Ipod vs. Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra vs. iRiver i-HP 120

[Flashmonkey]

okay, first off, here are links for the the 3...

Ipod: http://www.epinions.com/pr-Apple_iPod_Fourth_Gen_20_GB_MAC_PC-M9282LL_A_MP3_Player

Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra: http://www.freeipodnow.com/index.php?nav=refer&sid=1791 (20gb)

http://www.epinions.com/pr-Creative_Labs_Nomad_Jukebox_Zen_Xtra_40GB_MP3_Play er (40gb)

iRiver i-HP 120: http://www.epinions.com/pr-iRiver_iHP-120_20GB_MP3_Player

Just take a look. I'm swaying toward the Nomad Jukebox Zen Xtra. I mean for less than the price of the 20gb Ipod, you get twice the space in a Nomad Jukebox. And there isnt any connectivity software with the Nomad Jukebox. It just acts like a removeable drive. You can store movie files, game files, ANY file on it! that sounds like a pretty damn good deal to me. And plus, look at the battery life compared to the ipod and the fact that the ipod's battery goes south after a year or so. the only downside i see to the Nomad is the warranty. 90 days doesnt cut it. The iRier seems like another ipod beater, but it is also a bit pricey. I know the ipod is extremely small, light etc, but I just dont see the advantages of those over all the features of the Nomad. Anyone have any experience with these, things i need to know about usablility, etc?

[gamefreak]

I have an iRiver IHP-120.

I really like it. It's sturdy and simple to use (as you said, drag and drop, no drivers or software). It has a long battery life (10+ hours on mine) and a great song. It has a line in and out (can be used as a second headphone port so two can listen at once), a FM tuner, Ogg support, and a built in microphone. I got mine at Amazon with the buy anything over $250 and get a $50 certificate lowering the price to $250.

My mom's iPod has been nothing but a hassle on our (Windows) computer. She had to send it back three times but now it *seems* to be working. I personally hate the thing but then alot love it.

[Ericnmel99]

Im glad you made this thread. Im going through the same desision process right now. I also have been thinking about the Creative Zen Touch: http://www.epinions.com/pr-Creative_Labs_Zen_Touch_20_GB_MP3_Player

So like you, im wondering if the size of the ipod is worth the extra money compared to the features of the other models.

[M3wThr33]

Well, I did the freeIpod offer and am waiting for it to ship.
I have 18GB of mp3s, so I need to get a 40GB player.
Right now my best choice is going to an Apple store and trading it in for a 40GB + difference.

That is unless anyone here wants to buy my 20GB off of me when it arrives. I'd ask for $300. Free shipping because I love you. I have no clue when I will get it, but hopefully soon. I'm in IP3. since 9/1.(It's NOT the HP one, so you get extra warranty on it AND can get AppleCare for $60 to add two years and 1 battery replacement)

[Murcielago77]

I have the iRiver iHp-120 and its great. Has grteat sound quality and its very easy to transfer files.

[rickc25]

I've got a 3rd gen ipod on XP and it's easy to drag and drop files. When connected, windows registers the ipod as an external hard drive and you can drag and drop all you want. I use it all the time as a portable hard drive. All that iTunes is used for is to sync up the playlists on the ipod and transfer mp3 files. I will say that it's difficult to get mp3s off of an ipod, as the files are all renamed.

[Flashmonkey]

that zen touch looks pretty sweet! i think i might go for that. my friend has a dell dj and the scrolly wheel is terrible. anyone have any cheap places where we can get these/try em out? i hate that you have to invest a lot of money and then if it sucks, your screwed. i also heard that the iHp's navigation isnt that great though, any problems with that?

[Murcielago77]

navigation is fine if you download the new format or whatever(i forget what its called) and it enables you to use playlists from Winamp, search by artist, search by name, search by album and other things its really easy to get the hang of

[Delta]

i love my ipod and wouldn't trade it for any ripoff.

[Murcielago77]

oh and the iHP comes with a spiffy LCD remote

[gamefreak]

Yeah. The Touch looks quite good, I probably would have gotten that instead of the iHP had it been out at the time. Read some reviews first though, Creative has some issues with quality (headphone ports namely) on some other players.

[Flashmonkey]

i cant deal with bad quality...

[paz9x]

my brother bought the jukebox zen.
the headphone jack stopped working within 45 days.
the warranty people told him that using anything other than the packaged headphones would void the warranty.
the headphone jack design is piss-poor, if there is any stress put on the headphone plug it breaks the solders on the internal jack circuit.
He had to pay for shipping bu tthey fixed it for free, it involved numerous calls and my brother yelling at them. He sold it in the paper and is buyign an ipod now.

[beerguy961]

Check reviews (IGN Gear, PC Mag, any audio mag). The iRiver is consistently rated the best and is the best player on the market. There's no reason to get anything else if you want a harddrive MP3 player...

[Flashmonkey]

the iriver is expensive tho

[tribopii]

I have the iHP and would highly recommend it. Ive owned some mp3 players in the past and this one has the best sound quality. It also has more features than any of the ones you listed, and a longer battery life(I get over 10hrs easy.)

[Othergods]

What is the downside to the Dell 20G Jukebox?

Edit: Added Link

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?sku=HSTD20&c=us&l=en&cs=19&cate gory_id=2999&page=external

[beerguy961]

the iriver is expensie tho

Same price as the iPod.

[gamefreak]

the iriver is expensie tho

Same price as the iPod.

http://www.shentech.com/iramih20mp3p.html

$30 cheaper than an iPod with all the extra features and stuff mentioned above.

[Othergods]

What is the downside to the Dell 20G Jukebox?

Edit: Added Link

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?sku=HSTD20&c=us&l=en&cs=19&cate gory_id=2999&page=external

No downsides? So this Unit Rocks?

[Ericnmel99]

I found a bit of a deal on Buy.com. You can use multiple coupons at once it seems. And if you are a new user there are currently 4 coupons you can use that are floating around the web. Start off with the $279.99 Ipod +HP. Minus 10% as a first time user. Take$15 off a purchase of $200, then take $10 off a purchase of $175, then take$5 off $50. The ipod appears in your cart for a total of $221.99!!!!! now thats a deal!

[AvidWriter]

damn buy.com doesnt have the iriver, from what I've seen I'm finally going to get an mp3 player the iriver :D

[Sporadic]

Save for a little longer and grab the 40GB iRiver http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0001BRITE/qid=1095979670/sr=8-3/ref=pd_csp_3/002-6998534-5444867?v=glance&s=electronics&n=507846

[ortazel]

I have a Zen Xtra 40 gig. Now, yes, I did have to replace it via warranty because the headphone jack broke. However, here's the catch- they made a new version now, which they sent me when they replaced it. You can tell it by the case- the new ones have the case with a window in it. My new one is excellent- I use it for about 4 hours a day (commuting), and I haven't had one problem with it. When I've been on long trips, the battery has NEVER ONCE run out- that's about 8 hours of continuous play. I <3 my mp3 player.
On the other hand, I've heard really good things about the iRiver, it's just that I don't/didn't have the extra $100 and I'm not sure if I'd be willing to pay it. YMMV

[gamefreak]

I havn't heard much about the Dell one other than that it's decent but the iPod is better. Look up some more reviews though, like I said; I havn't heard that much.

[Othergods]

I havn't heard much about the Dell one other than that it's decent but the iPod is better. Look up some more reviews though, like I said; I havn't heard that much.

I Checked out Epinions or what ever it is called and like 7 people just raved about it at the $279 price. the only complaint is that it did not look as cool as an Ipod. I picked one up from Dell the other day for $179 with a free docking station and shipping after a $100 off coupon code. So $190 for it after tax, not a bad deal.

[topplehat]

Woah woah woah, what is this 100 dollar coupon?

[Othergods]

I got it off of this site.

http://funkyjack.uni.cc/

[Flashmonkey]

no, my friend has one. his headphone jack broke after a month of use and had to send it back for a new one. also it is kinda slow (startup and playing songs)

[Othergods]

Cool, I got the warrenty so I should be good with the jack if that breaks. How slow? 2 sec- 4 sec pause?

[valleyvampiress]

I have the iRiver 20Gig, and I love it to peices! I chose it over the iPod for two big reasons; one, the battery life. The iPod's battery life just plain sucked. I didn't know if I was going to need a 10+ batter life, but I got it any way. I'm really glad I did too because I tend to forget to charge my gadgets all the time and can sometimes go a week without charging anything. :P The second was that I'd heard some complaints from the actual battery of the iPod as well as other hardware problems. I didn't want to end up paying more for an inferior product, so I chose the iRiver.

You always hear iPod fanboys say better to get the real thing than the imitators. There are some "imitators" that do exactly that; imitate. But there are also other "imitators" that don't just imitate, but innovate. This is what the iRiver is. Besides that, there must be a reason why thinkgeek.com sells the iRiver and not the iPod.

[gamefreak]

I have the iRiver 20Gig, and I love it to peices! I chose it over the iPod for two big reasons; one, the battery life. The iPod's battery life just plain sucked. I didn't know if I was going to need a 10+ batter life, but I got it any way. I'm really glad I did too because I tend to forget to charge my gadgets all the time and can sometimes go a week without charging anything. :P The second was that I'd heard some complaints from the actual battery of the iPod as well as other hardware problems. I didn't want to end up paying more for an inferior product, so I chose the iRiver.

You always hear iPod fanboys say better to get the real thing than the imitators. There are some "imitators" that do exactly that; imitate. But there are also other "imitators" that don't just imitate, but innovate. This is what the iRiver is. Besides that, there must be a reason why thinkgeek.com sells the iRiver and not the iPod.

Yeah, I listen to mine for maybe 2 hours a day for 5 days and it was still 1/4th full. Plugged into the wall for 20 minutes and it was back at full. Good stuff.

[Minger]

Any deals on the iriver, eithr the 20 gig or 40 gig versions?

Cuz my ipod is comin in in 3 days, and well since it was free, i'm prolly gonna sell it on ebay and buy the iriver...:D