Black iPod

[skipshady]

<insert politically incorrect joke here>

Jaguar giving away limited edition black iPod (http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/07/12/jaguar/index.php?redirect=1089641453000)
I wish I heard about this earlier. They had 75 to give away, but only have one left now. Then again, I thought a black iPod would look badass, but I am left unimpressed:
http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/2004/07/12/blackipod.jpg

From the article:
By focusing on the Macintosh user base, Stephenson and Jaguar felt they were targeting the exact audience they wanted and needed for the X-Type. The company's Web site never drew much traffic from Mac users in the past, but since the new campaign started, the site has grown considerably.

"The most interesting statistic that came out of this was 72 percent of all our traffic is using Mac OS X," said Stephenson. "People don't think often enough about the value of the Mac audience in marketing campaigns."
It's nice that they're thinking about me. Not that I would (or could) buy an X-type any time soon.

"Mac users are people that shape opinion; they use Macs to create," said Stephenson. "They are independent thinkers that don't follow, they lead."That is, unless you dangle a free iPod in their face. Then they'll follow you to your website, apparently.

[sarabella]

That is pretty lame. They could really make a black one look cool, but alas, I'll keep my white one.

[Mad_Bishop]

i hate the white. the black is ok, but my biggest problem with the iPod is that I think it's ugly and i like my portable electronics to function as accesories...perhaps it's the metrosexual in me coming out.

[skipshady]

i hate the white. the black is ok, but my biggest problem with the iPod is that I think it's ugly and i like my portable electronics to function as accesories...perhaps it's the metrosexual in me coming out.
See, I love my iPod -it looks better in person than in photos- but I like the look of the iPod Mini better.

The black iPod is a good idea in theory, but I hate the white buttons and the black lookes too matte. Maybe bronze or dark gray (a la Apple's "brushed metal" interface) would work better?

Speaking of alternate colors for iPod, I'd like to see Apple come out with bright colors like red, blue, yellow or green. Remember My First Sony? Now, those were awesome.
http://a.abcnews.com/media/Business/images/ho_brands_sony_c.gif

[sarabella]

See, I love my iPod -it looks better in person than in photos- but I like the look of the iPod Mini better.

The black iPod is a good idea in theory, but I hate the white buttons and the black lookes too matte. Maybe bronze or dark gray (a la Apple's "brushed metal" interface) would work better?

Speaking of alternate colors for iPod, I'd like to see Apple come out with bright colors like red, blue, yellow or green. Remember My First Sony? Now, those were awesome.


http://a.abcnews.com/media/Business/images/ho_brands_sony_c.gif
Didn't I see in another thread where you could turn your iPod "old school" by putting it inside a plastic case and it was as big as an 80's walkman? It kinda looked like this My First Sony.....and about as big. hehe.

[sarabella]

Didn't I see in another thread where you could turn your iPod "old school" by putting it inside a plastic case and it was as big as an 80's walkman? It kinda looked like this My First Sony.....and about as big. hehe.
Yeah, it's called the "Retropod" hahaha

http://www.xeni.net/images/bb/retropod.jpg

[Chicago1871]

http://www.xeni.net/images/bb/retropod.jpg

I still have that real Walkman sitting at home. :)

[sarabella]

http://www.xeni.net/images/bb/retropod.jpg

I still have that real Walkman sitting at home. :)
Do you actually still have cassette tapes to play in it?? :D

[Chicago1871]

Do you actually still have cassette tapes to play in it?? :D
Of course. They're keeping my dresser level. ;) Actually I still do have most of the tapes I owned before CDs, I just haven't listened to them in 6 years.

[skipshady]

I'm thinking about burning some of my MP3s to tape to free up some hard disk space.

[Maczebus]

Ok, my dad is going to the US of A for 2 weeks tomorrow. I spoke to him today and out of the blue he asked me was there anything I'd like bringing back - other than a Kerry/Edwards banner (he'll be in Boston the precise time the convention is) I couldn't think of anything - but then 'ipod' flashed into my mind.
Despite the better exchange rate over here, ipods are still stupidly expensive here compared with the US.
I thought about getting an ipod mini - are they much good? They say 1000 songs can fit onto it, but they say it has 4GB of memory. Can 1000 normal songs fit into 4GB? Obviously they won't take too many 17 minute versions of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" but then I'm not in permanent prog rock mode.
Also if there's a good place in NYC (narrowing it down, he's going all over the NE) to buy these things cheaply - do tell and I'll pass on the info to him.
Basically, are they worth it?

[skipshady]

Ok, my dad is going to the US of A for 2 weeks tomorrow. I spoke to him today and out of the blue he asked me was there anything I'd like bringing back - other than a Kerry/Edwards banner (he'll be in Boston the precise time the convention is) I couldn't think of anything - but then 'ipod' flashed into my mind.
Despite the better exchange rate over here, ipods are still stupidly expensive here compared with the US.
I thought about getting an ipod mini - are they much good? They say 1000 songs can fit onto it, but they say it has 4GB of memory. Can 1000 normal songs fit into 4GB? Obviously they won't take too many 17 minute versions of "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" but then I'm not in permanent prog rock mode.
Also if there's a good place in NYC (narrowing it down, he's going all over the NE) to buy these things cheaply - do tell and I'll pass on the info to him.
Basically, are they worth it?
iPod Minis are still sort of "hot" despite the new iPod notMini, so I don't know if your dad will be able to find a good deal. According to Pricegrabber.com, every place has it for around $250.

Also, Massachusetts has a lower sales tax (5%?) than New York City (8.625%), so he'll save a little bit of money buying it in Boston than in NYC. The most obvious place to look is the Apple Store (http://www.apple.com/retail/) (I think there's one in Cambridge, near Harvard's campus), but major electronics retailers like Best Buy will have it too.

As for the 1,000-song claim, "a song" is a 4-minute recording encoded at 128 kbps, and AAC is near-CD quality at 128kbps. So, that's 4,000 minutes or 66-plus hours of music.

Is it worth it? Well, for $50 more, you can get the new bigger iPod with 20GB of memory, so you're paying for the look and the smaller size. Depends on if that kinda thing matters to you. And a lot of places might be trying to clear inventory on the older iPod (suggested retail for the 15GB is $300).

I like my iPod. It's small enough and sounds good enough, and I buy music from the iTunes store instead of real stores, so it works out for me. And then there's pPod (http://www.nykris.com/template.php?id=64).

[Maczebus]

iPod Minis are still sort of "hot" despite the new iPod notMini, so I don't know if your dad will be able to find a good deal. According to Pricegrabber.com, every place has it for around $250.

Also, Massachusetts has a lower sales tax (5%?) than New York City (8.625%), so he'll save a little bit of money buying it in Boston than in NYC. The most obvious place to look is the Apple Store (http://www.apple.com/retail/) (I think there's one in Cambridge, near Harvard's campus), but major electronics retailers like Best Buy will have it too.

As for the 1,000-song claim, "a song" is a 4-minute recording encoded at 128 kbps, and AAC is near-CD quality at 128kbps. So, that's 4,000 minutes or 66-plus hours of music.

Is it worth it? Well, for $50 more, you can get the new bigger iPod with 20GB of memory, so you're paying for the look and the smaller size. Depends on if that kinda thing matters to you. And a lot of places might be trying to clear inventory on the older iPod (suggested retail for the 15GB is $300).

I like my iPod. It's small enough and sounds good enough, and I buy music from the iTunes store instead of real stores, so it works out for me. And then there's pPod (http://www.nykris.com/template.php?id=64).

Thanks. I'm a bit behind the times on the old portable music front. I haven't had anything worth having since my last walkman gave up the ghost in the early 90s. I didn't like portable CD players, and mini discs just passed me by and it's only now I'm looking at mp3.
It's all a bit of a blur but you've cleared the waters a lot. And thanks for the scoop about Mass.

With regards to the machines themselves - I pondered whether I actually had 1000 songs I'd listen to, let alone more than three times that for the 15GB and God only knows what I'd fill 20GB up with. Having said that, the bargain hunter in me can't just ignore the fact that you're geting far more for your money the bigger you go. Size wasn't a massive factor as even the bigger ipods are much smaller than anything I would consider 'large'.

I'll just give you a quick price comparison I rustled up (best UK prices):
ipod 20gb - £224 = $412
ipod 15gb - £183 = $336 (avg price is £210/$386)
ipod mini - £175 = $322

Ahhhh, it's the old coolness/size/age type trade-off scenario dealy.

Another question - in the US, if the mini is $250 and the 20gb is $50 more - why are people still selling the 'old' 15gb ones for $300?

[dark knight]

Don't plan on being able to buy a mini in a retail store in NYC. I've been waiting for mini's to be in stores in NYC since they first became available and still haven't had any luck. At the Apple store they say that occasionally get new shipments, but I've never seen any proof.

Boston may be better for buying a mini because I think Manhattan is the biggest I-pod consumer, but I wouldn't count on it.

The near-cd quality is a bit of a misnomer, IMO. I'm not much of an expert but I think there is a noticeable drop off in quality. I also think it usually works out to be less than the number of songs than they claim. For instance my 40 gig doesn't really have 40gigs of space on it and there are always songs that are longer than 4 minutes.

I'm glad I got the 40gig (and glad to hear that the 60 isn't coming out soon so I don't feel obsolete). I don't go running and when I do exercise with it, I use a small pack - I don't mind that I can't strap it to my arm like with the mini, but some prefer the smaller, lighter mini. I have about 4000 songs on it right now and I like the fact that I don't have to worry too much about running out of room. I don't want to have to manage what's on my portable audio other than create a playlist or two.

After Tivo, this is probably the coolest electronic device to come down in a while. Totally worth it.

[skipshady]

Don't plan on being able to buy a mini in a retail store in NYC. I've been waiting for mini's to be in stores in NYC since they first became available and still haven't had any luck. At the Apple store they say that occasionally get new shipments, but I've never seen any proof.Can you get on the waiting list at the Apple Store? And I think they have free delivery in Manhattan... I'm wondering since I want to get Airport Express (I could use better wireless reception in my bedroom and I want to plug in my speakers and printer) but it's on backorder right now.

maczebus,
If your dad can get a good deal on the "old" (as in, less than 1 year old) iPod, then I would go for it. The battery life could be better (a lot better) but otherwise, it's still a great machine. I won't be replacing mine any time soon.

[dark knight]

I'm not sure they're doing the waiting list anymore. They don't offer it when you ask about minis and they don't have a recording anymore about it.

I assume your getting the newer cheaper Airport basestation? I bought mine a few weeks ago and they said they were phasing out the old and bringing in a newer cheaper one.

[skipshady]

Honestly, I didn't think the Minis would be a hit at all. I figured a few early adapters would buy it but it wouldn't sell all that well otherwise. Which explains why I'm not Steve Jobs.

Yeah, I'm getting the new cheaper one. There's already a wireless network in the house, and I'm going to use the Express to get better reception and print/play music wirelessly.

[chad]

I love my aiport express.

[microbrew]

I just got a mini iPod. I ordered it from the Apple website and then waited four weeks before they sent it directly to me from Shanghai.

While looking for a case for the thing at the Short Hills Apple store, the sales people said that they do occasionally get shipments of mini iPods, but they sell out in a day. Ordering online is the only reliable way to get it.

[otterulz]

Don't plan on being able to buy a mini in a retail store in NYC. I've been waiting for mini's to be in stores in NYC since they first became available and still haven't had any luck. At the Apple store they say that occasionally get new shipments, but I've never seen any proof.
It ain't NYC, but they do have the mini iPods at the Apple Store in Roosevelt Field Mall out in Garden City. My buddy bought the regular one and they seemed to have a decent amount in stock. Plus you get a $30 discount if you present your student id along with a driver's license. Of course the tax is high so it almost cancels out the discount.