iPod Question

[Ritamarie]

I am thinking of getting an iPod for my DH. He's kind of anti-gadget (unusual for an engineer!). He will never wear ear buds, so this would be to store all of his music on, and for him to be able to use in his workshop plugged into the stereo and in his car over the car stereo. He won't use any of the other stuff on a full size iPod, so this would just be for music storage. (He already has a work issued Blackberry which he detests.)

He keeps things forever and has a stereo in his workshop that still has a cassette player. I am sure there is no existing hookup in his car.

So, my questions.....

Is an iPod Nano appropriate since it's just for music? Does a Nano have the same interface as the full size iPod? (We have 3 other iPods in the family... an iPhone, an iPod Touch and an iPod classic so I'm familiar with these, but not the Nano.)

What do we need to get the iPod working over the stereo in the workshop? Will this require a stereo upgrade? How about in the car?

I need to decide soon since his birthday is Wednesday! If I don't get the iPod, it'll be a Nashbar gift certificate!

[OakLeaf]

I hate to even say it, because I'm pretty much of an Apple loyalist , but if it's just for music, and if he's not going to be carrying it on his person, an iPod is probably not the best choice.

My DH has an iPhone, but he still uses his Zune for music. You can get a lot more storage for less money on the Zune. The downside to the Zune is that it's large and heavy and doesn't have all the PDA features.

I love my iPod Touch, but (1) I got it for free and (2) I use it for everything, in particular to replace the Palm PDA I used to have. Before I got the Touch, I had a 2nd (maybe 3rd, IAE non-video) generation Nano, which does have the same click-wheel controller as the Classic.

Now, if you want to be able to sync it with the same iTunes Library that you use for your iPods, and/or if all his music is already in iTunes, then that's different.

To use another device's speakers, it needs to have an input for an external audio source. You connect a 1/8" male-male audio cable to the iPod's speaker output and to your other device's input. The last time I bought a boom-box was over 10 years ago, but back then, not all of them had external input. A full-size stereo will have some kind of input, and you can use an adapter if it's a different type of jack. Most modern cars have a MP3 player jack, but if his car is more than about 5 years old, it may not. I wouldn't think it would be hard for a car stereo place to install one, though.

[Ritamarie]

Oakleaf, good info!

I have a 1/8" male-male audio cable for my car so I will see if he has an input for that on his stereo. I'll try it out with my iPhone. His car is just a few years old. I'll have to check it for an audio input. That would be a very simple solution. I'd hate to get him a present that would force him to upgrade his stereo in order to use it! Isn't there some kind of wireless gadget that you can use with the car stereo where you tune the car stereo to a certain frequency and it picks it up?

We're Mac people here too. It would be synced to an iTunes library on my Power Mac. I wouldn't know how to use anything else!

So is the Nano good for all of this? Or should I get one of the classics?

[OakLeaf]

Isn't there some kind of wireless gadget that you can use with the car stereo where you tune the car stereo to a certain frequency and it picks it up?

There is, but sound quality isn't that great. If his car doesn't have an input, I'd at least find out how much it would take to install one, before buying an FM transmitter.

So is the Nano good for all of this? Or should I get one of the classics?

Depends on how big your library is (and related, whether he would keep the music at a higher bit-rate if he had the capacity for it). The Nano maxes out at 16GB, while the Classic is 160GB for $70 more. If 16 GB is enough for him, and he won't be using it for anything but music, the Nano would be fine. http://www.apple.com/ipod/compare-ipod-models/

[Irulan]

one answer: Radio Shack.

If the car has a cassette player, you can get a cassette/male plug in that works better than the FM converters. Or it works better than the FM converters our kids bring along. cost $7

You can also get an auxilary cable that should plug into any amp. This is what my DH does in his shop and we also have on our upstairs stereo. You just treat the ipod like an aux hook up. Again, about $5 for the cable.

[Ritamarie]

Great info!!

I went out to the workshop to see if I could find an auxiliary input to try my iPhone and there was nothing on the front (except a headphone jack). It would require dismantling everything in the stereo cabinet to plug it in. But since the cassette player and dvd player are both hooked into the back of the receiver I should be able to do the same thing with the iPod?

Let's see, if I give him the iPod, the DVD player and all the DVDs can go...



He'll probably commute by bicycle tomorrow and I can check out the car.

My other question is, is the interface for the Nano the same as a full size iPod (in case he wants to upgrade at some point to something that you can plug the iPod into directly)?

[Ritamarie]

I ran the iPod idea past both my kids and they both said, "an iPod for Dad??" Maybe I'll just ask him if he wants one!

Even my Dad (75 years young) has an iPod!

[Irulan]

Unless your stuff is really new the auxilary input is on the back. Really, you can use any input ( CD, phone, Tape, etc) as long as you remember what you used for controlling it.

[Ritamarie]

So, this is kinda funny....

Last week I had asked my husband what he wanted for his birthday. He had said, "just the usual" which means "beer". After my kids reaction, I'm thinking that tonight I will just ask him if he would like an iPod. So he comes home from work and 2 minutes after he gets home he says, "Hey I thought of something I want for my birthday! Is it too late?!" I said, no it's not too late. (I'm thinking he's going to ask me for an iPod!) He says......
he wants curtains for the living room! Curtains!!

A year an a half ago for our 18th anniversary, he says he wanted curtains for the bedroom. I'm still working on that! I did actually buy curtains and only one of the three is fitted to the windows.

I would way rather buy him a $250 iPod than make curtains!!

Personally I hate curtains. And I hate sewing (though I know how. Kind of.) If sewing is a hobby I guess I have to change my tag line.

[Eden]

There is, but sound quality isn't that great. If his car doesn't have an input, I'd at least find out how much it would take to install one, before buying an FM transmitter.

my car is a 97, so certainly has no modern conveniences.... I have a pretty el cheapo FM transmitter for my Ipod and it sounds perfectly fine. The only time it gets a little goofy is if there is actually a radio station interfering with the signal (in which case I can change it - there are selections for 3 different frequencies)