Ipod Nano or Pocket PC

[looneytoone]

I need help. My wife is totally buying into the Ipod marketing machine and wants an Ipod for Christmas. I have not bought into the hype and believe that one can do more with a PPC and a nice sized storage card. Here is what I need.

1. If the Ipod is soooo great, somebody tell me why.
2. Please help reinforce my argument that her new Dell X51V (on order) will be much better than an Ipod.

[ChristopherTD]

Possibly one of the iPods greatest strengths (and one that goes largely unremarked) is the very close integration between iTunes and the iPod, which makes it very easy to get music onto the iPod quickly.

[looneytoone]

Is it easier to integrate than a Pocket PC to Windows Media Player?

[Ed Hansberry]

Is it easier to integrate than a Pocket PC to Windows Media Player?

Most likely, yes. Most iPods can hold your entire music collection, or at least the favorites. Unless you have a 1GB or higher memory card (still less than the base 2GB Nano) you will have to pick and choose. Plus, the iPod plays music really well. Never reach for the stylus, etc.

Don't give her a fancy swiss army knife when all she wants is a screwdriver. :)

[Nurhisham Hussein]

If it was for you I would have said take the PPC. But since it's for your wife, Ed's remarks are spot on. Trust me. I've been there.

[Sven Johannsen]

Gotta go with Ed and hishamh. If she wants an MP3 player, the iPods are the gold standard. If she had wanted to replace her planner, and an MP3 player too would be nice, the PDA, PPC or otherwise is the ticket.

You are fortunate your wife gave you such a clear "hint". Most of us have to guess. Don't screw this up ;)

[PetiteFlower]

I have a PDA and I got an MP3 player even so. It's just not easy enough to play music WHILE reading ebooks or doing the other things that I do on the PDA. To play music on the MP3 player all I have to do is turn it on and press play. On the PDA, I have to turn it on, start the media player, find the playlist, then hit play. Takes too long. And if I want to do other tasks on the PDA, it slows it down.

Now personally I wouldn't go for a Nano (or any Ipod) but that's just a personal bias. But I do understand the desire for a dedicated music player.

[burtcom]

When I got a 1GB SD card for my HP iPaq, I tried leaving my 40GB iPod at home for about a month -- I hoped it would be more convenient.

Now I'm back to using the iPod -- it is just much, much, much better at playing music and, with iTunes, managing music than any Microsoft solution.

WM10 on the device sucks -- it has that annoying pop between songs, and quite often can't see the tunes on the Storage Card -- some file gets corrupted and I have to delete it and reboot. There is also no on-the-fly volume equalizer.

There are some MP3 players that do a better job with playback than WM10-- but they're not as comfortable UI-wise as the iPod.

[cec]

Ahhh looneytoone. The trials of married life. Get her the iPod. It doesn't matter if the x51v is the more powerfull device. She wants the Nano. Get her the Nano. She will be happy and so will you.

By the way I got one for my wife and it is a cool device. It is tiny and does its job well.

Now if the device was for you then that would be a different story.

[kaitanium]

yea if she wants a nano then just make her happy with a nano. if only people knew that with a pocket you could rule the WORLD!!! just kidding. dell x50 series rocks ipod socks anyday

[Sven Johannsen]

Guess your next question needs to be, "How do I explain this new Dell X51v I just got?" ;)

[BigDaddy]

Get a PPC..this is why...

1. Basically a PC in your Pocket.
2. 4GB Micro Drive, CF, or SD option allows for basically unlimited storage.
3. Not just audio, but video with streaming options
4. Notes and voice recorder
5. Wifi Phone option
6. Games
7. Gates and Motorola are doing all in their power to end the iPOD era...

Good luck

[Andy Whiteford]

I have bought a 4GB nano for my girlfriend but regardless, I bought myself a 4GB nano for music even though I have a PPC. Convergence is great if the device does both jobs equally as well but quite simply, the nano is much better imho for music than a PPC and the flip side of this is I haven't even bothered syching my nano with my calendar and contacts - that is the PPC arena. Unless she needs all the PDA functionality more than the music playing, go with the nano.

[Patrick Y.]

Just give her an iPOD. While Pocket PC is lightyears better, it isn't you who's getting the thing. Besides, you can spend less money on present. :lol:

[gregttp]

Get your wife the nano, then you get the keep the Axim x50v! :lol:

[Phillip Dyson]

7. Gates and Motorola are doing all in their power to end the iPOD era...



Its true, but I think thats what makes the reality of whats out there for audio media so pitiful. :roll:

[IpaqMan2]

I just bought my wife a Video Ipod for Christmas.

The entertainment value of the video ipod fits my wifes needs and face it, if thats all a person will be using a PDA for, (music, videos, photos, and the such) than a dedicated device such as the iPod would be a better buy for that person, specially if that person is less than a geek as we all might be seeing how we are in a forum reading about PDAs. The iPod is sexy as far as a gadget can be, it's easy to operate (pretty much dummy proof) and still offers a simply form of your contacts and calender events from outlook.

But as far as I am concerned... I hate the ipod and think it's very limmited and over priced and would rather have a PPC.

[IpaqMan2]

I have bought a 4GB nano for my girlfriend but regardless, I bought myself a 4GB nano for music even though I have a PPC. Convergence is great if the device does both jobs equally as well but quite simply, the nano is much better imho for music than a PPC and the flip side of this is I haven't even bothered syching my nano with my calendar and contacts - that is the PPC arena.

There was a time when I use to carry 3 seperate devices...
A Pocket PPC
A cell phone
and my 10 gig iRiver audio player

Man.. just thinking about that make me cringe. I had crap hanging all over me. It actually was more of a hassel to be mobile with all my portable stuff than what it was worth to carry it all.

For me... Yes the ipod MAY offer some advantages.. (Like Storage), but that's it.. Personally I am done carrying multiple devices. Scince I got my PPC-6700 (HTC Apache ) I carry only 1 device now and use it for everything... Music, Video's, my PIM and PPC stuff and of course as a phone and portable browsing device.

Personally I don't care how small the iPod Nano is.. after my PPC-6700, it's just one more thing I have to worry about losing or breaking. Just not worth it for me.

[Janak Parekh]

Man.. just thinking about that make me cringe. I had crap hanging all over me. It actually was more of a hassel to be mobile with all my portable stuff than what it was worth to carry it all.
It is worth pointing out that the Nano is much much smaller than the iRiver you describe.

Scince I got my PPC-6700 (HTC Apache ) I carry only 1 device now and use it for everything... Music, Video's, my PIM and PPC stuff and of course as a phone and portable browsing device.
I used to do this with the original HTC Pocket PC Phone, and convergence is great, except for a few things:

1. The 2.5-3.5mm adapter was a pain. In fact, mine broke after a while. :(

2. The phone couldn't hold enough music, so I spent a lot of time swapping content in and out.

3. No remote control, and the phone wasn't good to pull out and change tracks while one was walking down the street.

4. Listening would impact the battery life of the device.

Nevertheless, it was a fun exercise in convergence, and there remains the advantage in the number of gadgets one carries. I do see the merit in having a nonconverged setup as well, though.

--janak

[Sven Johannsen]

A couple is at a party. She is showing off the diamond ring he gave her for her birthday to all the ladies who are oohing and aahhing. One of the guy's friends pulls him aside and say's, 'Hey, I thought your wife was wanting an SUV for her birthday?". He says, "Yea, but where was I going to find a fake Jeep."

[Nurhisham Hussein]

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Ahem...

:nonono:

[Jeff Rutledge]

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Ahem...

:nonono:

Hey, who's the moderator here?!?!?

I mean...what hishamh said...

:mrgreen:

[dhpss]

My PocketPC can be a iPod Nano and more (Nano Video, wait does it exist?)
iPod Nano can't not be my PocketPC...At the same price...

http://www.sbsh.net/forums/uploads/post-238-1133121720.jpg

Do you want to know what my PocketPC can do? Download this little video, you will see.
http://s13.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3LNPT5RHW3TRM3GQAW2HRWTARI
:D

[Patrick Y.]

Show off!! :mrgreen: :devilboy:

Maybe I should post some screenshots of my screens too.. :D

[Sven Johannsen]

:nonono:

What's not on topic? We have guys, we have girls, we have gifts, we have not listening to what she asked for, and if looneytoone got her a diamond, I bet she'd forget about the nano too :lol:

[Nurhisham Hussein]

:werenotworthy:

I must bow to your superior wisdom, such logic can only come from one with deep understanding and compassion for the human condition.

:lol:

[Sven Johannsen]

:werenotworthy:

I must bow to your superior wisdom, such logic can only come from one with deep understanding and compassion for the human condition.

:lol:

Go in peace, my son. :hippy:

[Patrick Y.]

:werenotworthy:

I must bow to your superior wisdom, such logic can only come from one with deep understanding and compassion for the human condition.

:lol:

:nonono: :lol: :mrgreen:

[IpaqMan2]

:nonono: :lol: :mrgreen:[/quote]

Don't u guys love the message boards being policed?


:snipersmile: :alfdance:

[aroma]

My PocketPC can be a iPod Nano and more

Uh, not quite. It may TRY to be a Nano, but can't. Not in east of use, not in ease of syncrination of music libraries, not in integration with a great music store, and NOT EVEN CLOSE in size. There's too much manual work and tweaking involved to get a PPC to attempt to be a good music play, which all come naturally to an iPod.

Can a Nano be an PPC, nope, but neither can a PPC be a Nano.

----

looneytoone:

Comming from someone who has owned a number of flavors of PPC, including currently an Axim x50v, go with the iPod. I have a number of PPCs laying around, collecting dust, and I still went out earlier this year and bought an iPod for my music needs. If your wife wants a PDA, that's what she would have asked for. If she wants an iPod, and you get her a PPC, I have a feeling she will be seriously disappointed.

[IpaqMan2]

There's too much manual work and tweaking involved to get a PPC to attempt to be a good music play, which all come naturally to an iPod.

I disagree with your statement.
What is the iPod, Nano or other wise? It a music player... That's it. And a pocket PC can be that too. In fact a Pocket PC can be one of the best music players, video player, and more to have ever been built... all it would take is a few creative developers with vision to write programs that can make the PPC as easy to use as any iPod to play music and sync it. Unfortunitly no developer has stepped to the plate to do so. I can only guess the PPC development community sees the PPC as a tool and designs programs accordingly, not as a toy. Where as the iPod.. well toy or not.. that's all it will ever be.

Of course the iPod has set new standards for portable music players
and of course offers much better storage than a PPC, but really thats about it.

[Janak Parekh]

I disagree with your statement.
What is the iPod, Nano or other wise? It a music player... That's it. And a pocket PC can be that too. In fact a Pocket PC can be one of the best music players, video player, and more to have ever been built... all it would take is a few creative developers with vision to write programs that can make the PPC as easy to use as any iPod to play music and sync it.
You're basically saying the same thing, actually. ;) It's all about the software integration. Alas, it is deceptively hard to make it simple. In fact, iTunes wasn't built from scratch by Apple -- they bought out a company to build iTunes 1.0 years ago and has been slowly evolving the program ever since. It also helps tremendously that Apple is developing a closed platform with their own hardware and software -- making it open and licensable adds hugely to the amount of work.

Microsoft needs to keep on beating on their Windows Media solution. WM10 is a step forward, and subscriptions (Janus DRM) are extremely cool, but it's a far cry from the ease of iTunes. I just got a WM5 device, and was ready to curse at WM10 and throw it out the window, except for the fact that I'm a stubborn Computer Scientist that doesn't like to admit failure. ;) I've gotten it to mostly work, but I'm still having problems with the Janus DRM.

--janak

[CTSLICK]

...It's all about the software integration...

Bingo...I tried very hard to have my Pocket PC be my "iPod". I fiddle and fussed to get a reasonable degree of success...then I tried an Ipod. Easy. Sold. (and also a gateway drug for buying a Mac ;) )

One practical consideration for me...my air travel tends to average about 4 hours per trip. I would use my PDA for everything on the flight. Thus I would arrive at my destination with a dead PDA...which sucks when you need a phone number. Now I arrive with an iPod with a bit of battery left and a PSP thats just going dead but my PDA and laptop are fresh and ready to rock. More stuff to carry for sure but it is, for me, a more practical solution.

[BigDaddy]

I am deeply confused about what seems to be the problem with getting you music onto your iPAQ... Here is the breakdown for those of you who these "lets make things seem like it takes an act of God" people are scaring to death about iPAQ vs. ipod...

1. Get some music (use Windows Media Player to burn a whole CD or Song, Download it from some service, whatever....)
2. Place the iPAQ in the Sync Cradle.
3. Drag and Drop, ctrl C~ctrl V, or whatever you do the files (MP3/WMA) onto your CF/SDIO or if you want a few songs you can place it in My Docs.
4. Enjoy.....What is the problem?

Also, here are some of the other goodies you can do with your iPAQ and not your ipod.

*Access the Terabytes of music and video you have on your Wireless Network.
*Download steaming video and audio using media player while you are at a hotspot or with your bluetooth phone....

[Ed Hansberry]

4. Enjoy.....What is the problem?

For starters - http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/index.php?action=expand,44838

[PetiteFlower]

It's not GETTING the music onto the PDA that's the problem. I have an SD card reader so it's even easier. The problem is many levels.

1. Storage. A 5gb Iriver cost me about $200. 5gb of flash memory cards would cost me a lot more then that.

2. FM tuner. Haven't seen one for PPC. Iriver has it.

3. Battery life. I have yet to see the battery meter on my player even go down one notch. I'm currently trying to see how many days it will take me to get the meter to drop at all. 2 days so far, and no drop. My X50v's battery is pretty good, but it's not fantastic, it goes down to 75% after reading ebooks at half backlight for an hour and a half or so over the course of the day.

4. Access to music. This is the most important. Turn on, press play. Switching from radio to stored music takes a few presses, but I can do it with one hand while walking and with gloves on. I turn it off, it saves my place. It's just not that easy on a PPC. To listen to music while I read ebooks on my commute, I'd have to start up programs, fumble with task switchers, mess around with getting the headphones plugged in (while they can just stay plugged into the iriver all the time), and suffer with decreased performance.

[BigDaddy]

Lord....sometimes I think that people just try to make issues of nothing here on the forms...lets see..

1. buy a nice 6gb microdrive on ebay for around 170.00. remember this is a "POCKET PC" not a "POCKET JUKEBOX" meaning it is ok to use the media slots for more than just media cards to hold you music...try adding some documents to use with pocket word/excel, some photos and video taken with your SD Camera, and some FULL MOTION MOVIES. You can also actually install "More" programs on it. I still you still do not see that the media player and the whole pocket pc concept is for more than listening to music. Any regular media player can not play pretty much any video format back, and stream live audio and video.

2. Come on now you are telling on yourself, showing how anti-pocket pc you are, you did not even do you home work.... http://h30143.www3.hp.com/images/options/F8V3080-HP.jpg
Oh also, can your media player become a GPS unit...hmmmmmmm

3. ummmmm lets see, my hx2755 with a bluetooth EDGE connection, WiFi, and 6GB Microdrive will push for about 3.5 hours....but wait...this is why they made "Car" adapters and sync station which pretty much keeps me going strong...then, I have a extended battery which will push that 3.5 to 5.5...add them up, and I can pretty much get from LAX to London without looking for a plug....

4. 14 seconds from pressing power, going through finger print unlock, hitting start, then media player, menu, library, CF Card, play....

oh and remember, the PPC gives you all the goodies and power of a PC in YOUR POCKET....

~BD

[PetiteFlower]

Who's anti-pocket pc? I love my PPC, I use it for many things, every day, I don't leave the house without it. I'm just happier not using it as my music player.

[gdimoff]

its a Pocket PC not a pocket player so just get a Ipod shuffle ;)

thats the deal
btw there was some recent ipod software updates so be sure to refresh your ipods software ...
:D :)

[shindullin]

HA!!!
I thought I'd never see the day when someone would seriously claim that EdH was anti pocket PC.
If that's true we should change the name of this site to BAD PocketPCThoughts because hell has just frozen over. You don't have to be anti-PPC to think that a dedicated device is better than an integrated one. Just look at the ongoing discussion over whether it's better to have a PPC plus phone or two separate devices. None of the two device people were ever thought to be "anti" ppc. I personally use mine for music as well. But that doesn't make me love my PPC more than EdH., or PetiteFlower for that matter. I'm not sure if it's even possible to love PPC's more than they do. Is it?

[shindullin]

BTW.
It's really about USAGE. If you listen to a LOT of music, dedicated players make sense. If you use your cell phone a LOT, a separate cell phone makes sense. If your usage is more moderate just using one device makes more sense. Other than PIM functions (and from what I read on the internet GPS), a PPC is really a Leatherman. For example, my x51v has Wifi so I can use it to surf the web on my sofa. But if I wanted to write a long reply to an email I would get out my laptop. If wanted to listen to a few CD's I have room on my 512mb SD card. I also have a few short home videos of my kids. If I wanted to have a video viewer though I'd still probably buy an Archos. And if I listened to hundreds of gigs worth of music, I'd probably want something that made it easier to organize all those files and I'd probabaly be enough of an audiophile to think that it was worth paying the extra money to have a tiny bit better fidelity. Me, I use the PDA to make my work life easier. (really just need a pocket knife), but that fact that I can do some many other little things with the machine just makes me like PPC's better (and serves to occupy my time and engage my mind). If you really want a fork, and your going to use the fork a lot, why buy a leatherman even if it has a perfectly usable fork with fork attachments and extensions that make it even easier to use, as usable as a real fork! Just get the fork. Just get your wife an Ipod.

[Ed Hansberry]

But that doesn't make me love my PPC more than EdH., or PetiteFlower for that matter. I'm not sure if it's even possible to love PPC's more than they do. Is it?
I've heard rumors it is possible, but I don't give them any credibility. :lol:

[Phillip Dyson]

What would really be nice is to have software that will create an ID3 database on the PPC and use it for browsing. Then I don't have to worry so much about creating playlists.

[Janak Parekh]

What would really be nice is to have software that will create an ID3 database on the PPC and use it for browsing. Then I don't have to worry so much about creating playlists.
What do you mean? If you use WMP10, you can browse by Artist/Album/Genre/etc. just like a dedicated music player.

--janak

[Phillip Dyson]

What would really be nice is to have software that will create an ID3 database on the PPC and use it for browsing. Then I don't have to worry so much about creating playlists.
What do you mean? If you use WMP10, you can browse by Artist/Album/Genre/etc. just like a dedicated music player.

--janak

But don't you have to actually sync playlists from the desktop?

If I just copy music to my device through file manager can I still browse this way?

Can't test right now, my Eten is in the hands of my girlfriend and my smtp5600 doesn't have any music on it.

[Janak Parekh]

But don't you have to actually sync playlists from the desktop?
Well, let's be precise: WMP10 does not let you create and store multiple playlists directly from the Pocket PC. It does let you create a "Now Playing" playlist that gets deleted when you quit WMP10, and it does let you sync playlists from the PC. Finally, you can browse the music in a "Library" fashion and you can either "Play" songs (which replaces the Now Playing playlist with the item(s) you just navigated through) or "Enqueue" songs onto the end of the Now Playing playlist.

If I just copy music to my device through file manager can I still browse this way?
I believe so (into the \Music folder), but I've only tested Janus DRM at the moment, which is synced through AS.

--janak

[rhmorrison]

My wife is totally buying into the Ipod marketing machine and wants an Ipod for Christmas.
I have a simular situation. My wife and I both have hp Jornada 56x devices (she has the 565, I have the 568). She has had a 2 GB CF card for a long time now and I have a 4 GB CF since a year or so. I bought her the PPC because she:
Wanted something to play games while waiting in the doctor's office, hair salon, and etcetera. Wanted to be able to take around pictures of the last trips that she has made with her. Wanted to be able to listen to music (MP3)
What she uses it for is basically an MP3 player when she is on her long trips (which she is frequently) for in her hotel room together with a nice portable speaker system.

But then a couple of years ago she wanted a portable MP3 player (USB stick) that she can wear when walking the beach, sun bathing, and etcetera. We went through a number of these with increasing storage capacity but recently she mentioned several problems/wishes:
Rechargable batteries Readable display "Easy to use!"So what to buy?

There are a number of MP3 stick devices that have rechargable batteries (e.g. Phillips and Sony) and the display is crisp and clear (but way TOO SMALL) and the ease of use... Well, it's like most other USB stick players, O.K. but controls are small, difficult to select a desired song, ...

After looking around we felt that the only thing that would meet her requirements is the iPod nano. It is a good deal wider but the volume and weight is the same or less. It has more storage than other flash devices, a very readable color display, and a proven "Easy to Use" interface.

So what's the answer for your wife?

For my wife, who already has and uses a PPC as a music device, the PPC is just too big and too heavy for her to want to use it as a music on the go device. For that a USB stick or iPod nano is the only way to go.

I of course had to buy a nice leather Vaja case (http://www.vajacases.com) to go with her ipod. I also have one for my hp Jornada 568, they are not cheap but they are definately worth the money (of course being one of the lucky winners of a Vaja $50 gift certificate here on PocketPCThoughts made this a real 'no brainer')!

For your wife, the question is "What iPod is she looking at?".

One of the 'normal' iPods with 20, 30, or 60 GB hard disk has a size and weight that is comparable to a PPC (of course with more storage). In this case I would try to convince her to use the PPC since it can do everything. I think there is also software that provides an iPod like interface.

If on the other hand she is looking at the iPod mini or iPod nano then I see no other way to make her happy other than to buy it for her! And the iPod nano definately has the Apple COOL factor!!

I just received the Vaja case yesterday unfortunately here in Germany it is impossible to get a 4 GB White iPod nano. Even the Apple web site shows a minimum 2 week delivery time so I guess my wife won't get her new MP3 player until sometime in January when more iPod nano 4 GB players are available.

[whydidnt]

The reality is is all she want's do is listen to music, then get the dedicated Music device. There is no sense in adding bulk and complexity just because another device has more functions if they aren't going to be used.
Years ago I set my wife up with a Samsung i300 POS phone, showing her how she could add contacts, appointments, play games etc. She used it exclusively as a phone for almost a year - not even adding speed dial numbers. Eventually we got her a dedicated flip phone and she's happy as can be that it's smaller and fits in her purse better.

She just wanted a phone and even though the Palm offered a lot more functionality at the time, it was wasted because she had no interest in using the functionality. Same holds true here. If she wants to listen to MP3's then that's the way to go, no sense trying to force a round peg into a square hole.