[Toshi]

How do the HD players hold up when being used while riding (XC/Road)?

they should be fine. they all buffer in ~20 min of music to ram and spin down the hard drive when it's not being used to fill the buffer. the big complaint is that dropping one while the hard drive is spun up would be a Bad Thing, plus they're kind of heavy to be sticking in a jersey pocket.

 

[Silver]

How do the HD players hold up when being used while riding (XC/Road)?

I ride on the road with my iPod all the time. I wouldn't take it on a trail though.

 

[narlus]

you're right, success does not always correlate with excellence. however, given that the other competitors in this field are no slouches and that apple does not possess any magic kool-aid that all inductees must drink before setting foot in an apple store, i think the more reasonable analysis of the shuffle's (and the rest of the ipod lineup's) success would be that there are other factors besides the glaringly obvious at work. these may include superior integration with iTunes, better customer support as compared to, say, iRiver, less DoA units, etc.

if Apple came out w/ the iTurd you know people would buy it.

 

[DamienC]

How do the HD players hold up when being used while riding (XC/Road)?

Rode with my 3G 20GB iPod for the first time last Monday. I rode some local goods that are known as the drop trails while listening to the Collective soundtrack . It did just fine but I think mostly accounting to the fact that I'm so smooooove .

 

[mtbpaint]

THEY ARE TERRIBLE my friend has one. First: cant even see whats playing next: you cant turn it up to loud otherwise bass will cover everything up (no bass control or anything) the head phones it comes with broke for him two days after he got it (only one side worked) and they are known to break easily

 

[I Are Baboon]

if Apple came out w/ the iTurd you know people would buy it.

LOL

I wonder what exactly an iTurd would do.

 

[narlus]

LOL

I wonder what exactly an iTurd would do.

pretty much the same thing that the Shuffle does. :eviltongu

 

[Toshi]

if Apple came out w/ the iTurd you know people would buy it.

the spectacular failure of the Cube seems to indicate otherwise...

 

[narlus]

the cube was introduced in '01 or so, long before the iFrenzy started.

 

[Toshi]

the cube was introduced in '01 or so, long before the iFrenzy started.

it was introduced in 2000, but the iMac had been out and selling well since what, '98? and the iPod itself was introduced in nov '01...

 

[narlus]

well, the iPod didn't really ramp up to "must have accessory" item until within the last 12-18 months.

plus, i rest my case against the iIdiots:

http://tinyurl.com/3wqas

would you pay $600 for a 4 year old computer?

 

[-dustin]

if Apple came out w/ the iTurd you know people would buy it.

would it be smooth and white?

 

[manhattanprjkt83]

THEY ARE TERRIBLE my friend has one. First: cant even see whats playing next: you cant turn it up to loud otherwise bass will cover everything up (no bass control or anything) the head phones it comes with broke for him two days after he got it (only one side worked) and they are known to break easily

what are you talking about dude, none of the ipods have bass control and they sound awesome...and the headphones are tough as hell, i have pounded mine there are wires exposed and they still sound crystal clear...sounds like someone is telling stories

 

[arboc!]

wow, i leave for 1 day and it takes off... i think i'll get it because i want it for riding, and ill just make a playlist then leave

 

[binary visions]

sounds like someone is telling stories

Sounds like someone thinks that just because they had a good experience, everyone else must have had one too...

 

[Barbaton]

well, the iPod didn't really ramp up to "must have accessory" item until within the last 12-18 months.

plus, i rest my case against the iIdiots:

http://tinyurl.com/3wqas

would you pay $600 for a 4 year old computer?

wow, that's cheap, actually. usually they sell for more than 1K, still. People still buy them because there are companies still making upgrade chips for them, though I hear they're having a little trouble doing a G5 upgrade because of the heat. Maybe the mac mini's popping the aftermarket cube market.

Toshi, I think the cube failed so spectacularly because the price point was so hi (2+k originally, i think). Looks like they learned their lesson and we'll see how the mini does....

 

[Austin Bike]

BTW, anyone having battery life issues with their iPod mini?

I recharge mine once a week. Work out 3 times for 1 hour a week and it's dead by the end of the 3rd use (usually Mon, Wed and thu).

That sucks.

But if I get on a plane and listen straight I get 8 hours. I think it doesn't really "sleep"

 

[Toshi]

Toshi, I think the cube failed so spectacularly because the price point was so hi (2+k originally, i think). Looks like they learned their lesson and we'll see how the mini does....

everyone said the ipod was overpriced, too. well, at least everyone on slashdot said so

 

[manziman]

the spectacular failure of the Cube seems to indicate otherwise...

man, I miss that one. I always wanted one of those comps.

 

[chicodude]

man, I miss that one. I always wanted one of those comps.

Meh, We have those in our library at school. Look cool. But that's about it.

 

[Toshi]

Meh, We have those in our library at school. Look cool. But that's about it.

the cool thing about them (har har) was that in most setups they didn't have any fans, not on the (external) power supply, processor, graphics card, nothing. silent. :dancing:

 

[BikeGeek]

THEY ARE TERRIBLE my friend has one. First: cant even see whats playing next:

Hmmmm...I wonder why they call it the "Shuffle" and use the motto "Enjoy Uncertainty" and talk about the randomness of life in their ads?

 

[arboc!]

its got 2 modes random and ordered

 

[Honeywell]

I love the thing. The audio clarity is much better than even the regular iPod!

I'm glad someone else has said this, because I thought I was just imagining it, but it does seem to sound better then the 20GB iPod my girlfriend has.

I love my Shuffle. I'd rather pay more for extra storage than get less storage but have a screen, tuner, recorder, etc. You won't find 512MB for $100 offered by any other company, although Sandisk comes close.

I don't know why people seem to rag on the thing for not being able to see the songs. Yeah, let's give it a bad review for something it was specifically designed NOT to do. But whatever. I load a list on, press play, drop it in the pocket and forget about it.

The only thing I would like changed is the fact that I have to erase all my music if I want to load music from someone else's iTunes library.

 

[binary visions]

I don't know why people seem to rag on the thing for not being able to see the songs. Yeah, let's give it a bad review for something it was specifically designed NOT to do.

What's wrong with that? Stupid intentional designs are just as valid to criticize as accidental errors in design.

 

[Barbaton]

I love my Shuffle. I'd rather pay more for extra storage than get less storage but have a screen, tuner, recorder, etc. You won't find 512MB for $100 offered by any other company, although Sandisk comes close.

I've always thought it should be thought of not as an ipod that can be a memory stick but a memory stick that can play music. Who cares if you can see the songs if you have a memory stick that plays music.

 

[narlus]

as i've already stated, i put a lot of stuff on my player which i'm not that familiar with (and rotate it frequently), so knowing what song is playing (via glancing at the display) is a feature i would hate to lose. maybe i'm just more of a voracious music hound than the shuffle's intended audience, and that particular feature isn't required by them.

 

[biggins]

i picked up a shuffle last week, open box thing at best buy for 8o bucks. i dig it. i wore it while digging and dirt jumping with no issues at all. it is really small and seems like there isnt anything you could possibly break on it. i have a riding playlist fot it and an everyday listening playlist. i think it is a cool little gadget.

 

[arboc!]

cool, thats what i want it for... i dont care about eh screen, because i know all my songs

 

[Honeywell]

What's wrong with that? Stupid intentional designs are just as valid to criticize as accidental errors in design.

But if they thought it was stupid they shouldn't have bought it, or spent more for what they actually wanted. It's like buying a car and saying the car sucks because it didn't have A/C (which would be available if you wanted to pay more), even though you knew going into it that it didn't. That's nothing you should fault the manufacturer for, that's just a stupid consumer.

 

[narlus]

cool, thats what i want it for... i dont care about eh screen, because i know all my songs

must be like listening to classic rock radio.

 

[arboc!]

yeah... but not as repetitive

 

[dump]

I'm not a fan of the shuffle becasue it's frankly doesn't meet my needs... I like the idea of the small form factor, but for me, I want more functionality packed into that package.

Please keep in mind that for most people the shuffle is just fine, and i'm probably not the target user for the shuffle... but here are my main reasons the shuffle doesn't work for me:
- no screen
I need to be able to see the tracks I'm working with.

- battery
I don't want to rely on a charger/usb port to charge the unit. If i'm away from a computer for an extended period of time, I like the ability to carry around AAA batteries & just pop them in.

- physical design
While i like the form factor, the sharp edges are annoying... and seem to wear very fast. The shuffles I've seen (already) look beat... the store demo version had nicks in the square edged corners. I would have preferred something rounded on all sides like the original ipod.

- shuffle play
I want to be able to listen to albums start to finish w/o setting up an itunes playlist. Is this possible, from what i've been able to see, it isn't.

- limited functionality
While I (think) I understand their reasons for not providing more functionality, I want more out of my portable mp3 device.
- operate as a flash removable drive w/o any software installation.
- high quality voice recording.
- line-in
- fm tuner
- good screen w/ usable interface.
- reasonable price
- proper industrial design (can't be fugly)

These have been my requirements for a long time; only recently has there been a product that fits these.

My brother's arrived today - mine should be here soon.

http://www.jetaudio.com/products/iaudio/5/

 

[narlus]

Dump, those look good, but still feel short of one attribute i needed in a player: expansion slot for SD cards.

the high quality voice recording feature is interesting...could you make decent boots at shows using this? how long is the recording time? that's another place where having an expansion slot would rule.

 

[dump]

Dump, those look good, but still feel short of one attribute i needed in a player: expansion slot for SD cards.

the high quality voice recording feature is interesting...could you make decent boots at shows using this? how long is the recording time? that's another place where having an expansion slot would rule.

Good call, expansion slots for cards would be nice... does anyone do this?
For now, I think this is the best unit for my needs.

It does straight to mp3 recording, so w/ 1 gig, it should be plenty for a show assuming 1hr of mp3 is about 60MB. I think it's straight to 128KBps (or lower if you desire)

Personally with the voice recording, I need it because there are too many musical ideas that I get (& then forget) to not have some viable voice recording available. Similarly things I hear @ shows I'd like to be able to reference later.

It has a recording level adjust and an internal mic... I assume the quality is pretty reasonable.

 

[narlus]

the Rio players (Cali, Forge) have expansion slots, which is why i got a Forge (my wife's got a Cali). we have pretty overlapping music taste (either that, or i force my musical will on her...) so having the ability to swap cards to each other's players was a good attribute.

but...i didn't count on the formatting of the players to be different. the Forge is nice in that you don't need the Rio Music Manager to drag and drop songs. just connect via the USB cable, or pop the SD card into the slot, and you can see them as distinct drives using windows explorer. drag and drop to yr heart's content.

however, because of this, the card can't be read by the Cali, which doesn't support being seen as a device by Explorer. so, i've not realized my card swap ideal.

still, it allowed me to get a cheap player (i chose the 128MB internal memory, as it was smallest) and you know that memory cards will get larger and cheaper as time goes on.

if you could encode at a higher than 128 kbps rate, that would be great. you're right in that a blank 1GB capacity would be able to store plenty of music at any bit rate, even a grateful dead show

 

[dump]

interesting...

I'll report back when I get mine... might be able to go higher than 128.

 

[narlus]

cool, sounds good. just curious what the price of that is. looks pretty damn good all around.

 

[dump]

cool, sounds good. just curious what the price of that is. looks pretty damn good all around.

oh, you can buy right on the website.
http://onlinestore.jetaudio.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=59

iAUDIO 5 256MB Ruby Red
Your Price $129.00

iAUDIO 5 512MB Aqua Blue
Your Price $149.00

iAUDIO 5 1GB Noble Black
Your Price $199.00

competitive pricing imo.

 

[Superdeft]

Having used one, I'd say that it would be great for riding because it's so small, simple, and flat. If I had 100, I'd buy some more tires, but were I in the market for a new mp3 player, this would be it.