Hi all,
My old MP3 player is dead or dieing and I need something to replace it for winter training. Anyone know what the durability/toughness of the iPOD Nano is? I’m also looking at some other brands (for about 1-2GB)
Cheers
The first word on the Nano is that you literally never want it out of a case. It’s tough enough, but it scratches like you wouldn’t believe. Otherwise it’s quite nice.
Good case reviews are at www.ilounge.com
I’ve always had great luck with iRiver mp3 players. I’ve got a standard iPod, which is great but not ideal for exercising with due to size and hard drive… and a small flash-based iRiver which I’ve used for everything from running to skiing. They’re cheaper and run on batteries, so you could pick up a set of AA rechargeables and have essentially unlimited play time. My player got at least 20 hours on a single rechargeable battery… which trashes any Apple product, plus it’s not all proprietary. It had radio too, which was nice.
Nanos have the cool factor, but their competitors can still challenge for features for your money.
I have a sandisk 1gb that came with a plastic “rainjacket” case. So far it has proved to be very durable.
I would be careful with the ipod nano. Early word is that Apple released the nano far too early with insufficient QA. In fact, many of them have snapped in half from the owner sitting down with them in their pocket. The case also scratches far too easily apparently.
Speaking from a system in use…I bought an iPod (the 20GB one) and it is larger than the nano - I bought it when the nano wasn’t out yet. The trump for me is that my entire music collection is on this with room to spare.
Anyway, what I do is put the ipod in the casing I have (which has an armband as it’s meant to strap around your arm for running), then take the armband and attach it around my stem so the face of it is right beneath me. It’s on there tight and isn’t going anywhere.
there’s an infrared adaptor made by someone (the name eludes me right now) and it comes with a handy remote. THus I can easily put the remote in my shirt pocket or just tuck it up my shorts (it’s light and small) and pull it out when I want to change songs, adjust volume, etc.
I’d recommend this because fussing with the buttons requires some focus and delicate fingers- when you are riding that’s hard to do. Also, the 20GB and 40GB models are becoming less popular now so you’ll find a deal on them through eBay (where I got mine).
If this is for running only, go with the nano or shuffle. The iPod I have is bigger and best if attached to a water carrying belt or pouch around the waist. I personally don’t like things wrapped around my arm when I’m running hard and my HR is maxed.
Just my opinion on a setup. Good luck