ipod, sony, zen

[KrazyGreen]

i started this thread to see the opinions of everyone about which mp3 player is better.. and to act as a guide to the mp3 unsure

Less GB
1) apple - ipod mini old/new - 4/6GB
2) creative - zen micro - 5GB

More GB
1) apple - ipod - 20GB
2) apple - ipod photo - 30/60GB
3) sony - NW-HD3 hdd walkman - 20GB


please start posts with the option you think is the best
for example.. 'LessGB1' for the ipod mini or 'MoreGB2' for the ipod photo
leave comments and reasons why someone should buy the one you listed

please also limit to these brands.. comments on others are welcome but opinions for mainly these 5 please..

thanks :2jump:

[andy.c]

LessGB: Ipod mini
MoreGB: Ipod 20GB since I haven't tried the Sony yet. It looks good though and thw word on the street is that it's really good! ;)

KrazyGreen, we could make this a poll instead?!

[saliquincer]

KrazyGreen,
Sony has the best quality in this way ...
Sony > i-Pod > Creative

[ilprincipe]

LessGB iPod Mini new 6 GB (in Green!!!) ;)
MoreGB iPod Photo 30 GB


But overall,the H340 from iRiver... :D (or the H10 from iRiver for "LessGB" ;))

[KrazyGreen]

LessGB: ipod mini..
but i really cant decide
thats why i started this thread..
so desperate to find the best mp3 player

odelsteken, i do not know how to make a poll :confused:
ilprincipe, i like the green one too! :rotate:

[ilprincipe]

KrazyGreen,
oh,but I forgot,the "new" mini iPods (both 4 and 6GB) are supposed to have slightly different colours (a bit stronger) and as I've never seen the new ones before,I'd go for the "old" green mini (4GB),just to be sure... ;)

[KrazyGreen]

KrazyGreen,
oh,but I forgot,the "new" mini iPods (both 4 and 6GB) are supposed to have slightly different colours (a bit stronger) and as I've never seen the new ones before,I'd go for the "old" green mini (4GB),just to be sure... ;)

ive seen both side by side and the new one is MUCH nicer :lol:

[KrazyGreen]

okay i have gone to an IT show and tested 4 of the above stated mp3 players as well as the olympus mrobe

ipod

ergonomics
the player is large but still can fit well into your hand and can reach the click wheel easily.
the sensitivity of the click wheel is very good, not too much and not too little. the other butons are very easy to use as you just tilt the click wheel and the buttons are used. They are not touchy but not hard to press

looks
the look of the ipod is not very nice in whole. the white is easily stained as the click wheel there was quite yellow and the rest of the case was not shiny anymore
the back of it is smooth chrome. this picks up oil and sweat very easily and is hard to wipe off withough leaving more oil or smudging it

features
ipod has a foot above eveyone by including easy to play games. however all the other features are not as wide spread as others.
basically all it does is play songs, store data and act as a to do list and alarm

branding
the title ipod does not really come very near to make me want to buy the product. on webpages it looks very nice as well as when you see someone holding it
but up close it loses the impact and does not feel branded also, the white gets stained and the back gets smudged

package
the package comes with the essentials

ipod mini

ergonomics
the feel of the ipod mini is very nice despite the look of it being awkward to hold. the click wheel is very easy to reach and the sensitivity is very good the buttons are just like the normal ipod as mentioned above. however the feel is better as your hand can hold more of it compared to the wider normal ipod

looks
the looks are very very nice. the new ipod mini is very cool with its distinct green, blue and pink colours, the silver is just like the previous ipod mini.
the ipod mini has the metal cover which adds to the coolness of the player

features
the features are just like the ipod's with games, but no radio or voice recorder, those come as additional attatchments that are all quite expensive.

branding
the brand is apple. and it looks good enough to eat, what else can i say about it

package
the new ipod mini does not come with many additional accesories or even the power adapter. it charges through the usb from your computer
it has no changeable battery, if you need a new one you need to send it to apple to change it, same goes for the normal ipod

sony

ergonomics
horrible.. the feel is not conforming to the hand and the controls are all over the player and not in one specific place. the buttons are also small and hard to press
the shape is just like that of an MD player

looks
the looks are so-so. it looks too much like an MD player by sony and will not turn heads at all the only good thing about the looks is that there is a matching lcd backlight for each colour ie. blue is blue and pink is pink. the red has a blue screen but it matches well, however the contrast even when the settings are changed is still too dark and is hard on the eyes

features
the features i did not explore much into because the interface was so unintuitive. but it definately does not have a radio or a voice recorder
there IS however a very very good feature.. the only good thing about it.. that is the G-protector. this is super good for an active person like me who need large memory for songs with a hard disk instead of flash memory (but 20GB is abit much.. 5 is best.. for me anyway)
the G-protector thing is a special feature that senses when you accidentally drop your player and moves the hdd reader to safety and prevents the needle from scratching the hard disk and ruining the player permanently
however this is the only good thing

branding
well "its a sony" as the commercials always say, but really, its 20GB for S$569 it is not a good price as it lacks features and is so unuser friendly.. you only pay for the brand, unlike ipod and apple where you pay for everything from user friendliness to the brand itself

package
when i was there they were giving free earphones when you buy it.. but i do not think that the rest of it is worth it.. the player is infact lighter than an ipod, but it is still too heavy for its size therefore seems very very heavy

olympus m:robe

ergonomics
the feel of the player is only average. it is very well sized and can fit easily int o the palm of your hand.. however the buttons other than the slide pad are hard to reach and you need to contort your thumb to get at them

looks
the looks are quite okay.. the screen is abit small and when the backlight is off it is just a black brick
however when the backlight IS on it illuminates nicely with the red font and red light buttons.
the cover is also only one flat piece of plastic with no real definition of where the edges of the buttons are. its sleek, but not very catchy
overall the looks are so-so but not a real big head turner.. people will just wonder that it is

features
i never really explored the features because of the sales girl trying to snatch it back from me.. (mabey it was actually hers)
when i turned it on.. there was about a 30 second start up time, and that is b.. a.. d.. bad! i wouldnt want to wait that long for MY music.. by then i would have reached home! (exaggeration)
but i dont think its features are very vast.. no radio.. no voice recorder blah blah.. not a good choice

branding
well, olympus is making its first move into the music industry..
if you had an olympus CAMERA.. that might have some brandedness and could turn heads.. but.. a music player? i dont think so

package
bad earphones and blah blah.. didnt ask what was in it because the customer servicce was shoddy.. and i havent checked the website for package contents, if they do show them anyway.

zen micro

ergonomics
very good.. but the sensitivity of the touch pad slide thing has abit to be desired.. the center button tends to be too hard to press and you accidentally scroll to another option.. or it opens too easily into a place you dont want to go at that time

looks
looks are very cute.. but still.. it rivals the ipod mini which is a well know brand that people buy.. its like any fashion.. some are totally gross, but people still buy it because its a famous brand

features
super features!
radio, radio recorder, voice recorder, blue glow, touch scroll pad, cuteness, variety of colours, song search by artist/album/song.. and MANY more

branding
its creative.. a very good and reliable brand..
but they have not become a tech fashion statement like apple..
THIS is the biggest set back for this directly-competing-with-ipodmini-mp3player!

package
player, earphones,removeable battery, power adapter (which has interchangeable prongs for travels{sold seperately}), usb cable 2.0, belt clip, stand, pouch, installation cd, nech strap and additional remote with the 5GB version




so this is the comparision

features winner = zen micro
head turner winner = ipod mini
best advantage winner = sony G-protector
one to forget about unless you are gothic and tech clueless = olympus m:robe

i cant decide between ipod mini or zen micro.. SIGH what about you all..

[ilprincipe]

6GB iPod mini in GREEN!!! :D ;)

Btw,I agree that the "Normal" iPods don't look that nice close up as they do in catalogues or the Apple webpage... ;)

[Mweb]

6GB iPod mini in GREEN!!! :D ;)

Btw,I agree that the "Normal" iPods don't look that nice close up as they do in catalogues or the Apple webpage... ;)
Whats more natural for an apple to be in colour wise :lol:

[ilprincipe]

mweb6161,
and since there is no red one... ;) I would love to see a yellow mini iPod though... :D :up:

[liamss]

i had the green, i think its the best colour!! and now the writing on the clickwheel, is the same colour!! well cool!

[ilprincipe]

liamss,
true,the writing on the clickwheel is rally nice now... :up: :)
Just a shame that it's till basically the same price (if you want to get the same package,accessories wise)...

[KrazyGreen]

OOPS!! :eek:

forgot to add about the olympus m:robe

well going to edit it now so check back for the review

hope you all found that info useful in choosing a player or advising others on which one to buy ;)

[sheesca]

OOPS!! :eek:

forgot to add about the olympus m:robe

well going to edit it now so check back for the review

hope you all found that info useful in choosing a player or advising others on which one to buy ;)


Does anyone have information about the IRiver players (mini)? I have seen people using them at the gym, and they seem to really like them.

:beer: