Help for the Ipod impared.

[RebelDogg]

I've never used an Ipod. I honestly wasn't all to interested in getting one until I got on this site. Now I want one so I can listen in my car and in my truck at work.

I'm just wondering if someone can help me decide what kind I should get? I've seen the different Ipods and Zunes or Zumes or whatever. I'm sure there are other brands. My phone (Blackjack II) plays mp3's and I can connect to the bluetooth on my car stereo with that.

So is it worth it to use a seperate MP3 player or not? Also, should I get the one with a screen or just get the little one with no screen? I think the PDF files come in the podcasts, correct? But how easy are they to read on that little screen?

The price difference is pretty steep between the shuffle, nano, and the big one. I just can't decide if it's worth it to shell out the extra cash. Moneys not so much the issue. I'd just hate to get the big fancy one and find out it's too hard to read the PDF's on that screen.

Are Ipods better than other brands? Also, I've heard the Shuffle can't be made to play in a custom order, is that true? I've also heard Nano's have a very limited lifespan.

Any info or suggestions are appreciated. I hope to get one of these little doodads pretty soon.

Oh, yeah. What exactly is in the podcast? Is it everything that you get in the lessons? Like PDF's, audio lesson, premium content, etc? Also, I'm still using the older lessons and working my way forward. Can I get these on my ipod or would I have to download everything and then save it to the device?

Sorry to sound so out of it, but I just haven't kept up with technology since prolly 2002ish...

[Sp3ctre18]

I can answer a few things.

The podcast is no different than what you see on site; it's simply that a program like itunes can subscribe to the feed, and download everything.

The files you get will be same things. The lesson, review/dialog, and the PDFs. But they will all be in one easy location for downloading and for access, according to your subscription.

If all your want an MP# player for is for japanesepod101, I don't think you need much in terms of features and stuff, but you do need to watch out for certain things that would be relevant to podcasts. Hopefully other people wlll have some good comments on that; personally I can only say, checking how playback order works may be quite important.

I tried loading all the audio onto my 1yr-old 8GB Zune, and it worked. It lists the most recent audio first which is...logical I guess. BUT, the zune plays back top-to-bottom. That means I could NOT go to the first audio lessons, and just let it playback chronologically.

HOWEVER, I MAY be able to sort them in the Zune software to make them appear the way I want.... I'll let you know; it's just..... I accidentally deleted it all so I'm redownloading....

[Taurus]

I would really struggle to recommend an ipod just for the podcasts. My podcast broke down recently and I bought a replacement, but that was largely because I wanted something with a lot of capacity to store all of my music, podcasts, and a load of other Japanese-related audio (songs, short stories, CDs that come with textbooks etc.). When I was on my honeymoon recently I found it was fine to listen to the podcasts on my phone (a Nokia N95). Oh, and as far as I know, you can only read the pdfs on the ipod touch...

[jinyang]

This is going to be a bit comprehensive (therefore long) but I think it will explain everything.

Essentially if you want to just listen to the podcasts in your car, you can continue to use your phone, but you will not be able to view any of the transcripts that are apart of the podcast. Depending on what kind of subscription you have (basic, premium, premium plus) this might not be such a big deal.

Also, the transcripts are exactly that: transcripts. I haven't used them in a while but I believe that they're kanji/ romaji. However the just show the dialogue, not the grammar point or the breakdown of vocabulary.

If you're looking for a new mp3 player, basically the ipod is the way to go. The transcript that is contained in the podcast is only viewable through an ipod by either clicking the center button (nano, classic models) or double tapping the *now playing* screen (ipod touch, iphone). I would suggest an Ipod touch just for the simple fact that its a giant screen and therefore easier to see the transcript, but I don't think size is a major problem on the other models.

[Taurus]

I thought I read somewhere on here that some lessons don't include transcripts.

(Just to clarify, by the way, the transcripts and the pdfs are different things.)

[Javizy]

You can easily justify $100 of the cost of an iPod touch since it can be used as an electronic dictionary. There are also flashcard apps, which means you can take your reviews with you wherever you go. There are a bunch of other Japanese-related apps available, as well.

There are whole load of other non-Japanese-related features that you're probably already aware of (audio, high quality video, etc) that'll give you even more value for money. Personally, I've never bought a gadget that justified its cost so easily. However, it's likely that a 3rd gen edition will be released in the autumn, so I'd consider waiting for a while if I were you.

[RebelDogg]

Thanks for the replies everybody! I've been reading up a little bit here and there on these gadgets. I think I like the Iphone. Seems like it does everything the ipod touch does and then some. Plus it's a phone as well so I can get rid of the Blackjack and not have to carry around THREE devices. (Work phone, personal, and ipodythingie)

Anyone use the Iphone?

[chinz]

oh yes, I am using the iphone! Listening to podcasts and reading the transcript is just like you've said. By the way, i dont usually look at the kana transcript because the layout is rather hard to follow. But sometimes I will read the english translation to understand the dialog.

And if your iphone/itouch is updated with the latest 3.0 version, there are some extra feature, a button that allows you to rewind 30secs backwards which is tremendously useful to listen to a certain portion over and over again... and a speed button (that can toggle between 1/2x, 1x and 2x) ... something that I definitely appreciate for my listening!

[Sfronin50]

I'm new to Japanespod101 and also on using the Ipod. Ihave the ipod touch and was able to download many of the files from Japanesepod 101 but have not figured out how to set it up so that it is sequential and I get all from 1 - ???? Right now its a jumble of beginner sessions and newbie sessions. I also seem to have some intermediate sessions but wasn't trying to get that. Help please?

[untmdsprt]

Here's my two cents, two yen worth:

I finally got the iPhone and couldn't be happier. It displays the PDFs through an app called air sharing, and you can view them while listening to the podcast if you want. You can also resize everything so you can read it. Just takes two fingers being spread apart to enlarge the display.

Also you're not limited to just reading PDFs and listening to the podcasts. You can also download dictionaries, games, etc. Since mine is also a phone, I can carry one device instead of two or three now.

@Sfronin50: you can create smart playlists if you iTunes and give it criteria of what you want. I have a lot of lists set up so I can go to the ones I want. For example: for Newbie I have Name contains Newbie, Name doesn't contain S4. This would be good if I wanted Newbie lessons other than season 4 in the list.

If you have something other than iTunes, you'll have to see if it can set up lists like these.