ipod

[tori13]

Hello,

I am thinking about buying ipod, I had a few questions about them here they are:
Question 1.
What is the best brand?
Question 2.
What is your opion about them?
Question 3.
Are they really worth the money?

Thank-You for your help!

[nolonger]

There are many reasons why I would not buy an iPod for my kids, not the least of which is that they are more expensive than other MP3 players. His friends bought him an RCA Lyra for Christmas, which plays all of his MP3s and also WMA music files. It was easily upgraded with the same memory card from his camera and now holds his entire music collection.

The MP3 player does seem to go through fewer batteries than his CD player did and it is also much more compact, so there's less to carry around and possibly get damaged or lost. However, it does cost a lot more money than an inexpensive CD player. My dd is perfectly happy with her brother's hand-me-down.

There's an old thread about MP3 players around here somewhere that you might want to dig up for some other parents' opinions/

[joy2bmom]

Originally Posted by tori13

Hello,

I am thinking about buying ipod, I had a few questions about them here they are:
Question 1.
What is the best brand?
Question 2.
What is your opion about them?
Question 3.
Are they really worth the money?

Thank-You for your help!

My 15 yr old dd has a RCA Lyra and loves it, i don't know if its the best brand but its been good for her for the past yr. IMO they are Totally worth the money cuz she loves it, it holds alot of songs, its very compact so she can put it in her pocket, and she doesn't hafta worry about scratched up cds all the time. just my 2 cents

[JustJamie]

My DH got me a 30gb video iPod for Christmas, and I LOVE it. You can watch movies, TV shows, listen to music, podcasts, audio books, store text files, even a calendar on it. Currently, I have 20 hours worth of books, 180 songs, 13 45-minute TV shows, 3 video podcasts, my Outlook contacts and calendar, a few photos, and a couple of text files on my iPod, and I still have memory to spare. It'll be awesome when we fly back to the US, I'll be able to take my own movies, TV shows, etc., without dealing with discs or players - the iPod will fit in my pocket.

Which one you should get really depends what you want the device to do. Mine is essentially a dumbed-down PDA; I love having phone numbers, addresses, a calendar, etc., at my fingertips, without having to use a stylus or a mini keyboard.

If you only want to listen to music, then the 30gb video iPod is overkill, and the iPod Shuffle would suit your needs, as would any of the less expensive MP3 players.

[mmace]

Another vote for the RCA Lyra. I got my daughter one for Christmas 2005 and she still loves it. I ordered it from Circuit City the day after Thanksgiving, got free shipping and a mail in rebate, so I spent less than $30 for it total. It holds tons of songs, and like someone else said, a memory card adds a bunch more room. I actually picked her up a memory card after Christmas for less than $10.

[Sharlla]

I got an Ipod Shuffle for DS1 (he's 8) for his bday. it's a first gen (paid $30) and pretty heavy duty. We are an Ipod family LOL, DH had a 30G and I have a Nano

[DoctorGirlfriend]

Tori, an iPod is a brand name for an mp3 player. iPods are made by Apple. I don't know if you're using "iPod" as a blanket term for mp3 players (that's what my mom does!) and looking for brand recommendations, or if you're asking about what *model* of iPod to get.

I, too, find iPods overpriced. I'd rather go with an RCA or Rio. I've got a Rio Karma, which I love.

[PajamaMama]

We got my dd an ipod Nano for Christmas and she *loves* it, but we also got her a sturdy leather wallet thing to protect it, it is so tiny and fragile looking.

I don't know if the Lyra uses batteries, but the Nano just gets charged by plugging it into a wire in one of dd's usb ports on her computer...no batteries to buy.

[mmace]

The Lyra does use batteries, but only one (I think, and I can't check because my daughter and her Lyra are in Mississippi on a mission trip!) and I can honestly say that we've only replaced the battery one time in the past fourteen months, and she uses that thing all the time.

[Mama Dragon]

We use itunes to get our music and I got DH an Ipod Nano 2gb and he was able to upload all this CD collection (which is huge) plus all the itunes music to it. I'm happy with it.

[lesley&grace]

My teenaged brothers each have ipod nanos that they got last christmas, and they love them. I bought my dh a cheaper mp3 player that was a complete waste of money (only held one album's worth of songs, quality was terrible...I'm afraid I cannot remember the brandname). We do plan on getting ourselves ipods...dh because he bikes to work and has damaged a couple of cd players when they fall out of his pocket and hates that he is limited to one album since he can't really change discs while he is riding, me because I walk a lot with my kiddies in the stroller and want music to listen to and again a cd player is cumbersome and I don't want to have to travel with a bunch of cds.

I will recommend STRONGLY that if you purchase an ipod or any other mp3 player, buy from a big, well known store and pay the extra for the extended warranty. When my mom got the boy's ipods, she bought them at Future Shop and paid for the warranty "just in case"...and she almost didn't bother but the salesperson talked her into it. Within the first 3 months of owning the nanos, she got them each replaced twice. All she had to do was bring 'em in and say "It does not work" and they handed her a new one. And I have also heard that the newer ones can freeze up when the weather is really cold, so you do need the little cases to protect them.

[hottmama]

I got my 4 yr. old an iPod shuffle for his birthday last week. It was $29, refurbished at apple.com with a warranty. It holds ~140 songs. If you use an Apple computer, you will probably want an iPod, although I think the Rio mp3 players work with Apples, too. I've had my iPod for 2.5 yrs. and I love it. When it broke, they replaced it with a newer model (30G video to replace a 2 yr. old 20G iPod), with no questions asked.
What model iPod you want depends on how much music you have. If your son only has a few hundred songs he likes, or doesn't mind only having a hundred or so songs on his mp3 player at a time, a 512mb or 1gb mp3 player (like the shuffle) should work fine. If he has a ton of music, you might want to go for a bigger player like a Nano or iPod.
And don't forget to check the refurbished section at Apple.com and also the education store (where you get a discount if you/your kid is in school or homeschooled).

[JustJamie]

Originally Posted by lesley&grace

I will recommend STRONGLY that if you purchase an ipod or any other mp3 player, buy from a big, well known store and pay the extra for the extended warranty. When my mom got the boy's ipods, she bought them at Future Shop and paid for the warranty "just in case"...and she almost didn't bother but the salesperson talked her into it. Within the first 3 months of owning the nanos, she got them each replaced twice. All she had to do was bring 'em in and say "It does not work" and they handed her a new one. And I have also heard that the newer ones can freeze up when the weather is really cold, so you do need the little cases to protect them.

You can get the warranty from Apple's website, too.

[tori13]

Thank-you all very much for writting me back!!!

I looked at the apple website and I am thinking about purchasing a ipod nano.
It is 4gb and can hold 1,000 songs it is $199.99.
What do you think?

Thanks so much Tori!

[hottmama]

If you go to apple.com, click on store, then find where it says "looking for a great deal? save! apple refurbished" and click on that. The older model 4gb Nanos are $149. Or you can get a 30gb video iPod for $179, which is a GREAT deal.

[jdedmom]

Sorry to hijack....

Does anyone use an MP3 player with dial up internet? If so how long does it take to download songs?

I desperately want an IPod and we only have dial up internet....no high speed in site.

[mmace]

I only have dial-up, but we've never downloaded songs. My daughter has tons of CDs and tons of friends with tons of CDs and they just share them back and forth...