Tech Consumer Opinions Wanted

[dolmena]

So, should I get a Zen Stone or hold out for an iPod?

Comments

[kenllama]

Well, the Zen sure is cheaper. But I do like the robustness of the iPod interface. Do you want it *now*?

One option right now is that KeyBank is doing their "sign up for a checking account, get a free iPod nano" thing again. Key is an annoying bank and I don't like doing business with them, but I'll jump through their hoops for a free iPod. It's not quick -- my sweetie did it last year, signed up around this time and got her iPod in around January (I think that was later than they intended.) I just signed up for the same deal last week.

Another options might be the Zen V Plus -- it seems pretty comparable to the iPod Nano in most respects (including interface, from what I can tell); it's about twice the cost of a Stone, but Half the cost of the iPod

[dolmena]

I don't need it now; I'm just thinking about it. I can store and play music on my Treo, but it takes up space I want to use for documents, organizer functions and programs, and the sound isn't very good.

I'm a big time Apple Fan

[dragonhearth]

I would not have anything other than an iPod. I had one of the earlier ones and was very happy with it. My whole family uses iPods. If you watch eBay you can find some deals on them sometimes too.

[ardentpriestess]

I'm a devoted fan of the Zen line. My player is a little older and bulkier than the current generation - it's about 2 years old - but it always plays well, loading it is easy, and a player that can hold up to 10,000 songs (my whole music collection is on it, and there's still room) for around $120 was too good to pass up.

[dolmena]

Thanks for the recommendation, especially with the info about how old it is. Although that means I wouldn't be getting the same machine, it's good to know whether someone *still* likes a device after living with it for a while. Do you have any covers, cases, etc., for it?

Oldie but still a goodie. . .

[ardentpriestess]

I have the Zen Sleek Photo 20GB, which is still available new on Ebay for $50-80 (I just checked). It's bulkier than the newest offerings, but I haven't minded that at all. I did get a very nice hot pink leather case for it, and other accessories (car charger, etc) are readily available on Ebay as well. Since I can buy music from just about any online vendor I want, I can get whatever I'm looking for, and I've never had any problems. My own CD collection loaded easily. I also have all of my pictures saved on it, and it can act as a secondary hard drive for other files as well. I did tons of research before settling on it, and couldn't find anything that could beat what this player offered. I haven't regretted the purchase once, and I don't plan to buy another player for at least another couple of years.

Re: Oldie but still a goodie. . .

[dolmena]

Thanks!

[browse]

iPod, no question.
And let me help, when the time comes.

[dolmena]

Is it fairly easy to convert my old music files so that they can be used on the iPod? I know that my stepdaughter had a little problem with taking files that had originally been on a CD and converting them back to a format the car's CD player could play, but I don't know what she had to do to get those tracks onto her iPod in the first place. (It's not that I can't deal with converting files, I'm just asking about time/difficulty.)

My step-daughters and their mother and I think my son-in-law all have iPods and like them, so I do have some recommendations in that area. OTOH, see other comment...

[browse]

"my old music files"?

What format are your old music files? iPods will play plain ole mp3 (the most universal, generic format) just fine. Trivial, no extra steps, it "just works".

[dolmena]

Whoops-- thought I'd answered you. I think anything that I have that isn't an MP3 can convert easily. I wonder what the problem was with the CDs-- I seem to remember that it was converting to a file format that wouldn't play on the car CD player, then she did it a different way and it worked.

[memphispagan]

I personally prefer the Zen line. With iPod you can only use iTunes, but with the Zen you have many more options on where to get your music.

[ardentpriestess]

Yes! That too!

[dolmena]

...and you would definitely be sensitive to that, wouldn't you? I'll keep it in mind.