Two months after model discontinued, fans pay up to four times more for last gadgets
Wow, this is so funny/ironic. My 160GB iPod -- which I use as my home stereo system because it can hold 40,000 songs -- died just a couple weeks ago and I was freaking out about what I was going to do when I came to realize they don't sell iPod Classics, as they came to be known, anymore. . The new and "improved" iPod Touch is really an iPhone without a phone, which means there is a fraction of the storage space plus all sorts of things I do not need to just listen to music at home. It just didn't seem like a feasible alternative. so I ended up getting an appointment at the Genius Bar to see if my vintage model could be salvaged. It couldn't, but it turns out the Apple store in the Meatpacking District actually has an inventory of the 160GB iPod Classics for situations like mine, so they swapped it out for a nominal fee, despite its no longer being under warranty. With no Apple Care on the player I'm not sure why they were so kind -- especially given what this article says -- but I guess they did it because it was a mechnical flaw, or perhaps they took pity on me! To be honest, I find it hard to believe Apple would get rid of the iPod considering it was what put them back on the map.
If there hadn't been this happy ending, I was going to write a blog posting asking people how the hell they listen to music at home anymore. When this replacement iPod inevitably dies, I suppose I could get wireless speakers and play music directly from iTunes on my laptop. I actually do still have most of my CDs, but I do prefer the convenience of playing them through a player.
Would love to hear how others are handling home stereo these days. I DO NOT listen to Spotify, Pandora, playlists or shuffle my music -- I am an ALBUM guy through and through -- so please keep that in mind when writing!
4 comments:
I have an iPhone, so it is easy. Well, not easy. I hate iTunes and my iPhone. Every time they update software or randomly when I plug my phone into the computer to manage music/video it deletes some or all of the contents of my phone. At this point it's not a fluke anymore. It happens with too many units too many times. I've had to restore my phone to factory settings a bazillions times. So, my point, is that I may be looking for new ways to play music, too.
I have all of my music saved in one format on my hard drive on my main computer. I have it duplicated on my external hard drive, and every time I add something to one, I copy it over to the other. Then, I have smaller version of my stuff on my 64 GB car thumb drive, and a smaller version on my hubby's 32 GB version. I'm not certain what the legalities are, but the times when the same music is playing on any of these systems at the same time? Zero. All of my discs are still around, and we still have a 300-disc player from the Paleozoic era, but it sees less and less use. Bluetooth is where it's going, and the speakers can be quite good. Look for a solution that can handle adding more speakers for fuller sound.
I have loads of vinyl! YUM! But I also have my iTunes collection - some 20,000 songs on my iMac which connects to my 8 speakers throughout the apartment for play .....
I'm also the owner of a 160GB iPod, which is still kicking. When I'm on-the-go, I've found that using the free Google Play Music app is most convenient for accessing my huge music library, when I don't want to lug another device around. Using the Google "Music Manager" software on my desktop, it automatically syncs with music I add/buy on iTunes, and then all of that music is available to me for streaming on my smartphone via the Google Play Music app. When I encountered a problem or two with a couple of tracks that didn't seem to sync right, Google's phone support fixed it straight away. This is available for iOS as well as Android. I think it maxes out at 20,000 songs from your collection, and then there's probably a paid option beyond that.
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