Saturday, June 17, 2006
Bad Karma
I am very smug about the fact that I am not an iPod owner. Rather, I am the owner of a Rio Karma, a 20GB MP3 player that may not have the iPod's sex appeal, but has a lot of cool features the iPod doesn't (or at least didn't when I bought it two years ago) and actually cost me about $100 less than a comparable iPod. I've gloated over the fact that I can play 88 cent tracks from walmart.com instead of paying over 10% more at iTunes. And despite the fact that I have disadvantages like the nonexistence of a reasonably priced commercially-produced case for my Karma (leaving me to make one myself out of an old pair of pants), I have been totally satisfied. Indeed, I have been, as I said above, downright smug.
I am smug no more. My Karma's hard drive froze a while back, and I haven't been able to get it to turn on. Smaller but similar problems have happened before, but I haven't ever really had a difficult time getting the Karma up and running again. But this time it appears fatal. I called the Rio service center, and they told me I really had only one option.
Because I am out of warranty (they don't even make these things anymore), I can send in my dead Karma for a refurbished one. For $124.
And for the second time in my life, I'm in the market for a new MP3 player.
I admit that from time to time I have experienced iPod envy. I'm not as cool as my friends, but also I can't automatically sync my Karma to pick up podcasts and such--I have to do it all manually. iPods are sexier and better than they were two years ago, when I bought my Karma. So I'm wondering if this might be the time to join the other 78% of MP3 player owners and jump on the iPod bandwagon.
Problem is, the fifth-generation iPods that are for sale nowadays are still way expensive and have features I really don't need. I am not going to use my MP3 player for video. I'm just not. I really only need 20GB of space, but the smallest current iPod (not counting Nanos) has 30GB. And it's $300.
I found a place online that was selling a refurbished fourth generation iPod, 20GB, no video, etc. for about $170. That's a far more comparable device to the refurbished Karma I've been offered. Is it worth the extra $46 to have iPod cachet? Or should I stick with what I know and like and have heretofore been smug about?
I actually do want answers to these questions. Please leave your advice in the comments. You all are probably iPod owners, so tell me what you do or don't like about your iPods. Is it worth the extra $176 to get a brand new fifth-generation? The extra $46 for a refurbished fourth-generation? Do you know of any great secret places that sell iPods for dirt cheap? Do I even have my iPod information right (I spent a few minutes searching online to find out the facts I've stated here)? Help a guy out, please. I promise never to be smug again.
I am smug no more. My Karma's hard drive froze a while back, and I haven't been able to get it to turn on. Smaller but similar problems have happened before, but I haven't ever really had a difficult time getting the Karma up and running again. But this time it appears fatal. I called the Rio service center, and they told me I really had only one option.
Because I am out of warranty (they don't even make these things anymore), I can send in my dead Karma for a refurbished one. For $124.
And for the second time in my life, I'm in the market for a new MP3 player.
I admit that from time to time I have experienced iPod envy. I'm not as cool as my friends, but also I can't automatically sync my Karma to pick up podcasts and such--I have to do it all manually. iPods are sexier and better than they were two years ago, when I bought my Karma. So I'm wondering if this might be the time to join the other 78% of MP3 player owners and jump on the iPod bandwagon.
Problem is, the fifth-generation iPods that are for sale nowadays are still way expensive and have features I really don't need. I am not going to use my MP3 player for video. I'm just not. I really only need 20GB of space, but the smallest current iPod (not counting Nanos) has 30GB. And it's $300.
I found a place online that was selling a refurbished fourth generation iPod, 20GB, no video, etc. for about $170. That's a far more comparable device to the refurbished Karma I've been offered. Is it worth the extra $46 to have iPod cachet? Or should I stick with what I know and like and have heretofore been smug about?
I actually do want answers to these questions. Please leave your advice in the comments. You all are probably iPod owners, so tell me what you do or don't like about your iPods. Is it worth the extra $176 to get a brand new fifth-generation? The extra $46 for a refurbished fourth-generation? Do you know of any great secret places that sell iPods for dirt cheap? Do I even have my iPod information right (I spent a few minutes searching online to find out the facts I've stated here)? Help a guy out, please. I promise never to be smug again.
Comments:
I can't speak to most of the features of iPods; I have a Shuffle, which is pretty bare-bones. But the iTunes interface is handy if you already use iTunes. I actually don't like using it except for podcasts, since I prefer Winamp, so I think I would prefer a cheaper mp3 player with more features rather than the more expensive iPods. Although I must confess, the Nano is very pretty indeed. If you already use iTunes, that would be a good reason to get an iPod instead.
I have a nano-- it does the job and holds all the songs I could want. I do have one complaint, though. I have a bunch of music as well as some audio books on-- including Jesus the Christ. When I put my nano on shuffle, I can't seem to get those book chapters out of the mix. It's a little disconcerting to be jammin' along to U2 and then have suddenly be thrown into the pre-mortal mission of Christ. (Perhaps this is a divine message, I don't know.) This could be ignorance on my part, but I haven't figured out how to stop that annoyance yet. Otherwise, I am pleased.
One other note-- if you are looking to play your IPOD or other MP3 player in the car, don't go cheap for an fm transmitter. I speak from sad experience here...
One other note-- if you are looking to play your IPOD or other MP3 player in the car, don't go cheap for an fm transmitter. I speak from sad experience here...
Update. I did some more research and found a refurbished 20GB fourth-generation photo iPod for $170 online. Not a bad deal. I also learned that hard disk failures are a common malady for Karmas, and probably one of the main reasons Rio--the pioneer of portable MP3 players--has stopped making MP3 players. I figured the iPod would serve me well for probably a longer period of time than the Karma, so I placed my order.
Oddly, one time my Karma had a similar problem and when I called tech support, they told me to bang it on a table. In my recent research, I saw Karma owners both complaining that this was the solution to a common problem, and amazed that it actually worked. Of course, I had already banged my Karma many, many times in an effort to get it to work. Nothing happened.
So today (a couple of days after this post, and two days after ordering the iPod, but before the iPod's arrival) I decided to bang the Karma one more time--REALLY HARD. I figured, it's dead. I can't break anything more than it's already broken, and what if it works? So I banged the heck out of it on my metal desk.
Well, it worked. My Karma is back in good health and peacefully charging in its cradle. Meanwhile, the iPod is en route and paid for. Sigh. See, I actually really really like my Karma when it works, so now I'm liable to just send the iPod back. Or we could keep it for when, inevitably, the Karma does fry for good.
Oddly, one time my Karma had a similar problem and when I called tech support, they told me to bang it on a table. In my recent research, I saw Karma owners both complaining that this was the solution to a common problem, and amazed that it actually worked. Of course, I had already banged my Karma many, many times in an effort to get it to work. Nothing happened.
So today (a couple of days after this post, and two days after ordering the iPod, but before the iPod's arrival) I decided to bang the Karma one more time--REALLY HARD. I figured, it's dead. I can't break anything more than it's already broken, and what if it works? So I banged the heck out of it on my metal desk.
Well, it worked. My Karma is back in good health and peacefully charging in its cradle. Meanwhile, the iPod is en route and paid for. Sigh. See, I actually really really like my Karma when it works, so now I'm liable to just send the iPod back. Or we could keep it for when, inevitably, the Karma does fry for good.
What you call smugness others might label as insecurity.
I, for one, hope you'll finally abandon your Karma (sell it on eBay for the few dollars it's worth) and get an Ipod. You'll sleep better at night (even if you're not getting much).
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I, for one, hope you'll finally abandon your Karma (sell it on eBay for the few dollars it's worth) and get an Ipod. You'll sleep better at night (even if you're not getting much).
