Comments on: Platinum Pen Zepher Mini Trio Review

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 09 Apr 2004 02:16:36 +0000

pookietharacer:

I’ve actually found a super simple way to sync my iPod with all my tunes. I use iTunes for Windows. I love it. I have a mixture of AAC files (only music I’ve purchased from the iTunes website) and MP3. I rip my physical CDs using a plug-in that I bought for Windows Media Player, and then import them into iTunes. If I ever want the AAC files to be converted to MP3, I’ll just burn them to an audio CD and then rip them to MP3.

Works for me!

By: pookietharacer

pookietharacer — Fri, 09 Apr 2004 00:50:20 +0000

hi, i don’t know if you’re ever going to get this post, so i going to post it again in the general discussions, where perhaps you will see it.. but i just recently purchased an iPod also, and you mention that you had difficulty w/ musicmatch and itunes not working well together? well i think this might help, what i do is.. create a playlist in musicmatch by just going through my song files and round them up on the playlist. then i save it as a playlist. then you can actually go into itunes and import that playslist into Itunes, i don’t think it makes a copy of the entire playlist, (making copies of songs you already have)… to do so. just go into the the file folder, (in itunes) then hit import. search through your C: drive where musicmatch is, then go into the MM folder. look for playlist and go into the “default” folder. on the ITUNEs search box, you have to let it read m3u? (i think thats what its called i might be wrong). then when you let the Itunes search box recognize that format, it will show you the playlists in MM. then click on the desired playlist and you should import it into Itunes. well.. i hope this is of some help and i hope i don’t sound assinine, but it worked for me.

15gb iPod. (still have 12 gigs to fill =/ )

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 24 Dec 2003 17:23:21 +0000

The alarm is handy for when your working and listening to music. Example: Say your listening to music and you have lunch break at 12. Then the alarm is handy in that way.

By: robert

robert — Wed, 10 Dec 2003 07:37:14 +0000

I’m looking for a very small MP3 player that will sync with my PC so I can download books from audible.com for my wife. It needs to be simple to use with preferably the ability for her to hook it onto her arm as she walks around. The Ipod seems a little large.
1) Any suggestions for a PC user?
2) Is there a better source to download books than Audible.com?
Bob

By: Julie

Julie — Thu, 31 Jul 2003 02:31:11 +0000

Bob:

That’s a very cool idea! Were you nervous about doing it? Did you do the sides also?

If you have a camera, try to take a picture for us.

By: Bob VA

Bob VA — Thu, 31 Jul 2003 02:25:25 +0000

Julie:
I was going OCD over fingerprints on the back of my shiny new iPod, so I used a jewelers “finishing stone” to put on a fine brushed finish. Looks pretty good and no longer shows finger prints.

I happened to have a “fine” finish stone handy (I break watches for a hobby) so that’s what I used. You can still see vague reflections, but the brushing hides fingerprints and minor scratches. Slightly shiner than the finish on a high-end fridge.

Cheers,
Bob

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 15 Jul 2003 21:00:34 +0000

You misread my wishes… I don’t want the iPod to be a PDA either. It wouldn’t make a very good one as it is right now anyway… no method to enter data. I just think that program mentioned above could go a step further and make a copy the email too. I don’t need to read it on the iPod, just to have it there as a backup device.

By: mongoos150

mongoos150 — Tue, 15 Jul 2003 20:20:49 +0000

NOOOOOOOOO!!!
The entire reason I love the iPod (besides the fact that it carries all of my music) is that it has not evolved into a PDA. I love the simplicity of the iPod, its interface etc… The LAST thing I would want is it to evolve into a PDA with add-ons, wifi, etc…
That would be horrid. It’s aesthetic appeal would be lost to me, and to many other people. Keep it simple.

By: JanvanArkel

JanvanArkel — Tue, 15 Jul 2003 20:17:30 +0000

Hi Julie,

Yeah, let’s make it a complete PDA! Sending and receiving email, including WiFi and Bluetooth… Read your email at every hotspot. Would be great!

But seriously, there is a limit you have to take in consideration. A note can only be 4 kb… the rest will be truncated. Details at http://developer.apple.com/hardware/ipod/ipodnotereader.pdf

BTW, another must have: the PocketDock from http://www.sendstation.com/

Jan

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 15 Jul 2003 19:52:04 +0000

Very cool! Thanks Jan Now, you know what would make it even better? If it also synced your email. That would make it a great total Outlook backup solution.

By: JanvanArkel

JanvanArkel — Tue, 15 Jul 2003 19:32:38 +0000

Hi there;

Nice to see a review centered around the Windows iPod expierence. I know there are some advantages having an iPod and a Mac. There is one advantage for Windows users, though. Have a look at http://iccnet.50megs.com/iPodSync/

They advertise their product as:

iPodSync is a tool for Windows users to keep your Microsoft Outlook calendar. contact, tasks and notes synchronized between your PC and your iPod.

It even does notes.

Looks very cool, and repairs one of your ‘worries’ in your review.

Jan van Arkel
jan@van-arkel.nl

By: dmkozak

dmkozak — Sun, 29 Jun 2003 04:07:34 +0000

Originally posted by tthiel
I had the Sony cassette adapter with my old ipod. Had to turn the sound way up too. The FM transmitter is much better plus you don’t have all the wires going everywhere.

Better from a simplicity standpoint, maybe. But, not better from a sound standpoint. FM radio caps out at 15K Hz. Your ears hear all the way up to 20K Hz. So, you’re missing a fair amount of “highs” by using the FM transmitter.

They are easy to use, and less of a hassle. But, the music will still sound as tho you are listening to FM radio.

By: mongoos150

mongoos150 — Tue, 24 Jun 2003 17:58:34 +0000

Apple just released firmware update 2.0.1.
It fixes many bugs like backlight timing, asian language support, and some other useful stuff like the On-The-Go playlist queing and track audio (there is no longer any clicking between the tracks). Big improvements-you guys should download it.
Get it here.

By: eichin

eichin — Thu, 19 Jun 2003 14:55:32 +0000

64 minutes to load? so the windows-firewire path is still much slower than the mac-firewire path? (I haven’t seen an explanation, I have seen 1900 songs load on a 15G unit in 16 minutes from a 12″pb…)

By: Julie

Julie — Thu, 12 Jun 2003 17:58:17 +0000

I actually received the iPod Armor case yesterday. Although it looks like it’s not for the latest versions, it works just fine. Review to be posted soon.

By: shahed_ameer

shahed_ameer — Thu, 12 Jun 2003 15:24:21 +0000

Hi Julie - are you planning any more Ipod case reviews (for the 3rd gen ipods)? The 4 case reviews that I found on your site are all for the previous generations. BTW, the case at http://www.xtrememac.com/ looks interesting but they're still working on updating their cases for the 3rd gen ipods. This one seems interesting too: http://www.jrhillandcompany.com/ (Ipod "wrap")

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 10 Jun 2003 19:21:21 +0000

The only problem I had with ephpod was one time it crashed while it was closing the program. I took my iPod to work and was going to listen to music, and when I went to look for something to listen to, my iPod was totally blank!!! I freaked out.

But when I got home and put it in the dock and started ephpod, it came up and said that it had crashed on a previous run and wanted to know if I wanted to ‘fix’ things (I can’t remember the exact wording). I clicked OK and it did some hocus pocus and my music was back…

By: radleyp

radleyp — Tue, 10 Jun 2003 17:54:53 +0000

By: shahed_ameer

shahed_ameer — Tue, 10 Jun 2003 17:44:25 +0000

Originally posted by Julie I've reset mine a couple of times, but it was during my usage of MusicMatch. I've not had to reset while just listening to music away from a computer.

Have you had to reset your Ipod when sync'ing with EphPod? My 15GB Ipod is arriving in a couple of days (almost a month after I ordered it!) and I'd like to use the most stable platform ... BTW, I just read at www.ipoding.com that there is an Ipod firmware update coming out soon that includes a "patch for the MusicMatch software that is used for Windows iPod syncing" - maybe that could help with your reset issues with Musicmatch

By: Julie

Julie — Tue, 10 Jun 2003 16:25:33 +0000

[B]USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/s) is actually faster than the standard Firewire (400 Mbit/s) but slower than the newer Firewire 800 standard (800 Mbit/s). I'm pretty sure Ipod uses Firewire 400, not Firewire 800. Plus, I thought you can charge the Ipod thru USB as well... [/B]

As I understand it (and from the Apple website), the USB cable is a split cable. It plugs into the port on the dock, Then one part plugs into the USB port, and the other part plugs into the AC adapter that came with the iPod. You can see it here: http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/71308/wo/cu5tV125AoKb3fsf0lm1QMK7csU/2.7.0.5.1 [B]

Julie - here's a question for you: how stable is your Ipod? There have been many reports of folks having to frequently reset their Ipods. Here's an article that mentions this: http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/152/living/New_iPod_is_not_necessarily_improved+.shtml [/B]

I've reset mine a couple of times, but it was during my usage of MusicMatch. I've not had to reset while just listening to music away from a computer.

By: Peter K.

Peter K. — Tue, 10 Jun 2003 15:47:30 +0000

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/s) is actually faster than the standard Firewire (400 Mbit/s) but slower than the newer Firewire 800 standard (800 Mbit/s). I'm pretty sure Ipod uses Firewire 400, not Firewire 800.

While the listed theoretical speed of USB 2.0 is faster than Firewire, all real-world tests have proven otherwise. For example: DP-Now USB 2.0 vs. Firewire

By: shahed_ameer

shahed_ameer — Tue, 10 Jun 2003 15:25:29 +0000

Another excellent review, Julie – great job!

Some comments …

I agree with you that being able to display album cover art would be a cool feature – I’ve been waiting for something like that for years now. I’m not sure what would happen to the battery life though if the Ipod had a good-looking color screen. I value small size and long battery life higher than a color screen … I think that’s why we haven’t seen a color-screen Ipod yet.

Musicmatch – I actually use this and kinda like it. There are some cool features in Musicmatch like “super tagging” that can auto-download album cover art and fix your tags for you. It also has “smart playlists” that can auto generate playlists based on your inputs (length of time, genre, artists, etc).

The best feature of all I think is Musicmatch radio – you can listen for free to streaming audio with near-cd quality sound (128kbit/s bitrate) … although their website says that the free cd-quality streaming is for a limited time. They’re probably doing this to get folks used to their service and later charge them for it. There are many kinds of “stations” you can listen to. Even if you don’t use Musicmatch to organize your music collection, you can still use it to listen to their radio service.

You can also get an iTunes skin for Musicmatch from here: http://www.deskmod.com/?show=showskin&skin_id=33876

> FireWire is faster than USB for transferring music to the iPod, and you can charge thru the same cable.

USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/s) is actually faster than the standard Firewire (400 Mbit/s) but slower than the newer Firewire 800 standard (800 Mbit/s). I’m pretty sure Ipod uses Firewire 400, not Firewire 800. Plus, I thought you can charge the Ipod thru USB as well…

Julie – here’s a question for you: how stable is your Ipod? There have been many reports of folks having to frequently reset their Ipods. Here’s an article that mentions this: http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/152/living/New_iPod_is_not_necessarily_improved+.shtml

By: Te_Aito

Te_Aito — Mon, 09 Jun 2003 21:54:31 +0000

Great review once again! I’ve had my 10-gig original iPod for over a year now, and it’s been on many trips with me. I love it! I used an iRock FM tranmitter for a while, then got a Transpod. The Transpod is great, and even though I haven’t yet, I like the idea that I can use it in any car.

I’ve looked at the new iPods lately, and when they make some screen protectors and a Transpod, I’ll move up to the 30GB. I am a little nervous with how sensitive the buttons are, but it’s not really a factor for me in the Transpod, and I usually use the hold switch anyway when working out once I’m running a playlist. Love the interface with my 17″ PowerBook, too hehe.:D

By: radleyp

radleyp — Mon, 09 Jun 2003 19:52:54 +0000

30GB! Who has the time to fill such a unit? I have had a 5GB iPod for some four months, and I have ca. 24 hours of music on it, not all of which I have listened to. 24 hours = 1.3GB. You can do the math. I can foresee a time when none of us will even need homes, as we will carry EVERYTHING with us. radleyp

By: mgome

mgome — Mon, 09 Jun 2003 19:22:05 +0000

Logjam Electronics sells an auxillary input converter which converts “the CD Changer data port of your factory or after-market radio to an auxiliary audio input with line level RCA jacks.”

Auxillary Input Converters

Unfortunately, they seem to be for later model vehicles since changer controls on factory stereos weren’t widely available 6-7 years ago. Although, you might be able to use the P.I.E. Multi-Purpose Source Switcher, if you have an aftermarket amplified system. Otherwise, there really doesn’t appear to be wire solution if your head unit cannot take inputs or you don’t have an external amplifier.

–
Manny