Need details on iPod vs DellDJ

[OldManJimbo]

Being a Mac fan I was taken by surprize when my daughter came home from school saying "everyone" is buying DellDJ mp3 players because "with an iPod you have to leave all your music on your computer and that really slows down your laptop."

I was planning to buy her an iPod for Christmas but now it sounds like she'd rather have the Dell.

Any advice? I haven't kept up on the differences. Is there a way to avoid the file storage situation she describes?

[jimsowden]

The kids are speaking from ignorance, as usual. All you have to do is turn off auto manage in the ipod preferences of iTunes, and wam! All the music you want on your ipod from your computer, and all the music off your computer thats on your iPod. She will thank you for the iPod, trust me. There is no better music player in the world.

[crazzyeddie]

Theres nothing to compare to iTunes, too. You can spend hours trying to setup other products to even get close to what iTunes does automatically. Plus, music on your computer doesn't slow it down, unless you're running at below 10% of the total hard drive capacity, which you shouldn't do anyway.

[Mechcozmo]

The Dell holds more songs because they hare encoded at 64 kb/sec format, WMA. The iPod holds less because they are encoded at 128 kb/sec format AAC. Essentially, the Del DJ holds more because it encodes them at a lesser bit rate. Anything less than 128 kb/sec and you hear it...64 kb/sec is really bad for stereo. As in, shi...er...cruddy. A girl at my school bought a Dell DJ, but returned it. She liked iTunes too much, liked the iPods software better, liked the fact that the iPod is smaller, liked the fact that the iPod had a DECENT backlight...etc. Go for the iPod!

[~Shard~]

Can't recommend the Dell in good conscience - the iPod is just so much slicker, so much easier to use (thanks to iTunes), stores higher quality tunes than the Dell, and well, it's not a Dell! I'd recommend buying your daughter the iPod, it's truly the better choice, and if nothing else, she'll stand out from the crowd if everyone else has Dells.

I hate to sound biased, being a Mac fan and an iPod owner myself, but it's really the better option - she'll be able to do everything with the iPod that she could with the Dell and more, not to mention better and quicker. So get your daughter the gift she deserves - nothing but the best for her, right?

[Duff-Man]

Duff-Man says...c'mon...now really...has Dell *ever* come up with an Apple knock-off that is better than what Apple offers? Michael Dell spends so much time trying to copy Apple's successes while out of the other side of his mouth slags Apple at every turn...this is a company that does not deserve (nor has earned) the support of any Mac user.

The iPod is so far above Dell's offering in terms of quality *and* style that anyone that suggests or thinks otherwise is obviously out to lunch and has no idea what they are talking about. The iPod has such a huge marketshare for a reason - it works and it works well - on both platforms...to have someone say the Dell is better is just F.U.D. and these people need to learn the truth.

Sheesh, that sounds like a real rabid Apple apologist rant. And yeah, maybe it is....I just get sick of these ignorant people that don't know any better or can't think for themselves behaving like little Wintel lemmings...oh yeah!

[wwooden]

I'm sure she'll love Dell's version of the "scroll wheel" as well. It looks like that thing is built to last.........

[OldManJimbo]

I can't argue with the design and sound quality issues raised - can someone explain a bit more about the process of leaving tunes on the iPod that are not still on the hard-drive. This seems to be her major hang-up.

[jackieonasses]

Originally Posted by OldManJimbo

I can't argue with the design and sound quality issues raised - can someone explain a bit more about the process of leaving tunes on the iPod that are not still on the hard-drive. This seems to be her major hang-up.

Why the heck would you not want your songs on your hard-drive? How many songs would she own? If the ipod needs to be restored to factory settings and her ipod is erased does she start from scratch? Honestly just explain to her that it does not slow the computer down if you have your songs on your harddrive unless 10% (like crazzieddie said) She will love you for it.

[~Shard~]

Originally Posted by OldManJimbo

I can't argue with the design and sound quality issues raised - can someone explain a bit more about the process of leaving tunes on the iPod that are not still on the hard-drive. This seems to be her major hang-up.

That is simply incorrect - why would having music on your HD slow it down? As others here have said, unless you're operating with a critical level of HD space, you won't notice any performance issues. After all, I have over 60 GB of music in iTunes and it doesn't slow down my system one bit!

[1rottenapple]

THe above postes are right. However, if you do want to manually load your songs, theres a little tab thingy when the ipod is hooked up to itunes. Then you can choose "manually manage your songs" and so you just basically drag and drop the songs that you want in the ipod, and then erase the songs in the HD (though I would much rather leave them in there).

[~Shard~]

Originally Posted by jsupetran

THe above postes are right. However, if you do want to manually load your songs, theres a little tab thingy when the ipod is hooked up to itunes. Then you can choose "manually manage your songs" and so you just basically drag and drop the songs that you want in the ipod, and then erase the songs in the HD (though I would much rather leave them in there).

I never want the only copy of any of my data in only one location, whether it be my photos, documents, or music. If my iPod had all of my music on it (not that it could hold my whole collection!) and something happened to it, I'd be devastated. That's why I back-up all important information on my machine on a regular basis and store the back-ups off site just in case something happens.

As a result, your daughter is in actuality better off to have copies of all of her music on the HD and NOT only on her music player.

[OldManJimbo]

Originally Posted by ~Shard~

I never want the only copy of any of my data in only one location, whether it be my photos, documents, or music. If my iPod had all of my music on it (not that it could hold my whole collection!) and something happened to it, I'd be devastated. That's why I back-up all important information on my machine on a regular basis and store the back-ups off site just in case something happens.

As a result, your daughter is in actuality better off to have copies of all of her music on the HD and NOT only on her music player.

Good point - I really think this is just another one of those "Apple can't be all THAT good issues." The kids at school are obviously not Mac fans and they believe what some guy at the Dell store tells them.

I think the best thing to do is to have her try an iPod at the Apple Store - she can't help but be convinced.

[djkny]

If you buy her a Dell, she will never forgive you. She will be scarred for life. She will always be the girl in school known as the "Dell DJ" girl by the Mean girls. buying her a dell is worse than going to the movies with her and her friends as the not-so-cool, balding, middle aged dad.

[solvs]

How else would you get your songs on to the DJ or the iPod? You have to have them on the computer to transfer them. Either way you can erase them later, but as others have said why would you? Having files on a drive doesn't slow it down. That may have been the case years ago when drives were in the MBs, but even that may be an urban myth. Plus, the transfer process is much easier on the iPod vs. the DJ. I've used iPods, very easy. Never used a DJ personally (don't know anyone who has one... anyone), but every review says the same thing. That it's a pain in the butt to do anything with it. Transfering MP3s or AACs are very fast and simple with iTunes, as are transfering files by using it as an external USB or FW hard drive.

How old is your daughter? It just shocks me that anyone would rather have a DJ over an iPod. There's a reason people pay more for the iPod, bringing it to 82% marketshare, while Dell has to lower prices on the DJ to break even point and they still don't sell.

Edit: I see from a previous post she is in High School. And taking AP classes to boot. There is no way she would enjoy the DJ more, she should know better. Perhaps she just doesn't want it to get stolen. Even if she has WMA files, unprotected of course, you can change them to MP3 or AAC in iTunes for Windows. If she had protected ones, you can burn them to a CD and re-import, or (as a last resort) buy some kind of iRiver or Rio or something. The iPod is the coolest and easiest to use MP3 players out there, especially the mini. You can even buy a microphone for dictation and a bunch of other accessories for the regular sized models.

It just baffles me that anyone would WANT the DJ, especially over the iPod. Even if you hated Macs. It is THE MP3 player. Ask her why she would want one and please let us know, because I just cannot wrap this around my brain. And I took AP classes too.

[AmigoMac]

There is no comparison between both devices... get the iPod, a dell is just a poor, POOR, copy of the great job, apple has done for years and other people want to break with words and not with products... if you get the *other*, it won't be more than 6 (maybe 3) before she asks you an iPod ...

[solvs]

Seriously... why would she actually want a DJ? Why? My mind remains boggled.

[~Shard~]

If everyone else has a DJ, then definitely get her an iPod - you'll not only be getting her a superior player, but you'll make her instantly popular since she'll have a cool, unique gadget no one else does, and all her friends will then want one - it's win-win!

[OldManJimbo]

Originally Posted by solvs

Seriously... why would she actually want a DJ? Why? My mind remains boggled.

Keep in mind the INTENSE peer pressure of high school. A couple of kids start talking about how something that is supposed to very cool (iPod) isn't all it's cracked up to be. Add to that a boyfriend whose father is hard core anti-Mac and you can start to see her dilemma.

IN the end I know she'll be pleased with the iPod - but in her world "being different" is not the best option.

[Dr. Dastardly]

Originally Posted by OldManJimbo

"with an iPod you have to leave all your music on your computer and that really slows down your laptop."

How does the DJ upload music?

[oldschool]

as this is a mac forum, i would like to go ahead and speak for everybody on here when i say "the dell is probably better".

[Apple Hobo]

What kind of bass ackwards school is this? I thought young people liked the stylish iPod. Ignorant kids and their Dull DJs...what's wrong with schools these days?

[Mechcozmo]

Originally Posted by Dr. Dastardly

How does the DJ upload music?

USB 2.0 and Music Match, and oh BTW, the $20 of MusicMatch does everything iTunes does...the free version doesn't.

[solvs]

Originally Posted by OldManJimbo

IN the end I know she'll be pleased with the iPod - but in her world "being different" is not the best option.

That's very sad if she feels this way. I could understand if the iPod was inferior, and there were better options, but there's a reason it's # 1. Except maybe battery life, and even that is debatable, I still cannot understand. If you need a radio, or voice recorder, there are accessories you can buy. If you just want something easy to use, the iPod is the only choice. If you must get something else for her, at least look at a better MP3 player than a DJ. Here is a list of players compatible with iTunes (though not iTMS AAC files). Be aware though that they are USB, which is much slower than FW. I'd still take her to an Apple Store to show her the iPods, but some people you can't change. Even family.

It's too bad you can't teach her now that it's ok to be different. She's going to need to learn that lesson when she gets to college and everyone is making fun of her for not using an iPod. No one I know uses a DJ... even if they got them for free.