iPod shuffle.

[zip22]

$430 for 20gb? not my cup of tea, but it does have some nice features. if only there was some solid evidence of it coming out anytime soon. also, if any other company made an mp3 player as small as the shuffle, and for the same price, i would have gotten it. but none did so the shuffle fit the bill perfectly.

 

[eab]

I really don't see what the big deal with the ipod shuffle is... Yes its a nice flash drive player but its not really much different then the ist gen creative muvo, only bigger storage. It didn't play them in a "random" order but still.

Anything over 512mb I want to be able to view whats on a screen. Thats why I got my 128mb creative muvo for at the gym or running and my 15gig dell dj for everything else.

 

[zip22]

how big was the original muvo? this player is tiny. you really cant tell from the pictures. its so small and light. the only thing in my pocket thats lighter is my sharpwriter pencil. everything else is way heavier. the shuffle weighs less than 4 quarters. about 3.8 quarters incase you were curious. thats whats special about it.

 

[Capt_Caveman]

I have a 20gb iPod and I find myself using the Shuffle more. I usually listen to a single genre at a time and always go random. Due to it's size and weight, it's just so easy to bring along. And it is nicely integrated w/ iTunes so you can use your iPod and Shuffle w/out any problems.

 

[idioteQnology]

$430 for 20gb? not my cup of tea, but it does have some nice features. if only there was some solid evidence of it coming out anytime soon. also, if any other company made an mp3 player as small as the shuffle, and for the same price, i would have gotten it. but none did so the shuffle fit the bill perfectly.

i spoke to jet audio on the phone. the player is already out overseas somep laces. he stated a march 15th release date is still on schedule for the US, this was 4 days ago.

 

[zip22]

i would really like to see one in person. they sound and look really nice. i wonder what video formats they can play. this is the one area where apple has really dropped the ball. their photo ipod cant even connect to cameras like a lot of other ones. (apples behind in the mini player (4-5gb) but thats not as bad of a defecit)

the thing is, i dont see these taking off as quickly as music players. the portable music industry already existed, then the digital audio player revolutionized it. ipods were kinda slow to catch on, but now DAPs are coming out all the time and some crazy number of americans own them. but portable video is a whole new arena. i just dont see many people fancying the idea of watching a movie on the go. maybe itll catch on slowly, but right now i am unsure. i would say the next direction is combination PDAs and big storage. an ideal device for me would be the motorola razer with a 20gig hard drive. thatd be sweet.

 

[idioteQnology]

i would really like to see one in person. they sound and look really nice. i wonder what video formats they can play. this is the one area where apple has really dropped the ball. their photo ipod cant even connect to cameras like a lot of other ones. (apples behind in the mini player (4-5gb) but thats not as bad of a defecit)

the thing is, i dont see these taking off as quickly as music players. the portable music industry already existed, then the digital audio player revolutionized it. ipods were kinda slow to catch on, but now DAPs are coming out all the time and some crazy number of americans own them. but portable video is a whole new arena. i just dont see many people fancying the idea of watching a movie on the go. i would say the next direction is combination PDAs and big storage. an ideal device for me would be the motorola razer with a 20gig hard drive. thatd be sweet.

im not gettin it for the video capability. though i will keep some lil mpegs i have that i shot with my elph that are nostalgic. plus some short funny mpegs to crack a laugh to while campin or whatever. but mostly i want the napster to go ability, the ability to usb to go my elph to it when i travel (goin overseas a lot this summer) also to have a built in voice recorder without neadin to buy a mic and take out my earbuds, and to be able to on the fly line in record and rip to mp3 bitrates up to the 300kbs, and to record fm stuff directly from the fm tuner built in that works all over the world (and for howard stern here), and when i am in cyprus my sister does a radio show on fm, id like to record some of it directly wherever i am.

i could do none of that with an ipod.

i wasnt tryin to say this competes with a shuffle. i guess i was just a bit steamed cause, and u are not one of them, i kept seein in so many reviews these rabid apple/ituunes cultists. that just immediately call out anything that isnt an ipod, and istn itunes as a 2nd rate product.

 

[zip22]

arent there others out now that can do that? i swear i have seen some that have all that except maybe the built in mic. what are some of the others you have looked at?

 

[idioteQnology]

oh yeah. most of the non-ipod based players have built in voice recording and fm tuners that u can also record the fm stuff. also many of the hard drive based non ipod players also have a line in and rip to mp3 on the fly. a lot also play flac and ogg vorbis now as well as being firmware upgraded to play secure digital files

there is an hp colour one out now that has the usb to go for photo i saw on cnet that has been out for a bit already.

once i found the jetaudio m3L i was so deadset on gettin it, until i found it didnt support napster to go, which i want to try at least. after callin them they told me about the x5. i asked questions and figured id wait. they say it should work with canons, i am hopin my s400 is compatible

 

[zip22]

have you looked at the iriver H320? it has line in, usb host, fm, fm recording. its less than $350 too. cnet.com said the controls were a little hard to get used to, and they had some other points too

http://reviews.cnet.com/iRiver_H320_20GB/4505-6490_7-31120667.html

 

[idioteQnology]

have you looked at the iriver H320? it has line in, usb host, fm, fm recording. its less than $350 too. cnet.com said the controls were a little hard to get used to, and they had some other points too

http://reviews.cnet.com/iRiver_H320_20GB/4505-6490_7-31120667.html

yes i looked at that. i was close to gettin it but it is a bit too bulky and not as sleek as i would like it to be. plus once i saw the zen touch (which is not as full featured) and the M3L battery life i knew i could do better in that department too.

 

[idioteQnology]

one great thing about the ipods is the size, and the interface with that jog wheel. ive used my friends, it is very nice. but it wasnt enough to convince me.

 

[eab]

how big was the original muvo? this player is tiny. you really cant tell from the pictures. its so small and light. the only thing in my pocket thats lighter is my sharpwriter pencil. everything else is way heavier. the shuffle weighs less than 4 quarters. about 3.8 quarters incase you were curious. thats whats special about it.

It looks like this:

http://uk.europe.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=213&subcategory=215&product=110

Its a little biger then a bic lighter. Not much though, only real weight to it is the one AAA battery.

Thats it, true the Ipod shuffle is most likly smaller but I still don't get what the big deal is...

 

[Slackfumasta]

I think it's a cool little toy, but for an MP3 player, I have to have a screen. I won't end up using it otherwise.

I have a little 256 MB Rio player that I bought a couple of years ago because it had two features I want: small size and an easy interface. I love the thing, but now that I don't travel every week I have little use for it.

I won't buy another MP3 player until there is one available that is the size of the Shuffle, has a screen, and has Bluetooth capability for headphones. For all I know there is one out there like that, but I don't want to pay more than a couple hundred dollars for it. I figure that'll take about two years.

 

[zip22]

well the muvo is 2.5 times the size, almost double the weight, and the battery life according reviews i saw on amazon can be around 3 hours with an AAA. also, with the smaller storage capacity, it wouldnt have been much use to me since i am using mine as a flash drive. the reviews on amazon seem to state the player dies and is cheaply made. maybe since apple is selling these shuffles like crazy, the other companies will do it too. i didnt want to wait for them to copy, though.

also, i think you might be waiting a long time for a player the size of the shuffle with bluetooth. from what i have heard that would kill batteries, and battery capacity is limited by 2 things size and science. neither of which seem to be changing very quickly.

 

[Slackfumasta]

I'm perfectly content to wait

My Rio gets around 16-18 hours of battery life on a single AAA battery, plus I can add an SD card to increase the capacity, so I don't see myself needing something new for quite a while.

 

[zip22]

yeah, i would like SD expansion since that would make it somewhat future proof, but alas apple likes things as simple as they can get. do you have the forge?

 

[Slackfumasta]

Nope, I have the Rio Chiba; it's a couple of years old, I doubt they even make them anymore, but it sure works ****er!

It originally said that it would take up to a 256 MB SD card, but I've heard of people putting larger ones in; I think I'll try it soon.

 

[zip22]

what size chiba? they're still listed on the rio website(128 and 256), and they both say they can take up to a 1gb SD card.

BTW, the shuffle is 1/5 the size of the chiba and about 1/3 of the weight. also rio flash players suck if you're left handed.

 

[Slackfumasta]

Mine is 256 MB; that's good news that it can take a 1 GB SD card - when I bought it, it only listed up to a 256 MB card.

The Shuffle might be smaller, but it doesn't have a screen I must have the screen. The screen is good.

I am left handed mostly; I throw/pitch lefty, I write lefty, I play hockey goalie lefty, but I bat righty, I play hockey righty, and I play tennis mostly righty. I guess I never noticed the Rio being hard to use, but you are right that it's shaped more for the right hand.