I-pods do you stil use them?

[gimme789]

I have an old iPod Classic 120 Gig. I love it. I have lost track of how many years I've been using it, but it is still working great. I did have to re-format it once, but its still working fine.

I also still use "WinAmp" to add songs (or videos) to the iPod. I am not a big fan of iTunes. I've heard that newer iPods will not work with WinAmp.

Does anyone know how to add songs to a newer iPod without using iTunes ?

[philjs]

I gotta admit that I really enjoy having my old 120Gb iPod "classic" in the car...my Jeep doesn't have a CD player but does have SD, USB and analog inputs. The UConnect system interfaces wonderfully with the iPod...I can see all of the content on the big 8.4" screen and can search/play anything with voice commands.

[RANT]I also have to call "shame" on Apple for no longer marketing a music player. The current iPods have so much crap attached to them -- cameras, apps, etc. -- with sky-high costs for meager storage that is through the roof. I mean, come on, it's pretty easy to find a 1Tb 2.5" SSD for about $300 these days...why would I pay twice that for 1/10th of the storage? And if I want an iPhone or an iPad I'll buy one! For a company with such a focus on music you'd think they'd have a dedicated music player.[/RANT]

Phil

[LSemmens]

For all you owners of "bits of fruit" out there. There are valid alternatives. I keep all my stuff on a hard drive plugged into my home computer system (which consists of 4 computers all networked along with other mobile devices). My car stereos have provision to plug in a USB memory stick so I can carry whatever music I wish to listen to with me anywhere. I only keep stuff I am currently learning on my phone and can Bluetooth that to my system anyway. I see no need for a portable media player of any sort these days. It isn't as though the battery on any device is going to last long enough for you to play half of the collection anyway. I read somewhere that a 128Gb device can hold about 40 days worth of music.

FWIW I almost never listen to the stuff on USB sticks anyway, using my phone instead. I even have CDs loaded into one of my cars that have hardly spun enough to get dizzy.

[robj144]

I use a Fiio X3 with a 128 GB microSD card. Much better audio quality than an Ipod and it's easier to transfer files.

[Chicago Sandy]

I bought my first iPhone, a 3GS via AT&T, when first my flip phone and then my iPod both crashed irreparably within days of each other. Through years of upgrade paths I kept it as my bedside alarm, docking it into and playing it through a clock radio. After hassling on my newer phones with iTunes morphing into Apple Music and turfing my music library to the cloud, requiring either internet connection to stream or hours to retrieve & download, I now use the 3GS as an old-school iTunes iPod with a massive library. Can’t update its OS (nor would I want to, since that’s how Apple Music took over my newer phones). I listen to music on the train or plane, no connection necessary. I let my current phone be….a phone.

And Bob has an ancient iPad Mini he got for a gift, which is useless. It’s the old Windows version, and he has no music library on his PC laptop from which he can download anything. I couldn’t transfer anything from my Mac, even before Apple Music, on to his PC via thumb drives, and got tired of burning CDs from my library—took forever and after 9 CDs I never got past Bruce Springsteen, downloading alphabetically by artist. So I figure, let him stream on either his PC or his iPhone 6. (He has Sprint as his office account). He was able to load the hard drive in his car with his favorite CDs. (I haven’t played a single one in mine).

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by Chicago Sandy

I bought my first iPhone, a 3GS via AT&T, when first my flip phone and then my iPod both crashed irreparably within days of each other. Through years of upgrade paths I kept it as my bedside alarm, docking it into and playing it through a clock radio. After hassling on my newer phones with iTunes morphing into Apple Music and turfing my music library to the cloud, requiring either internet connection to stream or hours to retrieve & download, I now use the 3GS as an old-school iTunes iPod with a massive library. Can’t update its OS (nor would I want to, since that’s how Apple Music took over my newer phones). I listen to music on the train or plane, no connection necessary. I let my current phone be….a phone.

And Bob has an ancient iPad Mini he got for a gift, which is useless. It’s the old Windows version, and he has no music library on his PC laptop from which he can download anything. I couldn’t transfer anything from my Mac, even before Apple Music, on to his PC via thumb drives, and got tired of burning CDs from my library—took forever and after 9 CDs I never got past Bruce Springsteen, downloading alphabetically by artist. So I figure, let him stream on either his PC or his iPhone 6. (He has Sprint as his office account). He was able to load the hard drive in his car with his favorite CDs. (I haven’t played a single one in mine).

I can help with keeping anything old school and your own files working and easily managed within the changes Apple (and others) have made. Much better topic than our cancer conversations! I've bought far more from a non-DRM service that's MP3 files and it works fine on your own or if you buy Apple's service to backup or mirror the files.

We're so unexpectedly pleased with not-planned phone upgrades (7 Plus) and now hers+his Apple watches that I can't imagine any use for a stand alone player except for when you would not leave your phone sitting for someone to maybe take. For one event Bluetooth to PA solved that.

We're not yet (no wireless headphones) using the watches as music players on their own. I've bookmarked a podcast player watch app so that might change soon. The watch is great even if you don't listen to things independently (only have your watch) because of the way it is a remote control for your phone's music and podcasts. I'm sure the watch is a keeper for my wife. My return date's coming up so I'll probably decide keep or not this weekend.

My new phone seems better in cold weather so that's another reason the iPods are not used.Watch is only slightly more than your headphone cord switch because you can see tracks and episodes. I know it's a very first world problem to not have to take the phone out of your pocket when you're walking in 12 degree weather.

[Long Jon]

I never bought an iPod or any kind of mp3 player to begin with, so that's a whole generation of gear that's just passed me by . . .

I'm allowing smartphones the same uninterrupted passage by me .

LJ. (Selective Luddite).

[Bikewer]

I have an old iPod touch that I'd relegated to a permanent "dock" downstairs. Just set to Pandora.... Hit the button and instant music.

But.... It had gotten rather wonky of late and often would refuse to respond to commands on the touchpad..... So I replaced it with my outdated iphone 4... Which works fine.

[Guitars+gems]

I've had a succession of mp3 players and Ipods over the years, and the latest one, a 32 gig Ipod Touch is still in constant use. I use it only for music, podcasts, audiobooks. I just like keeping that stuff seperate from my phone. My I Mac has all of my ITunes purchased music, plus all the albums I uploaded from CD's. My Ipod has the music I've bought from ITunes and whatever previously uploaded from CD's music that I've manually transferred from the I Mac. My Macbook has the same stuff on it as the Ipod. If I want to add to it or subtract from it music from CD's, I have to sync it from the I Mac because ITunes Match only stores music you've bought from ITunes. (I highly resent that.)

[guitarlifestyle]

Once I got an iPhone, I got rid of my iPods. I prefer to keep one device that handles as much as possible rather than having to carry multiple devices around. My phone now has 128gb of space...plenty of space to store all of the music I care about listening to on a day-to-day basis. And, I almost always have my phone with me, so I always have my music with me as well.

[KevWind]

I have one somewhere I thought it was a trow away never thought people might buy a used one, guess I'll try to find it and sell it

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

Last March my hard drive staggered and died, and so, apparently did my back up drive.

Amongst all my documents and files, ther was my Itunes file with IRO 26000 song files.

My I-pod (a 160gb Classic, was up to date, but I was told that you can't transfer files from I-pod to hard drive.

Anyway, after consulting with my IT man, AND his local competitor working together, 99% of my information was retrieved and placed onto new hard drive and back up drive.

I decided to look for a used Classic as a second Ipod, and foud that they now sell for over twice as much as they did new.

I know that there are those that think that a smart phone is the answer to life, the universe and everything, but I am not aware of any that have 160 gb of storage, and most phones seem unable to hold a charge for more than a few hours.

Do you still use I-pods ? If so, why, if not ...why?

I used to use an iPod until recently, but my main issue was its limited capacity. 160GB isn't enough for me.

So I sold it and started investigating the world of DAP (Digital Audio Players). To save you some grief:

* almost all dedicated DAPs have terrible, terrible user interfaces (UIs). They're not intuitive, slow, buggy, and unusable. I can normally look past that, but they were so bad I returned two devices (one was a Fiio X5, the other was a Hifiman Megamini, both extremely well reviewed on specialized sites). Apple really did a good job with the iPod.

* after trying a few, I found the Astell & Kern AK Jr and I couldn't be happier. The UI is good (not as good as the iPod, but pretty good). The sound quality is astounding, even with MP3s. Considerably better than the iPod. Put lossless FLAC files on it and you'll be blown away. It has 64GB of internal storage and supports up to 256GB microSD cards. Those are still very expensive, but you can get high-quality 200GB cards for $50-$60. The AK Jr also doubles as an outboard DAC (like an external sound card for your computer) so you can improve your computer's sound quality. It also supports bluetooth, in case you want to connect wireless earphones or speakers. Cost-wise, I was able to sell the iPod and upgrade to the AK Jr for the price of the microSD card, so not a bad deal.

* you can find serviceable, inexpensive Android phones with microSD card slots that support 200GB or larger cards. There are quite a few very good cheap or free music apps for Android. If you turn off all the services (phone, wifi, etc) and use them solely as dedicated music players, there are quite a few good options for $200 or less. But be prepared for a days-long comparison shopping expedition, as there are dozens of options, each of which has at least one critical flaw (outdated OS, or too-small SD card slot, or UI only in Chinese, or poor battery life, or huge size, or...)

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by gimme789

Does anyone know how to add songs to a newer iPod without using iTunes ?

If you use a Mac, I don't know.

If you use a real computer, you can use Media Monkey (it's free, no ads, no limitations). http://www.mediamonkey.com/

[RedJoker]

I no longer use a separate music device but just use my phone. It's far more convenient for me since I usually have it with me.

As far as capacity, that's not really an issue as I don't intend to buy 29,000 songs.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by rogthefrog

If you use a Mac, I don't know.

If you use a real computer, you can use Media Monkey (it's free, no ads, no limitations). http://www.mediamonkey.com/

I haven't seen a fake computer since the days stores had those cheesy molded plastic mockups on furniture. Even then I never saw anyone except a toddler even try to use one.