Like it or not, Mac or pc user, the iPod is the most popular music player since the Walkman. This is despite the fact that the cheapest iPod is at least twice as expensive as its "competitors". Apple has time and time again said that it is not a PDA platform.

Jeff, they are definitely using USB ports, although I know at least one of them did go to the Apple site for updates.

I could tell them about the firewire, but I might wait until another one of their Ipods conks out and I get it for free and "fix" it.


Dave, and rightfully so. They took a market and made it theirs, can't argue against success. All I'm saying, is, well, I forget, cause I'm going to score a free Ipod for sure now. :)

I got my niece a pmp-120 for her birthday. It rocks. It can also act as a server to transfer picutures from your digital camera or music from another device. It plays divx, mpeg4 and other formats along with music formats. Built like a tank and the battery is removable/replacable.

Man that iRiver is awsome! Looks to be about the size of an Ipod too.

Isn't the iRiver 120 series th eonly current models than can record through line-in? Is it capable of providing us DVers with a secondary recorder (like th eoriginal minidisc players used to be) ?

Seems to me the best combination would be a PDA phone + MP3 player + satellite radio tuner. People carry their phones everywhere... but if you have an MP3 player that connects to your car stereo, you have to carry that too. And then if you want a satellite radio receiver, and have the versatility of having it connect in home and in the car, you have to carry that, too. It would be nice to have one thing that does it all.

I already have the Treo 600 which is a PDA and phone and also plays MP3s. Haven't figured out yet how to attach it to the car stereo, or even if that's possible.

John:

I too have a 600 and have only scratched the surface with the MP3 aspect--are you using the Missing Sync software?

Also, thanks for pointing out that there was another thread going--I'll repost the unit I mentioned in that thread here:

DVX/Pod

I was using a friend's Treo 600 while on working vacation once.
I liked it as a PDA, but hated it as a cell phone. Very good for games though, although his only had a 4### colour display.

Charles,

If you go to the Treo site and register your phone, at the end they'll give you the option to download one of two free gifts offered. One of them is an MP3 player that works great!

Hold on though...I can't remember if it's for registering the phone, or for registering the Palm software. I'll check into it and let you know. You'll need to have the extra memory card to use it.

Dylan...how come you don't like it as a cell phone???

Andrew, all the HD based irivers, whethere video, picture or audio only, have a line in and can record audio without a pc. They can record up to 16bit48khz stereo, but selecting high bitrate mp3 (350kb) might be a better option to save disk space. Plus they have no way to adjust loudness. Best if hooked up to a small field mixer or something like a beachtek.

The new pmp 120 can copy pictures, audio and video from just about any source via usb. Even another player as long as the file system is based on existing standards. From what I've heard, it's using an embedded version of linux to do everything.

<<<-- Originally posted by John Locke :

Dylan...how come you don't like it as a cell phone??? -->>>

Simply for the ergonomics. I just didn't like the way it felt in my hand or against my ear. That's all.

It's all about Toshiba, or whoever will make the highspeed super mini harddrives to Power the IPOD. They can only go as fast as the HD manufacturers.


I'm going to break down and buy a flash Ipod Micro when they whip it out, for say..$99.00

How much HD space do you need in an MP3 player???
80gb for the latest Ipod? That's crazy. I know, I know.... It's still crazy.

It's also a FireWire hard drive. I use it in working on computers and it carries a complete Mac OS X start-up system. It also carries complete diagnostic programs for working on Macs. It syncs with my Palm, phone and calendar on by Power Mac and Power Book. I transfer files and data with it (including gigs of digital photos) from by home to my office. It's much more than a MP3 player.

I'll say it is! That's more than the HDD on my laptop! I only went with a 20GB pod, even that's big and I'm still less than half full. Plenty of room to bring projects to and from work. That is, when they're too big to fit on the CF card out of my camera.

BTW, I still can't see myself taking anything like a Treo, Palmpilot, or even a future iPod and holding it up to my head as a cellphone handset! Talk about lousy ergonomics to say nothing of looking silly. My attitude is, the less other gadgets you add to a cellphone, the more likely it is to work well in its original intended function--as a phone! And don't even get me started on camera phones! There are places where I have worked that don't even allow you to bring them in, due to security issues. So, the guy with the plain ol' cellphone is actually better off. Funny, they don't let you take pictures there, but they let people walk in and out every day with laptops and related data storage devices--how much confidential material could a sneaky employee or consultant steal with the available space on a iPod?? :-)