Help me, Jeebus..(or techies) Should I get an iPod, or is there a better mp3

[AzDar]

player? I had an iPod nano, but it was stolen. I loved it, but hated paying .99 a song at iTunes.
Is it a better idea to get a Napster(or other comparable service) - compatible device?
Are other players as easy to use as the iPod?
Any input is appreciated!

[AzDar]

1. Uhh, do I need to flash the Masonic distress symbol or something?

"Won't someone please help the daughter of the Widow??"
:rofl:

[dpbrown]

2. Paying for a song and owning it is better than renting it hands-down

So check to see if the service you're considering has a monthly fee that revokes all your money if you ever decide not to be a member anymore.

[alarimer]

3. I like the Napster to go service

True, I don't own the songs so if I decide to end it, I can no longer play them. But I can listen to a LOT more music than I can afford to buy. And change them at any time. I have an Iriver H10 (20 GB version). I have had better luck with Napster than with any other service, in terms of how it works. Rhapsody has always had trouble with my device. I also subscribe to Emusic, where, for a monthly fee of 9.99, you get 40 downloads to keep forever. But it is mostly independent artists and labels so the selection is not very mainstream.

[Xithras]

4. You know you can use an iPod with any MP3 file, right?

Whether you're using iTunes, Napster, or Zune Marketplace, you're dealing with music that you're paying for and which will only work on their hardware. A good friend of mine recently threw a temper tantrum when he realized that his $1,500 iTunes music collection won't work on anything but Apple hardware. I couldn't help but point out that his new Zune songs, similarly, aren't going to work on anything but a Zune. Even the Napster DMR handcuffs you.

Unless you're getting your music in MP3 or AAC, you're getting locked into a hardware standard along with it.

Personally I have a 60Gb iPod video with about 1500 songs on it. Only about $50 of them were purchased off iTunes, the rest were ripped from CD's I own, purchased in an open format from a lower cost service like AllOfMP3, or downloaded from a file share (very few of my songs are downloaded free, but there are some). Since I stick to open formats, I can carry my music from device to device without any problems.

[AzDar]

8. Is AllOfMP3 the Russian service? I've browsed that site and it looks cool.

[NJCher]

5. PC World's Tip of the Day

Tip of the Day
DRM Explosion
The Buzz: Need another reason not to buy (or rent) compressed digital music online? Look no further than the recent mini-explosion of incompatible digital rights management schemes tied to new players.

SanDisk players pushed by Best Buy use Real's new Rhapsody DNA technology. Microsoft's Zune packs a proprietary DRM--a departure from the firm's own PlaysForSure system (which the rest of the non-Apple market still uses). And Apple continues to keep the FairPlay DRM exclusive to its iPods.

Bottom Line: Here's the real reason the CD isn't dead: If you want to keep all of your digital music portable, you have to burn lots of discs so that you can re-rip DRM-free versions of your downloaded tunes.--Eric Dahl

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/
If you view this tip at the link above, scroll down a bit. Look for the black box.



Cher

[AzDar]

10. Thanks for the linkee! n/t

[LSK]

6. I would go with iPod because there are so many of them

And theres lots of accessories and users and support for them.

Also you can use iPods with most mp3s downloaded from wherever.

[OllieLotte]

7. My wife bought me an iPOD for Valentines Day.

I thought it was a pretty nice idea. Oh man, I love that thing. 4700 additions later, I use it all the time. Docking base is great too. I understand why kids love it.

[AzDar]

9. Thank you all for your input..I am so horribly clueless about this.

[gr8dane_daddy]

11. I love my iPod along w/ iTunes.

If you have the CD's already, it doesn't take much to transfer them to the iPod. Plus with the iTunes, I can download all my podcasts (Stephanie Miller, Randi Rhodes, and Sam Seder) and listen to them at work at night. I agree the support is pretty good.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

12. I refuse to get an iPod

I refuse to get an MP3 player because the sound is bad; it's too compressed.

If they come out with a little music player with CD-stereo quality 44.1K full digital sound, I will buy it.