goodbye ipod

rtil · June 15, 2010 04:06 AM

after my last ipod died a bizarre death (freezes every 5-15 seconds for eternity) and my current used ipod got weird lines all over the screen for no reason i decided i'm sick of having ipods and it was time for something new. i don't use itunes to sync my ipod because it is so terrible - i've been using winamp for a few months now. but i know that there are plenty of mp3 players out there that can sync with winamp without a plugin because they act as storage devices. even though i wanted something bigger than 32gb, the only two companies that make players bigger than that are apple and microsoft. zunes are cool looking, but i do not want to use microsoft's proprietary software which it pretty much forces you to do.

so after a lot of research the most affordable, high-capacity and high-quality player i could find was the creative zen 32gb.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRMJc1WJyn0

i just got it in the mail today and am currently loading my library onto it. i have 29gb of music so it's a close fit but i usually delete stuff i don't listen to anymore so it stays the same size.

i tried throwing on a couple videos as well and so far it's played everything i've given it. it has a small screen but the same amount of colors as the monitor you're reading this with so it looks really great.

i'll post updates on this thread as i use the thing more. i'm hoping this will be a better experience than the ipod. it already has more functionality, as it has a microphone and radio support. however, one thing i don't like is that the usb cable it came with to connect it to the computer is literally 2 inches long. kind of annoying as i'll have to get one long enough that i can actually use. there's literally no place to put it but hanging from your usb slot.

Casey Pixmintro · June 15, 2010 04:21 AM

ipod more like ipooped

Necronomitr0n · June 15, 2010 04:40 AM

oohhhhh yes

i've been looking for something to replace my 3 year old creative zen v plus

where did you find this exactly

rtil · June 15, 2010 05:05 AM

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Portable-Me...8295&sr=1-2

do NOT get the x-fi version it's just a rebrand with a different skin and a lesser quality screen (216k colors vs the zen's 16 million colors)

Sapphire · June 15, 2010 12:29 PM

I need a new mp3 player too. Glad you made this thread. Gonna check that zen out.

Wasim · June 15, 2010 02:26 PM

noobs i can easily get a 16gb ipod for 30 bucks, im smooth like that

creamcorn · June 15, 2010 05:24 PM

looks good

slantedskarekrow · June 15, 2010 07:00 PM

It looks really good I'd get one if it wasn't for the $239.99 price tag.

Fuzz · June 15, 2010 07:10 PM

http://mp4nation.net/catalog/index.php?mai...products_id=400

Small size, but takes SD cards. Pretty sweet Mp4 player right there. I smashed mine in a car door...

rtil · June 15, 2010 09:35 PM

so far syncing this thing with winamp has been an absolute nightmare. i blame winamp's poor native syncing software (their ipod syncing software sucked, too). it eats up memory and freezes and stops all the time for no reason. someone recommended mediamonkey so i'm going to give that a try tonight.

zembleborf · June 15, 2010 09:37 PM

probably from sucking too much dick.

rtil · June 15, 2010 09:37 PM

besides that the device itself has been fun so far. navigation is tricky at first but you get used to it. it plays music much louder than the ipod. it has a custom 5-channel EQ. the FM radio sounds good, too. videos look amazing on it although the screen is small (2.5"). i'm excited to get my whole library on it and see how it performs

Kött · June 15, 2010 10:07 PM

So you bought this one? Hm... I dunno... My mp4 player (some actually pretty decent Philips one) got fucked about 2 months ago. Ok, actually it's only the display that is broken and I can still use the shuffle function to listen to music but not even being able to select what you want to listen to it's not very satisfying for a device that should actually be able to play videos.
It had about 4GB of storage and it's not like I would have ever had to abandon songs that I really missed, at least after I started to fill its capacity with a decent selection instead of just putting every shit located in my playlist on it.
As a replacement I thought of getting myself a semi decent mobile phone (yes, I really don't have one) as these come with pretty much everything you would ever need (camera, mp3/video function) and the storage is defined by any memory card or your choice... yet I am not sure if it really is an alternative when doing sports or working as cellphones mostly are even less robust than usual mp3 players. As I said... not really experienced with cells... but it would make any mp3 player pretty much redundant.

So, uhm... what exactly do you need more than 32GB of storage for?

rtil · June 15, 2010 10:44 PM

i have 29gb of music and far more in video. it's cutting it close in terms of storage. but i didn't want another ipod and i definitely don't want a zune. and any other companies that might produce anything bigger than 32gb are insanely expensive (eg cowon)

shura · June 15, 2010 11:36 PM

32 gb is plenty if you just have music. i think i have 25 gigs of music but the majority of space on my ipod is taken up by other crap because i use my ipod to back up my computer. when my shitty external hd broke having the ipod saved me so im reluctant to try anything else. glad you like it tho. i've always wanted to try a zen they seem really underrated

Casey Pixmintro · June 15, 2010 11:40 PM

My mp3 player I have only holds 4 gb, has a tiny text screen and has a short battery life. The main thing I like about it is because it doubles as a Flash Drive because it has a retractable USB connector.

rtil · June 16, 2010 12:17 AM

Quote from: shura32 gb is plenty if you just have music. i think i have 25 gigs of music but the majority of space on my ipod is taken up by other crap because i use my ipod to back up my computer. when my shitty external hd broke having the ipod saved me so im reluctant to try anything else. glad you like it tho. i've always wanted to try a zen they seem really underrated

well i know plenty of people who have upwards of 60-70gb of music, even more. i suspect they don't listen to most of it on a regular basis, but there is a market for that. i've been teetering around 30gb for a while now , but i have gotten into the habit of deleting stuff i don't listen to anymore. i just like to have breathing room.

and i'm not gonna have a final say on what i think on the zen until i've used it for a few weeks. then i'll be able to really gauge how good of a player it is. i've had it for less than a day but not much of a chance to really use it yet. i can say one thing though, it is fucking small. it's got the dimensions of a credit card and is a little over a quarter of an inch thick

funzop · June 16, 2010 02:58 AM

i got a 160 gb ipod classic with maybe 65 gb of music and almost no video on it
it works surprisingly well (for an ipod) and my only gripe so far is the fact that itunes is such a shitty program

funzop · June 16, 2010 03:05 AM

also i listen to all my music so shuttup nerd!!!

spite · June 16, 2010 06:00 AM

Me and my two bothers had zen mp3 players and I remember them being extremely frustrating. Mine only lasted about 2 months before dying for no reason both of my brothers' eventually did the same. Mine was a zen micro from like 2005 or something.

I've always used an ipod after that. Maybe I just luck out but I've never had a problem with one. I have a 4 year old nano that I use to skate with and a 160gb classic with 20gb of music and about 4bg of video that I use for my car and everything else.

Also whats wrong with itunes?