[vox] ipod - what's the big deal?

[Geoffrey Herteg]

Pete/all,

I don't know about it being newsworthy, but I must admit mine has become an item I wouldn't want to part with.  Apple made a wise choice outsourcing this little puppy, the company they chose (I forget the name) knows how to make embedded device interfaces work.

My list of pros:
1) Interface is easy to navigate and use one-handed.
2) Interface was straightforward, no need to pull out documentation to learn how things worked (they even had little help notes describing how to program the 'Now Playing' list pop up when it's empty!).
3) Good sound, deals with VBR just fine.

Cons:
1) Battery life could be better, but since I charge it while I'm in my cube it works out OK for long lab sessions.
2) No Ogg Vorbis support (yet?)

I must admit I still use my old Creative Nomad II when I work out, just because it's already taken plenty of abuse and was much cheaper.  And it does just what I need it to, which is play music for the two hours I work out.  When I want music for the long haul, that's when the iPod gets chosen.

As for the price, if you're using it on a daily basis it might almost be worth it.  But unless you're looking for the huge capacity for long periods of time away from a computer or don't want to buy lots of memory cards for a cheaper player, it's likely that you can get a better deal.

My $0.02 worth.  Now back to your regularly scheduled email, already in progress...

- Geoff

On Fri, Oct 24, 2003 at 09:41:20AM -0700, p@dirac.org wrote:
> i see ipod, ipod, ipod on the news.  on slashdot.  on google.
> 
> i'm trying to figure out -- what's the big deal?  portable mp3 players
> have been around for, AFAIK, over 4 years now.
> 
> AFAICS, the only thing that makes them notable is who markets them and
> how outrageously priced they are.  i've seen them retail for $400 for
> 20GB.  a friend of mine just bought a portable mp3 player for $300 with
> an 80GB drive.
> 
> what about the ipod makes them so newsworthy?
> 
> pete
> 
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