ipod vs creative jukebox?

peeps

hiya, im planning on heading round the world later this year and i want to get a reliable music player, i was wondering what you guys think of the ipod and the creative nomad jukebox zen?
heres what ive heard so far
ipod:
pros - its small and nicely designed, has games and planners etc, compatable with mac's and pc's
cons - its battery sometimes only has a years life span and costs €100 to get replaced, theres been a few hardrive problems, its not that sturdy a good knock could mess it up.
creative jukebox:
pros - its battery is easily replaced like a mobile phone, for €50 -€100 euros LESS you can get 10GB MORE than the ipod
cons - its a bigger clunkier design than the ipod, doesent have any of the extras that the ipod has, doesent have as much of the glogal technical support that the ipod has, is only compatable with pc's

which do you think i should get?
oh yeah and i have access to both pc's and mac's.

Mutant_Fruit

I'll go for "Option 3" Bob:

The iRiver.

Pros: Longer Battery life
Bigger screen
More codec support (Ogg is better than WMA and MP3)
Smaller than Zen
Pretty sure you can use it without drivers, truly plug and play.

Cons:

More expensive than Zen
Bigger than iPod
Not sure if battery is easily replaceable.

Stephen

Depends whether you want style or storage I guess. Also, the ipod will work as a removable drive on any mac or 2k/xp PC without needing drivers to be installed. The creative will need drivers installed to do this.
also, if you don't have firewire on your PC you will have to either invest in a USB cable for the ipod or a firewire card (cheap) for your pc. The creative jukebox comes with a usb cable.

Rabies

You already know the pros and cons of each one. Decide yourself. Do a search on this board for iPod and Jukebox. Multiple threads have been created debating the iPod against other players. Read them then decide.

I like the iPod mainly because of its stlye and size. Wouldn't have a problem paying the extra cost for it. Could only ever see myself using about 5gb of it anyway.

peeps

im more concerned with durability and sound quality than anything. also because im saving up for this trip price is also an issue.
i know that with the ipod its really a russian roulette of wether it will last years or break down in a couple of months, because im heading away for a year and it will probably be my only entertainment i need to know that it will go the distance. i havent heard much of people's experience with the jukebox's.
i looked up the iriver and it looks like it might be hard to get in ireland.

pgodkin

if u go any where near an ipod ill kick your ASS!! man there the worst yokes i have ever had the displeasure of using, o its small and nice to look at but its a crap machine and dont even get me started on itunes it F**kin useless

i have an zen (40GB) it great cant wait to get it back and you were right about the pros and cons, although i had the batterys priced before i bought and they told me it would only set me back about €40.

your choice should not be ipod Vs Zen

it should be Zen Vs Iriver


Philip:cool:

Pacifico

Originally posted by pgodkin
if u go any where near an ipod ill kick your ASS!! man there the worst yokes i have ever had the displeasure of using, o its small and nice to look at but its a crap machine and dont even get me started on itunes it F**kin useless

i have an zen (40GB) it great cant wait to get it back and you were right about the pros and cons, although i had the batterys priced before i bought and they told me it would only set me back about €40.

your choice should not be ipod Vs Zen

it should be Zen Vs Iriver


Philip:cool:

Eh iTunes is incredibly easy to use. so too is the iPod........

Civilian_Target

Option 4 - Rio Karma.

See Karma thread.

Woden

Originally posted by Axel
Eh iTunes is incredibly easy to use. so too is the iPod........

yes yes it is, and i've recently found out how easy it is to just hit the import button

Duffman

Originally posted by peeps

ipod:
pros - its small and nicely designed, has games and planners etc, compatable with mac's and pc's
cons - its battery sometimes only has a years life span and costs €100 to get replaced,

The battery rumour is rubbish... The ipod uses that same battery technology as a laptop or a mobile phone...

briano

Get a radio.

Seriously.

€10, unlimited music, equally compatable with BOTH mac and PC and the best thing is that if you do get robbed then you are only losing a €10 radio, not €300 - €400 worth of kit. That goes for when you get caught out in the rain, your bag gets thrown about in the luggage hold under a bus or you're stuck waiting for a train in 50C heat. Its just one less thing on your mind.

I got one for going around australia, america and europe (at different times). Trust me, they may not be as cool, They don't have the same geekiness factor but they will serve you well.

Radios. Is there anything they can't do?

Civilian_Target

I can't get my radio to iron my shirt. Could someone please help me?

Pacifico

Originally posted by briano

Radios. Is there anything they can't do?

Listen to songs you actually want to listen to:D

briano

You iron your shirt when you are traveling? Sucker.

Radios. Is there anything (aside from ironing, while traveling with civillian_target) that they can't do?

Rabies

Originally posted by Civilian_Target
I can't get my radio to iron my shirt. Could someone please help me?

Show it this video, it might learn how. .........

Shank

this ones a no brainer, gotta be the zen:

- Battery life is a lot longer
- Cheaper per gig
- Itunes is a piece of crap
- ipod will skip if you workout/jog etc
- if you like yr music at a good volume yr not gonna be pleased by the new eu law that limits it on these machines, however a us firmware update for the zen is easy to do, yr shagged with the ipod though.

I have the zen and am well pleased with it.

Deadwing

Originally posted by briano
You iron your shirt when you are traveling? Sucker.

Radios. Is there anything (aside from ironing, while traveling with civillian_target) that they can't do?

Buy you beer in an off licence?

Back on topic tho, i have a 20 gig zen (bought off a fellow boardser, thank you very much) and tho i havent used an ipod, ive nothing to compare it to, but id stick my neck out and say theyre bloody great. I dont know how i ever did without one now, im sure theyve both pros and cons, but the zen gets a huge recommendation from me.

Mutant_Fruit

Just to put an old rumor straight....

The Zen and the iPod have the same battery technology, and in fact nearly the same battery as a mobile phone! (its just physically shaped differently!).

So, you probably wonder why the iPod's battery dies after one year, and phone batteries don't. THe reason for this is simple. How many people have phones over 1 year old. Not that many people.

And now for the scientific facts... the Lithium Ion bettery that is popular in so many appliances (such as the iPod) can only take between 300-500 charges before it dies, and stops taking charge. This is the same whether the battery is in a phone, an iPod or a laptop.

So, supposing the worst comes to the worst, and your battery only takes 300 charges, and you charge it every single day, then it will die within a year. That holds true whether its phone battery, an iPod battery or a laptop battery.

Also, Apples battery replacement scheme was put in place and active two days before ipodsdirtysecret came online...

Creamy Goodness

Originally posted by Shank
this ones a no brainer, gotta be the zen:



- Itunes is a piece of crap
- if you like yr music at a good volume yr not gonna be pleased by the new eu law that limits it on these machines, however a us firmware update for the zen is easy to do, yr shagged with the ipod though.

have to disagree with them two points, itunes is the best music software for transfering music to the ipod.

you can also get firmware for the ipod to disable the EU sound decibal limit.

think i saw it on ipodlounge.com

koneko

Originally posted by Mutant_Fruit
So, supposing the worst comes to the worst, and your battery only takes 300 charges, and you charge it every single day, then it will die within a year. That holds true whether its phone battery, an iPod battery or a laptop battery.

You can buy a replacement battery for your phone or other MP3 player, but with the Ipod you have to send it in to have the battery replaced, at least $99 last time I heard.
The batteries in the Ipod aren't any different to anything else, but you get dodgy batteries sometimes, with anything. It's the fact they're built-in that makes them annoying.

Scottish

I have an ipod, one of the early 5 gig models that I got about 18 months ago. I have never had a problem with the battery.

If you treat it like any other battery, it will be fine. Don't charge it every day, and only charge it directly with the mains (don't leave it plugged into the computer every time you have the computer on if you are using firewire).

I'm getting a new one in the next week or so (from someone in the US). I have compared it with the Zen, and for ease of use, style, and all round wow factor it has to be the iPod. Ask yourself if you would rather have a brick than a diamond

peeps

thanks everyone, it looks like its generally 50/50 either way.

You can buy a replacement battery for your phone or other MP3 player, but with the Ipod you have to send it in to have the battery replaced, at least $99 last time I heard.

thats what i meant about the battery difference between the 2. ipod you have to send it away and get charged €99 for a €40 battery while with the jukebox you can pop the front off and replace it yourself like with a mobile phone.

Woden

Originally posted by Cr3m0
have to disagree with them two points, itunes is the best music software for transfering music to the ipod.

you can also get firmware for the ipod to disable the EU sound decibal limit.

think i saw it on ipodlounge.com

yeah you can get euvolumeboost i use it on my ipod

i don't get peoples beef with itunes people are saying oh its crap but no one is saying why its crap?

i suppose win amp is teh win

Tazzle

http://taz.yoremamma.net/taz/images/poorzenbaby.jpg

Shank

Didn't know there was a vol fix available for the ipod, is this the one the just increases yr gain if so its not really a good fix as it distorts the sound.

Also when i was talkin about battery life I meant how long it lasts on a full charge, zen says 14 hours although it's more like 10'ish , think ipod says 7 but usually around 6, correct me if i'm wrong on this.

Woden

it changes your volume tags, whatever that means i don't know tbh, with regards to quality i find that the mp3's are fine at the higher volume if the mp3's are fine in the first place but if they are crappy they become more crappy.

yeah the actual invividual charge on an ipod isn't great about 6 hours perhaps less if you use the increase volume i'd guess that requires more battery power.

going on the actual battery life then if the individual charge is half of that of a zen you'd have to charge it twice as much and the battery will last half the time which ain't great tbh.

Civilian_Target

If you're looking for a music player, it has to be the Rio Karma. I have one and it's great. It really is. But you can ignore me an buy a creative brick if you want.....

pgodkin

well i can only talk about what i have used and seen

i have both the ipod and zen(40GB)

if i was to make your decission i would go with the zen any day of the week

much better sound, cheaper and alot more rugged

im afriad that im goin to drop the ipod and it smashes all over the place plus it doesnt have a cover

go zen if your goin for either the ipod or zen

but go look at the other that the guys and girls are goin on about such as the iriver and such

then come back and tell us what u wana get

Philip:cool:

peeps

i say im going to go for the zen, i went round to compustore to check it out because alot of people were going on about the size and weight difference to the ipod, and i have to say it doesent bother me that much.
i checked out the iriver stuff and it looks good but its that bit more expensive and price is a deciding factor.also i like to be able to see and feel what im going to buy and it looks like you can only get the iriver products online even if they are coming from blancherstown.
so its the zen for me....now all i have to do is get the money for it.

dead air

The Zen also has all the creative EAX sound options (as seen on creative soundblasters and some games), and just sounds better than an iPod.

The larger HD is a major advantage. The included software is fine (not great, but ok), and you can also transfer files straight from windows media player, if you wanted to.

And its cheaper.

demac

The Zen is the better option. It sounds far superior than the iPod. It's also got a removable battery which Creative sell for 40 euros. The iPods is bulit in and cannot be replaced without voiding your warranty.

ebowdia

Peeps, can I ask what capacity is the Zen you're getting, and how much is it?

peeps

im going to get the 30GB which costs €349, i reckon thats more than enough memory for what i need, its 8000 songs. it also comes with 60GB and that costs about €460-490, compustore only do the 30GB but i saw the 60GB in a camera shop in the Dun Laoghaire shopping centre.
one last question though does anyone know if the zen has the random shuffle option that the ipod has?

Stephen

just don't buy it in compustore whatever you do.

pgodkin

Originally posted by peeps
im going to get the 30GB which costs €349, i reckon thats more than enough memory for what i need, its 8000 songs. it also comes with 60GB and that costs about €460-490, compustore only do the 30GB but i saw the 60GB in a camera shop in the Dun Laoghaire shopping centre.
one last question though does anyone know if the zen has the random shuffle option that the ipod has?

Yeah the zen has radom shuffle

also if your in town (dublin) u might wana look around for a better price, i know last week the place where i bought my one back from the future here they have a few zen both 30 and 60gb around and would be better than compustore


philip:cool:

Civilian_Target

I still don't get it. I went to buy a DAP, and looked around and the conclusion I came to was that the DAPs to have were:
Rio Karma (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=158449)
iRiver HP-120
iPod
Zen
Archos

Why is the Zen near the bottom? Because

- It's too big and heavy
- The sound quality's not great
- It only supports MP3/WMA
- The interface is apparantly not up to much
- The batterly life sucks (I'm told 8h is an optomistic estimate)
- It hasn't got the style of the iPod.

The Archos is only below it because it's got an even worse battery life and its fricking huge. The only reason the Karma's ahead of the iRiver is because it's e150 cheaper and has Ethernet connection, money no object I'd have probably bought an iRiver instead.

Mailman

Zen has 98dB SNR - very good
It supports wave in addition to wma and mp3 and it fully supports wma so if you purchase wma drm files they will actually play on the player unlike many of competition mentioned.
The interface is fine - It is more powerful than most so it takes a while to learn but you can do more with the player thanks to the interface.
The battery life on the Zen Xtra is 14 hours and if that isn't enough for you then buy a second battery and swop them after 14 hours by popping the lid and inserting the spare battery.

pgodkin

the battery in a zen is not 8 hours thats the same amout of life the ipod is suppose to have!! which it doesnt have!!

the battery life in the zen is about 12 hours contuines use!! and i think its about 10 if u use it off and on though out the day(s) or week!! have carried out tests on these!!

i dont know much about the others except what i have read in here but the iriver is supose to the merger of both the zen and ipod

style
Good sound quality
interface
Size

dont know though havent seen one yet

Philip:cool:

Mailman

With 128kbps MP3s Zen Xtra will easily attain in excess of 14 hours continuous playback and I know this for a fact.

MaceFace

i have just ordered a Zen Xtra 30GB and it cost me about €180 brand new from the States (Walmart).
Okay, they dont deliver here, but it is a hell of a difference to the €379 here. Buy two and with the money you save you get a free plane ride to New York!

Civilian_Target

Sorry, you're right, it's the iPod that has crap battery life. The Zen has almost the same battery life as the Karma, which is pretty good.

The Karma, and AFAIK the iRiver too will also play DRMed WMA files (although why you would have these files is a bit beyond me).

The Karma has 102dB SNR, which is quite a bit better than the Zen (remember that the decibel scale isn't linear), and it goes with an excellent set for Seinheisser earbuds. And if you have that kind of audio quality you don't want to be listening to 128k MP3s.

Don't forget that if you order from the US you have the problem of getting a UK charger for you player

MaceFace

Don't forget that if you order from the US you have the problem of getting a UK charger for you player

I am not sure what you mean here. The charger should work with it (110-220v). All you need it a plug converter which costs about 3 quid from any decent shop. (I at least have read this).

Mutant_Fruit

I got my Zen from the US, and it charges fine.

It came with a 2pin plug (the US type of plug) and a little power adapter thingy, which then connects to my player. All i do is plug the 2pin into my standard 3pin socket and charge away.

Civilian_Target

Thats right. Some players come with a 110-230V charger, but others will only take in 110V, and you're get a nice pop if you plug them into a 220V socket without a voltage switcher....

neXus9

I heard the interface on the zen was pretty awkward for navigation and I heard of a few people on the net saying that every so often it crashes.

Has anyone had these problems??

Personally, I probably go for the ipod, the zen's a bit big. I know that there's way more space for less of a price, but I probably wouldn't utilise the space.

The hard disk swapping on the ipod's ment to be a bit diificult. There's some guides on the net though.

ubu

Sorry, you're right, it's the iPod that has crap battery life.

The Battery life on the iopd isnt far off the 8 hours claimed by apple, as with every other player on the market, it depends on how you use it, if you just leave it playin playlists then you wont be far off 8 hours however if your constanly bouncing around the menues and playin the games with the backlight on, etc itl be about 6 hours batt life which is a more realistic figure

as regards charging i got my ipod from the states and u need a 3pin adapter for it and thats it, as its a 100-240 voltage charger so u dont need a voltage switcher or anythin

the ipod is extremely easy to use(not to mention the styling!) as is itunes so id definatly recommend it to anyone in the market for an mp3 player, yea you pay a premium for it but imo it's worth it

The Real B-man

And with the ipod mini on the way smaller is better only 4gb[1000 songs] hd but in time will increase

Civilian_Target

Yeah, iPod minis look excellent if you're not to worried about the hard disk space or the versatility of formats and stuff. They're a bit expensive, but they're really small and look cool.

Just don't get a pink one.

MrPinK

Originally posted by koneko
but with the Ipod you have to send it in to have the battery replaced, at least $99 last time I heard

It's not designed to be user removable, but it's still easy enough to replace it yourself. There's plenty of instructions out there. And you can get a replacement battery for about $40.

Matt Simis

Originally posted by Civilian_Target
Sorry, you're right, it's the iPod that has crap battery life. The Zen has almost the same battery life as the Karma, which is pretty good.

The Karma, and AFAIK the iRiver too will also play DRMed WMA files (although why you would have these files is a bit beyond me).

The Zens play WMA DRM also.
Its the format of choice for commercial music downloads and unlike Apple and AAC, you arent locked into a single source of music (ITunes). There are dozens of DRM vendors, with different content and prices. Yes, Im saying the Microsoft solution is more open and fair..

UBU: The battery life on the Ipod may meet the spec'ed 8hrs, but thats still considerably lower than competitor players.


Matt

Civilian_Target

DRM != open and fair.

I wouldn't touch DRM with a barge pole to be honest. If you can't get it on un-DRM from say audiolunchbox.com then it has to be the good old compact disc.

iTunes prices are going up BTW, 'tis not $1.25 for a track, or $12 for an album. Great way from deterring people from Kazaa that.....