While the CNET Reviews team claims the iPod to be their favourite overall MP3 player , they have come up with five reasons on why not to buy an iPod. First its short six hour battery life would not suit users who go on long journeys or plan doing some camping. The battery is permanent which means that once the battery runs out, the iPod becomes unusable until it is plugged in to a suitable power outlet. With most other MP3 players, it is just a matter of changing the batteries and then it is back to the music. Second its hard drive makes it less suitable for joggers as they are more prone to skipping or possible damage if dropped or knocked about. Solid state flash MP3 players are lighter, last longer on batteries and are not prone to skipping if knocked about.
The iPod is likely the most expensive hard drive based player one can buy. For listening where size is not important such as in a vehicle, a CD-MP3 player would be better. A CD-MP3 player along with wallet of 20 CD-R(W)'s would hold as much music as a 15GB iPod while costing about a fifth the total price of an iPod. While iPods do support an accessory to support voice recording, this is unsuitable for doing high quality recordings such as for DJs or recording music playing live. Many other MP3 players support full CD-quality stereo recording to its internal storage. Finally the iPod does not support Microsoft's Windows media codec. While very few users encode their music in WMA, most legal online music services provide their tracks in DRM protected WMA files thus making them unsuitable for the iPod. Currently only iTunes offer their music in the iPod compatible AAC format which makes online music choice limited to iTunes service only.
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We too have run our fair share of iPod-centric headlines--for a good reason. With about 1.5 million units sold, the iPod is the most popular MP3 player in the world, and it still makes other players look and feel inelegant in comparison. Don't get me wrong; it's still our favorite overall MP3 player. Although everyone can think of reasons why they want an iPod, I've decided to use this column to list a few reasons why not to buy one. Before you send me rants for putting down the iPod, please read the list, realize that we still love the iPod, and take a deep breath. If you still don't think there could be reasons to go with something else, feel free to e-mail me (CNET) your comments. Five reasons not to buy an iPod
Read the full explanation of the reasons here. |
I have a Goodman's CD-MP3 player and after a few years of usage I have seen the advantages and drawbacks to it. The many advantage is that its memory is the cheapest of the lot with 700MB CD-RW's going for just a few quid. Storage is only limited by the number of CDs I carry. Even most solid state flash players sold today are more expensive than CD-based MP3 players and do not offer removable storage, thus making them limited to what ever their internal memory capacity is. My player uses 2xAA batteries which gives playback time only limited to how many rechargeable AA batteries I carry. Many new MP3 players are using properietary batteries to make them lighter and more compact but once they drain, the player becomes unusable until it is plugged in as we see with the iPod.
I have found only a few drawbacks so far to the MP3-CD player. While the player does provide 120 seconds anti-skip, I had it skip on many occasions while on a bumpy car journey. The player does not have a backlit display, but most of the newer models now feature this. Finally, due to the physical size of CD's, the player itself is rather bulky. This is fine while travelling in a vehicle but it makes it less suitable for walking or jogging.
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Source: CNET Reviews
