MP3 player for running

[whs520]

Hi,
I would recommend iRiver over iPod for several reasons, including this:
iPod's Dirty Secret
Anyways, I recently ordered an iRiver 40GB HD player and a 512MB flash player (395T). Expecting it to come on Feb 2.
-Tom

 

[matteni]

Hi,
I would recommend iRiver over iPod for several reasons, including this:
iPod's Dirty Secret
Anyways, I recently ordered an iRiver 40GB HD player and a 512MB flash player (395T). Expecting it to come on Feb 2.
-Tom

Great video but as always - looks like the suits got to these guys and Apple met them 1/2 way - from their web page:

"December 23, 2003 - The Neistat Brothers are in no way affiliated with the pending class action against Apple Computer, Inc. or the law firm of Girard Gibbs & De Bartolomeo LLP. The Neistat Brothers are not partaking in the potential suit nor are they supporting it.


Our Message:


In September of 2003 the battery in my first generation ipod would hold a charge for no longer than one hour. I brought the iPod into the Apple store in Manhattan for repair and was told they do not currently offer a battery replacement program and my best option was to buy a new ipod. I then called the Apple Care 800 number regarding this issue and was told the same. I then sent my ipod to the Apple Executive office addressed to Steve Jobs with a note explaining my situation and requesting a replacement battery. The Apple Executive office contacted me via telephone to explain that Apple does not repair or replace dead ipod batteries and that it was policy of the company to recommend to the customer to purchase a new ipod when the battery fails. I then looked into and purchased a third party replacement battery, this battery was not endorsed by Apple. After the complicated installation my ipod did not work at all, even when it was plugged in. I then purchased a new ipod for $400.00.

In response to this my brother Van and I made the short film "iPod's Dirty Secret" After we finished production of the film, but not necessarily in response to it, Apple began offerring a battery replacement program for the ipod for a fee of $99 and an extended warranty for the ipod for $59.

We think Apple's new policy is fair. Our movie is a documentation of our experience.

-Casey Neistat
"

 

[NeoNSX]

Same problem i said above about the Sony Netwalkman. Honestly, this is a MASSIVE turn off. For $99 I could buy a new iRiver or an alternative flash mp3 player.

 

[jlindy]

Can't wait to get it. I should have it by Tuesday. Thanks for everybody's help. Now I need to start downloading some mp3's to have ready.

 

[Macster]

My ipod has worked flawlessly for over 2 years. One charge of the battery lasts 7-8 hrs or play. It also has an address book that can be helpful especially when you are traveling and can be used to store data--a portable hard drive. Apple iTunes software is easy to use and works well.

Two thumbs up for Apple.

 

[Jimbo]

I don't know what those guys were smoking but you could always change the iPod's battery if needed (albeit from a 3rd party).

http://www.ipodbattery.com/

Perhaps if they spent a little time (uhh...like 20 seconds in Google) looking for alternatives instead of making movies they would have found the answer.



http://homepage.mac.com/lchivers/stupid.html

 

[jlindy]

Just got that bad boy in the mail today and it rocks. Pretty good sound, lightweight, and much better quality than the previous Memorex nightmare I purchased at Circuit City.

The ear buds are decent too, but for some reason it sounds better to tilt them horizontally and put them straight into your ear like a finger. It does look pretty stupid that way though. When you hang them in your ear, you lose some of the bass, but if that is all I can complain about, I am happy.

The armband and case is awesome too. I worked out with it tonight and put it around my forearm and it didn't move at all, even when lifting weights. Very comfortable. Highly recommended.

 

[matteni]

I have never felt a pair of earbud headphones that were comfortable and stayed in for me. I tend to like the ones with the head band over the top where you can wear a hat over them and really keep them possitioned and in.

I got a great set of Panasonic headphones at the Sports Authority on Manchester Road (in the Town & Country Plaza where the Wal-Mart is).

They fold up to nothing, fit very tight, terrific bass response for the size, are light, comfortable, waterproof, and have a seperate volume controll (great for MP3's).

Anyway - I paid $15 on sale so you may want to go by there and check them out.

 

[jlindy]

Great find, I may have to do that. I like the fit in the ear of the over the head ones too, I just wish they made them fit that way without the metal ring. It interferes with my hair club for men look. Joking (not that there is anything wrong with it though)

 

[jlindy]

Q

All right stop the press, I figured out how to adjust the EQ and now the bass and all around sound is amazing and they hang there perfectly and stay in which I have been unable to find so far.

 

[Jonathan]

Glad you are enjoying your player.

I think the only mistake Apple made was not helping customers find some of those solutions, once you tell people that their option is to buy a new product instead of helping them, there is the potential support/PR nightmare that our Neistat friends caused. Integrated batteries are a natural solution for high powered lithium exotics, and using 'standard' cell-phone (or similar) batteries often doesn't provide enough power for what these devices need. Early iPods suffered a problem with power drain in suspend mode causing some artificial stress on the battery and reducing playtime to under 2 hours in many cases, despite a fresh charge in a relatively short amount of time. I still think they should be able to get much more than 7-8 hours out of the box, but either way the rapid standby drain seems to have been fixed in subsequent generations of the iPod.

It's great to see such a high adoption in compressed audio players over the past year, 2004 will be a big growth year, especially with compressed video making a huge leap forward.

All of the activity is good for the category as a whole, hopefully Apple drops another $100M+ in marketing this year too

 

[matteni]

If you read the "dirty secret" site above you will see the guy searched, found a replacement battery, and tried to do it himself (and failed). There are thousands of IPAQ users in the same boat too since the battery is internal and difficult to replace with a high risk of ruining the player.

That all said the problem with Apple is the same problem they had 15 years ago. They are a conceited and arrogant company that still sees itself as superior to everyone else. It all starts at the top with Jobs and continues all the way down to the shipping floor. I can still remember being a young teenager going into an "Apple" only store and the way the sales people treated me and the rest of the "unwashed masses". It seemed you had to be "good enough" to test drive an Apple - much like trying to buy an exotic car or a fancy watch. They would also have a lot of wine and cheese out and had a great time looking down on and shooing off people like me.

Well at some point they made my "I am going to dance on your corporate grave when you go bankrupt" list. Yep - they are up there with Blockbuster Video (I am sure they have a license to kill me on sight with what I owe them in late charges), AOL (racked up hundreds of dollars in on-line bills because I had to use their 800 number when their local service went down), TWA (got to live long enough to see them go under), and a few others.

It is just too bad that Microsoft bailed them out by building the only decent / best selling software for them (Office Apps) and sliding them some "welfare / corporate charity" money to keep them out of chapter 11.

 

[Jimbo]

Well they are superior to everyone else.



I love my iPod.

 

[jlindy]

Ugh! I have only used the arm band once and it is already broken. Customer service was great though and they promised to send me a new one, but I will have to wait until next week. Oh well.

 

[NeoNSX]

<B>jlindy</B> : you must have biceps the size of tree trunks!!!
my iRiver is still going strong.

My sister's boyfriend saw my 380T and immediately decided he needed one. He bought the 512MB version though.
I need an upgrade....

 

[jlindy]

<B>jlindy</B> : you must have biceps the size of tree trunks!!!

Well, I do have to say... Yeah I wish. Actually, it was the plastic piece that the player fit into that broke away from the clip. It is only held on by a little glue and a few plastic pegs.

 

[NeoNSX]

At the risk of starting a flamewar...............

I was talking about MP3 players to a fellow worker, and he brought up the topic of iPods. I kept tight-lipped -- i wanted to hear what he had to say. I can't repeat this opening words about the iPod.... because that will start a flamewar... but i can share a couple of interesting points he brought up.

* Apparently the first generation of iPods would get REALLY HOT because the HDD was constantly spinning. Since then they have a larger cache so the iPod can read 20+mins of music, then cycle-down the HDD. Still, that was a bit of a design flaw.

* Allegedly, iPods are very popular with gay men. Maybe it's the white design? I just laughed, that sounds like BS to me, but that's what he had read.

* He did say they are fantastic for backing up your HDD. In fact, on a Mac you can apparently boot off them! Now that is VERY funky!


Jimbo... if ever I have an Apple query, I'll be coming to you first. hehehe...