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iPod Killers For the Holidays
An anonymous reader writes, "MP3 Newswire has an excellent rundown of 29 new digital portables for the upcoming season. From the article:
'We have run the iPod Killers for Christmas/Summer series since 2004. In that time we [have] reported on 149 portable players and NOT one iPod killer from the bunch. That said, [this time] we may actually have a couple of genuine challengers to Apple. This holiday season will see Microsoft pump tens-of-millions of dollars to hawk their new Zune portable, and SanDisk's 8GB e280 flash unit is compelling high-end users. Both can realistically grab double-digit market share from the iPod... Whether they do or not waits to be seen.' The article also makes a good case as to why the Sony PSP should be included in market figures for digital media portables."
Really? That's odd, because I very definitely held a Zune in my hand as it played a video.
You'll fall down the stairs if you carry one of these... while it's a neat gadget, at 11.15 ounces, it's not exactly a direct competitor to any iPod. Using a 2.5" hard disk necessarily compromises the size and weight.
(Your claimed battery life for the iPod is also way too short.)
You can't change the battery because adding a removable cover for it would make the iPod far larger than it currently is. Considering the 24+ hours available from a single charge on some models, and the much larger number of charge cycles available from lithium ion batteries today this becomes a moot point. You don't need to change it so don't worry about it. (This isn't the 1st generation iPod).
iTunes is a simple, easy to use interface. That said- there are third party interfaces including ones that run under Linux.
What conversion are you talking about? The iPod groks mp3 natively- it doesn't do any conversions. AAC is the format Apples sells songs from iTunes in- but that's only songs you buy from iTunes. Perhaps you are thinking of the cracked conversions Sony did with their moronic ATRAC format.
Your dragging question is the same as the iTunes question. Either use iTunes or use a third party app. I use iTunes even without an iPod. I used winamp 3 (IIRC) and never seriosuly considered winamp after that. Is iTunes perfect? Hardly- but it does the job and gives me no grief.
Looks are purely subject and up to you. That said- ever held an iPod? They feel solid. Everything about them feels right. The interface is simple, the buttons and scroll wheel are perfect, and the screen on the newest models is gorgeous. It isn't just about looking cool- they are beautifully designed, inside and out.
-sirket
Some features that make the iPod great:
- The click wheel and the UI are well-designed
- The output quality and bundled earphones are good
- The design is classic, and it feels solid and well-made
You can't just drag files onto the ipod because it maintains a database of the songs in your collection. If you don't like iTunes, you can use a number of programs to maintain the collection, like Winamp.
A database is better than using the filesystem for your music collection because it allows you to find your songs with multiple indexes - artist, album, genre, etc. Using the filesystem, you have to pick a sorting system and stick with it - say, one folder per album. Every music player app made this decade uses a music collection database. If you haven't organized your music this way, it's your loss.
The iPod isn't cool any more than a cellphone is cool. It's just another device you carry around with you. It happens to be both a very popular device and a best of breed device. If that doesn't sit well with you, I guess that's sour grapes.
Hands in my pocket