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I dont want an iPod, what are my other choices, really?

S

Star Destroyer

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 15, 2006
376
4
Well, i got my free nano with my new macbook, and i am quickly finding out its to small for my tastes...
I want to get a new mp3 player, but i DONT want another iPod. What other brands can i get a player that will work with itunes formated songs and my macbook?

This is honestly pissing me off, it seems nothing works with macs.. :( why do companies hate OS X!?
 
Not sure what you have against the iPod, but songs purchased from the iTunes Store will not work on any other brand of MP3 player. This is Apple's decision, as they view it as an entire package.
 
Yeah, but why don't the other players support unprotected AAC? That is so lame.
 
I don't know of another mp3 player that will work with iTunes, at least not without a plug-in of some sort. When I got my macbook, i finally got an ipod for this reason. Haven't looked back yet, the simplicity is absolutely wonderful. :) There might be some flash based players that would let you access them as removable storage, but i doubt they can sync with iTunes
 
Star Destroyer said:
Well, i got my free nano with my new macbook, and i am quickly finding out its to small for my tastes...
I want to get a new mp3 player, but i DONT want another iPod. What other brands can i get a player that will work with itunes formated songs and my macbook?

This is honestly pissing me off, it seems nothing works with macs.. :( why do companies hate OS X!?
Click to expand...
...what's wrong with the iPod?
 
cube said:
Yeah, but why don't the other players support unprotected AAC? That is so lame.
Click to expand...

Initially, I think there was some pressure by Microsoft to push the WMA format, but AAC is becoming more accepted. You can read up on what supports AAC in the Wikipedia article on AAC.
 
cube said:
Yeah, but why don't the other players support unprotected AAC? That is so lame.
Click to expand...
Microsoft caught onto that and added both (non-FairPlay of course) AAC and H.264 to their brown box.

One interesting thing i noticed about the comingzune.com site is that they offer their weird little flaming bird video for download, and that page offers you a link to a QuickTime video instead of WMV if you are on a Mac. Are they thinking of challenging Apple on their home turf?
 
I'd like to hear more about why you don't want another iPod. I'm biased of course, but I think the iPod is hands down the best MP3 player in the world.
 
cube said:
Yeah, but why don't the other players support unprotected AAC? That is so lame.
Click to expand...

Very simple: There is this huge competition between Microsoft and Apple going on. And every other player uses the proprietary Windows Media Player format, and doesn't use AAC, because they didn't want to upset Microsoft. Which always made it impossible for me (and many others) to buy any other player, because my whole CD collection is ripped in AAC format.

Now, of course, Microsoft comes out with its "Zune" supporting AAC, so all the others who relied on Microsoft are shafted. Which is about what you would have expected.
 
Well, nothing is wrong with iPods exactly, but, they are to much money for me.
I just want a regular old 10gb mp3 player..
But with apple, its either 8gb or 30gb..
30 is to much, and 8 gbs would save me so much money if it was a nano...
Think about how much money a NOT nano 8gb ipod would cost, it would most likely be way cheaper...

Toshiba makes a nice 10Gb model, and so does samsung i believe but i cant use them hahaa

but yarrrrrr thats it quicky cause i have to go. more later if everyone still needs it
 
Chaszmyr said:
I'd like to hear more about why you don't want another iPod. I'm biased of course, but I think the iPod is hands down the best MP3 player in the world.
Click to expand...

Did you see the photos for the Zune? With its neat interface?

THAT folks, is what's going to be the best MP3 player in the world, and in light of Apple's recent "brighter screen and improved battery life" is a lot of innovation right there.
 
You could get an older, used iPod. They came in 10GB back in the day, and are still quite nice. Plus, they can be had relatively cheaply compared to the new ones.
 
generik said:
Did you see the photos for the Zune? With its neat interface?

THAT folks, is what's going to be the best MP3 player in the world, and in light of Apple's recent "brighter screen and improved battery life" is a lot of innovation right there.
Click to expand...

The Zune is 18% heavier and 44% larger than the 30gb iPod, moreover the click wheel is still the best way to navigate an MP3 player menu. Those two reasons alone are why I wouldn't buy any other MP3 player.
 
generik said:
Did you see the photos for the Zune? With its neat interface?

THAT folks, is what's going to be the best MP3 player in the world, and in light of Apple's recent "brighter screen and improved battery life" is a lot of innovation right there.
Click to expand...

You say that as if Apple doesn't have something up its sleeve. You know better.
 
generik said:
Did you see the photos for the Zune? With its neat interface?

THAT folks, is what's going to be the best MP3 player in the world, and in light of Apple's recent "brighter screen and improved battery life" is a lot of innovation right there.
Click to expand...
i thought so too at first (re: how neat the interface looked), but have you heard about the file implications that microsoft is trying for? the zune is going to add DRM to every song you add to it, regardless of where it came from or how you got it. every song, period. what the heck?

that, coupled with the fact that it's huge and bulky compared to the iPod = no thanks for me.
 
generik said:
Did you see the photos for the Zune? With its neat interface?

THAT folks, is what's going to be the best MP3 player in the world, and in light of Apple's recent "brighter screen and improved battery life" is a lot of innovation right there.
Click to expand...

this is gotta be a joke. i think he's just egging us on.

saying zune will be the best mp3 player is like saying windows is the best os...i'm sure apple has something incredibly mind blow compared to the zune. i mean hey, the ipod has only been out for a few years and MS if FINALLY coming out with something that is half decent :)

cheers,
keebler
 
xfiftyfour said:
i thought so too at first (re: how neat the interface looked), but have you heard about the file implications that microsoft is trying for? the zune is going to add DRM to every song you add to it, regardless of where it came from or how you got it. every song, period. what the heck?

that, coupled with the fact that it's huge and bulky compared to the iPod = no thanks for me.
Click to expand...

That's going to kill it right there. Especially since lots of people use less-than-legal means to send/receive music.
 
Take generik's posts with a grain of salt. I know his posting style... in one thread, he'll praise Apple for everything they have accomplished and then in another thread he'll talk bad about them.

Maybe he does it for attention?

Anyway, to the OP: why not either a 30 GB or 80 GB iPod? It's bigger than the nano, will hold all of your music and it plays videos. What more can you want, besides a bigger screen?
 
extraextra said:
That's going to kill it right there. Especially since lots of people use less-than-legal means to send/receive music.
Click to expand...
That's only being touted as a feature of the wireless sharing thingy though. There is no way they would get that feature out the door without land sharks nipping at their ankles if they didn't (remember how once upon a time, iTunes allowed streaming without restrictions, and how quickly it went away?).
 
Other devices do work with iTunes. Of course you can't use protected music store files on the non-Apple devices. Naturally you can convert CDs to MP3 or regular AAC, or burn protected songs to a CD and re-rip them back in.

Here's a list of players that *most likely* still work with itunes:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93548.

IMHO: It sounds like you are trying to come up with a reason to NOT just get a bigger capacity Apple iPod, even though the prices are quite comparable to other players (if you want an FM radio why are you buying music downloads) and iPods will always work with itunes.

PlaysForSure is just as much of a "lock in" DRM strategy as iTunes and FairPlay. Many non-iPod music stores push subscriptions which means you have to keep paying to play *your* music, and PlaysForSure is more like PlaysForSome with all the catches and limitations different devices/jukebox software has on Windows.
 
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