Wow, this is the thread I've been looking for to completely open up a can of capitalistic commentary.
Apple's iPod is an MP4 player designed and pushed by Apple. The design and interface are simple, easy to pick up, and easy to use. If anything, they're the Macintosh manifestation in portable media player format. In that sense, they're two and a half pains to deal with once you've gone beyond the realm of "Wait, so the on button turns the thing on?" The dumbed down format of the MP4 player does it's job, but does so only when you aren't trying to do anything else. Using their patented full-of-oneself program iTunes, Apple makes life infinitely more difficult to deal with. Apple's default (and only) setting is to base your iPod entirely off of your iTunes. So should you ever make the grievous mistake of having to get a new computer, formatting your old one, or an Act of God comes down to smite your iTunes, if you so much as think about ever plugging the iPod in again, you'll lose every inch of media on it. For the coup d'grace, they won't even let you transfer files from the iPod. Only third party programs can do it, and the best you'll find is ad-ridden shareware. It's honestly a giant pain start-to-finish once you're done playing "My-First-Computer." That being said, it is the only MP4 player on the market, so if all of your media is in iTunes format, then you'll either need a converter, or another iPod. I'd suggest a converter, because iPods honestly aren't worth the effort. That, and they're more expensive for less tech.
Zen, Creative Labs smaller of the MP3 players, is a robust and versatile MP3 player found frequently on the market. The MP3 capabilities, settings, and playability are all above and beyond the call of duty for MP3 players, and does so in a simple and functional format. Unlike the iPod, which prides itself on inaccessibility for anything but iTunes, the Zens all act as drives for any computer running XP or later (dunno about Macs, but likely the same format). In terms of play-back, the sounds between the various MP3/4 players aren't notably different, with the only major differences being Equalizer options. The biggest selling point for MP3 players on the market (versus Apple's MP4 iPod), is that they're all high quality for low-cost. When you compare the two companies 4GB products you come up $100 for Zen [http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8891504&type=product&id=1211587312779] and $150 for iPod [http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8500491&type=product&id=1186004962410].
Optionally, you can get 2 GB Zen Stone for $40 [http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8891452&type=product&id=1211587312639], or a modest similar Shuffle for $50 [http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8501551&type=product&id=1186004971618].
But really, this all boils down to taste. If you like paying more for less, in terms of memory, but MP4 and iTunes
dictatorship accessibility, then buy the iPod. If you aren't sold on iTunes, or like the idea of being able to plug your media player into whatever the hell you want without deleting itself, then go for an MP3 player.
Wrestling with iTunes is always more effort than it's worth, and I think the MP4 format is more a way to try and monopolize the market more than upgrade the format. In terms of audio quality, they're larger files because they're less compressed, but no more or less qualitative than WMA, which works on all media players, not just the iPod. The only thing you lose out on if you go Creative is less third-party stuff like arm straps and FM broadcasters.
Verdict:
I'd go with the Zen, because you're saving yourself a lot of potential issues down the road. That, and money right now. As almost without fail, MP3 players of like size and function are cheaper than iPods.
Cleverly Made Up post=18.70826.705573 said:
TheGreenManalishi post=18.70826.705173 said:
iPods sound terrible and are so bloody awkward to use, you'll be thankful with a Zen, even if the snail-paced scrolling menu gets on your nerves.
yeah cause selecting songs on a cd or letting itunes import song automatically and then either dragging and dropping the songs onto the ipod or hitting the sync button is REALLY hard
as for the sound, the ipod uses the better audio codec than the zen, zen is still mp3, which is the older standard, ipod uses the mp4 standard
it's not too hard to change the bit rate of the songs you put on
also headphones play a large part in the sound
my vote is for ipod, you'll get the most bang for your buck, it's the most cross platform of any of the players out there and it's the only one that has DRM free music you can buy for it
I'm going to disagree. While you mention the drag-and-drop method of Audio CD importing, there are companies that have been doing that to the MP3 format for years, long before the iPod even existed. Really, all you're paying for is MP4 capability, which Apple is reigning a death-grip on. No one else has the rights to it, so they can't.
Instead, look at the facts. Yes, iPod is the most cross-platform, but you'll find DRM [http://www.napster.com/index.html?darwin_ttl=1220805253&darwin=iAd10] free [http://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai=BHqecrgLESIp4juJ5tK3AmAfJns5Zi_ntugfzk72YE8DAKQgAEAEYASDHmPgFOAFQ4bKxPmDJxuiIgKTUE6AB69fg_gPIAQGAAgHIAsHhigbZA7dZa5P4NTkw4AMQ&sig=AGiWqtz84yA7GvO9Q-tNwfaQGeCEormrrg&q=http://www.emusic.com/promo/new25free/index.html%3Ffref%3D700276%26refsrc%3Dgoogle] music [http://www.amazon.com] just about anywhere, if you look for it.
