@Will Entrekin: What about the Zune? It's got more stuff and priced almost the same.

The UI for the NW-E looks a little clunky to me.

adeonothas

Dear everyone besides Apple:

Can we please have a player that has more than 8gb of storage capacity?

You're doing it wrong.

Sincerely,

Didn't want to by an iPod but it was the only one with enough room.

Will Entrekin

*not an Apple fanboi.

got no clutch? You ain't much.

I don't even know why companies even try making MP3 players anymore, nobody can even come close to Apple. I have even been to stores and have seen little kids point at other MP3 players and call them iPods.

got no clutch? You ain't much.

@got no clutch? You ain't much.: Because plenty of people have no interest in buying into the hype, or paying a premium for a name (god knows it's not quality you're paying for! Others are more interested in sound quality. Plenty of people want to play a variety of filetypes and not be restricted by Itunes.
There are plenty of reasons to buy other mp3 players, and good luck to those who make them.

reckless_inoz

@Will Entrekin:

I agree with that wholeheartedly. We live in an age when it is entirely possible to make players with larger hard drives. Why Sony wants to keep rehashing the same crap over and over stops me from looking at them. Wow 8 gigs? I am not impressed.

hardenstuhl

@reckless_inoz:

If that was true so Apple wouldn't sell so many iPods. They are obviously doing something right. They are made very well I don't know what bad quality you are referring to? Price wise they are very comparable to other major manufacturers. Unless you are comparing them to a lot of the cheap knockoffs. Then you get what you pay for.

hardenstuhl

@hardenstuhl: Yes. Crap never sells. Which is why Dame Barbara Cartland sold about a billion novels.

Oh no, wait a minu

DelSource

@hardenstuhl: Actually, if you look at a lot of the price points, and compare the features, you'll see that there isn't a lot to recommend iPods other than hype and aesthetics.

An iPod nano 8gb costs 190$ Canadian. For 10$ more, you can get a 16gb Creative Zen with a larger and brighter screen, better sound quality, better format support, FM Radio, SD Card expansion, microphone, etc.

strobefx

What, no Sony Memory Stick or other proprietary media format? Sony ... you're letting me down!

uptown

@strobefx: you're forgetting one of the ipod's major selling points: iTunes integration; which is a big plus even if you never purchase any music through iTunes. The library functionality, organizing, tagging, auto album art downloading, smart playlists, podcast support, and of course automatic synching is, for me anyway, the reason I will buy another ipod if and when my 40gb monochrome 4th gen bites it.

meesterbrian

@meesterbrian: Is that a cheeky way of saying "you think there's others but there isn't. Apple ftw!"?

Collins1

I used to have the Sony NW-A1000 but with only 6gb I had to upgrade and the iPod was the cheapest large capacity player (with 80gb for £160).

Actually, the only other large capacity players were a Creative that was 2 years old and an iRiver that was pre-historic.

So the iPod was the only choice and it's a year old now. When it needs replacing, I'd like a Sony with around 64gb of flash storage. But they're taking their sweet time.

Collins1

@strobefx: can you name an alternative music library program that offers similar functionality please? I would be interested.

It must have at minimum for me to consider: podcast support (preferably with a browse feature so I don't have to go hunting for the url to subscribe), and automatic synching. How does said program work with the multitude of mp3 players out there? And what player would you recommend that offers at minimum 40gb to work with said program?

meesterbrian

@meesterbrian: Most music library software is a lot more stable than iTunes - I can't count the number of times I've had to reorganize my entire library because something went wrong with it. Most also have organizing, smart playlists, and automatic syncing.

Additionally, you can't sync your iPod to any computer but your own, and can't move files from your iPod to your computer.

strobefx

@meesterbrian: You can auto-sync with bascially any library software. Winamp, Windows Media Player, etc.

I don't know a lot about podcasting, I gotta say.

In terms of a player, I'd go for the Zune 80. Or Creative Zen Vision W. Or a Cowon player.

strobefx

...but I do have to agree that no one seems to be making players that have the right features. Really sony? 2 gigs of flash and no higher end with 16?

Unacceptable.

divideby7

I have a Zune 80 and although the Zune software is far from perfect I actually like it. It is much less buggy and quicker than I've found iTunes (at least on a PC) and I like the interface better. It has podcast support as well which I use extensively.

You can download the software and give it a run without owning the players so maybe that is worth it.

Also I don't know why everyone slams the Zune. I think the interface is better and more "fun" to use and again it's not perfect but definitely is no worse than the ipod.

divideby7

@Will Entrekin: Sony has a 16GB MP3 Walkman that's been out for a while now. You can get it with or without Bluetooth, and it's gotten excellent reviews.

TheFaze

@adeonothas & @TheFaze: Nope. I have an iPod classic 160gb. And that's only barely enough. I think it translates to 147gb, and even then I find myself constantly deleting whole CDs to make room for new music.

And this from a guy who loathes iTunes.

And now the big news is the new Zune has 120gb? You know, when Avis or Hertz or whoever were number two, they based their whole campaign on the fact that they tried harder. Now if Zune could up their storage to 320 gb, well, they might actually have a shot at being an alternative.

Will Entrekin

Why is it that none ofthese .mp3 players have an AM tuner? But they all have FM?

VideoVampire