Do I need another IPOD?

February 24, 2008 7:51 AM

I have an IPOD shuffle and would like to download self-help books to listen to at night and in the morning. Like a meditation. Do I need to buy another IPOD for this? Just use my shuffle for running or walking and use a 4GB for example for books etc? Seems wasteful to buy another IPOD but I will do it if it would be nice to have.
posted by seekingsimplicity to Technology (10 answers total)

iPod Shuffle: Playing audiobooks and podcasts
posted by The Deej at 8:05 AM on February 24, 2008

Like audiobooks, you mean? As long as they are in an iPod compatible format (MP3, AAC) and they fit on the iPod, there's no reason you can't. Just import them into iTunes the same way you would with any other music file, and add it to your iPod as you would any other music file. Turn the iPod from shuffle to ordered playback, and skip ahead to the book track. It might be a bit annoying to have to skip songs till you find it, but it is certainly possible to do on a shuffle.
posted by patr1ck at 8:05 AM on February 24, 2008

When I want to listen to spoken files, I drag them to the start of the list in the shuffle's playlist in iTunes. Then I tell the shuffle to play files in order and double-click the play button to jump to the beginning of the list.
posted by PatoPata at 8:11 AM on February 24, 2008

I can't imagine why you would need to buy another one, but the iPod Nano has been really nice for running and walking. Nike sells a relatively cheap thing that plugs into it and keeps track of how far you're walking.

Actually, I just took a look and the shuffle has 1 GB of storage space, and an audiobook like the Golden Compass takes up around 150 MB.

Do you need another one? No. But the Nano is really very nice for walking and running and has plenty of room.
posted by The Loch Ness Monster at 8:11 AM on February 24, 2008

Yeah the one thing that sucks about the iPod shuffle is you can't have playlists. But of course it was designed for simplicity. I like to listen to audiobooks and recorded radio shows, but i also want my tunes with me. The cheapest solution? another iPod shuffle. They are two different colors and I put audiobooks/radio shows on one and songs on the other. I mean they are $70-$80... my wife has an ipod touch, but i would be too scared to have that in my pocket or bag. The shuffle, however, is friggin' bulletproof, or at least the new version is, the original ones seemed to stop functioning if you so much as looked at them funny.. but these new ones are great. I tend to abuse stuff (not on purpose) that I carry with me, I've killed a cell phone or two without even knowing it. But the new shuffles are awesome, mine are all scratched up but they both work perfectly.

My dream would be an Ipod shuffle that accepts memory cards. There's probably a non-Apple product that fits the bill but I'm fully enjoying the Apple product renaissance. Can't believe I spelt that right on the first try.
posted by high0nfire at 9:06 AM on February 24, 2008

another iPod shuffle ... they are $70-$80

New iPod Shuffles are now $49.
posted by The Deej at 9:12 AM on February 24, 2008

Eponysterical AskMe?

The shuffle is very hard/frustrating to use for audiobooks because you can't skip around very easily (or leave bookmarks, pause and return to the place you left off)....

Also, your books will be large, and eat up most or all of your 1Gb shuffle. So you'll spend a lot of time removing music, adding books, removing books, replacing music, and so on.

If I were you... I'd continue to use the shuffle for running and buy a cheap nano (cheapest model with a screen) specifically for books. There are 4Gb ones on the Apple store for $129 today, and often "previous generation" ones show up there for $89 or so. That sale page changes many times per day.
posted by rokusan at 11:27 AM on February 24, 2008

Are you open to purchasing an mp3 player that is NOT an iPod? Buy.com has a refurbished 1gb Sandisk Sansa for $15 and a 2gb Sansa for $25- both models have free shipping. And you can just drag and drop your media files straight to the player- no need to go through iTunes. Why not get one of these cheap media players and use it exclusively for your audiobooks?
posted by agenais at 7:29 PM on February 24, 2008

My hubby swears by his Sansa. Much more intuitive and user-friendly than the iPod.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 11:20 AM on February 25, 2008

If you consider an alternative like Sansa, be sure to look at whether it can perform the same functions as an iPod (most importantly, that it can keep playing from right where it was when you last shut it off, and that it can give you visual navigation through a file -- you put the little cursor at the place where you want to start along a long line that represents the length of the file).

Those two features are so important for long files and they are the reason I finally switched to an iPod (from a Sansa, as it happens). Sansas are outstanding for their price but over the long run, the price difference can really be made up by all the usability benefits of the iPod.
posted by sparrows at 4:56 AM on February 27, 2008