[james_8970]

Hellow everyone,
My brother wants a MP3 player this christmas and my parents want to buy him one. He want a ipod. Normally since i'm 17 i should know everythign there is to know about MP3 players, but i don't listen to music.....
So what i'm asking is, does anyone know anything about the Zune? There was a bit of hype at the beginning about it, but now i hear nothing, not to mention i can't even see it anywhere in sight.
James

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iPods are great if that's where he intends to get his music from (iTunes I think it is?) and I haven't read much about Zunes that would make me rush out and buy one. Supposedly you can share music with Zune, but it "disappears" after three days. If he has a lot of cds and is just planning to rip them, you can get inexpensive MP3 players for about $50. I just got one for my mom that holds a gig- about 200 songs or so and doubles as a flash drive. (It also allows for recording conversation, but mom isn't into espionage, so I doubt she'll ever use that feature.) Find out how he plans to use it (in the car, with headphones, with music he already owns, or music he wants to buy...etc etc) and compare features.
Johanna

[Johanna]

iPods are great if that's where he intends to get his music from (iTunes I think it is?) and I haven't read much about Zunes that would make me rush out and buy one. Supposedly you can share music with Zune, but it "disappears" after three days. If he has a lot of cds and is just planning to rip them, you can get inexpensive MP3 players for about $50. I just got one for my mom that holds a gig- about 200 songs or so and doubles as a flash drive. (It also allows for recording conversation, but mom isn't into espionage, so I doubt she'll ever use that feature.) Find out how he plans to use it (in the car, with headphones, with music he already owns, or music he wants to buy...etc etc) and compare features.
Johanna

[warriorscot]

There is a few reviews, it looks half decent to me itll probably get better if it gets a good modding crowd behind it like the PSP there is allready a modification to remove the DRM on transmitted tracks. Looks ok i wouldnt say it seems any worse or better than the ipod its got limitations but it has a really nice screen big enough to actually watch a video although only in wmv although im sure that will eventually be fixed i hope.

I like creative players alot, they have pretty much no DRM the software is fantastic better than any of its competitors(they have been doing the whole media software thing before MS and Apple started doing it properly), and it plays all the formats real people use, also has good features FM radio and sound recorder are common which are handy things to have.

I like my NWA3000 from sony but they have stopped production(ironically after they fix all the software problems) great battery life too.

You dont listen to music and your 17, i think you might need to see some doctors, i think the priority should not be getting your brother an mp3 player but finding you some music.

[james_8970]

You dont listen to music and your 17, i think you might need to see some doctors, i think the priority should not be getting your brother an mp3 player but finding you some music.

I know its bad. My friends wonder how I manage to live

The thing is a believe there is encoders out there to make CD's that have already been purchased playable on the ipod, so i don't think that's going to be a problem.

Buying the music is the one thing that i'm worried about with him, because i'm not sure if my parents feel safe about having thier credit card numbers over the internet, hopefully can get over this because i'm going to be buying parts for a computer via the internet (although i'm sure it won't be a problem, however better clarify with the parents). Also i had to drag my brother away from P2P's and their illegal network, so i kinda want to stick away from going back to that route. I'm kinda wanting to stick to players that have their own music distributor, such as Itunes and Microsoft's new one.

The thing is, my brother is aimed at getting the ipod because thats what everyone has, but honestly i'm not really convinced that its the best bang for the buck, or best mp3 player out there. Samsung had one come out that had speakers, and was like a miniature boom box which looked cool.

Also he's going to be using it for every general use such as when he's walking home from school snow boarding and such. Long battery life is pretty well essential, which is why i'm kinda leaning to the mini.

As for the Wi-fi network with the zune, i think you can listen to the song 3 times, and not only ahve it one your MP3 players for 3 days. Could be wrong however, but i'm sure thats what i read.

James

[warriorscot]

Yeah youre right about the wifi but there is a way around that.

Personally i dont buy music online A. i dont like DRM and B. its really not cheap enough considering you arent paying for a CD or cover art and then you dont get either of those things. Ild download a torrent of music a thousand times before i used itunes Allofmp3 is actually the best of the sites in principle as well as price because if bands actually registered with the russian media authority they would get more money even though allofmp3 charge much less, but the best way is just to buy the CD the artist gets some more money and you get a hard copy proper CD shops are expensive but these days supermarkets and wholesalers sell CDs for nothing just as cheap as going online half the time. None of the major distributors online are really any good or better than any other ones.

Battery power and snow boarding you might want to think of the NWA3000 i have if you use the sony format you can get over 30Hours battery life, and its tough it takes a fair bashing, it doesnt do video or pictures though its got a nice OLED monochrome screen.

None of the ipods have ever been particularly good in terms of battery life its been one of their biggest flaws, it was the reason an ipod was like 4th on my list when i was buying a mp3 player.

[Nikul]

Get him a Creative Zen. They are the best MP3 Players.

http://www.creative....sp?category=213

[james_8970]

Ya, i was looking around and was going to suggest some things and just as i was making the post my dad walked in to hide my brothers new ipod nano. But thanx for the advise everyone.
James