Tell me about IPODS...

[namehere]

An ipod Shuffle is about the size of a book of matches and weighs next to nothing. The Shuffle automatically plays the songs loaded into it in random order so you can not play what you want when you want.

the shuffle plays songs in the order you put them in when you load them onto the player. it does have a *shuffle* mode that randomizes the play order. there are NEXT and PREV buttons so one can skip over songs or go back to previous songs. fyi

alas, the shuffle is only 1 gb (1000 mb) so it won't suite your purposes. i love the 1st generation shuffle. it's the size of a stick of gum and virtually indestructable. has better sound quality compared to any of the nanos, past or present. some speculate the current generation of the shuffle is made with even poorer quality components, thus degrading the sound quality. generally, apple uses the cheapest quality components to make their ipods, but has shiny and slick packaging and great advertising to make up for their inferior products. [/end editorial]

generally, you can compress a given mp3 file down to a smaller size. a typical audiobook-type recording of an hour long will be 50-200 mb. just figure out roughly how much total storage you might need, and get a player with that much or more. there are some players that have a memory slot, so you can just buy a new card and plug it in when you need (just like a digital camera). for hiking, i would advise against getting a hard-drive based player. generally, flash-based players tend to survive rougher handling much better. fyi

[Ronin]

Okay, size and weight are acceptable. Tell me again, what kind of batteries/re-charging options are there for the Nano?

What would a used 4 gig nano be worth, if i didn't care what color it was or if it were scratched up or something?

I've seen 4GB used Nano's for $150-$200 (for "refurbished" ones). I've also seen one advertised "Like New" for $165 on Amazon.

All ipods have internal batteries and thus need to be recharged from a power source (ex. wall socket, computer, etc.)

Thanx for the clarification on the Shuffle namehere!

[gumby]

Not exactly. There is no "average" sized .mp3. The size of an .mp3 depends mostly on the length of the song and the bit rate at which it's encoded. ".mp3" is a compressed file format, so you can cram more stuff onto your player. More compression yields a smaller file, but more audio degradation.

The higher the bit rate (less compression), the better the audio quality (a little bit of an oversimplification), but you get a bigger file.

A 3 minute song ripped at 128 kbps (more compression) will have a smaller file size than the same song ripped at 192 kbps (less compression). In other words, you can fit more low bit rate songs on a player. And since most of us can't hear a difference, I often opt to rip at 128 or 160 kbps.

I have a palm pilot that I use daily. It has a MP3 player in it, I have significant hearing loss and can't hear certain frequencies. I take my MP3s and resample them down to 16 kbps. I can put 10 songs where most can have 1. For the most part I can't hear the difference, others can though, but I am the one listening to them and it works for me.

[c.coyle]

I have a palm pilot that I use daily. It has a MP3 player in it, I have significant hearing loss and can't hear certain frequencies. I take my MP3s and resample them down to 16 kbps. I can put 10 songs where most can have 1. For the most part I can't hear the difference, others can though, but I am the one listening to them and it works for me.

I use 16 kbps for punk. The Ramones actually sound better.

[gumby]

Ok, thanks, Frosty,

So, for example, if I were to get this one:

http://www.audiobooksupercenter.com/...62&srch=follet

How would I know how much space it will use?

Technically it would take up about 980 Megabytes. The official technical specs on MP3s are that 1 Mb equals 1 minute. Since the book is 16 hours and 20 minutes it comes out to 980 megs.

[greentick]

EDIT: By the way, Creative makes some very small and light players, such as the Zen Nano and MuVo. They use AAA batteries, and the lithiums last a long time. The drawback is that they use "flash memory", which can't store as much as hard drive based players, and they are a little clunky to use until you get the hang of them. On the other hand, hard drive based players, such as the big Ipods, are more susceptible to damage from being dropped and jostled.

I have a creative zen nano 1GB I use for long car trips when everyone else is sleeping. Per the website it weighs 0.8oz without battery (1ea AAA).

http://www.creative.com/products/pro...&product=12720

IMO, the sound quality thru those tiny earphones is as such that I compress files as small as WMP will allow and have a book on tape and about 20 music CDs on there and it is only half full. It also has FM radio and a microphone. I think I got it for less than $60 at circuit city.

I can't quite bring myself to use it in the woods. Can't stand the decrease in situational awareness...

[Ronin]

I use 16 kbps for punk. The Ramones actually sound better.

Gabba Gabba Hey! Hey Ho Let's Go!

[Rufous Sided Towhee]

Technically it would take up about 980 Megabytes. The official technical specs on MP3s are that 1 Mb equals 1 minute. Since the book is 16 hours and 20 minutes it comes out to 980 megs.

So, for instance, this book would take up about 98% of a 1 gig ipod's memory...yes?

If so, obviously I'd want at least a 4 gig...

[namehere]

since we are on the topic of mp3 players...

anyone use a dap (digital audio processor) device to store shelter and trail info/maps/p.o. addresses and such? i've just ordered a player that has text/jpeg display and plan on assimilating as much info onto it so i don't have to carry separate pages. i don't think it can display pdf so i hope Jack can provide text/word formatted files for his very useful resupply articles.

[greentick]

So, for instance, this book would take up about 98% of a 1 gig ipod's memory...yes?

If so, obviously I'd want at least a 4 gig...

I have a book that is 16 or 18 one hour CDs and 20 music CDs on the creative nano zen I mentioned above.

[namehere]

So, for instance, this book would take up about 98% of a 1 gig ipod's memory...yes?

If so, obviously I'd want at least a 4 gig...

yes. keep in mind that there is some overhead in a 1gb player- so you can only effectively use perhaps 97% of the available memory anyway. if you know you will need 2.5 gb of space, you need closer to a 3gb player to store it. the current 4gb nanos are probably the best value for you if you want to stick with an apple branded mp3 player. it is possible to shrink any mp3 file into a smaller size by converting it. this will degrade the quality of the sound to some degree. but for audiobooks, it will probably not be a big deal. i think most people convert music quality files into 128kps, but audiobooks can be converted to 32 or 64kps without much noticeable degradation in sound.

[Calmwater]

I have a sony network walkman NW-107 and am happy with it. It has 1 gig of memory but with the software they give you it is possible to put about 50 cd's worth of music on it. It operates on a single AAA, they claim up to 70 hours of battery life. Although I think thats a bit optimistic the batteries do last for a really long time. (maybe 70 hours with a lithium). It it very small and weighs about 3 ounces with batteries. Not sure if Sony still makes this model but it is very hiker friendly. The only downside is that it doesn't have a built in radio and you need the software to add music.

[Frosty]

Technically it would take up about 980 Megabytes. The official technical specs on MP3s are that 1 Mb equals 1 minute. Since the book is 16 hours and 20 minutes it comes out to 980 megs.

No way. Sorry, but this is out of whack with reality as I experience it.

Elsewhere on WB, someone posted a link to 25 one-hour long podcasts. I downloaded every one and the entire 25 hours of audio took up 310 MEG.

generally, apple uses the cheapest quality components to make their ipods

They must have brilliant engineers to do that and still make MP3 players with superior sound compared to the others.

No one ever accused iPods of being inexpensive. There are many cheaper players around, none have better sound. Not a problem if you listen to audio books and interviews. You'll never tell the difference.

[namehere]

No way. Sorry, but this is out of whack with reality as I experience it.

Elsewhere on WB, someone posted a link to 25 one-hour long podcasts. I downloaded every one and the entire 25 hours of audio took up 310 MEG.

They must have brilliant engineers to do that and still make MP3 players with superior sound compared to the others.

No one ever accused iPods of being inexpensive. There are many cheaper players around, none have better sound. Not a problem if you listen to audio books and interviews. You'll never tell the difference.

i cannot say i can personally vouch for the sound quality of all mp3 players, but according to sound quality testing done by others on the web, most apple branded mp3 players cannot produce a perfect sine wave at higher db levels. when listening to audiobooks or other recorded media at lower bit-rates, i agree with you that it wouldn't make much of a difference. but with good earphones, there are many players that offer cleaner sound with more features than most apple mp3 players. clearly, there are worse players out there. conversely, there are many that are better. the current versions of the shuffle/nano uses the cheapest memory cards (leading to even longer transfer rates than the preceding models). i think apple has the best interface. but as far as the featureset/pricing/longevity, there are many other players of better value. other than an extended battery time and slightly better case, what improvements have been made between the 3g and 4g nanos? meanwhile, there are other players that have touchscreens, oleds, video/universal file playback support, fm tuners, etc...

[Fiddleback]

I have a 4GB Nano. Currently it's loaded with 1108 songs (that's 50-60 hours) and a book of science fiction short stories. The book itself is 89 megs (almost 6½ hours). There is over 210MB space left. To get a better idea of how much space audible books take up, go to audible.com and browse their selection. iPods use audible.com's format 4...one hour of 'reading' takes ~14MB. As an example, they list Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" at six hours, i.e., 84MB. FYI it's $17.50, $12.50 member price.

I definitely recommend a protective case for the iPod. Many like Pelican cases but the one I use is from Otterbox. It's dust, shock and water proof (submersible). You can listen to music and operate the click wheel all while the iPod is protected inside the case. Considering the protection it offers the weight penalty is miniscule. Total weight with iPod and earbuds is under 6oz.

I am not an 'Apple' guy and on occasion will argue on the side of Microsoft. None the less, I'm convinced that the iPod offers super sound and the supporting software, iTunes, is just flat out great. There are no issues running it on a Windows PC. You can download iTunes for free and check it out yourself. http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ iTunes, more than anything else, is what keeps me loyal to iPod.

There may be a typo on the post above...there are no 3GB Nanos to my knowledge. There are users that are very dedicated to music and the systems that play it back but the overwhelming majority of listeners will not be able to hear any sound quality drop on a Nano, IMO.

FB

[Rufous Sided Towhee]

I tried solar but did not have a positive result (perhaps the right idea but the wrong product?).

I'm interested in this solar thing.

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions everyone!

Great news, it turns out that I can borrow a 2 gig ipod nano, so I don't have to buy one after all. But it reportedly has a battery life of only 5 hours before it has to be recharged via USB. In my case, I will be meeting up with my SO once a week, and will have access to laptop/USB then, but need some way to recharge between USB plugins.

What are the options for powering/re-charging Nanos in the absence of AC power/USB ports? I'd like to hear more about this solar option. If that isn't viable, how about AAA's or, if not AA's?

[judypudy]

You might look into the .aa format - at audible.com or itunes. It is much less dense than mp3 - which is fine for a single human voice. I have a 1 GB SD card for my Sansa e130 player - it has 18 audiobooks or 230 hours of audiobooks.

Many mp3 players are compatible including all the ipod ones.

[quicktoez]

I'm a mountain loving geek and have the Ipod video (original 60gig) I'm a political pod cast junky and love books on tape. I have a solar charger (4.3 oz) that with the help of the sun would never keep up with my level of use I do. What I have found though is that the new Energizer cell phone charger, see example at (http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100594&navAction=jump&navCount=1 &id=prod2614589) will also recharge almost all cell phones and this charger with 2 AA lithium batteries which are the lightest strongest batteries I have ever used.
Now I plan to do 1012 miles in the next few months and have a personal need for noise. I can also upload (backup) my photos to my Ipod with a cable and converter that is less than 2 oz.
I have several reference books for birds, trees, tracks, berries and constellations on the pod as photos for field reference. I also have all my Outlook contacts including all the AMC’s data for hostels, shuttles, mail drops and much personal data including 1000 photos 30 movies, TV programs, 100 books, 1000’s of pod casts, personal doc’s and 1500 songs.
I need none of this but really now, less than a pound including a speaker and charger and I am entertained for months. And yes I have Pack-man and many other games too.
So what do you think is that a pound worth carrying? I think yes.

[Rufous Sided Towhee]

I'm a mountain loving geek and have the Ipod video (original 60gig) I'm a political pod cast junky and love books on tape. I have a solar charger (4.3 oz) that with the help of the sun would never keep up with my level of use I do. What I have found though is that the new Energizer cell phone charger, see example at (http://www.walgreens.com/store/product.jsp?CATID=100594&navAction=jump&navCount=1 &id=prod2614589) will also recharge almost all cell phones and this charger with 2 AA lithium batteries which are the lightest strongest batteries I have ever used.
Now I plan to do 1012 miles in the next few months and have a personal need for noise. I can also upload (backup) my photos to my Ipod with a cable and converter that is less than 2 oz.
I have several reference books for birds, trees, tracks, berries and constellations on the pod as photos for field reference. I also have all my Outlook contacts including all the AMC’s data for hostels, shuttles, mail drops and much personal data including 1000 photos 30 movies, TV programs, 100 books, 1000’s of pod casts, personal doc’s and 1500 songs.
I need none of this but really now, less than a pound including a speaker and charger and I am entertained for months. And yes I have Pack-man and many other games too.
So what do you think is that a pound worth carrying? I think yes.

Nice price. The ad didn't say if it could recharge an ipod tho. does it?

[Rufous Sided Towhee]

I use an iriver 1 gig http://www.iriveramerica.com/prod/ultra/t10/
Long battery life on AA ,very durable and I like the FM tuner. If you shop around you can find them on sale for under $100.

I've checked this one out, looks great! I can borrow the 2g nano if I want, but I am impressed with the iriver, will check ebay...