Bash me all you want
 

I am about to say something that some of you who have already expressed your dislike over one of my personal faves will take as a chance to flame me into submission.

Fortunately for me, I'm wrapped in a brand new 15 layer Nomex Suit of Truth, so it won't work ;-)

As of today, there is one really good choice for folks that want a video player with 4 or 8 GB of memory that don't want to play a round of "is it hacked". They offer a great firmware that will be regularly updated, a battery that will last longer than one episode of Big Brother, the actual amount of memory advertised, an, oh, yeah, a warranty if anything goes wrong. ;-)

Let the bashing of me and this choice begin, but for folks that don't want the risks sometimes associated with these little wonders of ours, the new video iPod Nano is not that bad a deal at $149US. Heck, I'll be adding one to my collection and look forward to running it and my mp4 player side by side.

I know this isn't the right choice for everyone here, but for those folks we see daily who come here and are asking questions that show they are uncomfortable with the off brands, there is now a choice other than "get a meizu". For the rest of us, back to finding ever more obscure players from the darkest reaches of China!

I like the looks of the new iPod Touch screen players -- they look like the iPhone, minus the 'phone' function-- but I won't be getting one. I've had iPods and liked them, but once I went over to the Dark Side of Computing (Linux) I no longer deal with anything Apple since iTunes doesn't work with Linux, and I've decided that I like my music DRM-free.

The new Nano is cute too and the price is not bad, considering it now has video, but still no built-in FM receiver. Maybe fewer people than ever are listening to the radio.

Enjoy ALL your players! :)

NOLA MPx Fan - I'm not going to bash you at all. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, and yours is very legit. I agree that the price drop (finally) of the new iPod video sounds great, and Apple has been known to produce quality products from what I've used of my friend's iPods. I just wish that they would add extra features like FM radio and a microphone without having to buy extra (expensive) accessories. What is their reasoning behind this?

Re: Bash me all you want
 

This just shows how slow Apple is.

We already have nano-sized MP4 players with video and FM radio, and only now is Apple adding video to its product. Add FM tuner module only cost RMB $0.10 in large quantities.

Also note, Apple 2nd generation Nano firmware is encrypted and still not able to modified. Apple want large profit.

Those new Nanos are butt ugly. Now, if they'd added video to the old Nano look, I might be more impressed.

Wow.. the new video nano looks pretty.. weird.. But i guess it's all a matter of getting used to it. As the old rectangular nano is like a typical "nano trademark" now.

From my perspective, Apple is moving away from the old Gen 1 shaped nanos. Likely this would be due to the influx of clones. So they are just re-inventing themselves and adding the video capability, so that potential clone buyers have 1 lesser reason to buy the clones. They could add an FM chip, but it would not be as attractive as video anyway.

At US$149/AUD$199 for 4GB, still seems pretty expensive.

princessanne1026 , it's all about the money. Apple wants you to purchase their expensive add-ons. Why add in a 10cent chip for free and sell for the same price, when you can manufacture a $1 cost-priced FM add-on, and sell it for $40. It's all about profits in business. This Apple is damn well good at.

Good choice, if you want very limited codec support, firmware updates that add nothing substantial, and being locked into proprietary formats and interfaces at every turn.

Patience. Remember, they've got to deliberately keep some features off to have stuff to add for the next upgrade as well... :twisted:

As long as the hordes of iPod zombies are going to buy this one no matter what, making too good a product would just be bad business for them. Same reason they're not introducing a 16GB Nano at present, I believe.

Very nice the new Apple iPod, but it is also made in the darkest reaches of China!

Agreed.

NOLA MPx Fan,

Like what princessanne1026 said, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I think that is one of the reasons why this site as good as it is. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I don't see anyone here bashing each other over it (99% of the time, there will be that odd, 1-2 posts here and there).

To be honest, I've never owned an iPod and have only used it ONCE. The thing I like about the MP4 players is that it doesn't try to be 'your best friend' by trying to do everything for you or trying too hard to make it idiot proof. I like how with the MP4 players, you plug it, computer detects it as a removable drive and away you go, copy the music, videos, pictures etc onto it, unplug it and you're done. Compare this with iTunes. I've heard that the only way to get music onto the iPods is by iTunes....? Also heard from other iPod users that iTunes also puts the music randomly in your iPod....? I work in the IT Support field and I've seen many times when disk space fills up on a server because a user plugged in their iPod, their 30 gigs of music gets synched up to the server as part of My Documents and there goes the disk space. Times that with 3-4 users and you've got a server fulled up with iPod music!

I do like the MP4 players because they are cheaper than the iPods and have more features.

But yeh, Apple must be doing something quite right to have sold so many iPods. I wonder how many MP4/iPod clones are sold in comparison?

Huh? I didn't know mp3 was an Apple proprietary format ;-)

Instead, there are firmware updates that everyone here warns will "brick" your player. There are projects out there to modify the iPod. But really, why change it?

As for FM tuners, both mine stink. And I think the logic goes something along the lines of "they are carrying xxGB of personally chosen music, why would they want to listen to static ridden radio?"

The ipod plays mp3's because it has to, but the real purpose of the ipod is to lock users into iTunes and it's DRM scheme, and not all FM radios are crap and full of static, the one on my mp4 player and most of the other players I own is very good.

http://erantech.en.ec21.com/product_detail.jsp?group_id=GC01561699&product_id= CA01821402

Now with a video camera and SD card slot. Is Apple ever going to catch up?

Here in China, MP4 players much larger selling than real iPod. In other country, Apple advertising is what the consumer appeal to, and term "MP4" not well known. But here is exact opposite. Also Macintosh computer sell less (we have PC laptops the look like Macbook)

The question is not about whether Apple is ever going to catch up with clones. But whether Apple wants to catch up or not.

Besides the limitations of using itunes and locking users with DRM, the ipod i could frankly say is very much better than typical clones in terms of build quality and reliability. Needless to say the 12 month warranty.

If i had the choice of choosing between being free from the limitations mentioned above, and having good build quality and reliability. My answer would definitely be to chose the good build quality and reliability.

Most of the forum regulars in here have gone from AMV players to Rockchip or Telechip players, i'm one of them too. The reason is basically Rockchip or Telechip is able to provide more reliability than typical AMV players.

Frankly speaking, Apple does not need to "catch up" with the clones. Apple is the creator of nanos, the clones are simply lower-quality copies.

Besides, Apple had already developed the iPhone for sale since like last year. It has a camera, touch screen, wifi, bluetooth, GSM, etc. Everything that any PMP could possibly have. I've not yet seen any clones with these features. The closest is the Teclast T59, but it is still in a conceptual stage.

CECT P168. Released several weeks before real iPhone, and currently sell very popular in China.

Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_8wuVEYMZ8

lolita , this discussion is pointless. You have your views and i have mine.

Everyone in the world knows that the nano clones are copied ipod nanos. Fact.

Everyone in the world knows that CECT P168 is again a copied iphone. Fact. Just google for CECT P168 if you haven't done that.

The reason why people buy clones is not because they are "more advanced" than apple's range, but simply because it is cheap, and it does the job. That's all.

There will still be people whom are apple fans, and there will still be people whom are mpx fans. For sure, i'm no apple fan nor mpx fan. But whichever offers the better value-for-money factor would definitely earn my dollar.

Excellent point.
My kids each had one 'til they broke them.
In my very limited experience with itunes, I found it to be, very simply, bloatware.
Add to that, the restrictions of how many times you can copy (?), and to what device, only being able to play on another Apple device, and, guessing here : Popup ads, and intrusive personal data collection or spyware, I'd have to pass.
I made them use itunes on their mother's 'puter.
I would never put that junk on my box.
The only thing I ever liked about Apple was the hardware. Touch wheels are still cool.

The ipods are definetly nice...but
the simple fact that I cannot easily take my Ipod to a friends comp, plug it in and share is a total dealbreaker for me.
Some people show up to a party with chips and dip or a bottle of wine, I like to give my freinds good music that I think they will like.

Re: Bash me all you want
 

Personally I find the Cowon D2 far greater value for money and more versitile with ......
2,4 & 8 onboard memory, Unlimited expandability with SDHC memory cards up to 8GB in size.
2.5 inch, 16 million colour, 24bit touch control LCD.
52 hours audio\10 hours video on a single charge.
WMA, MP3, Ogg, Flac, Wav audio.
WMV, AVI video.
Fully customizable Audio\Video Audio, EQ and Enhancements plus presets.
Flash Player for Games and Apps.
Text Reader.
Picture viewer with dragable zoom.
Notepad\Paint Utility
TV-Out, Line-in, Mic, Fm Radio Record. You can set it to start recording FM at any given time\daily\weekly.
Alarm clock function Radio\Music.
Hold\Lock mode programmable buttons for blind use in pocket or bag.
No Proprietry software needed.
MTP or MSC connection.
And its fully skinable so you can even give it an iPod Touch facelift if you feel the need.
My 4GB only cost me $160 USD.

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/4681/cimg2672jh8.jpg

Probably it was so in the beginning...
"Everyone in the world knows that the nano clones WAS copied ipod nanos. Fact."

But the "clones" have overpassed the expectancies created by Apple iPod. Cheap machines are delivering extra functionalities in a level of quality that is constantly growing. It's just a matter of time to reach the levels of quality that iPod still have... without their restrictive habits.

On the other hand, to say "more advanced" is not so wrong as you think, I invite you to take a look to brands like Ainol, Archos, Oppo to mention some. You just take a look to Archos AV700 and you'll see that the highest product of Apple get pale with this marvel. Anyway is not a bargain... it cost twice than an Apple iPod, but technologically is lots of steps ahead.

Concerning this overrated "phenomenon" which is iPhone... gosh!!... by the way cell phones and PDAs where developing... the guys of Apple just give a small step and take advantage of their name to create this product. In this aspect Apple have not invented anything... they just put the logo to something that sooner or later would appear.

Again... it's just a matter of time... as Apple knows themselves... reducing their prices by US$ 200.- making thousands of fans wear the hat of a donkey.

i fucking agree, the ipod is simply the best player around. it's the only one that allows you to actually play your music without clicking several times on the center button just to change folders. the firmware is impecable, so there's absolutely no need to mod it. battery life, jack power, excellent components. fuck the radio, in this country it is impossible to listen to something decent on it anyway.

also, the fucking cowon d2 is a really good player. reminds me of the lg touchme, yet a little cheaper.

Si te gusta tanto el IPod...
Que diantres haces en este sitio?

Este es un sitio para los que nos gusta la libertad y no la dependencia de los gringos y sus productos

Lo siento... ademas eres groserísimo buey

Re: Bash me all you want
 

I spent about four hours of my weekend playing with the iPhone. My boyfriend bought an iPhone the day after the price went down by $200 US. The iPhone is a cool device and it does a lot of things, but at a very steep price, even after the $200 price drop.

I watched the entire movie "Cars" and two documentary films, and was delighted by the clarity, color and crispness of the images. The phone itself sounds fantastic; the cell transmissions are clear and bright, not at all "tinny" and hollow like the sound through most cell phones.

However, the headphone jack is slightly recessed, so it will not work with just any set of headphones. My boyfriend has a great set of Bose headphones, but he couldn't get them to plug into the recessed port of the iPhone. He actually had to strip about .5 cm of insulation off the base of the plug before it would fit into the headphone jack. What kind of crap is that?? Apple wants even more money for proprietary accessories, that's what!

The touch-type keypad is very annoying and hard to get used to. Once you're out of WiFi range, the "Edge" function kicks in-- that's AT&T's Internet service, presumably piggybacked onto their cellphone towers-- and it is painfully slow.

iPhone has built-in PDA functions, but contains nothing that really stands out from any other PDA with an address book, calculator, and so on. It has a weather-widget and one-button access to YouTube-- I could think of about a hundred other things that'd be more useful than a dedicated YouTube button, but then I don't work for Apple. There is still no built-in FM radio, and no voice recorder/voice playback. I don't know about others, but I actually use both those features on my player.

The iPhone is certainly a cool gadget and has lots of cache with the public, yet when the day's done, it's still an Apple product, and thus its owners are locked into iTunes DRM for content and AT&T for phone service.

Still looking around for the ultimate MP3/4 player that works with Linux!!

sáaaaaacate a la verga.
la razón por la que entro es porque tengo un aparatejo de estos mpx que es el que me llevo a la calle. el ipod está demasiado bonito como para cargarlo en un país de pobres diablos como el mío y se queda en casa guardando mi colección de música.
además, no habría llegado a este sitio de no ser porque estos aparatos dejan muchísimo que desear y buscaba la manera de mejorar la interfaz o los colores o cualquier cosa que me hiciera más llevadero traer mi chipod por ahí.
te reitero, sácate a la verga, sí soy un pinche güey bien grosero.

Re: Bash me all you want
 

Thanks Buzzygirl for your objective and precise review... is the kind I like to read.
You don't seems to be hypnotized by the marvel which iPhone is... :lol:

Not so crude at all... I would say that this is keep your iPod for the better moments is a bit pathetic... but you know better than me why you take all this care with your beloved iPod.

And... which one sounds better pinche güey?... but answer me sincerely... just imagine that I am a USA citizen :roll:

Re: Bash me all you want
 

It is personal choice and there are pros and cons.

Apple Ipods are more reliable and have better build quality, and a nicer user interface theme. They also allow you to organise and access large numbers of MP3 music files much more easilty.

I personally like some of the features on the Chinese "clones" - for instance the ability to adjust the tempo of a song without altering the pitch. This is v useful if you're trying to learn to play a song on an instrument. Also A-B playback/repeat is good for this.

I personally like the Glacier and similar style players rather than "nano" style, especially those with replacable rechargable batteries.

Apart from the problems with reliability & the frustrations of finding firmware if the players "die", I think the Chinese players are better overall. If there was a better way of organising and accessing music and playlists etc, and getting a valid firmware file just in case, then I think there'd be a lot more happy MP4 owners around!

Re: Bash me all you want
 

scatwell

I agree 100% with your description of iPod qualities.

Concerning to organization functionalities, similar to iPod excellent managing of ID3 tag (which are the key for its capabilities) some Chinese manufacturers are reaching such target. I own a Meizu which is advancing in that address, not completely fulfilled yet but soon will be, anyway Meizu sound is awesome... better than others devices. IMHO better than my cousin's iPod (but this is personal).
This COWON shown by tadad1 and a iRiver X20, device other cousin has, manage organization of files pretty well, but prices are of other range, not as expensive as iPod, but more costly than a chiPod.

You enjoy that capabilities of your chiPod... I do enjoy also the possibility to change it appearance which can easily be done in my Meizu and my rockchip Teclast... I had an Action (now defunct) which brings me that joy when I started visiting this site.

Modding would be unbelievable in an Apple device.

the ipod has a much better sound and it plays a lot louder without distortion. i've taken into account what scatwell was saying about tempo, and yeah, my player doesn't look so shitty anymore. still, it's not comfortable enough.

Re: Bash me all you want
 

You said that your iPod have much better sound than your chiPod... your perception must have be objective as you have both devices and you have tried them which is the proper way to judge.

I hope your are no influenced by its cost or the love you feel for the device, which can be due to its awesome organization of music into the device or the excellent access to the files, but not precisely by its sound.

im saving to get the new nano im only £20 away! i just want 2 know has any1 who has one had any problems.

Re: Bash me all you want
 

geostar...

do you now the size of screen and its resolution / number of colours?

Re: Bash me all you want
 

Specs for the "new" Nano are 320 x 240 pixels and 2" diagonal screen.

I tried out the new Nano yesterday. My boyfriend bought one of the new Nanos at the same time he bought an iPhone (what can I say-- he is an Apple-holic, big time). I tested out the new Nano a bit. The screen is small, but it's a small player, so it's proportional. The player looks a lot thicker and larger on Apple's website than it actually is. I was suprised when I held the new Nano -- it's quite thin, and very light. The new "widescreen" aspect allows for satisfactory-- although, in my opinion, not excellent -- video playback.

I didn't get a chance to test out any other of its functions outside of video, but I assume they're probably not very different from the most recent iteration of the Nano.

Re: Bash me all you want
 

You have the same informations as me... I have my doubt concerning the number of colours, for any reason I haven't been able to find such information... Apple is giving some info about pixels per inch (204 / inch) which deals with definition. But there is no info about a value which is very important when it comes to judge a screen.

If it's in the range of 260k / 290k then is an average chIpod screen but smaller... if it is 65k... gosh!! horrible... above 1200k as in the most advanced Chinese devices it would be awesome and worth its price.

I bet it's 260k colours!

Re: Bash me all you want
 

I own a 30gb video iPod as well as now my 2gb nano clone. before I got the 2gb I was using a 512mb stick type mp3 player.

I've been considering selling the iPod for some time, since they're just so damn expensive for the feature list compared to the generic devices.

What I like about the iPod,

it has much better battery life although it's also bigger so has a bigger battery so that's to be expected.

it as a prettier, slightly easier to use interface, tho still not how i'd like it.

the large, bright screen would be good for video playback, if i bothered to use it.

I like that I can autosync podcasts on to it, and I like the application iFill which records internet radio and syncs it on.

What I don't like

It's damn big, even being the slimmer version, you can fit it in your pocket, but you can't really get anything else in your pocket with it.

I don't need 30gb - maybe eventually I will, and if I let itunes find everything I had then my entire music collection would probably be about 20gb but I don't need my entire music collection, 3/4 of it I pretty much never listen to. I just like it for very, very occasionally.

You still have to convert video to apple's damn proprietary format, it takes ages, the files are much bigger than they would've been if they'd just been left in dvix/xvid and then they look pants if you want to hook the ipod up to the tv anyway.

I don't really use video anyway, I bought the clone because I wanted the screen real estate, hoping on an easier to use/see interface. I only ever really watch a video once, and most of the time i want that to be on a decent size screen, without have to wait hours for it to convert. it's nice to have things like episodes of family guy on there for if you're really bored, cartoons scale well, but I still get sick of watching the same thing over and over. I guess if I knew I could definitely get a new, crisp, clean episode of the colbert report delivered to my ipod everyday for a not insane charge (how about free? if it's synching i'm not gonna mess around to take out the ads) then that might be something.

I also don't like the interface very much, the click wheel is ok I know a lot of people rave about it, but personally i'd go for something more intuative, like up, down, left, right, select

Also I want to be able to view my files in the folders I put them in. not just by ID3 I know I could sort all of my ID3 tags out, tho it would take an age, but even then, it doesn't work properly, If I want to listen to rock, then I want to select the rock folder, but in ID3 there are at least 20 sub categories of rock, I don't want ot have to mess up the ID3s just so they all go in the same place.

You also can only add songs to the on-the-go playlist one at a time.

It will play mp3 as well as crapple format, but mp3 is old and relatively poor quality for the space it takes up, still there is plenty of space so i can have mp3s coded at a decent rate, but support for ogg or wma would be nice.

there is no radio but the one on the clone is crap anyway, but it would do for if i wanted to listen to the news.

on the clone, the interface still isn't intuitive, why are left and right the buttons for up and down? and why is the menu button select, when play would make much more sense.

the interface is ugly as hell, will be better when i can skin it, but i think that will only change the menus, not the "now playing" screen.

there isn't much space, only 2gb but i can compress all my music into either vbr ogg or vbr wma which means room for lots more songs.

It was cheap, i'm not gonna shed many tears if it get's broken or stolen.

there are more but i can't think of them right now but you get the idea.

one interesting thing, i've noticed i could eliviate a lot of the problems i have with the iPod by installing rockbox, so i might well do that. pity there isn't a build for the actions chipset.

1st gen Nanos are the best iPod, they csn play videos (and doom) with a software hack.

EDIT

the new nanos IMO are not worth the price and I still think that a Meizu is still a better deal for your money with more freedom, but the new iPod Classic, I have to admit, is probably the best value for a hard drive player out right now.