ipod envy

[echernosky]

I finally spent some time learning about ipod and itunes.

We Pocket PC people really missed the boat.

Why isn't there a cool site like itunes for Pocket PC media? So simple! No encoding or converting... just click and sync!

Why are we so limited for space on these things? 1 or 2 gig SD cards don't cut it. I vaguely remember that Toshiba was developing the hopbit, a 5 (or 10) gig BlueTooth drive for Windows Mobile. Why is it so hard to put a drive in these devices?

I'm sure it's probably been discussed before, so forgive me if I'm being repetitive.... But I have suddenly come to the realization that the Zune is the death of media on the PPC.

[caubeck]

My thoughts entirely, on capacity too.

I have 6 or 7 small flash memory sticks in a drawer, with capacities ranging from 128mb to 2gb. They were cheap, some were even free gifts. The toenail-sized SD card in my camera takes 2gb.

Why can't PDAs get boosted up to ipod size? My ipaq sits in a drawer, powerless and empty, where it's sat since I realised my needs had outgrown it. I could buy a more powerful PDA but it's storage space I require, not speed.

[GSmith]

For purchased media, iTunes and iPod might be a good choice. But for podcasts both audio and video, I think the Pocket PC (and Windows Mobile Smartphone) are better (though I'm biased! See my signature below). FeederReader on a Windows Mobile device allows you to download podcasts and blogs and news directly to your device wherever you have an internet connection. No desktop required.

As far as I understand, Zune misses the boat both on downloading direct to the device and on podcasts.

2 Gig is plenty for podcasts because once you listen to or watch a podcast you can delete it to make room for more.

Greg Smith
Author, FeederReader - Windows Mobile news, blogs, audio, video, podcasts downloaded direct to your Smartphone or Pocket PC
www.FeederReader.com - Download on the Road

[Pdaholic]

I guess I tend to be selective about what I put on my sd card. 2 gigs is pleanty (at about 5-7 mb per song, you can fit alot on one!). Then I think about all the other things I can do with my PDA that I could never do on an iPod. In the end, I'll stick with my PDA. I could also care less about iTunes. I prefer to have my songs in the format of my choice.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Why are we so limited for space on these things? 1 or 2 gig SD cards don't cut it.

One of the reasons why I'm still sticking with my (getting long in the tooth) Loox 720 - I've got 2 8GB CF cards for that one.

[Cybrid]

I finally spent some time learning about ipod and itunes.

We Pocket PC people really missed the boat.

Why isn't there a cool site like itunes for Pocket PC media? So simple! No encoding or converting... just click and sync!

Why are we so limited for space on these things? 1 or 2 gig SD cards don't cut it. I vaguely remember that Toshiba was developing the hopbit, a 5 (or 10) gig BlueTooth drive for Windows Mobile. Why is it so hard to put a drive in these devices?

I'm sure it's probably been discussed before, so forgive me if I'm being repetitive.... But I have suddenly come to the realization that the Zune is the death of media on the PPC.Of course They can! But to ensure quality battery life They'll have to chop the screen to 1.5" possibly monochrome , cut off the WiFi, BT radios, replace the CPU with a much slower one. Now that You can't get onto the internet...you don't need a touch screen. You might as well skip PIM, email, etc too...With this leaner OS We could scale the CPU back even further.
There you go...it's ready to market.
http://www.apple.com/ipod/ipod.html
You can curse me later :D

Plus there is the issue of cost. You could buy a large memory card or....buy a lifedrive...:(

[Janak Parekh]

I'm sure it's probably been discussed before, so forgive me if I'm being repetitive.... But I have suddenly come to the realization that the Zune is the death of media on the PPC.
Yes, Microsoft is the cause. Their cavalier attitude towards Windows Media Player Mobile through the years effectively killed one potentially huge market segment. WMP10 is an absolute joke compared to the Zune and iPod offerings. You can't create playlists on the device; the sync experience is slow and buggy, especially when DRM music is used; WMP10 still doesn't support simple features like an equalizer; no wired or wireless remote control support; and so on. My iPAQ 3650's media capabilities were as good as, if not better than, my 700w's.

Now, there are replacement players that help offset some of these issues, but the out-of-the-box experience (which is what the average consumer experiences) is subpar. :? Then there's the fact that Windows Mobile OEMs never seemed interested in integrating larger quantities of flash memory or hard drive memory (well, at least until HP's most recent offerings), which would have, once again, made for a good out-of-box media experience. (Microsoft could have been influential in this regard as well, either by encouraging OEMs to do so or building prototypes that show the device's promise.)

Finally, Microsoft's decision to ditch PlaysForSure on the Zune... well, I've ranted about it on other forums, and I'm not going to repeat it here, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Pocket PC PlaysForSure support just dropped one day instead of it being fixed properly.

--janak

[Janak Parekh]

I guess I tend to be selective about what I put on my sd card. 2 gigs is pleanty (at about 5-7 mb per song, you can fit alot on one!). Then I think about all the other things I can do with my PDA that I could never do on an iPod. In the end, I'll stick with my PDA.
I did this for years, then finally gave up and bought an iPod nano to accompany my Pocket PC. The music experience is just so much simpler, faster, and more reliable on the nano. I don't like carrying two devices, per se, but at least it works better this way for me. More power to you if you get the PDA music experience to work for you. :)

I could also care less about iTunes. I prefer to have my songs in the format of my choice.
Well, just to be clear: the iPod does not require you to buy music from the iTunes Music Store; it will happily accept MP3 files, and iTunes supports one-click MP3 ripping out of the box. You don't even have to use iTunes to sync the music, although I think iTunes' music management is top-notch.

--janak

[SteveHoward999]

I did this for years, then finally gave up and bought an iPod nano to accompany my Pocket PC.


I actually had one of the first 10Gb iPods. I bought it before I ever had a PDA. I now have a 40 or 60 Gb (I really can't remember) photo iPod. It is a perfect music player. Crap photo viewer though, and I cannot picture (groan!) being happy watching videos on one of those little video iPod screens ...

Anyway. The iPod is great for music playing. I've never bought any music online. All the music I have on my iPod (close to 5000 songs) is ripped by me from my own CD collection. I do use iTunes, but only as a music manager. I'd prefer not to, but was left with little choice if I wanted an easy life managing my misuc ang getting it onto the iPod.

If I could fit all that music on my PDA I might at least **think** about doing so, but so long as the iPod keeps on being so great for the job, I doubt it's going to be made reduntant very soon.