Considering Buying an ipod

I am considering buying an ipod and have a few questions.
I have a PC with Windows XP Home Edition (SP2).
First:
The laptop I am using is just too old to come with USB 2.0. Is it possible to use and ipod (all functions) when connected to USB 1.0? I own a PC card the gives me two USB 2.0 ports, but it is not available to me at the time but will be in a few months. I don't mind starting transfers and letting them run over night. All my music is on an external hard drive (USB 2.0) and I have access to a computer with USB 2.0 but the computer stinks and is very slow (kind of ironic). Worst case I buy a new PC card for my laptop and in a few months will have 2 (sell one on E-bay).
Second:
Should I buy the Apple Care? Personally if I was running a business I would stand behind my product for at least 2 years without charging extra, but that is me and that philosophy makes me not want to buy it. Statistically speaking, should I. (I know there is no definite answer for this, personal stories would be ok)
Third:
I have been debating on whether to get an ipod (20GB) or a Creative Zen Micro (5GB). $/GB is better for the ipod but the Zen micro has an FM tuner and voice recorder and is cheaper. Is there anything that could seal the deal, really make me want an ipod?
Thanks for any help.

I was about to suggest you dump USB2 altogether and use Firewire instead, but the fact that you have an USB2 external hard drive may cause a problem. It is possible to use an iPod with USB 1.1, but it will be quite slow even when it works.
As for the choice between an iPod and a Zen, I would say an iPod is the obvious choice as it is much easier to use and iTunes is way better than other music management programs in my opinion. Also, do you really need a FM tuner and voice recording functions? Consider carefully as only you can answer this yourself. I know I don't need them.

Similar Messages

  • Buying An ipod From Ebay

    I am considering buying a "Brand New, Still Sealed 60GB Video ipod in Black" from ebay.co.uk. In the item desciption it states that this ipod has been imported from France.
    2 questions:
    1. Are all ipod's universal? i.e. would this ipod function correctly in the UK with UK ipod accessories such as the AV Cable and Universal Dock even though I would have bought it from France?
    2. Would this ipod still be covered by Apple's 1 year warranty even though I had bought it from ebay?
    Hope someone can help me as it would be much appreciated.
    Happy Christmas to you all!!!!!!!!

    1. Yes, all iPods and accessories are "universal" and will work on any computer anywhere provided that computer meets the specified requirements.
    2. Yes. Even if another person had previously registered the iPod themselves, the iPod warranty is transferred to the person buying it. If it's still sealed in the box, chances are it's never been registered and you would be able to do that on the initial set up procedure.

  • I'm considering buying airport express

    Hi guys/gals,
    I'm considering buying an airport express but have a few questions, I'd be grateful if anyone could help!
    Current situation is I have one of the new iMacs in my house currently not near a telephone socket at wall (hence my need to go wireless). I also have an iPod Hifi situated elsewhere in the house which I would like to be able to stream music to from my iMac. (The iPod Hifi just happens to be beside a telephone socket at the wall - if this is of any benefit??)
    My main concern is - does the airport express need another wireless router to access its signal or can it actually act as a router itself? if so, how do i connect to my internet connection?
    Am i correct in thinking I should plug the airport express in beside the hifi so as i can obviously run the audio cable to it and if the airport express does not need another router then I can just connect it to the telephone socket beside the hifi for the internet connection?
    I'm sorry if any of this is vague, any help would be appreciated!!
    Thanks in advance,
    Stephen

    I am using a Mac Pro with airport extreme card in it (the card was an option)- I suppose iMacs have this card built in as standard. If so go for it. (as to how to install the AE in your case check the manual - it's pretty straight forward)
    If you have a good hi-fi system (with a receiver having toslink connection) I strongly suggest you make use of the Airport Express toslink connector (you have to purchase the toslink cable (optical) cca 20 Euro if you do not have one already. The quality is unbelievable (use apple lossless codec for your files).
    I do not have a receiver but an external DAC (digital to analogue converter) connected to AE with the toslink cable. The DAC is connected to my hi-fi system by RCA cable.
    I just finished transfering my CD collection to an external MyBook 1TB USB 2 HDD (all files in Apple Lossless codec !) and believe me the quality is so good - I will probably never use my Hi-End DENON SACD player again...
    +"There are two kinds of music the good and bad. I play the good kind."+
    +- Louis Armstrong+

  • Buying a Ipod touch

    Hi, i am wanting to buy an ipod touch which one would you reccomend and can you tell me a bit on how they are a like to live with

    I have the 32GB iPod Touch and I absolutely love it. I have not experienced any of the bugs that some have written about on these boards. Of course, you should consider a number of things before investing in this incredible device.
    First, of course, is price: the family of Touches is very expensive when you consider the limited amount of memory that you get in each model, compared to other iPod models. If you are looking for the most bang for your buck, then look to the iPod Classic because you can get an incredibe amount of storage on those devices and you can still listen to your favorite music and watch vids, etc.on a familiar looking iPod.
    Of course, if you want the Touch for its Wi-Fi abilities, please note (as others have said above), you must have access to Wi-Fi connections and/or hot spots where you can get online for free. I must admit, I love the ability to access the internet and my emails from anywhere (provided that I have access to a Wi-Fi connection). If you do not have access to Wi-Fi and/or hot spots, then this may be an impractical investment for you.
    Lastly, how much data do you intend to store on your device, being ever mindful that your library of music, pics and videos may expand in the future. For me, the 8 GB and 16 GB Touches were simply impractical because I didn't want to spend all that money on a very cool device if I couldn't store all of my data on it. When the 32GB version came out, I jumped all over it because that fits my needs just fine. The price is pretty steep, but if you can fit it into your budget and the Touch really suits your needs, then I absolutely recommend it.
    If you have owned any iPod in the past, the biggest adjustment is getting used to accessing your music without the familiar click wheel. That felt weird for a couple of days, but I quickly adjusted and became accustomed to the Touch's interface. It really, truly is an incredible machine! I wholeheartedly endorse getting one if you can make it work for your needs and your budget.
    Read these boards for more input on the iPod Touch and its pros and cons. I found these boards very helpful in making my decision. Good luck!

  • Is there any good reason to buy an ipod?

    a few months after the warranty ended, my ipod shuffle refused to be recognized recognized by any computer
    i researched and read up and tried everything including imacs, g5's, laptops, desktops and every flavour of windows and linux i could find to get it to be recognized
    defeated, i hauled it to local apple store
    the geniuses at the genius bar affirmed there was nothing to be done for the ipod:
    nothing?
    yes, nothing.
    is there no way to fix it?
    does anyone fix anything any more?
    was the apparantly rhetorical response.
    this strikes me as odd for so many reasons
    leaving the absurdity of the response aside as an amusing anecdote, what confuses me is how a product with no moving parts can "break"
    regardless
    i accept that without an extended service plan i'm on my own
    but if the little buggers last only a little while
    and can't be repaired when they stop working
    i wonder
    is there any reason to even consider buying another one?
    i've looked briefly and there are plenty of other options with more fnctionality for less $$.
    -- BDD

    In response to mary-
    As simple as it seems, the price of most consumer goods drop the longer its been on the market, especially electronics and MP3 players. The demand is so large Apple can sell shuffles for 150 when they come out. 18 months after its release a shuffle is now its $99!
    So even if you are complaining that you have no fix for your shuffle and it its now unusable there is nothing you could do now. Yet you had a whole year to replace yours at no cost. I did it with mine. Walked in into the apple store. Talked with an employee, setup an appointment at the Genius Bar. Came back in an hour for the appointment, and handed over my broken shuffle, he tested it, and handed me a refurbished one and some paperwork. Done.
    Now I know your views on the shufle have turned sour but I find it hard to believe there are more cons than pros for this product. Keep in mind this is made for a single user, therfore only one computer is necessary- If Apple allowed it on more computers like the other iPods, they would have to raise the price of the shuflfe to take into account the cost of sharing protected files across computers. If you say it can only be loaded with iTunes, well thats not bad at all. What other software would you use?
    A few notable cons that you may not find useful now that yours is broken but would hopefully shed some light on why people actually buy this product:
    -It is extremely small, allowing for use anywhere.
    -If dropped from your hand, it does not disconnect from the headphones, saving it from damage.
    -It weighs less than one ounce.
    -It has 12 hour battery life, a flash hard drive, a simple but informative interface, battery indicator, LED, all in a .33 inch package.
    -It can be used as a flash drive
    -It can be charged in any USB port, even 1.1 speed ports found on Apple keyboards.
    Keep in mind an MP3 player does not last forever, but people still seem to like it. Say on average the shuffle one year (which seems low). $99 (or $69) a year is worth it to most people. Just my .02

  • Why is it that i am unable to buy an ipod nano 16gb in germany? In the stores it is advertised however not available, the store only has the 8gb and I can't ship it here? Is it a case of not yet launched, patent infringement or apple just being annoying?

    I am trying, thus far with no success, to buy an ipod nano 16gb here in Germany. However whilst the stores advertise it they don't have it in stock and can't tell when it will be. The german apple store only has the 8gb version. Should i try to order from a reseller then they will only post within the uk.  iSo my question is - whats going on? Why are there no 16gb ipods to be (apparantly) had in Germany? Not launched yet? Patent infringement? Apple being very annoying?

    Call Apple or an Apple Store in your city and ask them.  Or do a Google search.

  • I want to buy a Ipod Nano 16gb and it says it holds up to 4,000 songs, and 16 hours of video but on my Itunes I have 2,593 songs and it says I have 19.88 gb. How is this possible?

    I want to buy a Ipod Nano 16gb that says it holds up to 4,000 songs, 16 hours of video, and 14,000 pictures. On my Itunes Library, I have 2,593 songs and it says I have 19.88 gb just of songs. How is this possible? If I buy the Nano, will I not be able to have all my songs on the ipod? The music is my first and only prioarity. I want to be able to have up to at least 3,000 songs, even if that means not having video or pictures. Can someone please help me?

    Daniella04 wrote:
    I want to buy a Ipod Nano 16gb that says it holds up to 4,000 songs, 16 hours of video, and 14,000 pictures. On my Itunes Library, I have 2,593 songs and it says I have 19.88 gb just of songs. How is this possible? If I buy the Nano, will I not be able to have all my songs on the ipod? The music is my first and only prioarity. I want to be able to have up to at least 3,000 songs, even if that means not having video or pictures. Can someone please help me?
    Daniella,
    The estimated song capacities, such as 4000 songs in 16 GB, are based on 4 minute songs of 4 MB each, which is what you get at 128 encoding. 
    Most of us nowadays use well above 128.  (For example, the iTunes Store and Amazon MP3 both sell songs only in 256.)
    However, you can still make more songs fit!  When you sync your iPod, use the option to "convert higher bit rate songs," as pictured.  Choose 128.  This fits more on the iPod, but does not change the songs in your library.

  • I have an ipod touch.But i want to buy a ipod shuffel.Can i sync my music from the touch to the shuffel and if so how?

    I have a ipod touch but want to buy a ipod shuffel. can i sync my music from the touch to the shuffel and how? but if i cant how do i buy music from itunes on the shuffel?

    You can't go directly from the Touch to the Shuffle, but if you can get the music into your itunes library on your computer, you'll be able to sync that music to the Shuffle no problem. Follow the steps in this article to transfer any music you've purchased on your iPod into the computer: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848

  • I am considering buying a MBA but i need to do word processing, making power point presentations, and also to use publisher for work, does the MBA have the ability to do these things, if so will I be able to continue with work done on a MBA with a PC?

    I am considering buying a mac book air and I was wondering if I can still do word processing, make powerpoint presentations and use publisher like i would on a PC? Also if I can then would I be able to continue with work done on the mac book on a PC and all the computers at school are not macs ? 

    I am using the 11" MBA with Office 2011 (with latest updates).  The form factor is great for travel.
    Powerpoint presentations work well, but there are some issues with creating a presentation under OSX then continuing editing under Windows (Powerpoint 2010).  I've experienced problems with custom backgrounds not rendering correctly while editing slides under Windows when the original presentation was created under OSX.  If you stick with the "standard" themes I imagine you'll be OK.
    Also, there is a major drawback in that there is no IR port on the new MBA(s).  Therefore, you cannot use an Apple Remote to control a slide show.  Yes, there is an app for the iPhone that can control a Keynote slide presentation using Bluetooth, but since I haven't tried it, I cannot say if that app will work for Mac Powerpoint 2011.
    What is really needed is an "Apple Bluetooth Remote".  (please, if anyone from Apple is listening...)
    Your only option to run Publisher is to run Windows in a virtual machine (e.g. Fusion or Parallels) with Publisher installed as there is no Mac version.
    I run Fusion with Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 configured as a workstation and Office 2010 as my main travel machine and it is very responsive.  Even using Windows Aero Theme which is knowned to be graphics intensive.

  • I want to buy a ipod as my iphone as no memory from all of my music, is there a way of transferring the music from the iphone to the ipod? i dont want to have to re download or buy all of the music again!

    i want to buy a ipod as my iphone as no memory from all of my music, is there a way of transferring the music from the iphone to the ipod? i dont want to have to re download or buy all of the music again! Don't want to buy a ipod then find out this! Please help!

    You can redownload most iTunes purchases directly to the iPod by:        
      Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store
    Otherwise you will have to sync from your iTunes library.

  • Can you give me some reasons about why I need to buy an iPod touch 5.Although I have the iPhone ,iPod nano, iPad ,MacBook pro,I think the iPod touch 5 is so attractive that I can't help buying it at once.If I have it,what I can do with it,can you tell me?

    can you give me some reasons about why I need to buy an iPod touch 5.Although I have the iPhone ,iPod nano, iPad ,MacBook pro,I think the iPod touch 5 is so attractive that I can't help buying it at once.If I have it,what I can do with it,can you tell me?

    All I can say is that I REALLY like my Touch 4th gen because I have all sorts of capabilities in a small form: e-mail, web browsing, news, weather, books, magazines, etc. etc.  Plus lots and lots of apps out there, including so many free ones.  I use the Cloud a lot so it's great to have everything sync'd to my MacBookPro (e-mail, Evernote, Pocket, etc.)
    It would be easier, though, to do some of this, especially magazines, on the iPad mini, but, again, I love the small size of the Touch. 
    As for the 5th gen instead of the 4th, the fifth has Siri and the 3D feature in maps, which are great.  And I'm sure it's a lot faster in iOS 6 than the 4th gen.  And cool colors! 
    Don't know if this helps . . .

  • I have Itunes on my computer, however its an older version and it says I can no longer update it. My problem is im considering buying an Iphone 5, but if it is running on a new version what will happen when I sync it to my itunes account?

    I have Itunes on my computer, however its an older version and it says I can no longer update it. My problem is im considering buying an Iphone 5, but if it is running on a new version what will happen when I sync it to my itunes account?

    aimzpoo wrote:
    I have Itunes on my computer, however its an older version and it says I can no longer update it.
    Highly unlikely that it says any such thing.
    Try telling us exactly what version of iTunes is installed and what if any messages appears when trying to update it.
    What Operating System is the computer running?

  • I am considering buying an iPad 3. I have an iMac with OSX 10.6.8. On the iMac I have many photos and work with iPhoto and Photoshop Elements on the computer. Can I interchange or transfer photos and other work from the iMac to the iPad? How?

    I am considering buying an iPad 3. I have an iMac with OSX 10.6.8. On the iMac I have many photos and work with iPhoto and Photoshop Elements on the computer. Can I interchange or transfer photos and other work from the iMac to the iPad? How?

    velma Monreal wrote:
    I am considering buying an iPad 3. I have an iMac with OSX 10.6.8. On the iMac I have many photos and work with iPhoto and Photoshop Elements on the computer. Can I interchange or transfer photos and other work from the iMac to the iPad? How?
    Yes you can. In iPhoto create a Album with the photos you want in it. You can drag them from your Events folder. In iTunes with your iPad connected go to Photos by cliking on your iPad. You can then select the album or events you want.

  • I WOULD LIKE TO BUY AN IPOD TO COLLECT THE PLAYLISTS OF MY FIENDS .FOR THIS I NEED TO CONNECT THE IPOD WITH SEVERAL MACS.IS THIS POSSIBLE ??

    I WOULD LIKE TO BUY AN IPOD TO COLLECT MY FREINDS' PLAYLIST.CAN I CONNECT THE IPOD TO SEVERAL MACS TO TRANSFER THE MUSIC OR ONLY TO ONE AS IT WAS WITH THE FIRST IPOD ??

    yes i cant buy addiction to apps and at first i did but with another account,,,so now i sign in with my original account and cant do that any more,,it pops up a masseges that it says "this item is for an app tha was purchased by a different apple id,to buy this item with this apple id,you most first purshase the app....so i dont understan what i have to do!!!!

  • Am considering buying a Time Capsule.  But all specs I read about it (re: printing) is how to hook up a printer via USB connection.  Need to confirm...that a wireless printer will work with the router feature of the Time Capsule.  I assume yes...?

    Am considering buying a Time Capsule.  But all specs I read about it (re: printing) is how to hook up a printer via USB connection.  Need to confirm...that a wireless printer will work with the router feature of the Time Capsule.  I assume yes...?

    A wireless printer connects to the network just like your computer, or iPhone/iPad, etc. connects using wireless.
    The printer must be set up intially to scan to "find" available wireless networks, then your specific wireless network needs to be selected. Then the password for the network needs to be entered.
    Once the printer is configured to join the network, it is always connected to the network. No further configuration is required.

Maybe you are looking for