Holy crap Im buying an MP3 player

[pdiggitydogg]

First: I will NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER buy an ipod - dont even mention, it or else I'll poke you in the eye with a dirty finger and then kick you in the shin.

Anyway, its time to retire the MD player... I have finally decided its time to move on to an MP3
...And this is one of the players Im looking at:

heres a review video
Sandisk e200 series (Im looking at the e270 6gb version)
It has an expandable SD memory card slot, on top of the hd, plays videos - whatever I buy MUST play videos - FM Radio, Voice recorder, titanium back-plate (thats just neat....)

What I like about the sandisk, is what most people dislike - the expansion slot will only play music files, not video or photos. I see that, as just gigabytes of videos on the hd, and music on a removable card (MD-esque for me).
On my entire pc, I only have 4.5gb of personal files, including mp3's, so right there says I dont need a bajillion gb of space for this.

I went to Circuit City, this afternoon, to play with one but they were all locked up, and the guy wouldnt open one for me (didnt really expect them to...but still).
Has anyone played with one of these? Ive seen reviews that say its really intuitive and sturdy...but I need to play with one before I buy any player.

-
For the longest time I was looking at the iAudio x5l, but after reading about SO many broken joysticks and shitty CS, Ive given up on iAudio/Cowon (as of yesterday actually), so the 6 from them is out too.

Other suggestions (BESIDES ipod) are welcome

[Robert]

Looks like an Ipod rip off. I dont think they're inovators, I think this product is a copy cat. Buy an Ipod...

[nonovurbizniz]

+2 get an Ipod...

There's a reason EVERYONE has one and it's NOT advertising.

*edit*

You need to provide a valid excuse as to why you won't get one... frankly even then I don't know ANYONE who's looked at the others and gotten anything but an Ipod.

My brother and a good friend of mine both didn't want to get an Ipod and BOTH got one... and BOTH WORSHIP it now.

*/Edit*

[KwikR6]

Originally Posted by pdiggitydogg

First: I will NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER buy an ipod - dont even mention, it or else I'll poke you in the eye with a dirty finger and then kick you in the shin.

Well that quote is one of the best of the year so far! hahahaha so good man. Soo good.

That looks like a nice mp3 player. give it a whirle. then give us an update.

oh

p.s. Go Pistons.

[ebpda9]

heh, i am still rocking the pda with a bunch of mp3 on the sd card. i hate ipods

[pdiggitydogg]

Apple charging for customer service is reason enough for me to not get an ipod.... But the video one, last I heard, had lots of trouble playing anything but "legal" quicktime files. Whether thats still the case, I dont know. Ive also heard from several friends that they like to delete all files when reinstalling software after a reformat (something I do, sometimes just for the hell of it)
Im also not a media whore and can see past them, toward the leader in flash memory (hands down). I can guarantee you guys that theyre as popular as they are because of advertising. People arent smart enough to figure these out for themselves, so they just buy what everyone else has.
"mommy, i want an ipod because usher has one in his music video"
What else... Oh, this unit has a removable battery - so when it does die, I can replace it myself without paying an apple store to do it for me.
Expandable memory slot is a GREAT idea...no ipod does that.

I HATE ipods
No offense to anyone who has one and loves it...I just cant fucking stand them.
And come on guys...I said "no ipods" and first reply is for one (then again it doesnt surprise me from whom)

Jog dials are not an apple invention They just made them famous...hell, my first MD had one of those back in like 96 (yes, flat face, on the front of the machine)

edit
and yes, go pistons! (even though lebron is going nuts right now)

[GT40FIED]

Originally Posted by nonovurbizniz

+2 get an Ipod...

There's a reason EVERYONE has one and it's NOT advertising.

*edit*

You need to provide a valid excuse as to why you won't get one... frankly even then I don't know ANYONE who's looked at the others and gotten anything but an Ipod.

My brother and a good friend of mine both didn't want to get an Ipod and BOTH got one... and BOTH WORSHIP it now.

*/Edit*

Yeah...the reason everyone has them is because somehow they became chic and people decided it was ok to piss away $400 for glitchy software, problematic batteries, and a somehwhat flawed interface. iPods fucking blow, plain and simple. If you can live without all of your friends ooh'ing and aww'ing over the Apple logo, buy something else and save money and sanity.

For video capable MP3 players, I like the RCA 20GB RD2780 or the iRiver 20GB PMC-120. Both are nice and both can be had for around $200 (give or take...I think the cheapest I've seen the iRiver was like $238, but damn dowes it look nice). The Sandisk one looks good, too. I've only used their SD memory cards and TransFlash cards, but no problems whatsoever. Honestly, I don't like MP3 players. They're just the Discmans of the 21st century. Hell...my digital camera has an MP3 function. Guess how many times I've used it. When did it become mandatory for every single second of your life to filled with sound?

[pdiggitydogg]

I saw an iRiver that impressed me today, actually...which one it was, I cant remember to save my life... But it looked nice and did seem to do what Im looking for.
The pmc was one I saw a few weeks ago. It looked great for a pvp, but a bit large for pocketing in the day-to-day

The only real reason I want one, is because of my job - its almost always a full 8 hours of 100% solitude (which I absolutely love, other than the lack of entertainment). During the summer, its 10hrs...and of that time, only 80% or so is actually filled with working...the rest involves me finding hiding places and/or the longest route to where Im going. If I could fill that time hiding with cartoons or movies, all the better.

[KwikR6]

I heard the ones that can play videos are having a lot of troubles because there is moveable parts in it. A lot of people think they can still jog and watch tv?

[Grip72]

get an ipod? jfwy haha

[Mischief]

i have an iPod.. i've never had any problem with it that wasn't my own fault.. such as leaving my moonroof open while it rained, and therefore drenching my iPod.. AND THE THING STILL WORKS.. resilient i tell you. worth my money

[Robert]

they are teh best in the industry, both in inovation and in market share. When you buy anything else you're just buying something modelling itself after an ipod.

Often these products put in an extra feature like FM radio, which sucks or they sell at a lower price. They do this because they cannot compete directly with an Ipod of similar features/price.

To hate a product the way some of you do is rather surprising. It's an MP3 player, hate is one heck of an investment you must have alot of time for. To hate something you have to invest everything you have in it. YOU have to wake up saying 'I hate Ipods' then you have to direct you energies that way.

I still think you cant buy a better product. Yes an Ipod has its down falls like any other product, but they are the industry leaders and they set the bar for what an MP3 player should be. NO ONE ELSE has lead the market like this. Look at the Nano, why wasn't there one like this before? Because no one thought of it. Apply had to bring it to the market place.

YOu would buy wrong if you bought something other then an Ipod for MP3 play back. You video problems could be fixed with a simiple investment in some software to convert the video to the proper format.

[GT40FIED]

Ohhhh, we're all soooooooooo jealous of that stupid apple logo on your shitty MP3 player. Look...iPods have shown time and time again to be problematic. Who are you to say that searching for an alternative is courting failure? iPods are shitty and overpriced. You know why they're overpriced? Because dipshit celebrities and people who think they have influence tout them as being great while having no idea of just how shitty they really are. That supposed influence translates into sales by dipshits who want what everyone else has. It's funny...MP3s have been around for a decade or more. But somehow fools tend to believe that Apple harnessed them into an indispensable shitbox for sale to anyone that can pay three times what it actually costs to make one. I remember when Minidiscs hit the market. I muttered to myself "they won't last". I was right. MP3 players are essentially glorified MD players. In a few years something else that's better will come along and everyone who bought a shitty iPod will regret shelling out ridiculous amounts of money for a substandard product.

[pdiggitydogg]

Oh yes, there was never an mp3 player before the ipod...everything is made after it. That creative 32mb sd player I owned back in the day? Fantasy. My first MD with jog dial? Clearly, sharp (thats right sharp) travelled into the future, with 1.21jigawatts of electricity and at 88mph, to steal that design from apple. Refrigerators? Yep, theyre white to be like the ipod.
Guess who actually owns the menu system on the ipod? Creative.

Why wasnt there a nano before? Becuase the technology for a mini hd JUST came out!! If you dont believe me, then do some research... Apple was the first to bring it to mass market because they didnt do anything new - just shrink the ipod down - other companies built entirely new players around it (sandisk, cowon/iaudio, samsung, etc).

I hate the ipod because so many people think theyre SO wonderful, when in reality theyre subpar at best. There are many other products out there that are just as good, some better, but people cant see past what everyone else has. No one else has market like ipod because they advertise EVERYWHERE. When was the last time you saw a commercial for a Creative player? Samsung? When was the last time you saw a celebrity blatantly showing off a player in a movie/video/"surprise" paparazzi visit? Probably yesterday, right? Let me guess....ipod.

Most people are sheep, plain and simple. For once, Id like to not be one and buy something else.
I will never be wrong for buying something other than an ipod. Thats like saying Id be wrong to buy anything but any brand X. Youre a communist.....
(you'll probably take that as being serious unless I say otherwise)

-

Actually Steve, the MD is just not popular on this side of the world. In Asia theyve been around longer and are just as popular as anything else. Apparently, there's one in hong kong that plays video files also...kinda strange, but there you go. Personally, Ive loved every bit of my MD player. I used to say they were the only way to record some of my lectures...but not anymore (wait...it still is if there were only ipods)

[Robert]

I think you're working to hard at this. Just buy the best product on the market then. All the Ipod nock offs I've seen have been shit. Part of the Ipod's success has also been its software, which no one has matched yet.

Everything I've said regarding this is coming from someone who never wanted an Ipod, and then I got one has a gift. It's been fantastic. No problems, software works great, battery life is good though I dont have the video one and I have nothing but good things to say. So take it for what its worth....

[pdiggitydogg]

Actually, I have a lot of hate, so its easy...dont underestimate me.
Software as in itunes? Sure, wonderful...macs do that kind of stuff great.

I trust all my friend's ipod problems much more than your success

[ChrisCantSkate]

heh.. hating iPods.. thats funny. i have 0 complaints with mine. i had a Dell mp3 player and that thing was a iPod made cheaply. as with every other mp3 player ive seen. i mean you can sacrafice a nice screen for a griny 2 color one, but i'd rather pay an extra 50 for that, or you can sacrafice rechargable battery for $50 or 100 but why? batteries arnt cheap and its much more convenient to plug it in the wall. you can get a mp3 player that can only be used with headphones or you can get an iPod which has so many accessories not made by apple but by other companies such as stand alone speakers with iPod holder and charger(got one from sharper image that rocks) or they have the radio adapters, they have cd players that hook up to them, theres tons of stuff out there, and while yes some other ones "work" with some of that same stuff, i'd rather not shut any option out.

as for deleting files, theres an option somewhere in iTunes that turns that off. basically it only keeps files on your iPod you have on your computer, so if you reformat then it dosnt see them it erases them all... kinda horrible feature, but its just understanding the software.. i mean reading the manual

edit: i will say though that if a company can build a good one then go for it, i have not seen a single one out there and cant honestly reccomend anything but an iPod

[dabouncerx24]

Look guys, the bottom line is, no matter what player you get it's still gonna run on a lithium ion rechargeable. Sooner or later it'll run out...especially for you pdiggs, you with your solitary job, you can say goodbye to your battery sooner than the average MP3-er.

iPods are expensive, yes (altho prices have dropped recently), but if you purchase your iPod from an Apple store, you can get a 3 year warrantly for like $30. I'll shut my mouth if other manufacturers do that, becuz I don't really know since I have no exp. with them. Think about it, three years, replace your batteries 3 times for $30, instead of $100 each time without the warranty.

A plus, any iPod purchase comes with a 1 year manufacturer warranty. This has held up pretty nice for me twice already, two new iPods for the price of just one (think draining 1 battery unnecessarily, and "dropped" the other)...

the current iPod video software is shit, I go through hell trying to upload videos for my dad onto his iPod. Rumors are they're coming out with a pure video iPod, meaning bigger/clearer (as if the current one isn't clear enough), mroe memory and better uploading.

[pdiggitydogg]

sandisk is 5yr warranty
i think cowon is 3yrs also
(free)

[dabouncerx24]

That Cowon warranty is pretty nice...sounds awefully a lot like what Kia does..hm..I wonder why

But ok, now that I've found out, I guess you can cross out "good warranty" from the iPods pros list.

[pdiggitydogg]

well, played with a sansa tonight...didnt care for it

Next up:

Vision M

Its quite a bit larger...but thats not a bad thing...
I did a lot of research on it today and am VERY impressed by what I read. Now I just need to fricken find one to play with...

[Racing Rice]

I bought a RaveMP 2.5 (2.5GB) last year. It came with all kinda of chargers, headphones straps and other accessories. I think I paid like $125 dollars for it from Compusa. I cant complain it's nothing fancy, it works well. The battery seems to last a long time too.