And Yet Another iPod Question....

[Melxb]

My sister casually mentioned to me that she wants to get something like an iPod, or an iPod itself to study. She's taking the State Bar examination (to become a lawyer in our state) in July and is all set to start intensely studying. We are all very supportive and want her to do well.

She wants an MP3 player so she can listen to lectures while at work. She has her professors' lectures on cd, but she doesn't want a cd player. It's understandable because at her job she works independently and is constantly up and down between her desk and the record's room. A cd player would be bulky, but an MP3 player would be PERFECT!

My question is if I get an MP3 player would an iPod be ok? I have 2 iPods, an older 3rd generation-pre video model and a newer 30g video model. I've just never put anything but music on my mine so I don't know if they'd be ok. I'm thinking that they would be, but I just wanted to be sure.

Also, she has 4 years worth of lectures on cd, plus other supplemental material that she wants to upload to whatever MP3 she gets. If it's an iPod, would a Nano be ok or would a 30G video be better?

[Ryu]

audio takes up much more room than just music, especially when its longer but even if it isnt, so a nano isnt going to hold that much at one time compared to its capacity for music
it still holds a good amount but it depends on how long she'll be listening to it between changing whats on it that will determine which is needed

[The Gatekeeper]

I use my 500mb iPod Shuffle for all sorts of things. To hold files, books on tape etc. I am planning on getting an iPod video next. I want to be able to have the extra files and be able to have my playlist etc. Also some of the books on tape I've seen take up quite a bit of space.

As to what she is using it for, it depends on the size of the files. She could always compress them, but she may lose some fidelity. If you look at the per GB price the iPod video is a better buy than the Nano. Of course there are other considerations. Try prioritizing what is important, for example is storage space more important than physical size? Is price an issue?

Good luck. I love my Shuffle, and am sure I will love my iPod, as will your sister, regardless of what she gets.

[gbm85]

Music *is* audio... a lecture doesn't take up any more space than a music album of the same length if it is in the same format.

As for having enough space, assuming eight hours of lecture a week for 64 weeks (4 16-week semesters), that's about 30,720 minutes of lecture, and in MP3 format (32kbps is usually fine for voice recordings), that's almost 8 gigs. I believe they do have an 8 gig Nano now, but the 30 gig "regular" iPod is available for the same price ($250 US), and would give her extra room if she wants to use it for other things.

It depends on two factors mainly. How many lectures she has (length) and what format they are in (I doubt she wants to spend any amount of time converting them to a more compressed format). Since it won't really be easy to determine how much space she needs, I would just get the most space you can afford.

[technical.angel]

Thank you for saving me the time on the audio vs music, gbm. :)

To give you an idea of size, I looked up one of my books on CD.

One hour, 12 minutes and 55 seconds in an AAC Audio file (iTunes format) was 67mb. 24.1 hours stores into 1.87 gigs.

I used iTunes to rip the CD, which contained about a billion tiny tracks, into one hour+ track. Each CD took about 3 or 4 minutes to rip. (The directions for this are a little complex, let me know if you want to know how.)

I, personally, am a fan of the iPods. I looked at some of the cheaper mp3 players, and just wasn't impressed.

I agree with gbm that a 30giger iPod video is a better buy than the 8gig nano. Especially, since you said "supplemental material".

Unless you want it to be a surprise, talk to her, and find out what form that material takes, what exactly she wants to use it for (storing everything on it, versus transferring stuff on and off.)

So, in short, my vote is on the 30gig iPod Video. I listen to books on CD whenever I make the hour and a half drive to my parents. Quality is just as good as the music, so don't worry about that.

Feel free to PM or email me if you have any other questions.

Jenni, the :angel: who's parents should be buying her the new shuffle for Christmas! And, who has a kitty that's going to be made into a kitty pot pie if he doesn't quit sitting in front of the monitor!!!!

[DarthRetard]

As an electronics retail sales associate, we get this question a lot. Yeah, the best bet is definitely the 30GB, or maybe even the 60GB. The 30GB runs for 249.99, and the accessories are not too expensive. I've had my 30GB for awhile now, and I keep all kinds of stuff like that on it. However, now, Microsoft has come out with that new Zune, and it holds 30GB as well. check it out.

[Spiffy McMoron]

Jenni, the :angel: who's parents should be buying her the new shuffle for Christmas! And, who has a kitty that's going to be made into a kitty pot pie if he doesn't quit sitting in front of the monitor!!!!

Mmmmm...Kitty Pot Pie-a favorite of ALF's! :lol:

[janitordba]

i had some talk radio stuff on my ipod (newer 30g) and it worked just fine.

[HYHYBT]

Probably too late with this, but speech sounds fine at much lower bit rates than music... it's in the "import" settings someplace in iTunes, just be sure to change it back afterwards. And any long track, like an audio book or a whole CD, you'll want bookmarkable.

The 60 and 30 GB models may be a better buy going strictly by dollars per gigabyte, and they have more features if you really *want* to watch video on a 2-inch screen, but no matter the cushioning, hard drives don't like being jarred so the flash memory models may be more durable.