Help Me Buy An iPOD

[Brad Adrian]

My 15-year-old daughter says she wants an iPOD for Christmas and I need some help since my experience is limited to "regular" MP3 players and since I don't really think she wants to experiment with a Zune.

She wants:

Video capability
At least 15GB storage
Easy playlist management

What things do I need to be aware of?
We have TONS of MP3s already on a computer, but are we going to have trouble getting them onto an iPOD?
What stores seems to have the best prices?

Any advice is welcome. Thanks!

[Mark Kenepp]

Well, it looks like your only option is the iPod (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=E2DBC1A0&nclm=iPod) :wink:

Either the 30 gig or the 80 gig.

I may be wrong but I am pretty sure that the iPod can only sync with iTunes (http://www.apple.com/itunes/overview/) which I believe you will have to download. I recall reading a review in MacWorld that Apple no longer ships iTunes on a CD with their iPods.

Getting your MP3's into iTunes should not be a problem. I have never used iTunes on the PC but on my iMac, I imported MP3's into my library. If I recall, it created copies of the files so that is something that you will need to look out for. I think there is a way to set it up so that copies are not created but I am sure that you can experiment with it to figure that out.

I am pretty sure that if iTunes can play it, then the iPod can play it. iTunes can play a number of formats, including Apples proprietary (AAC). I set it to default to 196k MP3 so that I can still load the tunes on my Windows Mobile devices should I have the desire.

Sorry, but I do not have any experience with video on the iPod.

I guess a good question to ask is, does your daughter specifically want an iPod or is she just using the term iPod as a generic term for a portable media player?

I know, if she is 15 and your daughter, then I should probably assume that you trained her well and she understands the difference between an iPod and a media player :roll: Anyway, I am assuming that if she called your Pocket PC a Palm, you would have sent her off to boarding school :D

Have you brought up this inquiry over at DMT (http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/)? Or, do they not recognize your Sultan of Swagness :lol:

Regarding where to buy, I personally prefer to purchase direct from Apple and from what I have heard, there is such a small margin for markups that it is difficult to find a better deal through a third party reseller though one can find last years model at discounted prices at some of the larger Apple resellers.

[JesterMania]

Getting your MP3's into iTunes should not be a problem. I have never used iTunes on the PC but on my iMac, I imported MP3's into my library. If I recall, it created copies of the files so that is something that you will need to look out for. I think there is a way to set it up so that copies are not created but I am sure that you can experiment with it to figure that out.


I believe when you install iTunes for Windows, it will ask if you want to consolidate your MP3 files into its own iTunes folder (not needed). Also, if you go to Edit->Preferences->Advanced->General, you can uncheck the options "Copy files to iTunes Music folder...." to prevent it from making a double-copy.

As far as playlist management goes, I don't have an iPod but have played with one in the past and I believe you can export playlists you create in iTunes directly on the iPod. I should mention that iTunes has an extremely flexible and easy playlist management/creation system, one of the best I've ever seen.

[Mark Kenepp]

As far as playlist management goes, I don't have an iPod but have played with one in the past and I believe you can export playlists you create in iTunes directly on the iPod.

Right, the iPod will reflect iTunes as far as playlists goes and pretty much as far as your entire music library is concerned (unless of course, you set it up for manual syncing). I don't think that you can create playlists on the iPod but it might be possible on the newer models.

[Brad Adrian]

...I am assuming that if she called your Pocket PC a Palm, you would have sent her off to boarding school...
You've got that right! I don't think any of my kids has made the "P-mistake" for many years!

Thanks for the help.

[jezebelus]

Ipod is a very good solution but also you can check out creative players some people say they are even better.