Hi all,
My mate just got a new job, and is now having to commute via train etc.
He is after a mp3 player/ipod, something with a heap of room, and was wondering if you could please give us some advice on what is out there, price, where to buy etc for something around the 40gig mark around $500 or less.

He wants to use it for photo storage for when we go on snow trips overseas or the like, and was wondering about the compatibility for camera's with these devices. He's got a Sony dscp100.

Any help would be appreciated.

Cheers

He could get an iPod photo 20GB for $450, and pay $50 on a camera connector which allows him to connect the USB cable from the camera into the bottom of the iPod, and transfer all photos across. Not just for storage, but also loads them into the iPod's photo library so you can review them on the iPod screen. iPod 60GB would set him back $600 odd. ($400 20GB and $537 60GB if he qualifies for EDU discount and purchased from the online store).

I've only had mine 2 weeks now, but I got an ipod 20Gb for $439 from JB, love it so far, I've been using it for podcasts on the way to work, and at work, using it as a portable HDD (you can just drag and drop stuff into it in explorer) and you can use it for photos too, but I haven't had any need for that yet so I haven't used it.

Apparently you can buy a cable for the ipods to transfer directly from cameras, but you have to check the compatiblity with that camera, I think there's a chart or list of compatible cameras on apple's site somewhere, if not there would be one on the net...somewhere

Way to read the thread, Wetwired.

he could be a slow typer heh , i also back the ipod since its the best thing like it out there but give it a few minus points becuase of the need to HAVE ACCCESSORIES when it could all be inbuilt but apple just likes to be difficult i guess (i got the 60gb ipod photo woith the student discount, havent got the usb photo thingy yet cause its incompatible with the digital camera i have)

I read it, but I thought I'd add that you need to check compatiblity with that camera first...hidden amoungst my rambling

The compatability list is here but is not an exhaustive list. What is required for your camera to be compatible is as quoted from the link:

"The iPod camera connector works with digital cameras that support the following transfer protocols: Mass Storage, PTP, and Type 4 (sometimes referred to as “Normal”)."

My brother just picked one of these up on ebay for around $400 aussie. Looks pretty cool for that price but I don't think I'd pay the $849 rrp.

http://www.minidisc.com.au/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=32&products_id=503

Also, link for ebay listing:

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=iRiver+PMP-120+

Edit: There is also a 40gb version available for not that much more.


last edited by Yarris at 18:27:35 21/Sep/05

PMP do look cool, but check out the iriver H340, its AWESOME, guy at work has one, and now I want one..and it to have my children

f*** ipods, overpriced.

the h340 was ok but i liked the ipods interface more and it seems a better size and less clunky ... i really wanted the 20gb H10 but they dont sell them here

these things rock my planet photo storage .. nfi ... like i want to put my photos on mp3 player

I bought my 40gb colour iPod off of ebay-au brand new for $520~ perhaps something to look for if you're really wanting the iPod with those storage capabilities. :-)

last edited by phrzn at 23:58:56 21/Sep/05

My ipod rules, but I wish it had an FM tuner :(

My brother just purchased an iriver pmp 120, and it's quite the good. Only grief I've had with it is like 2 VBR songs randomly start squeaking, there is an unremovable pause between songs and it doesn't actually play games that feature was removed. Otherwise gewd for 240 aud.

That Xclef thing has a cheap and dodgy "made in taiwan" look to it imo. The interface and the screen and stuff is also nowhere near the level of sexyness of an ipod.

The ipod is the worst of the bunch imo

why ?

1. Batteries.
2. iTunes. (originally it used musicmatch which rocks)
3. Lack of WMA support. (tho I hear thats coming)
4. Price. (bang for buck is not there)

Obes for king of .. girly cars! :)
so true
the iriver is deffinatly my pick atm.

colour screen
photo display(without the need to run the photos through itunes which ipod NEEDS)
read text files on screen
usb host included(plug any usb device using normal storage device drivers-flash drives, most cameras, someone elses mp3 player-rip their whole drive)
comes with dock
comes with vinal case-beltclip
comes with seperate battery pack(chuck in AA batteries for those long trips/camping or just when you happen to run out and dont have time to charge it)
just off the top of my head..

pfft you drive a kia girly man!

1. Batteries.

It uses a rechargeable battery pack, much like the one you posted. You just plug the ipod into the USB port on your computer or into a power point for a few hours and its charged.

2. iTunes. (originally it used musicmatch which rocks)

Yeah, I thought this would be a downside as well, but now after using it for a bit I reckon it rocks. I really like the stuff built into itunes for managing and sorting your mp3s. I spent a day going through and filling in all the proper id3 info on my mp3s that didn't have it and now itunes manages everything awesomely. It makes it pretty painless for updating whats on my ipod too, all I do is open itunes, plug in my ipod, and anything new is automatically added and anything old is automatically removed.

3. Lack of WMA support. (tho I hear thats coming)

Who cares? WMA was designed for providing high quality at lower bitrates (like 64k) for mp3 players that have a limited amount of space. For example, I used to re-encode my mp3s at 64k using WMA to fit more on my Muvo cos it was only 128mb, and while not as good, they definately still sounded pretty good, heaps better than a 64k mp3 for sure. When you get into higher bitrates though, WMA has no real benefits over MP3 as far as quality or resulting file size is concerned. I guess unless you're talking DRM enabled content you might have a use for it, but I dont, and have absolutely zero interest in getting any.

Since getting an ipod I've re-encoded all my mp3s into AAC anyway, its a really sweet codec. It provides proper variable bit-rate encoding and when I rip a CD I can't tell the difference between a 128k encoded AAC file and the original CD. And its not like MP3 where 128k is supposed to be "near cd quality", because I can definately and easily tell the difference between a CD and a 128k mp3, but with AAC I had a few listens to the original off the cd and the AAC file I'd made and couldn't hear a noticeable difference. Very impressed I am!

Some AAC info: Link1 Link2

4. Price. (bang for buck is not there)

Yeah, thats true :( Since ipods are trendy now, they really do cost more than they should. But on the positive side, because they're so popular now, you know you're going to have no trouble finding accesories that fit them, that was a major factor when I got one. Because there is so many of them out there and because its such a huge market, theres a billion and one different companies making s*** that works with iPod, whereas with iRiver and other lesser known brands, you just dont have that same level of support.

last edited by Khel at 14:32:42 23/Sep/05

To add what Khel said about WMA - when you import WMA files into iTunes it asks if you want to convert to MP3. It can do this in the background while you import other files, so its not as if you'll never get your WMA music on your iPod. Well, unless its DRM protected.