Ipod - Which one should I get?

S

swimnfit

Cathlete
I really want to get an Ipod!! Do any of you have one and which one do you have? I want one to use primarily for working out...that I can use when running or on the treadmill, or on the bike, or at the gym. So I need one that's light enough to carry with me and small enough so I can use one of those arm band things.:D

I don't know much about the different Ipods except for the obvious that some have more memory and can hold more songs. But which ones would be good for working out? I noticed that they don't make the Mini anymore... I guess the Nano replaced that? But some stores still have Mini's. Which one is better? Someone please help me decide which one to buy!!}(

Thanks!

Nicole
 
I have the mini and I love it. I wouldn't want the nano, too small. The bigger ones are ok, but they are heavier and probably not as nice to wear in the armband.

Get an IPOD. Period. They are great. I bought speakers for mine so I take it to work now too. I am planning on getting a "big" one and putting all my cds on it and plugging it into the stereo. IPODS rule!
 
Hi Nicole. I am currently shopping for an MP3 player myself. I am trying to decide between an Ipon Nano and Creative Zen Micro.

I have heard if you are going to run, you need a flash based mp3. The small mp3s are flash based (nano, shuffle etc). The Creative zen micro is hard drive based-potential to skip more when run

Flash based will not be able to hold as many songs.

I am very hesitant to buy a Nano based on the bad reviews (screen cracking, scratches- a Circuit City employee told my friend that they are overwhelmed with returns with the Nano)

Check out www.cnet.com for a great source on mp3 info and reviews. A good rule of thumb is to try not to buy a product until it has been out for 6 months.

I am only going to use my mp3 player for walks and riding my spining bike. I will probably get the creative zen micro.

Lisa
 
I have four iPods (greedy?) and i would say the nano. It really is pretty cool. If you're using in mainly for the gym, then the shuffle is plenty room enough.

I love the iPods and Macs. Amazing.
 
Ipods are great!!!!!- but,
You really need to examine the reason you want one. Do you have a huge music library that you want to store on the ipod, or do you want something strictly for working out.

My husband has the 20gig Ipod and loves it. He is a huge music fan, and has an extensive library of cd's. He uses his ipod for commuting to and from work via train over 2 hours a day, plugs it into his computer at work and listens through his computer speakers at work. We also take it on long car trips and plug it into the car stereo again - great!!!

I have used his for working out, and the one my son has, a SanDisk 512 - holds about 120 songs. I actually like using my sons better. Actually, I just bought the same one he has yesterday, but have not had the time to use it yet.

Comparisons,
The ipod works on a rechargeable battery, when it dies and you are at the gym, no more music. The SanDisk works off a AAA battery, I usually keep an extra in my gym bag just in case.

The ipod even the nano is about four - five inches long, the SanDisk is maybe 2 inches, and thin - thin in a different way than the ipod.

The ipod has menus, the SanDisk does not - but an updated one just came out, this is the one I bought but since I haven't had time to use it yet, I can't tell you if this has changed.

The ipod does not come with a holder or armband, the SanDisk does.

The ipod does not have an fm tuner, the SanDisk does. This was important for me because at my gym, the tv's are tuned to fm stations, so if I want to watch what they have on with sound, I need an fm tuner.

An added bonus - have never used, is a voice recorder.

The ipod nano costs around $200, the I just bought the SanDisk for $75 at best buy.

I don't know about you, but I tend to listen to the same four or 5 albums when I workout. With 120 songs, that is more than enough music for me.

Hope I gave you food for thought!!!

Another brand similar to SanDisk is I-River, similar product imo but a little pricer.

I've attached links for you - hopefully this works

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...CategoryId=pcmcat63100050013&id=1118844599923
 
Thanks everyone for your replies!!

Lisa- thanks for the link to cnet! Lots of info there and now I have more questions!

Twosquared - thanks for the link to best buy! Hmmmm...makes me think alot about getting something smaller and less expensive.

Well, I'm going through the buying guide on cnet and I know for sure at this point I am only using it for working out. This is my first mp3 player purchase so I probably don't know yet how addicting it will be for me!! But for now, I really just want to be able to take my music and cardio coach workouts with me wherever I go to workout. I don't have a huge music library right now, but I do want to download some good dance/club music for workouts.

I really like that SanDisk since it seems to have all the features I'm looking for at an attractive price. I like the idea of spending a little less right now since I'm a newbie at this. I'm not sure if I should go for a smaller model and then upgrade later when I know better how I will use it. Spending less is definitely a positive aspect right now!

Now after doing some reading on cnet, I'm curious about downloading music. If I go to a website like Itunes and download to my computer, and then to my mp3 player, are there compatibility issues? I know it's no problem from my CD's, so I'm wondering what's the difference? Sorry if this is a dumb question, but I never thought of compatibility issues until I read that on cnet. Unless I'm reading that wrong...or I just am not understanding completely how it works.

Thanks again!!

:D Nicole
 
thanks for the sandisk rec

Twosquared,

I just bought a Sandisk e140! Got it at Circuit City for $99. (1G but has ability to be upgraded to 3G).

It is Audible.com compatible- that was very important to me.

It seems to have everything I need. Thanks for the rec. Off to play with it.

Lisa
 
RE: thanks for the sandisk rec

If you don't mind my asking, what is Audible.com. I'm actually going to look at the e140 before I open mine.

Have fun!!!
 
RE: thanks for the sandisk rec

I got the creative Zen Micro a couple months ago and I wish I hadn't. It's supposed to hold 2500 but I think I'll be full at 1000, at least that's what my friend told me, he downloaded my songs for me. I wish I had gone with an Ipod, I don't like how touchy/sensitive the menu is, it's a pain. I do use mine while running though, and it has never skipped.
Brandi


http://www.picturetrail.com/jackieboy
 
>Thanks everyone for your replies!!
>Well, I'm going through the buying guide on cnet and I know
>for sure at this point I am only using it for working out.
>This is my first mp3 player purchase so I probably don't know
>yet how addicting it will be for me!! But for now, I really
>just want to be able to take my music and cardio coach
>workouts with me wherever I go to workout. I don't have a
>huge music library right now, but I do want to download some
>good dance/club music for workouts.
>
>I really like that SanDisk since it seems to have all the
>features I'm looking for at an attractive price. I like the
>idea of spending a little less right now since I'm a newbie at
>this. I'm not sure if I should go for a smaller model and
>then upgrade later when I know better how I will use it.
>Spending less is definitely a positive aspect right now!
>
>Now after doing some reading on cnet, I'm curious about
>downloading music. If I go to a website like Itunes and
>download to my computer, and then to my mp3 player, are there
>compatibility issues? I know it's no problem from my CD's, so
>I'm wondering what's the difference? Sorry if this is a dumb
>question, but I never thought of compatibility issues until I
>read that on cnet. Unless I'm reading that wrong...or I just
>am not understanding completely how it works.
>
>Thanks again!!
>
>:D Nicole


Will almost guarantee that what ever you get it will be addicting.
A few things to address, and I don't know if I can be much help here, but I will try. Check out the cardio coach website and make sure that the SanDisk I bought has enough room for you to download that. I don't do cardio coach, I checked out the website once, and it looks like you can order cd's or just download. This being the case, I'm sure they are compatible, but sounds like you may want to keep several workouts at a time on your mp3 and not constantly have to switch. Before I open mine, I am going to check out the sandisk e140 that Lisa just picked up, for an extra $25 more memory with expansion possible. It may be bigger than I want though.

As for downloading music, my husband has always been the one to do this. My son has the older sandisk of the one I just purchased, and he does not download from itunes, but downloads from musicmatch.com.
As far as I know, it is very easy to download from musicmatch.

Hope this helps you!!! :D:D
I am going to check out the cnet for reviews of the e140. Also, circuit city's website has good reviews as well.
 
RE: thanks for the sandisk rec

Ok...even more options to think of and even more confused!

But...does anyone have an Ipod Mini? I noticed Costco has these online and was wondering if they would skip when running. The price is nice for a 6GB. You guys have me worried that I'm going to need something bigger than the 512! :eek:

Thanks!
 
RE: thanks for the sandisk rec

I also have the Creative Zen Micro and I love it. Mine is almost full now and it has about 1900 songs on it. That's plenty for me! I keep my entire music collection on my computer hard drive and it's so easy to put songs on and off the device.

I've had it almost a year and I haven't had any skipping problems. But I don't run with it.

At first I thought the touch pad was too sensitive, but there is an easy way to fix that in the device's utilities menu.

Edited to add: I would definitely go with something that holds more than 512. My sister bought one at 512 and upgraded within three months after she realized how much she used it and wanted more memory.
 
RE: Audible.com

Oh man Nicole! I hate you for asking this! Now I have to bite...

Ok, I need a recommendation. What is the IPOD for technologically imparaired?? I currently download off of Musicmatch.com and don't really want to learn anything new. I would like to use the IPOD for workouts only. Lightness and ability to strap on during a workout are important to me. Also........It would be cool to add a list of songs, say "Running Workout 1" and select that playlist to run to. Can you create playlists and store them? I would like to do that for different workouts. You know, different sets of songs for rollerblading or running or kickboxing.

I need it to be semi easy though. Would the Sandisk E140 work for me. I like the way it looks but it says "no playlists". What does this mean?? Anyone have any recommendations??

Thanks!!!

Thanks Nicole!x( ;-)
 
RE: Audible.com

Oh, and what is "CardioCoach"? I love the sound of the music but man that guys voice is annoying!! LOL. How often does he talk????:D
 
RE: Audible.com

Hi Janice!

You are too funny!! (and I know you don't REALLY hate me!}( )

Yes! What you described is what we need! How do I sort out all the info on these things? How do I know what it is exactly I'm looking for? It seems the smallest ones (512 or 1GB flash players) are those that are used for fitness since they don't skip...but are those big enough to grow with? And can you get a larger one to workout with or will it skip? I noticed the Creative Zen Micro didn't offer an armband...unless I missed it. So does that mean it's too big for running/fitness use?

Ok Janice, you are good at research! I know you will dig something up!

I've heard others comment that they didn't think they would like Cardio Coach because of Sean's voice. To be honest, I wasn't sure at first if I would like it, but I've used it a couple of times already on CD and I really like it. The time flies by! And I don't find him annoying at all.

:D Nicole
 
RE: Audible.com

Lisa,
Thanks for the link. Do you know or have a link that shows how large an average book is. I still think I like the smaller mp3 player, I've never downloaded a book before, but this is something I can see doing.
 
RE: Audible.com

dh used his points from his cc to order the new xbox and also a ipod nano for me today. i have no clue about ipods, so this thread has been great. thanks to the suggestions here i am off to investigate the musicmatch and itunes:D


jes
 
RE: Audible.com

twosquared,

Audible has 4 formats to choose from. My sandisk supports all four. Each level gets better in sound but requires more mb.

According to Audible's website, if you download the level 4 (best sound) it is 15 mb per hour of book. I just downloaded a 10 hour book for a total of 150 mb.

(I know "The DaVinci Code" is a 16 hour book.

Hope that helps. When you find a book you like on Audible.com, Click on it and then click on available formats.

Lisa
 
cardio coach

Janice,

Cardio coach are workouts in mp3/cd format. They are high intensity interval training workouts to be done on any piece of cardio equipment. You can also run with them outside.

I had heard the cardio coach experience was much better using stereo headphones! They were right!

I love vol 4 and 5. Great thing is that everyone can find a favorite. I believe they are around $12-14.

Lisa
 
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