Did I get a good deal?

[GommeInc]

The build quality and design is all wrong, since when was a portrait screen good for an MP3 player that plays films? An MP3/MP4 should have a landscape view when viewing a film, you shouldn't have to tilt it when viewing videos or pictures, it's so obvious it went over the heads of current iPod designers.

The sound quality is awful in general, not down to the crappy headphones. Heck other MP3 player manufacturers ship off their products with at least some decent headphones - Creative do with their Zens and Zen X-Fi. For a company leading the way in the MP3 market, you'd expect them to at least ship off a product that is decent in all areas, attachments aswell. When you hook up an iPod to a car for example, the quality, although not immediately noticeable, is very noticeable when you attach a Zen afterwards (the joys of driving around in a car with one, and swapping between a friend's iPod and Zen ). If you have the Zen on full volume for example, it won't distort and you don't get a buzzy feel. With the iPod you have to have the volume set at half way, 3/4 at most.

And don't get me started on their "Hey, let's create a product and then ship a new model out for no apparent reason making it meaningless for consumers to buy a sculptured product!" Stick to one design, that is as perfect as it is going to get. Sheesh. The only decent iPod was the Mini, all that needed was a small make-over and a colour screen!

But I suppose it's kinda obvious, Creative make soundcards, such as their Xtreme Fidelity ones, so it's only natural that they know how to lead the way in music quality. You seem to get more with a Zen aswell, like wireless transfers. You'd think with the MacBook Air and how Apple advertise the fact you can transfer things via a CD from one Mac to the Air, they'd do it with their iPods.

Of course, this is just opinion

[Recursion]

The build quality and design is all wrong, since when was a portrait screen good for an MP3 player that plays films? An MP3/MP4 should have a landscape view when viewing a film, you shouldn't have to tilt it when viewing videos or pictures, it's so obvious it went over the heads of current iPod designers.

The sound quality is awful in general, not down to the crappy headphones. Heck other MP3 player manufacturers ship off their products with at least some decent headphones - Creative do with their Zens and Zen X-Fi. For a company leading the way in the MP3 market, you'd expect them to at least ship off a product that is decent in all areas, attachments aswell. When you hook up an iPod to a car for example, the quality, although not immediately noticeable, is very noticeable when you attach a Zen afterwards (the joys of driving around in a car with one, and swapping between a friend's iPod and Zen ). If you have the Zen on full volume for example, it won't distort and you don't get a buzzy feel. With the iPod you have to have the volume set at half way, 3/4 at most.

And don't get me started on their "Hey, let's create a product and then ship a new model out for no apparent reason making it meaningless for consumers to buy a sculptured product!" Stick to one design, that is as perfect as it is going to get. Sheesh. The only decent iPod was the Mini, all that needed was a small make-over and a colour screen!

But I suppose it's kinda obvious, Creative make soundcards, such as their Xtreme Fidelity ones, so it's only natural that they know how to lead the way in music quality. You seem to get more with a Zen aswell, like wireless transfers. You'd think with the MacBook Air and how Apple advertise the fact you can transfer things via a CD from one Mac to the Air, they'd do it with their iPods.

Of course, this is just opinion

I disagree with this, you try holding an MP3 player with a landscape screen and using it with one hand

The sound qaulity may be bad, but the Apple earphones are just about the only ones I find comfy in my ears LMAO. But come on, how many other MP3 players, the size OF an MP3 Player, can you install Apps on, browse the web on etc?

[Nick.]

I disagree with this, you try holding an MP3 player with a landscape screen and using it with one hand

The sound qaulity may be bad, but the Apple earphones are just about the only ones I find comfy in my ears LMAO. But come on, how many other MP3 players, the size OF an MP3 Player, can you install Apps on, browse the web on etc?

Well, actually Tom, I think you're wrong there haha. The iPod touch is bigger than a lot of standard MP3 players as far as I'm aware. And I know it's just you but have you tried in-ear headphones? I switched because my iPod ones broke and I've never looked back. I got a pair of creative ones for about £6 off Amazon and they're really good. Every time I put iPod earphones in now they're so umcomfy.

[timROGERS]

Regardless of headphones, I find that the sound on the iPod touch 2G is totally awful. To me, it actually sounds better with the Apple includes ones that with my Sennheiser ones!

On my old iPod Video though, the Sennheisers sound great...so I don't know what the problem is really!

[GommeInc]

I disagree with this, you try holding an MP3 player with a landscape screen and using it with one hand

The sound qaulity may be bad, but the Apple earphones are just about the only ones I find comfy in my ears LMAO. But come on, how many other MP3 players, the size OF an MP3 Player, can you install Apps on, browse the web on etc?

That's a touch... The iPod Touch really isn't an MP3 player, it's a multimedia device, not a standard MP3 player. That's like calling a computer a typewriter... Also, I can hold my MP3 player one-handed? How else do I control it when driving? And they could of made the new iPod with a landscape screen, although this would effect the overall size of the screen... Although if people desperately wanted to watch videos on their iPod, the Classic and Touch would be more adequate. My argument is with the iPod MP3 Players. not the touch, though I suspect they've dropped quality for other aspects of the device.

[Mentor]

How did a conversation about laptops turn in to a disccsuion on mp3 players lol

Anyway i really cant see how this is a good deal, primarily as dont side with any O/S.
I mean, in the sence you got the laptop for much cheaper than it would be to buy, then yes the deals ok. But in the sence you paid £670 for such a low spec machine its terrible.
Think of it this way, if i buy an hdmi cable for 1.99 i think thats a good deal. If someone buys a Monster hdmi cable (exactly same as my 1.99 one) and get it for £50, they think thats a good deal becuse normally there closer to a £100.
Dispite that i still dont.

You could have easly doubled or possibly even trippled the spec and still paid much less if you went with an ordinary computer. Taking that in to account you pretty much just paid £400 for a copy of OSX... thats worse than a retail vista copy*

Just my 2 cents


* manufactures generally absorb most the price of the O/S when it comes preinstalled, by both getting decent savings from there bulk orders and the crapware they fill it with pays the rest

[N!ck]

How did a conversation about laptops turn in to a disccsuion on mp3 players lol

Anyway i really cant see how this is a good deal, primarily as dont side with any O/S.
I mean, in the sence you got the laptop for much cheaper than it would be to buy, then yes the deals ok. But in the sence you paid £670 for such a low spec machine its terrible.
Think of it this way, if i buy an hdmi cable for 1.99 i think thats a good deal. If someone buys a Monster hdmi cable (exactly same as my 1.99 one) and get it for £50, they think thats a good deal becuse normally there closer to a £100.
Dispite that i still dont.

You could have easly doubled or possibly even trippled the spec and still paid much less if you went with an ordinary computer. Taking that in to account you pretty much just paid £400 for a copy of OSX... thats worse than a retail vista copy*

Just my 2 cents


* manufactures generally absorb most the price of the O/S when it comes preinstalled, by both getting decent savings from there bulk orders and the crapware they fill it with pays the rest

Well i've looked into it and found that to buy a similar spec'd 13"ish Windows laptop brand new in a shop i'd be paying around £650-700 I think that got 4GB RAM (ok, i'll be upgrading the macbook to 4GB eventually, RAM is pretty cheap), a slightly larger HDD but a not so good graphics card. Quite a way away from doubling the spec.

At a normal 15-17" size laptop maybe, but at this size no way.

[Mentor]

Well i've looked into it and found that to buy a similar spec'd 13"ish Windows laptop brand new in a shop i'd be paying around £650-700 I think that got 4GB RAM (ok, i'll be upgrading the macbook to 4GB eventually, RAM is pretty cheap), a slightly larger HDD but a not so good graphics card. Quite a way away from doubling the spec.

At a normal 15-17" size laptop maybe, but at this size no way.

I picked up an Advent 4401 at pcworld last year for £400, its a 12.1 laptop with an Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 processor (So a tiny bit slower), 160GB hdd(same), vista(equiv) and 2GB of ram(same) (though dont actually know whether or not its upgradeable)
Has impressively good battery life too (like 5 hours) as an added bonus as spec mentioned nothing of it. Mac's are generally pretty good with batters so i imagine its also about the same on this.
Since hardware generally jets down in price pretty quickly, i expect i could probably find a better deal if i were looking now o.0

[N!ck]

I picked up an Advent 4401 at pcworld last year for £400, its a 12.1 laptop with an Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 processor (So a tiny bit slower), 160GB hdd(same), vista(equiv) and 2GB of ram(same) (though dont actually know whether or not its upgradeable)
Has impressively good battery life too (like 5 hours) as an added bonus as spec mentioned nothing of it. Mac's are generally pretty good with batters so i imagine its also about the same on this.
Since hardware generally jets down in price pretty quickly, i expect i could probably find a better deal if i were looking now o.0

Maybe you were lucky?

The only ones that PCWorld have that I think are comparable are these:

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/sto...rmationSection
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/sto...&category_oid=
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/sto...&category_oid=

[Mentor]

Maybe you were lucky?

The only ones that PCWorld have that I think are comparable are these:

http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/sto...rmationSection
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/sto...&category_oid=
http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/sto...&category_oid=

Naa, with pcworld you just have to time it right. There Advent range tend to be pretty good value, but disappear quickly.
For other bands you can pretty much garentee ebuyer or a web retail will be able to knock a good £50 or more quid of the price. :p (hell they still try and sell Ethernet cables for £30..)