Originally posted by: kimchee411
Extra $300 as in a video companion to the iPod. And as far as size limitations go, I don't want to carry around multiple CF cards, and it's going to take at least 20 1GB cards to equal the capacity of the cheapest iPod. In fact, I store all of my music on my iPod and it saves me a lot of hard drive space. It also works very nicely with iTunes and as a firewire storage device.
Personally I really don't care for all the other gadgetry involved with a PDA. You can't use Voice Commander where there's any noise, you can't use 802.11 when you're walking the streets (I'm a student - I do a lot of walking and that's when I use my iPod the most by far, followed by at the gym) and PCS cards aren't fast enough to stream Mp3s (not to mention that you have to pay for service). Navigating through Pocket PCs one handed with buttons just to get to your music player and then going through your library with a scroll wheel is a nuisance when you're walking around. I want that circular touch sensitive wheel that the iPod has because it can go very fast or very slow with a natural, fluid movement instead of making your finger twitch up and down like with a scroll wheel.
And all that extra battery life would be nice, but I don't even use my iPod to it's 12 hour capacity on any given day (I do have things to do, can't doddle around listening to music all day long).
I also forgot to mention that the iPod has excellent sound quality that you will not get from a PDA.
I don't want a toy to play around with; I want a music (and perhaps video) player that does what it's supposed to do the most efficiently. I'm not saying that everyone should own an iPod for their portable music solution, but you say you don't see the point in iPods, and I'm showing you that there are people whose needs are well suited for the iPod.
1) I have 50 gig worth of MP3s, and don't see the need for having more than a few hundred tracks at a time.
2) Don't need the extra battery life, then don't buy an extended battery. That is most peoples knock on a PDA is the battery life.
3) Can't surf the net and walk? iPod can't do that either. On good wireless campuses you can go from one side to the other though.
4) Don't want to carry around a bunch of extra flash cards, then get a cool case that has all of the pocket built into it and combines it all into one unit. Personally I don't see the need for 20 gig worth of media at my fingertips.
5) Would rather have a touch sensative scroll wheel versus a touch screen? You don't have to use the stylus you know? WMP10 is skinable and you can make your own interface, with buttons as big as you want them.
6) PCS Card can get 144kbps, which is way more than enough to stream MP3s. Vision runs off the CDMA network, which is slow as hell, but the cards run off the CDMA2000 network. Every cell carrier besides I believe T-mobile have cards with speeds capable of streaming music and also movies as well. It's not cheap, but if it is important to you, it is definately availabale.
LIke you, I agree that it is mostly personal preference, certain people have certain needs, and that's cool. When I see people clammering over the latest iPod that adds on features that people say "Wow... that is sooo cooool!!!!" when there have been devices out there for years that do the same thing and even more for less money, it aggrivates me. Some people think Apple is a trendsetter and an innovater when really they just copy other peoples devices and technology and do an incredible job of marketing. The new iMac looks just like Gateway systems that came out years ago, and everyone thinks Apple invented the coolest design ever for a computer.
BTW, from a students perspective, before I graduated last spring, during my years at college, my PDA was so useful. It was a notetaker, lecture audio recorder, use it as my planner, play games during boring lectures, and a myriad of other things. I only wished I would have gotten one during the first couple years. Duke just recently gave out iPods to all its incoming freshmen. If Duke really wanted to help their students academically versus using a gimmick to attract students, they would have given out PDAs as opposed to iPods. Even high schools in my area are starting to give out PDAs and the students really like them.
The only reason to go for an iPod over a PDA is storage, and if that is really important, go with an iPod, But to me, a couple gig is just as good as 40 gig, and it isn't worth the extra $100 to go with a 40 gig iPod. Physical size is roughly the same, interface is better on a PDA, accessibility is better on a PDA, battery life can be equivelent, sound quality is great on a PDA and you can even adjust it with a graphic equalizer. Those and you get all the extra features. Especially pictures and movies which Apple lovers are dying to get on iPods.
For the average person, a PDA might be a bit too technical for them to set up exactly the way they want everything to work, but anyone that gets on Anandtech is perfectly capable of customizing a PDA with whtever applications you need. I won't get on my girlfriend's friends for having iPods as they wouldn't be able to figure out how to make a PDA play MP3s, but anyone who knows anything about computers should not be buying an iPod, unless they NEED the storage. At that, there are a ton of MP3 players out there that are cheaper, the same storage capacity, and more functional.
If/When Apple makes a video iPod, you think it is going to play anything other than .mov? No way. They aren't going to pay the licensing fee for Mpeg2/4 support and they aren't going to include 3rd party codecs in firmware updates, as that is way above 95% of the Apple users heads. Mpeg1 support, maybe, but Apple has so much invested in quicktime I really don't they'll let you use anything else. So if you do want portable video, don't wait around for Apple to give it to you.