Originally Posted By vbdad55 Okay, here's the deal. I do not own an ipod ( not sure why as I like gadgets and am very technical - just no immediate use since I don;t commute on the train to work any more) - I have an 11 year old - 6th grader who wants an ipod in the worst way. She is not PC proficient at this point ( but I can teach her quickly) - Can people who own them give me the pros and cons of each. Ease of use. Ability to use with peripherals. What you view best for an 11 year old.-- Lot's of techies here - so I know I will get some good feedback -- thanks in advance --
Originally Posted By Dave I'd give you my opinions but I think I'll just wait and let peeaanuut catch his breathe and let him speak
Originally Posted By pacomama While peeaanuut catches his breath, I'll give you my opinions. I'll start out by saying that I got my first iPod about 2 months ago and it's a nano (4 gb version) and I love it. I waited because I really didn't like the lack of features on the shuffle. I needed a screen because I like to know which song is playing. I think all of the iPod are extremely easy to use. Just plug them in and iTunes transfers your music in a snap. For an 11 year old, I'd probably go with the Shuffle for the simple fact that they seem a little more rugged. The nano is really scratch-prone and the screen is a little fragile and probably won't hold up the the every day wear of a kid throwing it in a backpack and such.
Originally Posted By disneymum I'm a huge fan of the Ipod Mini, if you can still find one. I also like to have the screen so I see my lists of songs and can scroll around to whatever I feel like listening to. I have heard that the Nano is not very durable, and I think that would be an issue when giving one to a kid. I am probably going to give my 13 yr old a shuffle because 120 songs is still quite a few songs and I think it will be easier for him to look after. You can buy protective "skins" but I don't know how well they work and this would probably be a good idea, especially if you go for a Nano. The software, Itunes, is incredibly easy to use.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut very funny dave. Haa haa. Ok, my turn. Personally, I dont like the shuffle. Not having a screen would absolutely kill me. I even have the adapter for my car stereo so I can control it with my remote and see track and title and artist info. But as stated above, the screens are very scratch prone. I have the 30gb video and already have several little scratches on the screen. It doesnt effect the image, but im sure if I get a few more it will become an issue. Also I have the black casing and that is very scratch prone too. Now you can get those clear skin thingys they have for the PSP or for PDAs and cut them to fit the size you need. Or you can get a case for it, but those can be cumbersome at times. Now for a child that might carry it in a backpack/take it school/ride the bus, the shuffle might the ticket. Its small, easy to carry and no screen to worry about or to distract them with. So as an adult, I couldnt live without the screen, but for a kid it might be the right idea. Also about iTunes, there are parental controls you can set so you can filter what songs they can play and download.
Originally Posted By Dave <<<--- has the 60 gb photo (as short lived as it was) and I agree the screen will get scratched. I just finishing loading some more pics last night so now my totals are Songs 1365 Photos 3675 and about 30 podcasts. (I need to take a car ride to catch up on those) I have all of the 2005 LP big meet photos loaded, the Club 33 pics, the DL 50th celebraion pics plus many many more.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut dave: did that one do the music to the slideshow and let you play it via a rca cable to the tv? I never knew what the features were of that one.
Originally Posted By Dave It does all that but I'm not sure it does it all at the same time. I've never tired it.
Originally Posted By iceknyght >>Now you can get those clear skin thingys they have for the PSP or for PDAs and cut them to fit the size you need.<< That's what I did with my iPod and it works great... I have a clear skin for the face and a colored jelly case for the actual iPod and it's well protected... I don't like the hard cases at all, but the jelly-like ones fit nice and aren't too cumbersome...
Originally Posted By Mr X Can anyone recommend a good MP3 player that is NOT iPod? I'm a HUGE apple fan (I own a powerbook and an IMac) BUT I feel that the iPods are overpriced and overblown. I especially kinda RESENT the fact that the nano's are SO "small" gig-wise (I imagine they could have easily given us a 5 and 10 gig version at the same size range, and proabably will in around 18 months to 2 years). BECAUSE I own apple computers, I suppose my options must be limited? By the way, I would agree with Peeaanuut's advice here...for a kid, go for the "no screen" option. It'll save sadness and stress later!
Originally Posted By pacomama For all you iPod owners out there that want to protect their pods without a bulky case, if found this great little product. <a href="http://www.theinvisibleshield.com/index.asp" target="_blank">http://www.theinvisibleshield. com/index.asp</a> I bought one for my nano right after I got it and it's great. It fits perfectly and you hardly know it's there. I've had it on for 2 months now and it's in pristine shape. If it ever becomes scratched or peels up, the company will replace it for free because they have a lifetime guarantee.
Originally Posted By vbdad55 You gusy ( and gals ) are the best -- after reading all this I am leaning towards the shuffle. I just got back from shopping Thanksgiving morning - a Meijer near us opened at 6 AM and had 400 shuffles - at 6:15 they were gone. They had a deal where you bought the shuffle for the standard $99 price and got a $50 gift card to the store in return. I screwed up by notbeing there early-- but I will be out at 4 Am tomorrow for some other stores. I agree-- if it was me and it had no screen to see what I was going to listen to, I would go nuts.... but yes it will be going into a backpack, and be used a lot on the school bus etc. -- How ard is it to get songs from CD to the shuffle ( from an XP professional based PC ) - I will let her down load some music, but @ $1 a pop, not 125 at once. Thanks again for all the advice -- now I just have to go out and fight the crowds tomorrow AM
Originally Posted By pacomama One button click will get songs from a CD to iTunes. I've got about 600 songs on my iPod nano and I've only purchased 11 of them from iTunes. iTunes is blessedly quick with the conversion process.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA I decided to get a 500 song iPod nano for my 11-year old for Christmas. She's been borrowing my iPod - it's the model before the big changes came about - and it has a screen. Plus, it has the same connection stuff as my earlier model. It can plug into my computer and other stuff without a new adapter. Decided to not get the new one with video capabilities, only because for me, it seemed a bit gimmicky. As for the Shuffle, we had looked at those, and again, for me, seems like I'd be using an iPod in the dark. Just some opinions from a user.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut <<One button click will get songs from a CD to iTunes. I've got about 600 songs on my iPod nano and I've only purchased 11 of them from iTunes. iTunes is blessedly quick with the conversion process.>> There are a few file format selections and quality selections. If you use their AAC file format its quick, but if you go with 192 kbps mp3 it gets a little bit slow. Faster than other software but still slow. It also grabs the CD info from (I think its CDDB) whish is pretty good.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut Mr X: I have heard good things about the Creative Labs - Zen and the iRiver. Both I have been told are pretty easy to use. Not sure if any have been used on a mac or not. It appears that they are NOT mac friendly, but cant say for certain. They may work under VirtualPC for Mac but the iRiver said windows compatible (XP only).
Originally Posted By disneymum My adult son has gone through about three other Mp3 players (not sure what brands) and has settled on an Ipod Mini. He has found it the easiest to use on his Dell laptop. To import a CD, I just pop it in the computer. Then Itunes opens automatically, lists the song titles so you don't need to type them in, and you press import. What could be easier? I'm not rushed for time, so if it takes 10 minutes to import that's not such a big deal to me.
Originally Posted By iluvdisneyland I'd give my opinion, but I would probably be attacked by a certain poster who seems to loathe the Mac platform without a complete knowledge (or the urge to know) of it. Well I'll offer this: The average everyday user (99.9% of us) will never have a problem with iTunes and iPod. Peanut's posts are frankly irrelevant. A child is not going to care how many different formats you can import to.
