Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve at least heard the following terms: “iPod”, “iPod Nano”, “iPod Shuffle”, “mp3 player”, “iTunes”, “podcast”, “ripping” .
While you may have heard the terms, you may not be 100% clear on what these terms actually mean. Or, you may have seen people wearing these little devices with headphones and wondered what exactly they were and what the problem is.
So what are these devices and why are they so popular? This article is an overview of the mp3 player device, its evolution, a glossary of related terminology, and the options you have when purchasing an mp3 player, specifically an iPod.
Specifically, this article covers:
- Glossary of commonly used terms (what is an iPod, iPod Nano, mp3 player, etc.)
- iPod Compared to Other Audio Listening Devices
- Other major mp3 player brands on the market
- How can I use an iPod?
- iPod battery and battery life
Glossary of commonly used terms (iPod, iPod Nano, mp3 player, etc.)
iPod
a brand name for a portable media player that was created by a company called “Apple Computer”.
The iPod was first released in 1991.
The term iPod is also known as a digital audio player, which is basically a device that stores, organizes, and plays digital music files (for example, mp3 files). It is more commonly known as an “MP3 player”. The iPod can
The iPod can also serve as an external data storage device (that is, non-audio and video files), but Apple has made a strategic decision to focus its development and marketing on the simple user interface (user interface). ) and the ease of use of the iPod rather than on it’s technical ability.
CD players are one of the best-known forerunners of digital audio players.
The iPod is by far the world’s best-selling digital audio player and has gone mainstream, making it one of the most popular consumer brands. I’ve seen a wide demographic use of these things, from 8 year old kids to 80 year old grandmas.
Digital Audio Player (DAP)
a name for a device that stores, organizes, and plays digital music files (for example, mp3 files). It is more commonly known as an “MP3 player”.
For the most part, PADs are portable and use internal or replaceable batteries and earphones. There are accessories available that allow users to connect players to car and home stereos. Some DAPs include features like FM radio and microphones for voice recording. This technology continues to evolve at an ever-increasing rate. Now there are DAPs that are available in sunglasses (Oakley’s “Thump” model deals feature the world’s first digital audio glasses for just $229).
Portable Media Player (PMP)
a name for a versatile device that can store and play files that are in one or more media formats, such as video, audio, and digital images/photos. Some models are capable of recording video and audio.
The best part is that it is portable, as the name suggests.
mp3
a name for a type of ‘audio file’. According to Wikipedia (which is a free online encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/), it is a digital audio format.
For more information on this and to view the history of mp3 files, see the full Wikipedia definition by clicking the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mp3
mp3 player
another way of describing a DAP (see dap for definition).
Excellent
a term used to describe the process of copying audio and/or video data from a medium, such as a DVD (ie, digital versatile disc) or CD (compact disc), to a hard drive.
Ripping can also refer to copying other media (referred to as “analog” media), such as VHS videos or vinyl records, into a digital format.
To save storage space, the copied data is typically encoded in a compressed format, such as MP3, WMA, or Ogg Vorbis for audio, or MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, XviD, or Ogg Theora for video.
When it comes to digital content, mining has numerous uses and purposes, including:
Because digital camcorders can now write directly to a DVD, you then “rip” (ie, extract) that content to a computer where you store it and can edit, duplicate, or back it up. You can rip (extract) songs from various CDs, albums, DVDs, etc. to your computer or DAP. You can then take all that music and create your own playlists where you can arrange your songs in many different ways (eg rock/jazz/hip hop etc).
You can also copy those songs to a DAP (PMP).
It uses CD ripping programs/software to rip files from one device to another.
CD Ripping Programs/Software
also known as a “CD ripper”, “CD burner”, or “CD ripper”. Basically, CD ripping is a software program designed to rip digital audio from a CD to a file or other output.
Examples include:
MS Windows operating system:
- Exact audio copy: Free for private use. Many enthusiasts choose this CD ripping software because of its features and ripping quality compared to most other digital audio ripping software.
- Amazing CD Ripper: (Windows XP and Vista). A powerful and easy-to-use software to rip audio CD tracks and save them in audio formats (MP3, WAV, WMA, etc.) Priced at $19.95 USD.
- Yomoney (Mac OS or Windows): iTunes is a digital media player application used to play and organize digital audio (music) and video files. iTunes also manages the content on iPods. In addition, Tunes can connect to Apple Computer’s online iTunes store, where you can buy digital music, music videos, TV shows, iPod games, and even feature films.
Linux operating system:
- A B C D E (A Better CD Encoder): A CD ripper that is operated entirely from the command line.
- grip: a cd player and a cd ripping program. Free (a GNOME project).
- Sound Squeezer: extracts audio from CDs and converts it into audio files that can be played by PC or DAP.
Podcast
a multimedia file that is distributed (for a fee or not) over the Internet for playback on mobile devices and PCs. Podcasting is a way of listening to or watching radio-like programs or television-like video broadcasts. Basically, you download a podcast to a DAP or PC and play it at your convenience.
It is important to repeat that you do not need a DAP to watch/listen to a podcast. Your PC will work fine.
Many hours of podcasts can be stored even on low capacity DAPs.
Flash memory
a form of non-volatile computer memory that can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. Non-volatile memory is computer memory that can retain stored information even when it is not turned on, such as hard drives and floppy disks.
In addition to its use in DAPs, flash memory is also used in digital cameras (memory cards), mobile phones, and USB flash drives (used for general storage and data transfer between computers). It has also gained some popularity in the gaming brand.
How the iPod (and DAPs in general) compares to other audio listening devices:
Basically, the iPod is superior to all of the items listed below for the following reasons:
- CDs (Compact Discs):
- CDs can scratch and skip, mp3 files can’t.
- mp3 players consume less power
- small size and therefore portability: the smallest digital audio player is about 1/20 the size of a portable CD player.
- user interface: with CDs, you have to know what songs are on each track if you try to select a specific song, whereas on some mp3 players you see the song title, artist and even album title in a list.
- Larger Storage Capacity: You can store thousands of audio files on an mp3 player. CD players typically play 1 CD at a time.
- Cassette tape (does anyone still use these?):
- the tapes get old and brittle
- tapes can get stuck in a cassette player
- Radio:
- no static
- Listen only to the songs you want to hear
- business numbers
Main brands of DAPs in the market:
Although the iPod is the most popular DAP on the market today, there are other brands, such as:
- Apple computer: iPod**
- creative technology: Creative NOMAD, MuVo, Creative Zen**
- sony: Walkman, playstation portable
- Toshiba: gigabeat
- Microsoft: **
- Samsung: Yeah
- sandisk: Sansa
- cowboy: iAudio
** – Indicates that this DAP brand requires unique software to load content into it.
How can I use an iPod?
As time passes, new uses for DAPs can be found. Now you can buy iPods that allow you to:
- Listen to music
- Listen / Watch podcasts
- play games
- See feature films
- watch home videos
- Storage of images and other files
- Audio and video recording
iPod battery and battery life
The battery in all iPods is not replaceable and is not designed to be removed or replaced by the user. Some users have been able to open the case to replace the battery as some online stores sell them. Initially, Apple would not replace worn-out batteries. His official policy was that the customer should buy a refurbished replacement iPod, at a cost almost equivalent to new. All lithium ion batteries eventually lose capacity during their useful life and this situation created a small market for third party battery replacement kits.
In 2003, Apple announced a battery replacement program. The initial cost was US$99, but was eventually reduced to US$59 in 2005. A week later, Apple offered an iPod extended warranty for US$59.
Third-party companies offer cheaper battery replacement kits that often use higher capacity batteries (for example, www.iPodBatteryDepot.com). For iPod nano, soldering tools are needed because the battery is soldered to the main board. In the fifth-generation iPod, the battery is attached to the back plate with adhesive.
Apple claims that its 30 GB iPod 5G provides up to 14 hours of audio playback. This gives you an idea of how long your device will play tunes on a single charge…at best. However, for real world use, many users report a battery life of less than 8 hours with the 30 GB Video iPod.
If you’ve been wondering if you should take the leap and get one. I say the time is now!
