iPod, iPhone and general Mac musings

[ISUFan22]

We're looking into entering in the Mac world (finally) and right now are trying to decide whether we should go with one of the various iPods or an iPhone.

Our contract with AT&T is up in March - so we're free to do what we want with our phone plan.

I'm not a huge fan of the fancy phones - but am a proponent of spending less money total for once device than more money for 2 separate devices.

Any feedback from iPod and/or iPhone owners? I've read reviews but some of them can be skewed. Also, not a big fan of iTunes - have not used it first hand but have seen it and heard about it. Will probably just use MediaMonkey to sync data to the device from my PC.

I've looked around online for deals on the iPod and iPhone - don't really seem to be many out there...that I'm finding anyways. Was in the Apple store this weekend - could easily drop a bunch of cash on a MacBook Pro, 1 TB time capsule (dubs as a wireless router with USB port for a printer) and the Apple TV. I'd be in heaven - and - broke.

 

[bos]

I still want to try the iPhone just to feel out the features. I guess there is a new software version coming out soon that will allow 3rd party developers to create new software. Sounds kind of cool. Has anyone tried to use the iPhone with exchange? I would probably consider the iPhone at some point. Has everything in one for a decent price.

I have heard the Apple Tv is kind of a turd.

 

[SuperCy]

I was thinking about investing in a Touch somewhere down the road. We'll have to see though.

 

[HGPuck]

I still want to try the iPhone just to feel out the features. I guess there is a new software version coming out soon that will allow 3rd party developers to create new software. Sounds kind of cool. Has anyone tried to use the iPhone with exchange? I would probably consider the iPhone at some point. Has everything in one for a decent price.

I have heard the Apple Tv is kind of a turd.

Have you heard this about the new generation Apple Tv or the first. Heard things like that about the original and have not heard a whole lot after they redid it.

 

[bos]

Have you heard this about the new generation Apple Tv or the first. Heard things like that about the original and have not heard a whole lot after they redid it.

Maybe 1st. Not sure.

 

[CycloneGizzard]

I've had an iPhone since last August and really love it. The iPod features work great, but I like the phone and internet part of it more. It's nice to just have 1 device to take on road trips or into work with me everyday. I also use media monkey to my music to the iphone. You will still have to use itunes to update the iphone though.

I'm also looking into an Apple TV. I've read some really good reviews about the new 2.0 software release for it. I never wanted to get into the whole Blu-Ray / HD-DVD market because I knew eventually downloadable HD content would be just around the corner and that's basically what you get with the new Apple TV.

I know in the past you have held some sort of personal vendetta against me for no reason, but if you are thinking of taking the Apple leap, I would highly suggest it.

 

[4429 mcc]

I have the ipod touch, love it! I am considering selling it to upgrade to the iphone would love to have access to the internet where-ever I go.

 

[bos]

With apple tv, how long does it take to download HD movies to view? The rental portion of the downloadable content is what excites me. Purchasing movies is a long way off. I still like having a disc copy of a movie so I think others like me will keep the HD disc sales going. Hard drives fill up quick and if it dies, there goes your collection. I would say bandwidth restrictions will keep the download content industry slow to move.

 

[CycloneGizzard]

I've read with the Apple TV the movies take about 1 hour to download, but you can start watching them in a few minutes.

 

[cyadict]

I've had several people tell me that they lose lots of calls witht he iphone. I really dont know because I dont have one. Does anybody else have problems with coverage or service outside of metro areas?

 

[ISUFan22]

I've had several people tell me that they lose lots of calls witht he iphone. I really dont know because I dont have one. Does anybody else have problems with coverage or service outside of metro areas?

That is certainly one of the things I'd be concerned about. I'll drop a couple calls a month - I can handle that. I wonder if it's an AT&T thing (which I've heard it is - that's who I'm with) or specifically an issue with the iPhone.

I appreciate all the feedback so far!

As far as downloading music/movies - looking mostly at the Apple TV - it would be nice if they'd offer something like Netflix - a monthly fee that allows you to get x amount of movies per month - instead of the per movie charges. We go through a fair amount of movies on Netflix.

It would also be nice if there was a way to save those movies once downloaded - but that would be a copyright issue I'm sure.

 

[CycloneGizzard]

Before I had ATT with the iphone I had sprint for about 3 years and haven't noticed any more drop calls with the iphone.

 

[CyGal]

I wasn't aware that you could use anything other than iTunes on an iPod. Have you looked into things to verify that MediaMonkey would work for these devices?

 

[ISUFan22]

There was a thread a while back discussing it and MediaMonkey actually has an iPod setting on it - choose your iPod device type of thing. I'm fairly certain they work with one another.

 

[ISUFan22]

From mediamonkey.com...

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Feb. 1, 2008
MediaMonkey 3.0.2 is now available! It adds support for Vista, new iPods, better Album Art support, and another 300 new features and improvements.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Jan. 30, 2007
MediaMonkey 2.5.5 is now available! It adds support for iTunes phones, improved iPod and MTP device synchronization, numerous Album Art fixes, improved FLAC support, and many other improvements.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Synchronize with iPods, MP3 phones and other Portable Audio Devices in seconds. Simply configure MediaMonkey once, and then click the Synchronize button to synchronize tracks and related properties including Album Art, ratings, play history, and playlists with a broad range of portable devices*. With Volume Leveling, the tracks will even play back on your device at consistent volumes! [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Try MediaMonkey if you want painless synchronization with almost any portable player.[/FONT]

 

[CycloneGizzard]

I can confirm that Media Monkey works just great with the iPhone. That's what I use at home.

 

[ISUFan22]

MediaMonkey is not yet available for Macs though - at least that was the case a few months ago and I still don't see a Mac download option on their site.

Link to iPod specific info for MediaMonkey...

MediaMonkey Features (Manage, Play, Tag, Rename, Playlists)

 

[CycloneGizzard]

Yeah, if you have a mac you may be stuck with iTunes. I'm sure there is some sort of alternative out there, but right now I'm a pc guy.

 

[CompCy]

I have an Apple TV and the software update is a lot better in terms of audio/video quality, but the menu navigation is a lot worse. The download times of HD movies are not bad at all on Mediacom cable internet. Usually you can start watching the movie with 2-5% of it downloaded, which can be up to 15 minutes. I did have a problem once with a movie not downloading fast enough and 5 minutes before the end it had to buffer a bit. The HD movies are 720p, and obviously aren't as good as Bluray (or HDDVD), but they are as good or better than Mediacoms HD movie channels.

 

[CyGal]

There was a thread a while back discussing it and MediaMonkey actually has an iPod setting on it - choose your iPod device type of thing. I'm fairly certain they work with one another.

I must have missed that thread.
That's great that you can.