Tongue Tyed: XM MyFi vs. iPod

Feb 21, 2005

XM MyFi vs. iPod

Everyone, please weigh in. I am catching up in the digital music world and I am not sure which direction to turn. It appears the choices are down to a XM MyFi player (basically an XM Radio walkman) or an iPod. And the cheaper, non-Apple mp3 players are still in the running so feel free to chime in about those...

The basic differences between the options are:

iPod 20GB--$299 plus $.99 a song (but I have free access to several thousand songs from friends)
XM MyFi--$350 plus $9.99 a month
Other mp3 players 20GB--$250 and up (maybe as low as $200)

Positives of the iPod...It's a really pretty status symbol, it's easy to use, I have several friends who have them and therefore can ease my learning curve, it's very small compared to some other mp3 players. Good interface...WHAT ELSE?

Negatives of the iPod...EXPENSIVE! Cannot read WMA files. What if technology changes next year and I just spent $300 on this generation of iPod? I cannot listen to new music unless I add it...WHAT ELSE?

Positives of XM MyFi...It's commercial-free radio, with 120 channels. It is as portable as an mp3 player, it has a feature where you can record two or three hours of satellite radio and play them back later (good for locations where you can't get a signal). It would introduce me to new music, instead of only have a set list of songs. ...WHAT ELSE?

Negatives of XM MyFi...EXPENSIVE!! More expensive than even an iPod. Can drop the signal. Works best with southern exposure. (Does that mean it won't work in my gym??) Does not let me pick the songs I want to listen to. What if technology changes? WHAT ELSE?

Positives of other mp3 players...Potentially much cheaper than either the iPod or XM MyFi. Does almost all of the same things as the iPod. Can also read WMA files, which iPod cannot. WHAT ELSE?

Negatives of other mp3 players...Still expensive. May not have all of the accessories that iPod has. Does not have status symbol of iPod. Apparently the interfaces aren't as good as iPod. (don't really understand that). I hear it is harder to transfer music. May be larger than an iPod. WHAT ELSE?

So given all of this information and anything else you all can add, what would you do??? I am really torn on this one.

Also, keep in mind, the major use of this equiptment (at least at first) is for the gym. I would guess once I have it, it will be used all the time, but initially the need is for a portable music source that works in my gym (no radio signal in there).

THANKS!!

posted by Ty @ 2/21/2005

1 Comments:

At 6:57 PM, February 21, 2005, Dylan said...: One of your iPod cons you can strike off your list is the "maybe the technology will change" issue.

As of last month, iPod had a market share of somewhere around 92% in the portable MP3 player market. I'm pretty sure the market is going to keep the iPod in the loop of technology for a long, long time.

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