iPod vs. Nomad vs. iRiver --- MP3 Players

[msenkbeil]

I've looked around and found that for under $300 I can get a 40 GB Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra: http://www.nomadworld.com/products/J...a/features.asp

Compare that to just under $500 for a 40GB iPod: http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html

Does Apple honestly expect me to buy a $500 hard-drive powered mp3 player if I can't replace the battery? This single factor is a complete hangup for me. Am I being unreasonable?

The Nomad has a replaceable battery, but is the iPod's user interface really $200 (67%) nicer?

[azimmerm]

Quote: Originally Posted by msenkbeil

is the iPod's user interface really $200 (67%) nicer?

yes. it is.

i currently own 2 ipods, and have owned a total of 3 (upgraded). the simplicity and ease of use is definately worth the extra money. it is almost completely effortless! If you are worried about the battery, it can be replaced by apple for $99, even less if you want to attempt it yourself. inmost states you can purchase a 2 year extended warranty, which covers the battery, for around $60.

one major plus of the ipod is its compatibility with the MINI. i purchased a dension ice-link and i now have my entire music library, on my ipod, available to me from my MFSW!

[shanemcr]

I gave Stephanie a 20GB IPod for her birthday, and bought myself a 30GB Nomad Zen Xtra for Xmas. The IPod definitely wins the coolness award. It's smaller, lighter, and the user interface is slightly superior. However, the sound quality, capacity/$, and battery life are much better on the Nomad. I don't know why but the headphones driver in the IPod seems to be relatively weak, while the Nomad is particularly strong.

The ITunes software for the IPod is also better than anything I've found for the Nomad. Music availability seems to be about the same for both IPod and (the new, not really) Napster--that means a lot of what I want to buy isn't available, but if you like what you hear on the radio you shouldn't have too much trouble. One additional advantage of the Nomad is that it plays WMA files, which you can play on any PC (and most non-Apple MP3 players).

All in all I'm glad I gave Stephanie the IPod and I'm glad I got the Nomad.

[gabe]

Quote: Originally Posted by msenkbeil

I've looked around and found that for under $300 I can get a 40 GB Creative Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra: http://www.nomadworld.com/products/J...a/features.asp

Compare that to just under $500 for a 40GB iPod: http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html

Does Apple honestly expect me to buy a $500 hard-drive powered mp3 player if I can't replace the battery? This single factor is a complete hangup for me. Am I being unreasonable?

The Nomad has a replaceable battery, but is the iPod's user interface really $200 (67%) nicer?

In a word, yes. Of course as stated above the battery is completely replaceable iPod as well.

[URU]

THE IPOD...... i wont say any more

[diverse]

I have two 40gb ipods, charged both twice only, both have to go back to Apple for POOOR battery time!

3 hours on a full charge!

Very dissapointed!!!

[nickp]

I also had a problem with battery life, but got a brand new replacement from AppleCare under the standard warranty. At first I thought I was just expecting too much from the iPod, but the replacement works much better; I can now go a few days of random playing, and before it would only last a little over 3 hours, max. Can't comment to the versus Nomad thing though...

-Nick

[gabe]

Quote: Originally Posted by nickp

I also had a problem with battery life, but got a brand new replacement from AppleCare under the standard warranty. At first I thought I was just expecting too much from the iPod, but the replacement works much better; I can now go a few days of random playing, and before it would only last a little over 3 hours, max. Can't comment to the versus Nomad thing though...

-Nick

I average 8+ hours with my 40 gig.

[CurtP]

Don't limit yourself to those two MP3 players - look around at some of the other offerings from vendors such as Dell and iRiver.

iPod is nice, and if you want to have it with you all the time, then the extra money for the compactness and user interface is probably worth the extra money.

I personally went for a 20gb Dell DJ and am very happy with it. Easy to use, awesome battery life (16+ hours) and I have always had excellet customer service with Dell (although some have not, YMMV).

[Kurtster]

I worked for Creative for close to 5 years and helped launch the NOMAD series.
It's like this: You can buy a Hyundai Elantra for $12k or you can buy a MINI for $18k. Is the MINI really worth that much more? in a word, ABSOLUTELY.

User interface, software experience, driver reliability, Firewire compatibility, form factor, "cool" factor...the IPod is worth every penny over a Nomad.

The Nomad also can't play AAC files from the iTunes music store, which is worth ten times what they charge for using it (it's free). Download iTunes first. Try the music store for auditioning songs and compare that experience to buymusic.com or any other online music store and you'll see why people are swarming to iTunes in double the numbers anyone else is getting.

[Grumbler]

I have the NOMAD Zen Xtra 40Gb, it works.


I am not thrilled with the user I/F, but now that it is setup, it works for me.

I tried a few different iPod examples, and I am not really seeing a huge difference. The sound quality out of the NOMAD is definitely better. I tried iTunes, but since I am a windows user, the extra processes it runs in the background really ticked me off.........


anyhow, thats my 10 cents.

[obehave]

Quote: Originally Posted by CurtP

Don't limit yourself to those two MP3 players - look around at some of the other offerings from vendors such as Dell and iRiver.

iPod is nice, and if you want to have it with you all the time, then the extra money for the compactness and user interface is probably worth the extra money.

I personally went for a 20gb Dell DJ and am very happy with it. Easy to use, awesome battery life (16+ hours) and I have always had excellet customer service with Dell (although some have not, YMMV).

That's right.
Remember, Dell now sells the iPod

The biggest advantage for Mac users is that the iPod can work as a storage drive as well. I can boot from mine and run diags if need be. Haven't needed to but I do often use it to carry files home that are too big to email
The dailies for LOTR were carried on an iPod

[Grumbler]

Quote: Originally Posted by obehave

That's right.
Remember, Dell now sells the iPod

The biggest advantage for Mac users is that the iPod can work as a storage drive as well. I can boot from mine and run diags if need be. Haven't needed to but I do often use it to carry files home that are too big to email
The dailies for LOTR were carried on an iPod

yep, for apple users the drive shows up as a drive...........for the rest of us, they look primarily the same.....drop in a folder that magically turns into your mp3 player

i use my nomad for moving files to and from work all the time.

[shanemcr]

Quote: Originally Posted by gabe

In a word, yes. Of course as stated above the battery is completely replaceable iPod as well.

Well, there's replaceable, then there's replaceable. I hardly consider $99 plus shipping (and waiting for the roundtrip) "completely replaceable".

[gabe]

Quote: Originally Posted by Kurtster

I worked for Creative for close to 5 years and helped launch the NOMAD series.
It's like this: You can buy a Hyundai Elantra for $12k or you can buy a MINI for $18k. Is the MINI really worth that much more? in a word, ABSOLUTELY.

User interface, software experience, driver reliability, Firewire compatibility, form factor, "cool" factor...the IPod is worth every penny over a Nomad.

The Nomad also can't play AAC files from the iTunes music store, which is worth ten times what they charge for using it (it's free). Download iTunes first. Try the music store for auditioning songs and compare that experience to buymusic.com or any other online music store and you'll see why people are swarming to iTunes in double the numbers anyone else is getting.

wow - that's some great insight!