Ipod car stuff...

[pinion]

Yeah, that thing is awsome. It keeps your ipod charged too.

Pioneer has an Ipod ready deck & all you need to buy is the "iPod2Car Car" adapter.

You'd get better sound then a stock deck, but thats another $300-350 on top of the $325 for the adapter.

If only I was rich

[Joker]

I have a last generation 15gb ipod, and it is my 2nd. Apple replaced the last one because of the defective battery, and I had a new one within 2 days of calling. Now, that's service!

I have an Alpine CDA-9815 in my car, with Alpine's iPod adapter kit (@$150 US for the kca-420i harness).

Supposedly it charges the ipod while its plugged in, but I don't buy it. Battery dies out and needs a charge in the dock off my powerbook to get back up and running again. I just don't think the Alpine is transferring power properly.

It also allows control of the ipod's functions through the display of the head unit... that leaves a bit to be desired. Sure, title and track info appears on the screen. That's hella cool! But the scrolling thru songs, selecting artists, playlists, etc. leaves a lot to be desired. The interface on the ipod is FAR better, and most importantly, faster.

The Alpine head unit I have has the option of allowing an auxiliary input, but thats an additional $20 and renders my XM/CD changer/ipod connector port useless for anything but the aux in. They do a multi-switcher for them, but I'm not gonna spend money on it and attempt to hide yet ANOTHER audio component in my car. However, since I don't want to leave my ipod out (i wired my connector into the glove box) in the open, it'll have to do.

As for MP3 players, I've had a couple before the ipod, and for size, storage, and most importantly, ease of use/operability, I think its the best. And frankly, iTunes is the best music organization program i've used to date, warts and all.

[The Monsignor]

I have an iPod mini (4gb) and a Griffin iTunes FM transmitter with it...

mine is the previous generation, and battery life is not the greatest (a couple hours or so on a charge, less if I'm using the transmitter)

The itunes is pretty good on radios with good reception, and you can literally tune it to any spot on the dial (it programs a playlist on your ipod that will reset the transmitter to go on any frequency) the transmitter is ultracompact and powered by the ipod (for my car I need to buy a cigarette lighter plug, but otherwise, great)

On radios with bad reception... sound quality is weak, they have trouble picking up the transmitter.

As for the durability of my iPod... well, it's seen combat, literally! only had one problem where it wouldn't go back to the menu, but that was a software problem, and when I hooked it to my laptop, it reset itself and fixed it.

I have friends with the Creative (oh, I forget the model) version of it, and they're quite happy with theirs, as well. The thing I didn't like is that on my Mac, most of those types of devices (MP3 players, Memory sticks, digital cameras etc.) show up as a removable drive as soon as I plug them in, no software needed. The Creative doesn't and they don't make a Mac driver for it.

iPods have cooler accessories, though! B)

[omisan]

mine is the previous generation, and battery life is not the greatest

http://www.appleipodsettlement.com

[jas_the_ripper]

I diagree about them being crap
i own an ipod and an itrip, they can give you trouble when driving next to a bus but otherwise they're fine, but just for clarity in your music and adpter produces better results.

[Qwardian]

Alright I am back.

Adam- you are not alone. I sell the bloody things and a 1/4 of them comeback with poblems.

Save your money and go with a Creative lab zen and a Iriver transmitter.

Trust me on this. I know my shit.

[The Monsignor]

Well, I have to go back and correct myself, now... My iPod is experiencing battery problems now (just after the first six months of my warrantee passed, so service returns cost $30 now!) I've been using it exclusively in 220v conditions, but it has a 'universal' power adaptor, and it shouldn't be an issue! It never did come close to the expected battery life that was advertised (2 hours was about average for it) and because I haven't been changing the music around on it, fragmentation isn't the issue.

I called Apple to return it, and had to beat them up, but they did waive the charge for the return. We'll see how that comes out...

I'm still a pretty big fan of their computer products, but that's mostly because of their OS.

[omisan]

A friend of mine and her boyfriend have nearly-brand-new iPods (one mini, one not) that they had to take back recently because both developed crackling sounds during playback thanks to hard drive issues.

There's clearly a quality issue now that they're making millions of them instead of thousands when they first started. My first-gen 5GB is ancient, but it's never had to go back... Damn economics of scale!

That said, my next portable audio purchase will still be an iPod, simply because I like 'em. Same reason I keep driving German cars - they have maintenance, pricing and out-of-the-factory issues from hell that, say, Japanese cars tend not to, but the headaches are outweighed by the enjoyment in the long run.

It's like an Audi A4 vs. Acura TL decision. On paper, the TL makes much more sense in every way, but it just boils down to which one you like better. Curb appeal goes beyond cars & houses, I guess...

[IDDQD]

Depending on the size you want I'd be weary of Ipods. The 20 gigs are pretty cool, but I recommend the Zen Micro over the Ipod Mini any day. More features, same price, and holds WAV files, which the mini does not. So for those of us who have a library of mostly wav files, the ipod mini renders USELESS.

The thing I didn't like is that on my Mac, most of those types of devices (MP3 players, Memory sticks, digital cameras etc.) show up as a removable drive as soon as I plug them in, no software needed. The Creative doesn't and they don't make a Mac driver for it.

I know for at least the Zen Micro the player has been updated to read as a removable hard drive.

p.s. I know of at least 4 people that have had display issues on their Ipod

[juliagulia]

I have an ipod mini and it's great so far. then again, ive only had it since august 11th...

My sister has an iTrip and it's okay. the sound isn't as great as I thought it would be, and sometimes if we pass by another car with another itrip, the sounds blend together and its horrible. sometimes their just overpowers ours.

it would have made much more sense for me to get a mp3 player compatible with napster but... i just LIKED the mini more

[The Monsignor]

Originally posted by juliagulia@Aug 27 2005, 12:28 PM
I have an ipod mini and it's great so far. then again, ive only had it since august 11th...

My sister has an iTrip and it's okay. the sound isn't as great as I thought it would be, and sometimes if we pass by another car with another itrip, the sounds blend together and its horrible. sometimes their just overpowers ours.

it would have made much more sense for me to get a mp3 player compatible with napster but... i just LIKED the mini more*

[snapback]75059[/snapback]

Call it vanity, but yep, I think my iPod mini is still cooler than my current "loaner car" music player - a Rio Forge. It's a tiny one, bought because I'm jonesing for my iPod which is in the shop, and probably will be for a while!

On Outpost.com, I've found some smoking deals on barebones MP3 players, though, (one for $10, you just have to buy MMC/SD memory for it), so there is a huge variety out there available now, if you're not picky about brands...