Hey, havn't been round here for a while..

A few months back I bought an MP3 player, 512MB iAudio CW300, its a great little player. I would have got an iPod but I was turned away by the battery life, 8 hours?! pft! The cw300 lasts 3 days on one AA battery!

Anyway, now I'd like to be able to carry all my albums around with me.. not just a couple of them so I'm thinking of getting an iPod 20, or 40GB. Although the battery life REALLY does let it down, the size is a bit hefty too..

Can anyone who has one list the good and bad points of it, and does anyone know if they're 'jog proof', the cw300 is supposedly 'jog proff' but when its knocked, the battery comes loose and disconnects- turning the player off.

......? Thanks

Why don't yoou buy the mini one? I'm not sure of its battery life, but at least it's not that chunky.

Hmm... Mini's are 8 hours too, but only 4GB :\

I think there are up to 15Gib or so (I can't remember)...

i love mine. i'll start with the bad.

bad:
1. Only 8 hrs of battery life, compared to 20+ on others.
2. if used poorly, the battery might only last 18 months.
3. the 15,20,40GB ones scratche easily (the minis don't)

thats it.

solutions:
1. u can get a bunch of different battery packs, one of which can power the iPod for 70+ hrs!
2. any lithium ion battery will degrade over time, and it ususally takes about 500 recharge/empty cycles. but if u charge it before the batery runns out, it won't degrade much over time. and a battery pack can be purchased once it does run out, or u can replace the battery rather easily(http://ipodbattery.com/)
3. one of a number of cases

goods:
Style
Simple user interface,
works as external harddrive,
the extras
-Games
-Calendar/appointments
-Clock
-Contacts
-Notes
works seamlessly with iTunes
iTMS

i miss anything?

quote:

---

Originally posted by KeyStorm
I think there are up to 15Gib or so (I can't remember)...

---

Yeah, right, I probably read to fast last time

I would buy the 20Gib one. Or wait until there is a better one.
(at least with more battery duration )

Oh yeah, how could I forget you and your ipod bach

i've just done a bit of research and the only reason why im thinking of not getting one is the battery life, it really is total let-down..

my current mp3 player is on from when i go out, to when i come in.. proper on when im using it, or on quiently when im walking round or with friends, talking etc.. the ipod wouldnt even last half of that length.. is it 8 hours MAX? (ie, if you have it loud does it go down even quicker?)

the battery packs ive seen take at least 4 AA batteries and last a max of 16 hours.. thats BIG, and not long for the amount of batteries... i suppose the only thing that would compensate it would be if you could buy 2 batteries and swap them over when one dies, although i dont think its that simple is it?

oh and about the scratches, dw ill be using ipod armor.. (www.ipodarmor.com)

oh, and what about the job proof thing i mentioned?

well, as with any hard drive based player (any of the high capacity ones), they try to minimize the ammount of time when the hard drive is moving. the iPod has 32MB of flash ram, giving it at most about 30 minutes of skip protection. if u are running in the breif (5-10 seconds) time when it is spiining, u might get a little pause in the music, but prolly nothing major. and if you do, u have the 1yr warranty

theres revies of most of the iPod products available at http://ipodlounge.com/gearguide.php

iPodlounge.com is a great site for everythiong

ok thanks, ill take a look..

oh btw, do you know if Apple are planning to release one with a longer batttery life anytime soon?

longer battery life? i don't know. but http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/ look at the length of time between updates and guesses when to buy or not. the 15/20/40GB were released april '03, so i guess its best to maybe wait a bit if it isn't necessary. the last update was the release of the iPod mini and the bump of base model from 10GB to 15GB (not major), so it might do you well to wait a few months. there might be a price drop, or a new version released. its all up to u and what you want. theres a rumor of a new iPod Ad in productions, and have long been rumors of iPods with color screens for pictures from the card readers, but no real specifics. and Toshiba accidently let it slip that apple will be using its 60GB 1.8'' drive.....

essentially, its up in the air, but its really up to you

edit: 1 more thing.

they're releasing updated iMacs in september, and it isn't unlike apple to release two consumer grade products at once.......

alright thanks alot, i'll wait a few months i think

I'd love to have an iPod, but how much do they cost?
So, I bought a Creative discman with mp3 which is much cheaper and works fine (the bad side of Argentina's currency devaluation in 2002).

mini: 249 US
15GB: 299
20GB: 399
40GB: 499

I JUST BOUGHT AN IPOD, ITS THE BEST! I CALLED HIM MARVIN

ok, here an somew things to take into account

as people have said b 4 the battery is a bit of a problem

i got a 20GB because its the best value for money

Mini
only 4Gb ,comes with belt clip, usb 2 and firewire cable, cd, cord etc
it does have a scratch proof case

with respect to the normal ipod, if 20GB is enough space, go for it, or if u want more, get the 40GB

The 15GB one comes with the ipod, cords, cd, firewire cable

The 20 and the 40 come with the ipod, case and clip, dock and remote control, which is worth over $200 (AU) seperatly, so, for me a 15GB was $449 and the 20GB wa $598 cos its better value for money.

Hope this helped

Tandy

quote:

---

Originally posted by bach_m
mini: 249 US
15GB: 299
20GB: 399
40GB: 499

---

I also want one really bad, but the battery is so bad, too bad i think..

its not really, the battery is designed to last the life of the ipod, you just gotta recharge it. Its not that bad

dom. isn't concerned about the battery degrading over time, i don't think, but only being able to power the iPod for about for 8 hrs.

you can get a battery pack, which have performed well. and if theres atime wehn ur sitting at a computer desk, its possible to just plug the iPod into a computer or the AC Adapter.

iRiver is quite good. They do hard disk based players that support mp3, wma,ogg, and asf.
I recommend the H300:

• 20Gb or 40Gb
  
• Voice Recording
  
• FM radio
  
• Colour screen
  
• Supprts viewing off txt, bmp ang jpg files
  
• 16 hours battery life

The iRiver is a bit too big imo (thickness)... Its probably super expensive too!

I'm gonna wait a few months and HOPEFULLY Apple will release a longer lasting iPod, if not- I have no idea what I'm going to do.

Bach, how are the songs listed? In folders, by filenames? Or by ID3 tags artist etc?

ie. If I have 16 albums from NOFX (each alubm an indevidual folder), are they listed as folders like:

NOFX - The Decline
NOFX - Liberal Animation
NOFX - So Long and Thanks For All The Shoes
(etc)

or can the ipod have a NOFX section, where it has all the songs from every folder in one list? (without having to manually do a play list)...

damn, that sounds confusing, do you understand?

well, you import all your songs into iTunes, where they are stored by ID3 tags, but within the iTunes database. then, when you sync your iPod with iTUnes, the info that has changed in the database (new tags, new songs etc.) changes on the ipod.

now to answer ur specific question: you can browse by artist, album, song, genre..... u get the idea

ah cool, that's perfect.. this is getting better and better.. apart from that one thing, i really do hope Apple release an iPod with a longer battery life before next year..

Can you use iTunes as a media player type thing on a windows machine (without an iPod etc) I wanna give it a go!

absolutely! http://www.itunes.com
XP and 2000 only
you'll love it

thanks, ill give it a go...

at 20mb i better love it..

Damn, when I run the install file this happens:

quote:

---

1608: Unable to create InstallDriver instance,
Return code: -2147024894

---

hey, dom, i think i no how to fix this, goto Start Menu, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Cleanup
then press OK
then it should say summit like 'Calculating disk space'
then in the list that pops up, select all of them apart from 'Compress Old Files' then press OK

i hope helps, it used to bug me when i had XP Pro, never happened to me with XP Home tho

Ill give that a try, thanks... I really want to use iTunes and I was up till around 3am last night trying to fix this.. there was a link someone posted on the Apple site listing about 7 different ways to solve this problem i tried every single one loads of times with no luck...

Ill try your solution now though, thanks

Edit: nope, that didnt work... NOTHING WORKS!

redownload?

Tried that, about 9214813462180643827424 times... I've downloaded older versions too!

Its not a problem with the download, its InstallShield that is giving me errors.. It goes through a few screens, then says configuring Windows installer and freezes for a sec, then gives me that error.

As I said, if tried EVERY SINGLE WAY there is to fix this, with no luck!

WTF is that about? Shitty installer, there is loads of users on the Apple forums with this problem but does Apple sort it? No.

..

Any other ideas?

You did consider iAudio's hd player, the M3, right?

It's smaller and lighter than the ipod, cheaper, supports WMA apart from MP3, and the battery lasts 14 hours (not as much as their flash-based players, just because hds need more power, but almost doubles the ipod).

Another model, which I couldn't find in sale online, but should be available soon, gives you up to 35 HOURS of playback.



Link: http://eng.iaudio.com/zeroboard/product_M3_featur...?bmenu=p&id=cw5001

Other link: http://www.jetaudio.com/products/iaudio/m3/

[edit] BTW, it has all the features of CW300 (and more, because it also has those of the CW400) such as FM radio and high quality voice recording integrated.

I wonder if it has the same crappy jog proof feature?

Pretty cool, Guido

quote:

---

Originally posted by dom.
I wonder if it has the same crappy jog proof feature?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido
It has no AA batteries, so they shouldn't fall

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido
Have you tried using a scotch tape or using the leather case (or the other, white one) that comes with the CW300 so that the battery thingy can't open so easily?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by dom.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido
Have you tried using a scotch tape or using the leather case (or the other, white one) that comes with the CW300 so that the battery thingy can't open so easily?

---

The little door doesnt come open, the spring coils up inside..

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido
...and it loses contact with the battery? Weird...

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido
anyway, not everyone skates and jumps from meters high with an mp3 player with them like you and your friends 

---

The 35 hours battery length one:

iAUDIO M3 20 GB = $299.0
iAUDIO M3L 20 GB = $359.00
iAUDIO M3 40GB = $379.00

iAUDIO M3L (L stands for long run). 35 hours of batterie time

Info:
HDD Size: 20 GB
Size: 103.7mm x 60.8mm x 18.2mm
Difference to normal M3: 0mm x 0mm x 4.0mm
Charge time: roughly 6 hours
Weight: 168g with battery
Difference to normal M3: 32g with battery

ipod charges fully in 3

and to 80% in 1

* wj slaps Guido around a bit with a large trout.

Thats from every person who shelled out dough for a real MP!3 Player

quote:

---

Originally posted by wj

Thats from every person who shelled out dough for a real MP!3 Player

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by bach_m
ipod charges fully in 3

and to 80% in 1 

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by wj
* wj slaps Guido around a bit with a large trout.

Thats from every person who shelled out dough for a real MP!3 Player

---

again, u can get a battery pack which can extend the battery for up to 70 hrsi.

http://www.ipodlounge.com/ipodnews_comments.php?id=A4294_0_7_0_C
http://www.ipodlounge.com/reviews_more.php?id=1170_0_6_0_M
http://www.ipodlounge.com/reviews_more.php?id=4176_0_6_0_M

quote:

---

Originally posted by bach_m
again, u can get a battery pack which can extend the battery for up to 70 hrsi

---

Ive managed to fix install tunes, so i installed iTunes...

IMO, Its really good! the library is really good! A few things I wanna work out though:

1. My music is in D:\MP3s. When I put new a new song in that folder, can iTunes automatically add it to the library?
   
   
2. Can you edit the ID3 tag of a song outside of iTunes, then have iTunes update itself to show the new ID3 tag? The other way too, can you
   update a ID3 tag in iTunes then have it actually update the file so the ID3 tag has been changed for other programs too?
   
   Like if you change the ID3 tag in Winamp, it actually updates the file... Does iTunes do that, or does it just change it in iTunes?
   
   
3. Can you plug the iPod into the pc, and play songs from it on the PC? (ie, can you play a song thats on the iPod via the PC speakers..)
   
   
4. how does iTunes charge you? do you need an account with credits or something? found that one out
   
   
5. how can you preview a song before you 'buy'?
   [/list]
   
   (Whilst typing this i noticed a bug: the above is meant to be a numbered list.. looks more like bullet points to me!)

quote:

---

Originally posted by dom.

# My music is in D:\MP3s. When I put new a new song in that folder, can iTunes automatically add it to the library?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by dom.

# Can you edit the ID3 tag of a song outside of iTunes, then have iTunes update itself to show the new ID3 tag? The other way too, can you
update a ID3 tag in iTunes then have it actually update the file so the ID3 tag has been changed for other programs too?

Like if you change the ID3 tag in Winamp, it actually updates the file... Does iTunes do that, or does it just change it in iTunes?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by dom.
#


# Can you plug the iPod into the pc, and play songs from it on the PC? (ie, can you play a song thats on the iPod via the PC speakers..)

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by dom.

# how can you preview a song before you 'buy'?

---

thank for all that, but actually i found out that updating a song INSIDE iTunes does update the ID3 tag!

quote:

---

Originally posted by bach_m
In the music store (duh) just double click the song.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by bach_m
what was the problem

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by dom.
So with the iPod, iTunes synchs it yeah? So if I changed the title of CKY - Attached At The Hip to CKY - AATH in iTunes, then the name of the song will automatically change on the iPod?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by dom.


What happens if I add a song to the iTunes library, does it automatically add it to the iPod? (and if I delete one?)

---

ah sooo good! i think im gonna wait a bit though, untill they release a newer version... if that has longer life ill get it, if not ill consider getting it anyway!

Does anything have to be installed (once the iPod has been formated) to use the iPod as a hard drive? (ie. can i put a few videos on the iPod, then take them to my friends, and watch them on his pc without installing anything?)

quote:

---

Originally posted by dom.

Does anything have to be installed (once the iPod has been formated) to use the iPod as a hard drive? (ie. can i put a few videos on the iPod, then take them to my friends, and watch them on his pc without installing anything?)

---

ah ok thanks...

i think ill go for a 20, i dunno why... i know i wont, but i dont wanna run out of space !

have you got the 15? how much songs, files, and space are you using?

i've got a 15gb. i have 593 songs on my iPod (the result of downloads since 1999, many of which are horrible songs and random stuff) which takes up 2.2 GB of space. i also have a bunchof contacts in the contacts folder.

i didn't really want a dock, since it doesn't have any advantage over the cable [which it plugs into], except for line out which i wouldn't use. i wouldn't use the remote (why hide my iPod in my poscket?), and i wanted a case that gave me access to the buttons. and the extra 5GB wasn't gonna be anything i would need. not now, any way. i just didn't think it was worth wasting my money.

ah yeah, but see i have (well had over 2000 songs, which ive been downloading since about 2002) but ive cleaned them out, a bit and recently LOST about 500 so now I have 1,400 which is alot of random songs and about a doezen albums, I plan on having more - but this only comes to just under 4 GB at the moment, so I doubt it would even fill 15GB up. But ill get 20GB to be on the safe side, besides I'd probably use it to transfer alot of large video files from one PC to another...

I agree about the remote, thats why I dont like that M3L that Guido posted, oh btw what gen do you have?

i got a 3g. those are the only ones with 15GB

Oh right, cool. The site i'll order mine from doesnt sell 15, spose thats alright.

To anyone from the UK- Cheapest UK Online Store you'll ever find, free next day delivery: http://advancedmp3players.co.uk

Did you buy yours online?

but of course with a custom engraving from apple

Oh right, I dont think I could afford it from Apple..

i just checked, isn't it a 10 euro difference?

apple store is down (???) but i think that was the difference when i checked,

quote:

---

Originally posted by bach_m
apple store is down

---

it loads fine..... it was down ("were upgrading the store" etc.)

theres a 10 pound dfference.

This is what happens for me......

The same happens in IE, and firefox....

Edit: Ive just erased all my cookies, and temp internet files and tried again, and the same happens!!!

ARGGGGH

Edit #2: also, what bit rate are song bought from iTunes at?

thats wierd......



just to clear up any questions u might have about the iPod battery (long term life, not short term), look here: http://ipodbatteryfaq.com/

quote:

---

Originally posted by bach_m
just to clear up any questions u might have about the iPod battery (long term life, not short term), look here: http://ipodbatteryfaq.com/

---

* Guido goes to another forum to convince other people to buy Cowon products

* dom. slaps Guido around a bit with a large trout.

You will miss FM, line-in recording, voice recording, long battery life (35 hours ), distinctive design (iPod is just too common nowadays , usb connection (you need a firewire port to use an iPod), excellent sound quality (just turn on your cw300), availability as a HD in "my computer" instead of being stuck to itunes, etc.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido
voice recording

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido
excellent sound quality

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido
availability as a HD in "my computer" instead of being stuck to itunes,

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido
distinctive design

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido
usb connection (you need a firewire port to use an iPod),

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido
excellent sound quality

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido
availability as a HD in "my computer"

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido
stuck to itunes

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by bach_m

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido
voice recording

---

u can do that with an iPod....

---

quote:

---

iPod has great sound quality
and an equalizer

---

quote:

---

the iPod is an HD in My COmputer. u just turn it on in iTunes....

---

Bach, and Guido.. about the voice recorder...

I just found this:

quote:

---

http://www.pocketthings.com/index.php?ID=1139

Using the iPod to record in mono
To record right now:

* Plug in earphones

* Activate Diagnostic Mode - Reset (hold MENU and PLAY) and hold down PREVIOUS, NEXT and CENTER buttons at Apple logo - Release buttons and you'll hear a chirp and Diagnostic mode will appear

* Use Next button to navigate to "J. RECORD"

* Speak into Left earphone when "BEGIN..." appears

* You'll get about 6 sec. of record time and then "DONE"

* Press center button for playback

* Press Play/Pause to return to list of tests

(There is also a stereo line-in but that is in the dock connector and activated by "F. LIN REC".)

---

That sounds so fake
-"We haven't tested it"
-They put voice recording into the iPod, but deactivate it??
-An earbud that has a HIDDEN MICROPHONE on one side, PLUS it passes the mic audio through a standard headphones mini plug which only has two channels (L and R)?
-That was posted an year ago, and only THAT site (or at least just a few) comments on it?

I was originally copying that from someones blog, but i accedently closed the window.. So i searched in google and found that. The guys blog said that it works, so i dunno.... maybe you should try bach?

Hey Guido, do you know where could I get the iAudio in Argentina for a reasonable price? (This is also to annoy those pro-iPod there ).
And serious again, you seem to know about this, I have a Creative mp3 discman and even if it works fine, I'd love to have a hard disk based mp3 player (let me dream...)

quote:

---

Originally posted by lopardo
Hey Guido, do you know where could I get the iAudio in Argentina for a reasonable price? (This is also to annoy those pro-iPod there ).
And serious again, you seem to know about this, I have a Creative mp3 discman and even if it works fine, I'd love to have a hard disk based mp3 player (let me dream...)

---

i did work, but that was in an older software version.

it was just one of the diagnostic tests.

quote:

---

Originally posted by bach_m
i did work, but that was in an older software version.

it was just one of the diagnostic tests.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Guido

quote:

---

Originally posted by lopardo
Hey Guido, do you know where could I get the iAudio in Argentina for a reasonable price? (This is also to annoy those pro-iPod there ).
And serious again, you seem to know about this, I have a Creative mp3 discman and even if it works fine, I'd love to have a hard disk based mp3 player (let me dream...)

---

Err... well, I got mine (iaudio cw300) through the official US store (jetaudio.com -- forget about finding it anywhere here, let alone at a reasonable price) about a year ago, the problem is you'll have to go to the customs office (aduana) and possibly pay a lot there. If they are in a good
mood you can probably just pay $50 and will be fine, but *officially* the tax would be like at least 50% the price of the item, more or less.

Basically, anything except for envelopes have to go through there.

---

What kind of diagnostic test makes Apple ship a million (literally) of microphones for free with their iPod earbuds???

I don't really believe that    if it was true people would be using their iPod earbuds as microphones, or post the old firmware, or whatever.