Dead Nano 3g: I thought it would live forever, what could possibly go wrong?

[seryn]

Can anyone recommend an excellent MP3 player (not software, a small device for bringing music to the gym)?

I have 5GB of music on my iPod. Which I did not buy for myself. It's a Nano 3G 8Gb. I find the volume controls to be quite irritating, but the battery life to be awesome. It's rechargeable. Or it was.

I don't care what brand it is, but it absolutely must be rechargeable and play for more than 4 hours on a single charge and retain charge through a week of non-use.

Having read the reviews and some of the discussion about other brands, I don't see that there is a real competitor to the iPod. And Apple's obvious intent is for users to buy the Touch. It seems like, once I get into that kind of device, that I might as well buy a tablet.

There are a lot of people who don't like the newest generation of Nano. I think the Shuffle has some detriments (especially people saying that breathing on it causes water damage and it's going to be totalled if you use it at the gym, which is my main use), but that's screen I need for music playing and it should, theoretically, increase the battery life.

I was using my phone at the gym, but my phone's headphone jack is dodgy. I couldn't use my phone to make calls after I'd plugged in headphones because the phone couldn't tell when they were removed... but I guess if I can live without an MP3 player until I replace my phone, I could use the phone as a music player. I paid less for my phone than the current generation of Shuffle costs.

Simon has one of those $10 cheapy MP3 players. It was originally mine, which he bought for me when I got envious of his. But he gave me the Nano and when his died, I gave him my cheapy one. The buttons were crappy, it used actual fucking batteries (which we never have, thus it requires a special trip to the store) and it was about the size of a box of travel size toothpaste. It's a dumb device, so there aren't initial setup issues. You plug it into the USB port, you copy just the songs you want to shuffle onto it (it doesn't know playlists) and it just does that.

I would like playlists. But honestly, I could cope without them as long as the device is rechargeable.

Any recommendations?

ps. I did order that keyboard.

Comments

[jumpuphigh]

I do love my Zune. It's one of the 2nd gen models (so about 3 or 4 years old)and has 8 GBs which I find to be not quite enough but that's because I have a lot of recorded conferences and such that I'd like to listen to while driving. I don't like that you have to use the Zune software. The software is fussy and makes you sign up for an account. It has gotten better over time but I'm still annoyed that I can't use Window Media Player. The player is super-light and the controls are a little too sensitive. I'm sure the battery has lasted more than 4 hours for me and it doesn't die in between uses unless I leave it playing (which, ha!, I do all the time). I charge it with my computer or with an adapter in the car that has a USB plug.

tl;dr Despite the things that bother me, I love my Zune and would recommend it.

[seryn]

It wasn't tl;dr.
Thanks for saying what you like.

The latest Zunes seem to be slightly less expensive than the iPods for similar storage. I'd only heard of them as a one-liner joke on Chuck. Like no one has a Zune.

I thought Zune was a MS product... it doesn't even get along with their own format? That's scary.

I think I might be spoiled. Free Nano 3g is a vastly better deal than buying anything new. But if it doesn't hold a charge, then I'm going to need to do something.

[jumpuphigh]

I thought Zune was a MS product... it doesn't even get along with their own format? That's scary.

Zune uses mp3 format and Windows Media is wma. I think it is silly. I wish that they would have revamped Windows Media so that it worked with Zune.

I gave my mom a Zune after the endless complaining about her iPod Nano Shuffle. She ended up being much happier with it.

[seryn]

I had problems getting the Nano 3g to work when I got it. I finally sucked it up and installed iTunes. It works perfectly as long as it holds a charge.

I'd consider another one if they hadn't changed it to a touch screen and if it didn't cost $150.

The Shuffle--- it's meant to be a gateway player. Where you see how awesome Apple is and really want to get a fancier player, but I don't think it works like that because people who aren't already iPeople think, "Damn, Apple makes complete shit."

It's completely clear that if you want an iPod, you should spring for the Touch or not bother. And then I'm wondering why on Earth I would spend $250 for an iProduct where Apple will screw me over for apps and which requires my credit card information even if I just want free stuff.

The music player on the Kindle (one of the "lab" features) is actually quite good despite having no features. The only problem is that the cord comes out the bottom so it's hard to put it on the magazine tray on the elliptical machine... I can set the text of my book to rotate but it's still awkward.

Sprint's selling HTC tablets that have unlimited 4G data plans ($399 for the tablet, $60/month for the data). I'm thinking I could get one without a data plan (more $$$) and load it up myself since the new laptop will rip dvds (theoretically). If I could add a tablet with data to my phone plan (like the third phone on the family plan) it would totally be what I'd do instead of the iPod.

[pj]

Buy an older refurbished iPod from Apple?

iPod Classic has 36 hours battery life @ $249 for new.

[seryn]

For $209? (The refurbished price) I might as well buy the Touch which claims to have 30 hours of music playing time per charge. (I doubt that because of the active screen stuff and color display, but that's what they claim.) I don't need all the storage space on the device. I could probably live with 4Gb.

It's incredibly hard to justify paying that kind of money just to be able to play music at the gym. I realize iPods cost a lot more than I think they should.

I'm actually having trouble justifying the cost of a new Shuffle (currently $49 new) given that they're supposedly not very durable for gym use.

[pj]

Well, *I* wouldn't purchase a refurbished iPod Classic to save $40, but other people may. You can buy one of those armband holders for your Shuffle and not worry about the sweat. If it does get wet, drop it in a bag of uncooked rice for a couple of days. That's how my son saved his cell that he dropped in the toilet.

[seryn]

I'm concerned that a $50 item (Shuffle) is so humidity sensitive that it fails catastrophically during normal use.

Ew. toilet phone.

[pj]

But it's $100 less than a Nano. If it fails you're only out $50. If it doesn't you've saved $100. :-)

Toilet phone is ew.... but the thing had been flushed at least.

[seryn]

If it's ill-suited, and barely works, and has a high failure point, then why does it cost 5 times what a non-branded but similar quality item costs?

That's my pricerange. It's on the low-end of the feature set I want. If it was extra-durable or had been architected for ease of use and minimal hassle, I'd have jumped all over it. But the reviews suggest it's the same minimal quality as any other low end tech gadget---- it's intended to give you a taste of what you want to buy and then break so you rush right out to get more.

If the gym played music that non-"urban" folks appreciate I might just skip the music player entirely. But I'm going to go completely postal if I get that song that never ends stuck in my head again... "to the left. to the left. to the left. to the left. to the left. to the left." It just makes me want to *scream* that someone should kick the record player.

[pj]

Didn't know it was ill suited and barely worked. Never had a music player and the boy has had all types of brands and the only one that lasted was an iPod.

Samsun Sansa disk broke within weeks and the company refused to even discount a new one for him. That was the last time I purchased ANYTHING from them. He had another brand, too, which I cannot remember the name of (Zune?) and it didn't last long, but I paid cheap for it through W00t and got a couple. They all broke, but were cheap.

So, fork over $150 for the one you want with the features you're accustomed to, the lack of hassle in loading and playlists and quitcherbitchin'. :P~

[thistleingrey]

I really like my Cowon D2, which has been superseded by a device number I don't know offhand (check Engadget if you can stand their search interface--tags are nearly useless there--or Gizmodo). Cheaper than an iPod, at least when I bought it, and with superior battery life. Oh, here. See also D2+. It plays video as well as music, which one can ignore in favor of having a touchscreen interface to the music player, and it's fairly durable despite that touchscreen; I've carried it in my mini backpack (serves as purse) in an unpadded little cloth bag for several years, and the screen still works. Granted, I am careful not to put stuff atop it--it's in a zippered interior pocket to keep it vertical, but that's only minimal protection considering how full my mini backpack gets sometimes.

[thistleingrey]

Forgot to say: the D2 will play everything from a given album, everything by a given artist, or stuff on a given playlist you put together. The playlist takes a little patience--there are forum posts (though by now one might need to look at the Google cache version if one wanted a D2 in particular).

[seryn]

Ah. So it costs as much as an iPod Touch, is harder to use--- to the point of requiring external directions---

I do really appreciate the information, because it's impossible to tell what's a useful device. But it might take me a bit before I can cough up hundreds of dollars just to be able to listen to music at the gym.

I'm still telling myself, "If I bought an android tablet, I can add it to my mobile data plan and I could watch Netflix instead of listening to music while I'm reading." It's only going to be twice the price of the Cowon players.

[thistleingrey]

*shrugs* At the time I bought mine, the Cowon device was significantly cheaper than anything Apple had, and I'm okay with "everything in this folder" rather than a strict playlist. Also, I did want video, so anything like a Nano was right out.

If you buy an Android tablet, its battery life will be approximately 1/30 of any Cowon player I know about.

[seryn]

Ah. Thanks for the feedback.

[scheherezhad]

Sandisk Sansa Clip. I've had the 4gb model for several years now and have enjoyed it. It has a USB rechargeable battery with up to 15 hours of life, and the charge does hold quite well during inactivity.

The first review on that Amazon link is pretty thorough, and I'm happy to attempt answering any questions, otherwise.

[seryn]

I liked that one. Especially in the indigo color. I appreciate your information about whether the charge goes away when you don't use it. Hardly anyone reviews that.

[scheherezhad]

Happy to be of some help. :)

[corrvin]

What about a phone that stores and plays music? I have no idea how much storage you need. It's not like you need to get service for it, just the phone itself.

[seryn]

My current phone does this, but if I put headphones in the jack and then remove them, the phone thinks there are still headphones jacked in and I cannot make calls until I fuck the jack hole with a toothpick.

The price of mp3 players is absolutely ludicrous though compared to the price of phones, so I'm seriously considering limping along for another month then repurposing my old phone without service for the player when I replace it.

[pj]

Does it right itself if you turn it off then on again, or only toothpick surgery?

[seryn]

It does some sort of detection so it knows when to feed the sound through the headphone jack instead. But the detector often fails to detect the removal of the headphones' plug. This is apparently a fairly common problem for this phone; it's on the top 10 troubleshooting ideas for the Palm Pre. The only thing that works is to rub the jack hole with a non-reactive object.

Even a complete hardware reset (factory settings) doesn't fix it. I can make calls using the speakerphone option but that's incredibly lame.

I just stopped using the phone's music player. I suppose if I had the kind of headphones that have a microphone, I would never have noticed the issue.

[pj]

rub the jack hole with a non-reactive object.

That sounds all kinds of wrong!

[seryn]

It feels wrong to do it too. Normally electronics items tell you not to shove foreign objects into the various ports.

I feel like I should get a leather outfit and a Kenneth Cole strap-on.

(tongue sort of in cheek... I was astounded when Kenneth Cole announced they were going to focus on strap-ons.... they meant sandals, I totally misinterpreted... now all harnesses for deploying a fake cock are humorously attributed to Kenneth Cole)

[pj]

Bwahahaha. That's hilarious.