Are IPODS going away?

[Freebird]

I suspect that with all the new high capacity cell phones that there will soon be no reason for stand alone MP3 players. I just became eligible to upgrade to a new cell phone under my current plan. I started looking and actually got one and then took it back because it didn't support the memory that they said it did. I had 4 Verizon store associates and two a the technical support number tell many different things but NONE of them knew the products that they are selling. So, as usual I found it best to do my own research. I'm glad that I did because there are some great new phones hitting the stores next month and I'll wait for one of them.

 

So, what I am talking about is that several new phones coming out will support 8GB of storage via the micro sdhc chip. That is the same as an IPOD Nano. I like the idea of not having to take my cell phone AND my MP3 player on the bike or anywhere else for that matter. Not only is the 8GB chip now available, but they soon you will be able to get them with up to 32GB. That's a LOT of songs folks. I have over 100 complete CDS on my IPOD and am only using about 8GB of space. Many of those I never listen to or really even like, just loaded up everything I had at the time.

 

So, what do you think? Are stand alone MP3 players going to become a thing of the past? Why would anybody want to carry around two different devices when one will do? I am really looking forward to my new phone/MP3 player next month. Here's a link to the particular one that I am looking at but others are coming to.

 

http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/8404.html

[TheKid]

Yes I sorda agree with you. But I don't think that stand alone mp3 are going away for a little while longer. Yes they will for the older crowds that care phones but not for the younger crowd like kids. Even though the age for carring a cell phone is getting younger and younger. So to your question are mp3 stand-alones going away, yes they will be going away soon probably.

[hig4s]

Yes I sorda agree with you. But I don't think that stand alone mp3 are going away for a little while longer. Yes they will for the older crowds that care phones but not for the younger crowd like kids. Even though the age for carring a cell phone is getting younger and younger. So to your question are mp3 stand-alones going away, yes they will be going away soon probably.

 

 

Never, I don't even turn my phone on sometimes when I'm riding, but I always listen to music.

[Freebird]

Yea, but many of these new phones allow you to do just that. Some call it an "airplane" mode where the phone is off but the MP3 player still works. So why carry both?

[RedRider]

I still use my cassette Walkman. Figured I needed to keep the cassettes handy so I can listen to them in our Venture!!

 

RR

[Bvinson]

My new LG has the micro sd card. I have it loaded up and now all I carry are my earbuds and phone. Sounds great and it is nice having only carry one item.

[juggler]

Apple has a whole new line of iPods they just released including a 120Gb version and the new iPod Touch (iPhone with out the phone).

1. Most phones are not going to come close to the storage space to hold the number of MP3's that the iPod holds.
   
2. Most people change cell phones much more often than they change MP3 players.
   
3. Most iPods are getting smaller while increasing storage space.
   
4. Many people like myself do not like the gadget phones. I just want to talk with my phone.
   
5. The iPod is still better than any other mp3 player on the market.

[Freebird]

Apple has a whole new line of iPods they just released including a 120Gb version and the new iPod Touch (iPhone with out the phone).

1. Most phones are not going to come close to the storage space to hold the number of MP3's that the iPod holds.

Most people here have agreed that the hard drive Ipods are NOT good on the bikes. The others still max at at 8GB, same as the new cell phones and enough to hold at least 100 CDS. Also, you can have more than one memory card, not possible with the IPOD. 8GB internal is IT.

1. Most people change cell phones much more often than they change MP3 players.

Maybe, but a lot of MP3 players don't last much longer than the 2 year contract on many folks cell plans.

1. Most iPods are getting smaller while increasing storage space.

So are cell phones, so why carry two separate devices when one will do it all.

1. Many people like myself do not like the gadget phones. I just want to talk with my phone.

Yes, that is true. Everybody has their own preferences.

1. The iPod is still better than any other mp3 player on the market.

I used to agree with this but the flash memory IPODS I think are the exception to that rule. If you use the hard drive type with massive storage, that is one thing but many others use removable memory where you can store a LOT of data on different chips. I think that IPOD is lacking in that area.

 

I'm sure many folks would agree with you. I guess that is why both are still on the market.

 

 

I'm sure many folks would agree with you. I guess that is why both are still on the market.

[BuddyRich]

Biggest thing I concern myself with is the talk time. Since I HAVE to use the phone for work, its really not an option to run down the battery listening to music. So its going to be 2 devices for me. But on the bike or in the car the Zumo 550 lets me have both at the same time.

[Thom]

i want my 8 track back :crying:

[jneed53]

Not to mention that if either the phone or mp3 crashes, it takes the other with it.

[hipshot]

i want my 8 track back :crying:

 

i always liked the simplicity , of my 4 track player!

lol.

like don , has said, the i pod will go away.

after it has been in use as long as our "cassette" players.

just jt

[Redneck]

I really couldn't care less if an mp3 even existed. I just wish someone made a phone big enough to hold onto with a large key pad that fat fingers can operate a big screen that old eyes can see and enough volume for us deaf people to hear.

[hipshot]

I really couldn't care less if an mp3 even existed. I just wish someone made a phone big enough to hold onto with a large key pad that fat fingers can operate a big screen that old eyes can see and enough volume for us deaf people to hear.

 

AMEN!!!! to that brother!

i hate these little people phones!!and the promise, from the manufacturers, is that they will only get smaller and thinner.

that means smaller screen and LESS volume

just jt

[MikeM8560]

Geeze i just got a nano reciently and now im going to be outdated:headache: one thing i wouldnt like is all in oine type of stuff i had a cell phone screen go bad one in my pocket so then my i pod would be trash also. my brother just did the same thing with his Sirus untit , He took it off his goldwing to bring in into the shop and plug it on the radio,. them later he forgot it was in his pocket and leaned on somthing and wrecked the display. I like my permanate mount sat radio on my bike. it stays put.

[bongobobny]

Of course MP3 players will eventually be obsolete as well as cell phones! Wait until the wireless implants hit the maket...

[Eugene]

Wow - I'm still listening to my little transistor radio.

 

Don't know what's better - all in one or separate - each has advantages. Personally, when Blackberry gets to the MP3 and Camera stage - I'm going for it - then I'll have phone, e-mail, GPS, Camera and MP3 all in one!!

[Squeeze]

Nokia N95 is the Answer to all the Questions, only Thing which is most common for these 'eggspendingWoolMilkPig's(direct Translation of a german Term), the Battery won't hold up for long ...

 

 

And to answer my Wife's immediately oncomming Question in Advance, no they can't bake a Cake and they can't make Coffee.... YET ....

 

 

http://www.nseries.com/index.html#l=products,n95_8gb

[Freebird]

Well, based upon responses here, it appears that the stand alone MP3 players are not going away anytime soon. That is a good thing. As for me though, my next phone, probably the LG Venus when it comes out in a couple of weeks, will negate any future MP3 player purchases. My IPOD is about 4 years old. It's a 3G 16GB version. My son has a 60GB model. Though some have had problems with the hard drive Ipods on the bikes due to vibration, mine has done just fine. I think I have had to re-sync it one time in 4 years when the vibration on the bike apparently caused the hard drive to lose data but I didn't have to repair anything. It's done a good job.

 

When riding the bike, I probably use the XM about 80% of the time. When I get into an area of the mountains or trees that are causing signal loss for the XM, I use the Ipod. WHEN I have it with me. I forget it sometimes. That is why the phone/mp3 solution sounds good to me. Flash memory storage and since I always have it with me, I will also have my mp3 with me.

 

Now in my company car, I have my laptop mounted on a Ram mount. I have the GPS and everything I need in the laptop. I also have my Itune software on the laptop so I don't need the Ipod. If I want to listen to my music collection, I just open the Itunes software, unplug the cable from the XM radio and plug it into the headphone jack of my laptop and am good to go. It just feeds the music from the laptop right into cars audio system the same as the XM does.

[Crash]

My son just called me from Columbus and said he just bought a new TOUCH IPOD. Just like the iphone without the phone. I asked why not buy the iphone then and he said he goes thru so many mp3s. Uses it daily at the gym. He said at the App;e store you would have thought they were giving things away. Packed with customers.

[WilCruise]

Don, I think you're on track with the integration idea. It's just likely to take longer than we may think. A few thoughts:

 

Steve Jobs has made statements implying that he sees the the small flash players becoming disposable in the future and they will be used to distribute music (in place of CDs etc.) The actual cost of these continues to drop and if you can order theamed compilations of music on a player for no extra cost, it'd be an incentive to buy. If this proves true, I think it will be the future of the stand alone player.

 

I actually use my GPS with it's MP3 Player more often than not when riding. I think it's more than phone and music player that'll be integrated. More web access is showing up in portable devices and all phones now have GPS capability (why the heck they don't just have a GPS mapping feature I'll never know).

 

Packing it into a small piece of hardware is half the battle. Having a simple interface to run it all is really the harder chore. This is where Apple does a better job than most of the competition. The more features on a device, the more difficult it is to do this well. It drives me crazy that no one other than Apple seems to be able to do this consistently. Competition would move things along more quickly.

 

I'm looking for something about the size of the Iphone, with 30-60GB of all flash storage, audio and video capable in all formats with GPS and wireless web access (without needing hot-spots) and a full suite of office productivity applications. When that comes I'll be able to travel MUCH lighter. I'd guess another 5 years or so before something like that is in an affordable and reliable package though.

[Squeeze]

....why the heck they don't just have a GPS mapping feature I'll never know)...

 

Nokia N95 has ...

[Freebird]

Verizon has their navigator available on many of the handsets but it's a monthly subscription I think. I've heard it is pretty good but have no use for it so have never tried it.