M-my underdog consumerism is threatened. ;_;

[chibi_trillian]

...gods help me, after years of resistance and buying exclusively competing products, I'm about ready to break down and buy an iPod. Congrats, Steve Jobs, you have marginalized my Zen to the point that I cannot buy accessories for it outside of Creative's website. And even though the Zen is worlds and away a better piece of hardware with far more features than an iPod, the syncing software that comes with it is terrible and frustrating and frequently crashes. And the new aluminum casing for the redesigned iPod Classic looks considerably less fragile than the original casing of which I'd heard so, so many complaints. And now you've gone and made the iPods cheaper than what I paid for my Zen, too.

Goddammit.

Anyone have any unbiased reviews on the approximate crunchiness of the newer iPods?

Comments

[astrokender.livejournal.com]

^_^;; I own a Creative Zen as well, being far too poor to afford an ipod.

I have Creative Media Source 5. It only crashes when I attempt to change the genre label of my music on the main page rather than through to dropdown toolbar. e_e Otherwise I've been pretty happy with it.

I don't know much about Ipods, I'm afraid, other than the fact that they are probably born from evil XD

[maldoror-gw.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I can't comment on iPod vs. other mp3 players, but I've dropped my iPod a few times in nothing but a leather flip-cover case and it's still working. The only time it ever decided to punish me was when I was unwisely handling iPod+baby+bag+carkeys and the iPod was the one to take a nosedive into snowy slush (which, come to think of it, is probably the best one of the lot, except maybe the bag). It didn't have its flipcover protection either. It gave me wonky screen and music for a few minutes, then it dried out without a fuss and has been working since. This is the one-before-last-next-generation classic iPod ($250 in stores now, methinks).

That being said, my husband and I seem to be changing iPods ever 2 years. Considering daily usage endured by said iPods, maybe that's not too bad, but I still think that's a bit of a turnover. It's not the crunchiness that's the problem, it's the battery and/or inner hardware and ports. One or the other always seems to eventually give out in increments.

[2metaldog.livejournal.com]

I have a 2GB Nano (it's 2 years old) and I get along with it fairly well for all of it being a Tool Of The Devil(tm). I have some issues with the iTunes interface (like it hiding where certain tunes go, refusing to DL certain tunes for no apparent reason, over all ickyness of the setup) but in all, I've been satisfied with mine.

I have recently purchased Skullcandy earbuds and they are WORLDS above the default earbuds you get. One would think that for the amount of sheckles you put out there for the iPod, you'd get decent earbuds, but you don't. I highly recommend Skullcandy. Excellent sound quality with none of that annoying hiss I got in my iPod earbuds when I cranked the tunes.

Hubby has just today purchased a Zen player (2GB model) but has yet to play around with it.

momentarily de-lurking

[tealeavesgreen.livejournal.com]

I have a Zen V Plus and I love it. Other than its comparatively slow syncing speed, I've never had any problems with the software (but then I don't use any of the advanced software...) I've also found that I can add/remove data on it without using the software at all, which is nice because it's faster.

iPods bother me because they're so popular. This could just be an example of my mindless oppositionalism, but when something is so effectively marketed, I can't help but wonder when the other shoe is going to drop. I'm contrary like that. I liked the Zen because it was cheap and did what I wanted it to do without too many exorbitantly priced extras. The iPod is too much of a hipster status symbol, in my opinion (which doesn't necessarily imply that all people who own iPods are shallow fashionistas, but. Perceptions and reality, you know?)

Have you tried fiddling with the software, or just bypassing the software entirely? One of my friends who does own an ipod apparently got so fed up with their OS (and all the proprietary BS) that she hacked the damn thing and turned it into an overpriced Zen.

/my two cents
*sinks back into the shadows*

[geekchic07.livejournal.com]

I can give you an opinion as an IT professional if that helps: I can recommend the sturdiness of the Ipod without the hard drive. I strongly urge you NOT to purchase anything with a hard drive that will be jostling around like an MPS player. They're fragile, little discs that break at the drop of a hat (or the drop of the system itself). The Ipod's software can be annoying but, generally, any player's will be. All in all, an Ipod is generally the way to go from what I have seen on a technical level.

I can't give a personal account as I don't own any MP3 player but from what I have seen happen to hard drives, I would stay away from the mammoth sized Ipods and go with a solid Memory based one.

[lorelei76.livejournal.com]

Don't do it! Don't succumb to the glittery fancypants accessories~!

Seriously though, I completely and utterly agree w/the Ipod Monopoly. I understand that business is business is business and these accessory manufacturers will always go with the sure shot money maker, but DAMN YA'LL. Why can't Creative get a little love too?

I've had my 30 gig Zen Vision M for (nearly) 2 years and it's still going strong, and I probably won't replace it until the battery charge drops down to 4 hours of play. (I'm getting 8 hours now if I just let it play and not fiddle with the screen. I used to get 14+.) I haven't noticed much crashing w/the Media Explorer, but then again, I don't sync every week. I do hate the video conversion software, but that's fine - there are plenty out there that'll convert the video in such a way that it'll still look pretty good when I plug my Zen to a TV.

The lack of accessory bling is making me so fucking saaaad.

[kaizoku-shinobi.livejournal.com]

And here I thought I was the only person who knew and used a Zen. *tears of joy*

Having owned two ipods, I find that because of their popularity it makes them easy targets of theft. Though the probability of that happening is more up to the owner and place they are in.

Though I prefer my Zen V Plus over my ipod. They actually both have problems in the syncing and software, but I find that the Zen was a lot easier to handle. Ipods also tend to be more fragile because of their thin frame, so if you jog while listening you might experience freezing.

In all, I think the Zen rates higher IN GENERAL for overall awesomeness. Though that's mostly because of the neck strap. But if you're looking for something that will be easier to find help for, or something that's easier to find shiny toys for, then I guess the ipod overules the Zen in that. :P

[spedangel.livejournal.com]

I've got the new iPod Classic, and I've had it for over 6 months now (I got it when it first came out). I do not drop my electronics, that's just something I don't do, and yet I have dropped the damned thing at least 5-6 times, one time right onto solid concrete with only an ipod 'sock' for protection. It did leave a small dent in the bottom of it (damn!) but it didn't freeze or need to be restarted, etc. I've only had the software freeze on me once in the 6 months I've owned it, and I use it very regularly. I had an iPod before that lasted 3.5years but I didn't use it as regularly as I do now. Anyway, good luck with your choice. I know that it sucks 'succumbing' to corporate monopolies but I really like my iPod and have never had any problems with this one or my previous one. So the choice is really yours.

[alita-b-angel.livejournal.com]

I am holding onto my Zen until it dies. I NEED no accessories!

That said, it's doing that thing where it takes ages to start up, and randomly likes to freeze, and won't unfreeze until the battery life is dead. But I still like it better because it means I don't have to change avi extensions to ipod format to play any videos on the Vision M, and you can hook it up to any TV using a basic sony camera av cable.

Ipods pretty much last 13 months. Or one month after warranty ends.

[proletariat-x.livejournal.com]

At least you have the chance to break with your practice- due to my hasty choice in user-name, I don't even have the option to give the corporate swine-dogs any of my money...

of ipods and evils

[mitsubachi2g.livejournal.com]

I got a 60GB 2.5 years ago when it was discontinued. I also was a rabid anti-evil supporter, but when somebody gives you a shiny new FREE ipod as a gift (free being the operative word here) you say thank you and run away before they change their minds and keep it for themselves. I have found that itunes is the devil, so I try not to use it to sync unless there's an update. I usually use winamp to sync and listen/watch stuff, and it does support syncing for various mp3 players, including the Zen, so it should be fine. Not too sure if windows media player does as well. As for durablity, I have a rubber sleeve on my ipod and it's fallen onto concrete a few times and no permanent damage. Good luck.

Re: of ipods and evils

[chibi-trillian.livejournal.com]

Thanks for tip on WinAmp! This may actually make my Zen less frustrating to use--I love it at any time I'm not actually trying to have it talk to my computer. >>;