MP3 player manufacturers have a lot to thank Apple for. They certainly weren't the first, but they've done more than any other company to popularise the medium. The rash of players which appeared and did their upmost to look like iPods without actually being an iPod is testament to that! It's rather ironic that Apple do a make a far superior computer product (Macs) and yet the world is dominated by Windows PCs (just like Betamax and VHS).

The iPod may or may not be the best player out there, but for the vast majority of people - do you think they really care that much? The iPod is by no stretch of the imagination, a bad product - in fact it is very good. For once, people can actually buy a 'fashionable' product that is actually quite good.

I think Apple realised long ago that to compete, they had to turn their products into consumer objects of desire. This applies to just about everything they make. From that point of you view, they have been incredibly successful. They've also pumped huge amounts of money into their advertising. I don't see many primetime ads for Creative or Zen on TV. By doing so, they've become the market leader. That is what Apple wanted to do - they've become the de-facto standard - just as CDs did 20 years ago.

Apple know their market and how to appeal to it. Yes, there will always be a smaller market for the audiophile / techno junky who wants the ultimate gadget and / or sound quality (I could spend £400 on a set of studio quality Shure head phones for my iPod, but I settled on the £60 ones because they're excellent and work well and suit my needs).

By becoming successful, they then get knocked - rather like BMW. The analogy is quite good in many ways. But you must always remember, that whether you like them or not, BMW make very fine cars. The sales speak for themselves. For most people that's enough. I know, as a petrolhead, I'd have a lot more respect for the guy who chooses a Maserati over a 7-series Beemer. However, that doesn't stop the BM owner purchasing a great car that he will be very happy with. That's exactly what Apple has done.

You are taking the standpoint of someone 'in the know' - you are probably correct in everything you say - but does that mean anything to the average punter on the street? If the product a person buys does what they want it to and they are happy with it, then who are we to say that they bought the wrong product?

GaryK

Just as an aside has anyone seen the new Nokia N91 thats coming out? Store 3000 mp3's on it, looks kinda funky, be out beginning of July and me thinks I'll grab one.

the moose

The iPOD does everything I want it to. Expensive, yes, but the back-up is exemplary, and although I had a hard drive failure, the fact that it was replaced within 24 hours was astonishing. No questions, no fuss, and customer service at its finest.

Does it have the greatest sound quality? As I use it in the plane or when cycling, neither of which are exactly low-noise environments, this isn't the greatest issue for me. It's as good as the other ones I've sampled (i River, Sony), and that's quite enough.

petey

i have had this dilemma, firstly i was looking at the creative zen colour series but these only have 5gb which although would get to work ok is not enough in this gadget day and age!.
I have also looked at vairous other players but having looked at all and consulted vairous friends i have decided to plump for the 20gb ipod 4th gen

the only thing is i will be joining the club of travelling to london with the same everyone else has (wouldn't mind being a bit different!)
but having said that ipods have reduced in price somewhat so i think they are the the most stylish and easiest to use...

angrynorth

I'm, sorry but if it were true that 25% of all iPods were faulty then they would not be the sucess they are. I know for a fact that other Apple retailers don't get anywhere near this figure.

If one in four was returned then they would not be able to sustain the market hold that they have.

Your circumstances are pretty unique.