[Request]cheapest ipods?

magpie

OK guys, where's the cheapest place to get a 15GB ipod, either in Dublin, or more likely on the 'net?

Nolimits

If you dont mind gettin one second hand try Ebay. You might even get an unwanted gift..... ie. un opened.

vinnyfitz

I'll be in the States soon and was thinking of getting one in a shop then - anyone know if they are really cheaper taking sales tax into account?
Would I need to worry about customs when I come home?

luckat

Sunday Business Post

Sunday, January 04, 2004_:

iPod costs €100 less in the US

By Susan Mitchell
The Apple iPod was the must-have Christmas gift of 2003, but you could have saved more than €100 by buying it in New York because of the weakness of the dollar. Costing from €349 in Irish stores, the slim gadget that stores up to 10,000 songs highlights the growing price differences between Ireland and the US.

American consumers can buy the top-selling iPod for only €238 ($299). The most expensive model costs €549 in Ireland, compared to €397 ($499) in the US._

hshortt

If you are going to America, then buy it there. No worries about customs, you might even be able to claim the tax back.

Cheers

124124

... or you can wait till April for them to release new colorful, compact (and cheaper!!) ]'mini-pods'

hshortt

ermmmm...... not cheaper at all.

4 GB for $249 or 15 GB for $299

Which do you think is cheaper?

Cheers

whiteshadow

American models are better too,
aparently the euro models have a limit to the volume

http://members.brabant.chello.nl/~m.heijligers/ipod/volume.html



...go west

su_dios

go to ipodlounge.com and download euPodvol boost from the windows section. very handy tool and works around the volume limit. supposedly that was introduced on all eu ipods due to french law?

DaithiSurfer

The problem i have with the ipod is that its been revealed there is an ongoing cost to it.
You pay for the ipod up front and then you pay about €100 every 18 months after that because the battery fails after 18 months and you have to send it back. and pay €100 to get the battery replaced.
You might as well ****ing rent an ipod instead

peckerhead

Depending on what your views are regarding MLM and "straight line" matrix models, you might care to check out http://www.thephonematrix.co.uk

People are selling links to this website all over eBay – see http://randomstuff.joeuser.com/index.asp?aid=4736

I'm normally VERY skeptical about these schemes, but I'm taking a chance this time... they just added the 40GB model and the list is still empty, so I'm hoping to come out somewhere reasonably near the top, when the site is updated this Friday. Had an extended e-mail conversation with the guy behind this particular one — Clayton Hayman, he's a college student in Birmingham — and he managed to convince me. NOT by his own signed testimonial on the website, by the way...!

Basically these thing only work if you get in at the top. Here's a couple of comments about thephonematrix on another board: http://forums.dvd-swaps.co.uk/showthread.php?postid=30689#post30689

If you do decide to go for it, please mention me — Darach Sanfey — as the person who referred you... (winning ) — I'm not prepared to stoop to flogging the info on eBay...!

Good luck,
peckerhead

vinnyfitz

Originally posted by DaithiSurfer
The problem i have with the ipod is that its been revealed there is an ongoing cost to it.
You pay for the ipod up front and then you pay about €100 every 18 months after that because the battery fails after 18 months and you have to send it back. and pay €100 to get the battery replaced.
You might as well ****ing rent an ipod instead

I heard this is an urban myth? Is it not? I've bought one now...

DaithiSurfer

apple are spreading the rumour that its an urban myth on the web.
If you call their helpline they have to tell you the truth.
Try calling them and asking them about the problems with the battery if you are not sure.
It was on sky new 2 weeks ago

Baud

Obviously, I can only comment on my iPod. I've had the 5G one for (IIRC) about 2 years now (since pretty soon after it came out originally).

Battery is still fine. If I don't use it a lot, the battery discharges, but that only started when apple added the clock and alarm functions, which I don't use, but they drain it within about a week.

So, whatever they're on about, it's crap. Some people get ones that don't last, some people get ones that do.

BTW, in Germany and Spain, the governments have passed the EU directive which mandates a minimum 2 year warranty. So maybe it's worth checking them out over there. My memory suggested that apple were giving a 90 day warranty on the iPod in the US, but that's rumour/my memory, so don't rely on that.

L.

DaithiSurfer

Like all batteries, they are good for x amount of charges and discharges.
If you use it for an average amount then the battery life will be 18 months.
Use it less and it will last longer than avegare. use it more and you will get a amaller amount of life from the battery.

bk

An alternative is to get an iRiver iHP-100 (10GB), iHP-120 (20GB) or iHP-140 (40GB).

It has two to three times the battery life of an iPod and the battery will last at least 3 years (it uses the better Lithium Polymer battery instead of the cheaper Lithium Ion battery used in the iPod).

It has better sound quality then the iPod, remote control with a four line LCD, radio, Optical and digital line in and out and can record to MP3 or Wav from either the optical line in, digital line in or built in dictaphone.

It also supports OGG and because it is a mass storage device compatible, it works on Linux and Solaris just fine.

As you can see I got one (iHP-120) just before Christmas and I'm very, VERY happy with it. All the guys in work with iPods are dead jealous

DaithiSurfer

I'ld prefer one with a battery that you can change yourself (AA or AAA preferably) as in most digital cameras. When the batteries are no good you just buy another set of rechargeables for about a tenner in the shop.

Was looking at the video jukeboxes. The 3.5 inch screen ones might be ok, but i'll wait til they come down in price. Great idea. You can take your entire music collection plus the tv or movies you've recorded to a mates house and watch on the bus in the morning too (if you're not asleep).

Creamy Goodness

AA batteries in a mp3 player they won't last longer than 4hours

DaithiSurfer

Yur can get lithium rechargeable batteries now.
They are just as good as the proprietary lithiums sold with the players.

PrecariousNuts

Hey bk, what size are those iRiver ones in comparison to the ipod?

bk

Originally posted by PrecariousNuts
Hey bk, what size are those iRiver ones in comparison to the ipod?

Do you mean as in hard drive size or physical size.

The iRiver come in 10, 20 or 40 GB models, the iPod comes in 15, 20 or 40 GB models.

As for physical size, they all use the Toshiba 1.8" HD so they are all about the same.

Putting my iRiver next to my friends iPod, the iRiver seems to be exactly the same height and width, but a very small bit deeper (and I mean barely noticeable), weight seems to be exactly the same.

I'm sure you could compare the exact specs on the iRiver and Apple sites.

bk

Originally posted by DaithiSurfer
I'ld prefer one with a battery that you can change yourself (AA or AAA preferably) as in most digital cameras. When the batteries are no good you just buy another set of rechargeables for about a tenner in the shop.

AA or AAA's wouldn't last very long (less then 4 hours), even with rechargeable batteries, they would be far larger and heavier then the specially designed and molded batteries in the iRiver/iPod.

Actually the biggest problem with AA/AAA, is that their shape isn't very efficient, they are cylindrical, where Lith batteries can be mlded into any shape, these making maximum use of space.

You got to remember that the iPod/iRiver have a battery, charger circuits, 20/40 GB hard drive, LCD screen, 32MB of memory and a DSP all in a little box that snugly fits in your hand. It would be impossible to use such large batteries in such small devices.

BTW Any half decent digital camera also uses rechargeable Lith-Ion/Polymer batteries and yes you can buy replacements or spares, very common amongst serious digital camera users.

s8n

bk, where did you buy your iriver from and what did you pay??

bk

Originally posted by s8n
bk, where did you buy your iriver from and what did you pay??

Well I got mine from a German website: www.hifi-regler.com for e425, however http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk
has them for £255 (~ e370) and amazon.co.uk has them for £250 (~ e360), however delivery from amazon is taking weeks, so go with advancedmp3players.co.uk

alienhead

i've heard the ipod breaks down easy enough, i bought a mini disc from the uk a few years back, broke, took em 3 months to replace it, worth considering.

Duffman

Check the Apple Ireland Education store, prices there are much lower than retail.