Well SA thanks for the review.
For the life of me until I read your review, I couldn't see what the fuss was about.
My thing is that I don't want to have to wear earplugs all the time, but with this FM transmitter you mention, I could play it from any radio....
You can't look at product reviews and see how this device actually works in real life...
Aren't they still a little pricey and bound to fall to 40% of their current cost in 6 months?
Are all the things you mention (like the FM transmitter) extra?
How do you connect the thing to a CD player to 'rip' a song?
Also what digital music service do you recommend?
Could I get started on my 200 gig desktop and get an iPod this spring at a fraction of their current cost?
How are they on batteries?
I must say that the docking station attached to my home stereo is awesome. Definitely CD quality and I can blast it throughout the whole downstairs with no distortion. I rip at 128 AAC and 160 MP3.
The portable speakers at work to have distortion at high volume but in the workplace, I always have the volume low so the problem never materializes.
The FM transmitter is marginal. Lots of static and interference. I find that 87.9MHz is the best frequency to use but when I get close to a major city, there is usually a college station at that frequency and I have to switch to something else. I have a Sirius receiver in my car and only use the iPod occasionally for that purpose. But it's only about $20 to get an iTrip (FM transmitter) so for that price, I can't complain too much. There may be more expensive devices on the market that perform better.
Yes, they are pricey. I paid $399 for my 40GB model. But I listen to music so much that it is worth it over time now that I don't have to contantly get up to "swap out" CDs and lug them all over the place. It's worth it just to have your entire music library at your fingertips at all times.
You don't have to connect your iPod to a CD player to rip a song. You just download iTunes (for free) and rip your CD's on your computer. Next time you connect your iPod, all the songs you ripped will automatically get to your iPod (in a matter of a few minutes at most).
Your 200gig desktop will hold enough music for a lifetime. My entire collection of 7200 songs only occupies some 25.3 gigs. My advice is to start ripping your CDs now as it is quite time consuming. I spent most of the past year ripping my CDs in preparation for the iPod.
I reckon that the 40gig model will be down to $299 by April. By then, the 60gig model (with photos) should be $399 with an 80gig model probably getting released around that time at the $499 pricepoint. That seems to be the modus operandi anyhow. You might be able to get the 20gig model for under $200 at that time.
Battery life hasn't been a problem at all. I get about 10 hours off a single charge. I put it on the dock at night so that each morning, it is fully charged for the day.