BEST MP3 PLAYERS (IPOD 4th...Iriver..)

In everyones opinion is the IPOD's 4th generation mp3 player better than the rest? I am looking for something with good sound quality, loud enough, and 40gb of space. I heard rumors i dont know if its just with the 1st generation but about how the non replaceable batteries are crap. This website claims to sell the batterys capable for the new slip ipod does it mean 4th generation and if so has anybody tried this. http://www.ipodbattery.com/slimipodinstall.htm I just dont wanna get a mp3 player and find out its no good cause the battery has lost its charge and its not good unless i spend a 100 dollars for the IPODs replacement battery program than a extra hundred to replace the ipod itself when it does lose its charge. I see the HP iRiver 300 is already in japan is this better than the new ipod or not? i know its a little more pricey. Is the ipod worth the money now or in anybodys opinion to wait b/c theres something better comin out soon they know about. Thanks.

I purchased the iPod 15GB 3rd Gen (about 3-4 weeks before the 4th gen was released) and thus far I've been really pleased with it. The battery replacement program has been their downfall but if you're keen enough (and after the warranty goes -- which is in a year after purchase) you might as well replace it yourself. The batteries I've heard last about 3-4 years anyways. But the thing that truly sold me on it was a new attachment from Belkin. Digital Camera iPod Link allows me to transfer pictures from my FujiFilm S5000 Digital Camera to the iPod for storage. This was an important factor for me since I do long distance bicycle touring and extra weight of gear can slow a cyclist down (e.g., a laptop). The iPod itself is maybe 8 oz and the Belkin is about 3-4 oz including batteries. Makes it a sweet option to bring along.

But that's just my opinion. :D

I have personally heard very good of Ipods but mine went haywire...lol it broke some electrical problem so they replaced it. My brother has one of those dell type ipods it is not an ipod i forgot the name he likes it a lot though it is 20GB... my ipod is 15GB...

The Best MP3 player in my opinion is the Motorola MPX200 smart phone. Mpx220 will be the next best one when it is released.

Up to 1 GIG of space using a flash card, Plays many other kinds of media, not just mp3s, surf the internet using pocket internet explorer, make/receive calls, easy to use with Pocket windows 2002, and very sexy looking :)

I have a mini and I absoulutly love it. I haven't had any problems with it.

I Am currently ordering an ipod mini, but i heard a lot of things about it such as what you said (the battery), and if you drop it your screwed, lol because the ipod is just a HD, so think about it, if you drop your computer HD will it still work? lol

-S3nate

oh, just to add, iriver mp3 are really good, lol...you can drop it as many times as you want and it WONT break....i know cause i have dropped mine more then....50 times? and it still works fine, atho i have the iriver 128, but my friend has the one that stores up to gigs of mp3's and he dropped it a few times and it still works perfectly...so i guess i would say that if your looking for something durable go fo an iriver, but something that looks pimp....ipod. hope that helps.

-S3nate

Dude, mini's don't break when you drop them. Mine fell onto CONCRETE from my chest and it still works. It has fallen off my computer desk like 5 times or so onto a wood floor, and it still works. A friend of mine got pushed into a pool with it in his pocket, and his still works somehow or another. Mini's are durable, that case they are in is HARD.

yea i guess, i dunno i never really tired a mini lol so im not too sure, altho the mini is impact resistant so yea i guess thats why...but seriously INTO A POOL?!?! lol and it didnt break? (surprised) lol
-S3nate

Im not looking for so much as of how much resistance it has to breaking from falling down. Im looking for overall performance. Does the IPOD go up very high in volume b/c i hate those *@#$ things that restrict how loud it goes so ya dont go deaf. I also wouldnt mind knowing if theres anything else thats just as good that does more..

Well, I don't know exactly how loud you want to go but you can set music on the iTunes to be high and then further increase the sound. I've found the sound not bad but want to get the in-ear buds because I dislike hearing everyone else. I have some decent noise reduction Sony headphones that I might start using when I use the iPod to travel. The following is a quote from Apple's website on the regular earbud headphones.

Quote:

---

The earbud-style headphones rely on Neodymium transducers, a rare earth magnet that significantly enhances frequency response and overall sound quality -- in fact, five times as powerful as other headphones that use aluminum, cobalt, or ceramic drivers.

---

Good quality headphones are a must for any sort of personal music player. A good set of headphone can make even a medeocre player sound good. It matters not what player you have, if you can carry it around with you. It will sound crap on its built in speakers.

I use a pocket pc, with only 128meg of storage (at the moment) it sounds so much better than the walkmans i have listened to.

From my experience with my friends ipod the volume can go pretty damn loud, those were the old ipods tho, so im not too sure about the ones now...they should all be the same, the ones i've tried i turned it up to max on sony headphones and you can pretty much hear it when you walk into the room, and as mittens said....you can make the sound louder by using itunes too...you click get info and then just adjust the volume of the song there.

-S3nate