ipod/mp3 player?

[Kyle Kraft]

My daughter 9yrs old, wants an "ipod" for Christmas. I realize that ipod is an Apple TM but is an ipod the same as an mp3 player? I don't want to spend $250 on something that will get lost or broken etc, and was looking for some expertise from you folks in an area that I am completely clueless. What should I get that will hold enough music maybe ~200 songs for a kid?

[Chuck Wintle]

Look at the sandisk or samsung MP3 players as they are cheaper and have good sound. The cheaper ones are about $70 to $100.

[Randal Stevenson]

Like a Sawstop to a $99 bench top table saw. They are the same category, but not completely the same. Apple also markets it's music download service, which is aimed, JUST at an IPod. It uses a proprietary format.
It also has one of the easiest navigation features.

But I don't use it, I prefer an Iriver. They also play ogg (proprietary free extension for music). You might watch what her friends have and are carrying and also look at portable CD players, as a test. Several of them now can be had with the ability to play mp3 encoded cd's.

With all the lawsuits around music downloads and file sharing, I would also consider making her work for it. If she saves up her money (allowance, chores, etc) and pays for it herself, she is less bound to lose it.

[David G Baker]

My daughter 9yrs old, wants an "ipod" for Christmas. I realize that ipod is an Apple TM but is an ipod the same as an mp3 player? I don't want to spend $250 on something that will get lost or broken etc, and was looking for some expertise from you folks in an area that I am completely clueless. What should I get that will hold enough music maybe ~200 songs for a kid?

Kyle,
Spending $250 so a 9 year old can listen to music just doesn't sound right to me. An iPod is the way to go if you have the bucks and feel the need to keep your daughter up with her peer group. Guess I come from a different generation.

[Kyle Kraft]

David,
In my post I stated that "I don't want to spend $250....". Believe me, I would never spend that kind of $$ on something not much larger than a credit card which can be easily lost or stolen. I'm primarily looking for some information to make a wise purchase on a unit which works halfway decent, won't break the bank, and is suitable for a kid.

Charles,
I'll take a look at the ones you suggested. Some folks here at work said to look at some of the low $$ ones at discount places like Wally World.

Thanks for the input!!!!

[Chuck Wintle]

Kyle,
And I forgot to say that the Sandisk and Samsung do not need proprietry software to add music to them. MP3 files can be dragged and dropped just as is done in Windows.

[Matt Meiser]

Take a look at the Ipod Shuffle (about $80) or the Ipod Nano (about $150) depending on what you want to spend. Consider what accessories are going to cost too. At a minimum you are going to want a charger that charges it from the wall instead of from the computer and a case.

Despite the drawback of only being able to use iTunes and the different file format, I chose an iPod because of support for accessories. For example, I got an adapter for my truck that makes the GM factory radio see my iPod as a factory CD changer and allows controlling the iPod with the radio buttons. Cases, chargers etc are all easier to get for the iPod. Kind of like the Mac vs. Linux vs. Windows argument--there's issues, but market share wins.

[Kyle Kraft]

Hmmmmm....more food for thought. Thanks guys!!

[Chris Barton]

Kyle,

I have both iPods (3; 1 shuffle, 2 nanos) as well as several generic mp3 players (Sandisk included). Go with the Apple product. iTunes is the best and easiest to use site around and the Apple products are #1 in this area for a reason, they work, they are simple, and they are elegant. If you visit the apple website you will find that you can buy factory reconditioned units for a considerable savings. Additionally, iTunes has so many free things you can listen to including the woodwhisperer, and every other title you ever possibly think of it may actually save you money and be educational at the same time.

[Mitchell Andrus]

I have two, three year old ipods. One in the shop, one in the car. Each has my CD collection on it, 7500+ tunes.

I'd buy an ipod again in a NY minute.

[Rob Russell]

My wife was given a little MP3 players by a cousin who had upgraded to an iPod. She used the MP3 player, but I got her an iPod Nano for Christmas (1.5 years ago). She loves the Nano and finds the user interface very easy to use. That says it for me.

Rob

[Greg Narozniak]

I am on my second Creative product. My first Zen Micro worked perfect until I dropped it on the driveway mowing the lawn. I bought a Creative Zen Vision M and it is just as solid. Built in FM Tuner, No extra addons and handles all formats

[Matt Meiser]

Greg, I'm not sure if you could find somehting like it for your Zen, but I got a neoprene armband case for my iPod for mowing. I found that running the cord inside my shirt prevents snagging it on stuff like trees and the various levers on the tractor too.

For the Shuffle, my brother was looking at some hard cases that he thought would be good to protect his.

[glenn bradley]

The thing that keeps me away from the iPod is the proprietary and restrictive format. I also find iTunes a big fat pain. However, in Apples defense, many folks that embrace the format, love it. I just like a little more flexibility but, with that comes a degree of complexity. Apple has a good solution as long as you primarily use their tools and formats. Its an easy to use user-interface that does what it does.

[Matt Meiser]

Just to be clear, the iPod can play MP3 files no problem. I had ripped all our CD's to MP3 before I bought the iPod and it plays them no problem and didn't convert them. The Microsoft WMA format won't play on the iPod, but I've read that iTunes will convert that to the format you desire.