Geeks.com, home of cheap iPods, sent us in the 4th Gen Apple iPod Nano to take it for a spin. Let's see how it stacks up against the 1st generation Nano that we also happen to have available in our lab, and the iPod Touch.
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Member since:2005-06-29
That's actually one of the weakest points of the iPod. You are forced to use crappy iTunes (what a horrible piece of engineering, esp. the Windows version), and you can't even just drag and drop your songs onto it or use a different program - you are FORCED to use iTunes.
So, when it comes to integration with my computer, iPods are horrible.
Member since:2008-07-15
Yeah, and even though apps like Rhythmbox, as well as other iTunes replacements, eventually work with the iPod there's always features that don't work with those apps. An example, the nano 4th gen has speaking menus (a very useful feature in my case), but only iTunes can generate them; in typical Apple fashion, the details of how the speaking menus work aren't revealed and haven't been completely reverse engineered yet. So, even though I can put music on it from my Linux box, its usefulness is considerably degraded for me without iTunes. This, coupled with the horrible problems I've had with iTunes 8.1, is why I sold My Nano a short time ago. I've got a UMS-compliant player now based on a file/folder structure, and I'm not going back to iTunes any time soon.
Member since:2005-11-10
And I remember before iTunes I had to either manually drag and drop all the files I wanted to the device, or use natty sync software that never did the job properly. I used my MP3 player 1/100th of the time I ended up using the iPod.
For the very vast majority of people who want to set-it-and-forget-it, iTunes is the anchor which has got iPod where it is now. There were more feature-laden players than iPod when it came out, and still there are players with more features, but that is irrelevant when getting content on there is over complicated for most people.
The Shuffle is the single prime example of this. iTunes *made* the Shuffle the success it is. A million cheap flash based players existed before it, but the software experience was simple too impractical. The Shuffle took a simple idea everybody else had been fumbling about with, and made it simple.
What was it that the Creative CEO said? "I think the whole industry will just laugh at it, because the flash people--it’s worse than the cheapest Chinese player. Even the cheap, cheap Chinese brand today has display and has FM. They don’t have this kind of thing, and they expect to come out with a fight; I think it’s a non-starter to begin with.”
How utterly wrong he was.
Member since:2005-07-06
That's actually one of the weakest points of the iPod. You are forced to use crappy iTunes (what a horrible piece of engineering, esp. the Windows version), and you can't even just drag and drop your songs onto it or use a different program - you are FORCED to use iTunes.
So, when it comes to integration with my computer, iPods are horrible. "
I've never had issues with iTunes on Mac or PC. To each their own, I guess.
Member since:2005-12-21
That's actually one of the weakest points of the iPod. You are forced to use crappy iTunes (what a horrible piece of engineering, esp. the Windows version), and you can't even just drag and drop your songs onto it or use a different program - you are FORCED to use iTunes.
So, when it comes to integration with my computer, iPods are horrible. "
Care to explain why iTunes is a horrible piece of engineering?
BTW: You do not have to use iTunes: http://www.cnet.com.au/best-ipod-compatible-itunes-alternatives-339...
Member since:
2005-07-06
How is the sound quality? Reliability? integration with software on the computer?
Not trying to defend Apple here, but anyone knows you can go out and buy a cheap, no-name MP3 player.
That's not the point of the article. I've owned 4 iPods, none of which have failed. The current, an iPod Touch is more a pocket computer than just a music player.
All of them offer conveniences cheap players don't: a well designed interface to the computer, and integration with my car, allowing me to control everything from the steering wheel.
They may be overpriced, but Apple iPods do the job well, enough to warrant the premium.