Is the iPod still King? - Gadget Show

[vtah236]

Interesting feature on Channel 5's Gadget Show earlier this week, where the larger iPod was pitted against the equivalent Creative and Toshiba

http://gadgetshow.five.tv/jsp/5gsmain.jsp?lnk=401&featureid=84&pageid=176&show=s4e6&section=Consumer

Why no Sony, though?

 

[Happytab]

Interesting report although a lack of a Sony comparison is disapointing. It would be nice to get an independant comparison of the the two, side by side, that Sony and Ipod owners could then use to bash each other over the head with.

 

[Tunney]

I assume the lack of a Sony model was because they were testing 60GB DAPs.

 

[neilmcl]

It's funny how in a previous programme Jason Bradbury rated the Creative Zen Vision as being an Ipod killer and probably the best of the current crop of mp3 players.

 

[eyeballKid]

Had to laugh when he used classical music to demo the quality, with usual review rules of not mentioning the dreaded gap (or much else playback quality wise). But the clue's maybe in the show's title - it was a quick overview of the player's ability as a "gadget", not a "music player". Which presumably explains the lack of Sony...

 

[DarkEntity]

Ipod has always been the king of advertising and the king of the worst mp3 players available.

I own an Ipod and a Sony HD3 and the Sony destroys the Ipod for sound quality and battery life.

If you have a choise NEVER ever buy an Ipod

 

[KoThreads]

Had to laugh when he used classical music to demo the quality, with usual review rules of not mentioning the dreaded gap (or much else playback quality wise). But the clue's maybe in the show's title - it was a quick overview of the player's ability as a "gadget", not a "music player". Which presumably explains the lack of Sony...

I find the gadget show sometimes very usefull, but to me the mp3 player reviews were barely better than useless.

 

[eyeballKid]

Well yeah, they're not really reviews. Like everything on the show, it's about seeing shiny toys not necessarily evaluating them properly. Anyone serious about spending a couple of hundred quid on a toy for its performance rather than just because it looks good enough and is popular enough is going to do a bit more homework. And anyway, what exactly is the iPod supposedly king of? Apart from selling well and being popular? The item was an excuse to say "here's some shiny new players which do similar things to the iPod (but aren't actually made by apple)" and nothing more. A follow-up "if playing music on the move is your number one priority" article would be nice though...

 

[Happytab]

How about an article on why Sony owners hate Ipods so much? I think anyone planning to buy a Sony player should factor in, not just the size of the player, but also the size of the chip you have to carry round on your shoulders once you've bought one.

 

[kevH]

Tunney's right the article did say the "big Ipod large enough for a whole music collection!" thus the Sony wasnt mentioned. The main reason i got shot of the HD5 as 30Gb wasnt big enough for a whole collection at higher bitrates.

Sony for me has missed the boat in so many ways regarding software and capacity and will continue to do so until they listen to what customers want.
Its obvious that they can no longer give us what they think we want, their sales against the Ipods sales make that abundantly clear. Its a real shame as Sony generally make sound products.

We await the higher capacity Ipods and rumours abound about 80Gb 100Gb and Sonys "new" daps are still languishing at the 20/30GB mark. Forgive me if im wrong but arent the drives all made by one or two manufacturers ie Toshiba Hitachi etc why on earth cant Sony bring out the higher capacity and sort the damn software. Until they do the Ipod is still gonna be "king" and the Sony's not even lowly "Princes" but more your hanger ons like the Duchess of Kent !!!!

 

[satinder]

If you have a choise NEVER ever buy an Ipod

Ill second that! Ipod look nice but really suck when you just want to play music, also who wants to watch a movie on a portable player which has a 1" screen and no stand! If you do your borderline mental in my opinion.

Sat

 

[Happytab]

Until they do the Ipod is still gonna be "king" and the Sony's not even lowly "Princes" but more your hanger ons like the Duchess of Kent !!!!

Satinder - I play music on my ipod and there is no sucking going on at all ! Also, having the video option would be insane if you had to pay more for it but the price didn't go up so where's the problem? (I am really happy that you like your Sony by the way).

 

[Happytab]

Just as an update - I went into town and happened upon a shop that had a Sony set up for testing. Now I only listened to one track but wasn't blown away by the sound quality (although this may have something to do with the headphones) After reading the forum I was expecting a wow compared to my ipod.

As for the asthetics of the thing - the 6gb is a very sexy looking machine. I think I prefer it to my ipod for looks alone. The 20gb is just too large for my tastes and just doesn't please my eye.

I have to say I was suprised when the shop assistant insisted I put a plastic crinkle cut chip on my shoulder to get the full Sony experience

 

[rich1068]

How about an article on why Sony owners hate Ipods so much? I think anyone planning to buy a Sony player should factor in, not just the size of the player, but also the size of the chip you have to carry round on your shoulders once you've bought one.

LOL!!

As a committed Sony fan even I had to laugh at this. And also I think I'm approaching that time of life when I can just be grumpy about stuff (ie iPod) just because it exists. Put it down to middle age. That's my excuse anyway

On a more serious note this Sony/whatever vs. iPod thing does make me laugh. I frequent car forums more than anything else and you should see the 'handbags at dawn' posts regarding members favourite tuners. Exactly the same on here, a real 'I will defend to the death...' thing going on even though the majority posting have little or no knowledge of the alternatives.

Life's rich tapestry eh?

 

[Happytab]

On a more serious note this Sony/whatever vs. iPod thing does make me laugh. I frequent car forums more than anything else and you should see the 'handbags at dawn' posts regarding members favourite tuners. Exactly the same on here, a real 'I will defend to the death...' thing going on even though the majority posting have little or no knowledge of the alternatives.

I agree - I don't see why we feel the need to defend our music players - it reminds me of when gangs used to roam the playground at school asking 'Mods or Rockers' - From that moment on we all seem to want, or have to, belong on one side of the fence or the other - Personally I prefer it on top where I can see both sides and feel superior

 

[rich1068]

I agree - I don't see why we feel the need to defend our music players - it reminds me of when gangs used to roam the playground at school asking 'Mods or Rockers' - From that moment on we all seem to want, or have to, belong on one side of the fence or the other - Personally I prefer it on top where I can see both sides and feel superior

Exactly.

Can you feel the love in the room tonight? That'll be the Hed Kandi : Nu Cool I'm listening to

 

[Happytab]

I am hoping that next Christmas Ipod owners and Sony owners can emerge from the trenches and have a game of football.

 

[gIzzE]

On a more serious note this Sony/whatever vs. iPod thing does make me laugh. I frequent car forums more than anything else and you should see the 'handbags at dawn' posts regarding members favourite tuners. Exactly the same on here, a real 'I will defend to the death...' thing going on even though the majority posting have little or no knowledge of the alternatives.

Totally agree with that, you get it on every forum from MP3, plasma, Cars, as you say tuners (although DMS Automotive are definitely the best!! ) etc. etc. etc.

 

[rich1068]

(although DMS Automotive are definitely the best!! ) etc. etc. etc.

lol

Have you tried Custom Code? lol

 

[rich1068]

I am hoping that next Christmas Ipod owners and Sony owners can emerge from the trenches and have a game of football.

And I like that too!

 

[gIzzE]

Haha, no actually, you had better give me a url.

 

[kevH]

Put me down for the Christmas game of football , i want to be on the Adidas team and not the Nike team !! To me nike are like the Ipod crowd all form and no substance whereas the Adidas boots seem to go faster and more spin is applied when bending the ball in the back of the net !!!!!

Has anyone else suffered cracking of the leather , the laces degrading and the fold over tongue doesnt seem to protect as well ?

 

[Happytab]

Put me down for the Christmas game of football , i want to be on the Adidas team and not the Nike team !! To me nike are like the Ipod crowd all form and no substance whereas the Adidas boots seem to go faster and more spin is applied when bending the ball in the back of the net !!!!!

Has anyone else suffered cracking of the leather , the laces degrading and the fold over tongue doesnt seem to protect as well ?

Personally, I hate to follow the crowd, so I always play football in a pair of Clarks Commando's. I really can't see the point of silly aditional features on the Nike's like studs and laces when all the shoe is for is running and shooting. If you wan't a football shoe that is just good at what it was designed for with no frills then you would be almost insane to go for Nike's.

 

[kevH]

Sorta agree Happy but you have to admit that with Nikes and the adidas boots there are far more accessories you can buy whereas Clarks are sadly lacking IMHO. You can buy different colour laces , theres interchangable studs and , of course, there are so many different bags you can carry them in. Then theres the other accesories like matching t shirts jumpers and shorts all to match your boots.

Again its my humble opinion that although Clarks do an admirable job in what theyre designed to do they dont look the part. They have no tick like the Nike nor the instant recognisability factor of the three stripes Adidas have. Which to my mind brings the Adidas boots more in the league of the unmistakable Ipod white leads and buds.

I do rather feel the Clarks Commando's have missed the boat in terms of supplying the client what he wants , they need to accessorise rather than just measuring your feet for the perfect fit .

 

[Happytab]

I have to admit the supplied Shoe Horn that comes with the Clarks makes it very difficult to acctually get the shoes on your feet - until they address this issue they will always lag well behind the Adidas.