[Teaser 1]

Could someone point out the differences between an MP3 player and an Ipod? Are there any advantages in one over the other? Also how can either best be integrated into the Wing's audio system? What adaptor or connection does it take to accomplish the complete install?

 

[uneasyrider]

The difference is the software. The iPod is unique to itself. It sinchronizes with 1 computer every time that you connect it all by itself. It changes your file types to something only usable by iPod. Song transfer can only be done from the computer to the iPod. And more.

You may like this fine if not you can buy one of many software programs that make an iPod operate just like any other MP3 player.

 

[laen]

IPOD

 

[Lewis/EC]

The ipod is typically more supported in the aftermarket for accessories. We are working on an adaptor for mini-USB powered MP3s, but I'm not aware of anyone doing remotes for much other than the ipod.

 

[n9frp]

iPod is the leader, however, my Sansa e270 6 gig unit works well, I can use either Windows Explorer, Windows Media Player, Realplayer, Winamp, Media Monkey and my favorite application Music Match to transfer files. It has movie capability, photos, it's an AM/FM Radio and a voice recorder as well. Altho the screen is small for my 'older' eyes. Also, I can find user replaceable batteries in Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy or most other type retail stores.

Lotta choices........

 

[upssnowman]

Truly the i-pod sucks you can only get music from apples site, and they don't offer a service to rent music or have unlimited downloads for a period, the mp3 player market you can pay $15.00 a month and have unlimited downloads it is as your renting music but it's unlimited such as napster and rhapsody, much cheaper then having to buy a song every time you want it, I have about 1600 songs on my player and change them often , my player holds about 5000 if I want , it also has fm radio which can be nice at times, in My opnion i-pod and apple did some really good advertising to get mostly kids brainwashed to buy the i-pods this has been the stragey to stay in buisness but after researching most people find out it's very expensive to have to buy a song .99 every time you want it on your player, if your rich it dosen't matter I'm not. I have had many players and suggest You look at anything but an i-pod.

 

[GoldWing_ed]

Definatly Ipod!
First I used a MP3 player but there wasn't enoug power to give enough volume.
You can put every music to your Ipod. Itunes (included software) converts almost every type of music file.
Take your favourite CD, and it converts it to a copmpressed file for your Ipod.
The main reason I choose for the Ipod is that you can buy a Remote (radio controlled) so you can chance numbers without opening the lid.
Very handy when you ride! 8)

 

[MG_Wings]

Truly the i-pod sucks you can only get music from apples site, and they don't offer a service to rent music or have unlimited downloads for a period, the mp3 player market you can pay $15.00 a month and have unlimited downloads it is as your renting music but it's unlimited such as napster and rhapsody, much cheaper then having to buy a song every time you want it, I have about 1600 songs on my player and change them often , my player holds about 5000 if I want , it also has fm radio which can be nice at times, in My opnion i-pod and apple did some really good advertising to get mostly kids brainwashed to buy the i-pods this has been the stragey to stay in buisness but after researching most people find out it's very expensive to have to buy a song .99 every time you want it on your player, if your rich it dosen't matter I'm not. I have had many players and suggest You look at anything but an i-pod.

I have the I-Pod Nano and I do not buy my music through the apple site. I believe the software I use is I-tunes. It came with my I-pod. All I do is drag and click my music into I-tunes and then I download to my I-pod...

 

[uneasyrider]

If it is just for the bike you might consider a GPS that has a built in MP3 player. Since I installed the Zumo I removed my iPod and I do not need to worry about handlebar controls because the GPS handles that too. So you can deduct the price of an iPod and an iPod remote from the cost of your choice of GPS units.

 

[xxxrider]

I bought the 30 gig IPOD with Video and just love it and I have stored about 2,000 songs and lots of pictures so I can show people who ask what my bike looks like or my house or car or a vacation and have lots of Playlists designed just for riding on my bike. If my Garmin GPS with XM Radio can't pick up an XM signal I can switch over to my IPOD and listen for days to MY FAVORITE TUNES.

When I hear a great tune on XM Radio Classic Rock I write it down and then download it for $.99 later at home. I keep collecting GREAT SONGS and can even hook up my BOSE Quiet Comfort 2 Headphones to the IPOD while on the airplane, or around the pool or at a restaurant while I am eating.

 

[upssnowman]

MG-wings I-tunes is apples web site you have to buy them, as stated below your post .99 a tune , for $15.00 a month flat fee you can download all you want on napster to go , or rhapsody to go no more .99 a tune I-pod is nice but way to expensive

 

[Gary in Indiana]

iPod is the leader, however, my Sansa e270 6 gig unit works well, I can use either Windows Explorer, Windows Media Player, Realplayer, Winamp, Media Monkey and my favorite application Music Match to transfer files. It has movie capability, photos, it's an AM/FM Radio and a voice recorder as well. Altho the screen is small for my 'older' eyes. Also, I can find user replaceable batteries in Walgreens, CVS Pharmacy or most other type retail stores.

Lotta choices........

Are you sure about the AM part? I've seen no mention of anything beyond an FM tuner in any of the information I've read. Of course, I'm only reading about them while you have one in your hand. I hope you're right and that the AM is on the one I'm anticipating for Christmas. :wink:

 

[n9frp]

Are you sure about the AM part? I've seen no mention of anything beyond an FM tuner in any of the information I've read.

Yea, when I mentioned radio, I automatically think of AM/FM.
http://reviews.cnet.com/SanDisk_Sansa_e ... 84140.html
Only FM. Thanks for the nudge........:wink:

 

[oldguy]

Upssnowman you are still wrong. You can get your music from anywhere and put it into I-tunes and download to your I-pod. You do not have to buy your music from Apple. I have over a thousand songs on mine and none are from apple. You can download any CD to your computer and I tunes will pick it up

 

[MG_Wings]

MG-wings I-tunes is apples web site you have to buy them, as stated below your post .99 a tune , for $15.00 a month flat fee you can download all you want on napster to go , or rhapsody to go no more .99 a tune I-pod is nice but way to expensive

I haven't spent a dime to down load music to my Nano through I-tunes

 

[JJR]

Could someone point out the differences between an MP3 player and an Ipod? Are there any advantages in one over the other? Also how can either best be integrated into the Wing's audio system? What adaptor or connection does it take to accomplish the complete install?

I have had the Creative Zen Xtra 40gb for 3 years now with never a problem. The reason I went with the Zen over the Ipod is that the with the Zen you can download anytype of Mp3 files no matter where you get them if you get my drift.

When you download from the PC to the Zen all you have to do is open it up like any other hard drive in My Computer and then just drag and drop. No other software needed. After you have done that then you can organise your music if you want. Sorry do not know about the Ipod though.

I never have used the Creative software, I have used Nero now and then say if I wanted to compress WAV files into Nero's Lame MP3 encoder as it offers a better compression will less loss. Also nero is set up for hooking up your cassette player or LP player to convert the analog to digital. A very pokey process anyway you look at it.

Things may have changed over the years but what I remember the IPOD you can only download songs in a cetrain format or from Sony??? Back then the Creative was also much cheaper for the size of the HD.

To each is own, the Ipod does offer a ton of accessories but for myself I do not need any of them. I used the Zen for the bike and plugged into the home analog stereo. One other thing that I remember is that the Zen also had slightly more output over the Ipod but again that could of changed.

Almost forgot, still using the same battery after 3 years also.

Here is somthing off Cnet:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10166_7-5502601-1.html

Bottom line if your just buying a MP3 player for your Wing you might even consider purchasing used off Ebay, you will save money. Be sure that if you do so purchase one off a reputable seller with a return policy.

For the bike another option is the Sony Walkman MD or what ever the version is theses days. They are cheap but you must carry around the mini discs to play in it. Battery life is good but again software is properitary as I remember so if again if your getting you music from a grey area it will not work with it.


John

 

[Son of Thunder]

Upssnowman you are still wrong. You can get your music from anywhere and put it into I-tunes and download to your I-pod. You do not have to buy your music from Apple. I have over a thousand songs on mine and none are from apple. You can download any CD to your computer and I tunes will pick it up

Well, I did pay for about 5 songs from the iTunes website. The rest of the 1000's of songs on my iPod came from my CD collection.

 

[DubT]

Could someone point out the differences between an MP3 player and an Ipod? Are there any advantages in one over the other? Also how can either best be integrated into the Wing's audio system? What adaptor or connection does it take to accomplish the complete install?

In answer to the original question: An Ipod is an MP3 player, as are all the rest of the ones that are on the market, including the new Microsoft Zune. Ipod is just a brand name like Ford, Chevy etc. All of the players will play music that has been converted to the .mp3 format and loaded on to the player. I can play mp3 files on my Palm TX as well as on my new Zumo. As was said in an earlier post there are typically more accessories available for the Ipods. Go to your local Walmart super center or Best Buy and check out all of the available MP3 players. There are some good buys available.

Wayne

 

[xxxrider]

Actually, Itunes converts the music from PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) into a compressed format know as AAC (Advanced Audio Compression) format which is a better format musically which is why it was developed by Apple. It is a higher bit rate than MP3 (which stands for MPEG-3). What MPEG-3 is (or AAC) does is that it compresses music into a smaller area so that less space is needed to store it by using a compresssion algorythm. Then when it is needed it decompresses it back to it's original state or as close to that as possible. Sometimes some of the information is intentionally discarded in order to save space. This is normally the real high and real low notes in the music which they say we really don't need or hear anyway. That is why MP3s sound so TINNY. They lack the BASS because it has been removed in the compression/decompression process.

 

[JJR]

Actually, Itunes converts the music from PCM (Pulse Code Modulation) into a compressed format know as AAC (Advanced Audio Compression) format which is a better format musically which is why it was developed by Apple. It is a higher bit rate than MP3 (which stands for MPEG-3). What MPEG-3 is (or AAC) does is that it compresses music into a smaller area so that less space is needed to store it by using a compresssion algorythm. Then when it is needed it decompresses it back to it's original state or as close to that as possible. Sometimes some of the information is intentionally discarded in order to save space. This is normally the real high and real low notes in the music which they say we really don't need or hear anyway. That is why MP3s sound so TINNY. They lack the BASS because it has been removed in the compression/decompression process.

Apples software is only good if you ripping from your own CD's or download from Itunes but if you happen to have friends that have downloaded and converted to mp3 using different software you will have to go and re run it through the Apple software again which may very well not work.

As far as compression Nero software has a better format than the Pod, but again that is neither here or there as you have no choice on what software you can use with the Apple.

Apple gives you no choices as far as I know on use of any software other than there own.

Off the web:
iPod's Achilles Heel:
1. Proprietary Software - This was a deal breaker, having to use proprietary software such as iTunes is just unacceptable, especially when it is completely unnecessary. Could you imagine if Microsoft released the mPod and you had to use winTunes to transfer the files to the player? There is absolutely no excuse for this. To make it worse files can only be copied one way with iTunes. Are you kidding me? You cannot take your iPod to a friends house and copy songs off of it or too another player. Yes there are hacks but this is not the point, numerous other players feature Drag and Drop both ways WITHOUT iTunes or ANY software.

This is what is nice with other MP3 players on the market. Many will play anything without having to run it through any software. I have friends with lots of vinyl albums already converted to MP3 files. All I have to do is plug in my player to the PC open up my computer and open my player and my firends and simply drag and drop. It is extremely simple as well as takes little time.

Some of this is above me but one thing that turned me off to the POD 3 years ago when I was shopping for a player was there software. I had previously owned a Sony Walkman MD which again had the propertary software which was a pain in the butt.

This is all apples to oranges but it somthing to think about if you into swapping music with your friends.