thinking about getting an iPod.. some questions
 

I'll start by saying i have a hatred against any and all aplle products and that is why i have vowed to never purchase a mac and/or an iPod... yet now i seem to have no choice...

I would only use it to listen to my music in my car. I had planned on replacing my factory headunit with my Pioneer touchscreen USB unit but after seeing how many options and features are wired into and use my stock headunit, it seems no longer feasible to replace it. So now that i will be keeping the stock radio, i want a way to listen to my large collection of music i have saved on my hard drive/usb flash drives. After looking around, i found an option for an iPod that plugs right into the unused XM reciever i have and allows an ipod to be controlled through the factory radio along with displaying song, artist and playlist info on the stock screen. I am unable to find anything similar to that which utilizes just a USB flash drive. And that makes me sad. lol. So now it appears i have no other option but to get an ipod and bury it deep inside the dash of my car and pretend i dont own it.

BUT i have a few questions... with a ipod, can i transfer all my music onto it easily? i know id need itunes but will it allow me to import all my current music without any issues? also, i hear all the time of people "sync'ing" their ipods and losing all their music. i wouldnt be happy if that happened and i think id set the ipod on fire in that case. To give you an idea, i have upwards of 170GB of music so i'd prob end up buying the largest ipod available so its a petty big investment on my part IMO.

Now, on another note, that same ipod interface system available, also has an AUX audio in input which utilizes r&l rca connectors. so technically i could use an external usb music player, and run just a headphone/rca wire to that input and get music the same way, id just have to use the player as an external control. In that aspect, how is the Zune? I even considered getting a net book to but in my glove box just to play music out to the radio(thats how much i hate apple) but the main draw of the ipod is that i can control it off the stock headunit...

so answer my itunes based questions, and give me any other options or advice. thanks in advance, and in closing, death to apple, lol...

just un-check auto sync in itunes and you don't have to worry about anything automatically wiping, the main thing with that is if you plug your ipod into another computer and they have auto-sync turned on. and yes transferring is easy

my cousin has a zune and its pretty sweet, no problems with it

yea, the only down side of any mp3 player(non-ipod) is that i cant see song info on the radio nor control the mp3 player directly from the radio, thats a BIG plus of the ipod... ugh..

but can i transfer all my current music to itunes, or does it require to have the music bought? i have no clue how all that works.

When you install iTunes, you can load all of the music that you currently have saved on your computer into it, then transfer it to your iPod. FYI - the iPod Classic 160 GB is the largest model available, so you won't be able to have ALL of your music on it at once - just 90% or so.

As much as I know you dislike Apple, I think going the iPod route is a no-brainer. You would be sick of messing with the other mp3 player / netbook in no time.

- Justin

yeah, i think the ipod is the only reasonable choice, plus out of my 170+GB, only 130GB or so is actually sorted and named in proper folders, the rest is still a mess im working on. lol

i coundnt live with out my Ipod. i like having all my music with me when im working out, driving, or DJing. i dont like apple but i love my ipod so i think ull be happy with it

I have a DNX7120 headunit in the car & love the fact that I can control the ipod through the headunit. I don't like apple either, but I love this feature & frankly the flash-drive option blows in comparison.

you can have itunes sort it into folders by artist, then album if you want. It's just a matter of putting it all in the same folder to start with.

i guess im one of the few, i still down have a ipod nor do i want one. i do sit in a truck 10-12 hrs a day(front load 3 days a week, roll off the other two) but most of the time im too busy focusing the can im dumping or watching the can im letting off the truck, or listening to jakes as i downshift going down a hill with a 8 ton box on

my last pioneer radio with usb was awesome, could go through folders easily by touch and see all song/file info. It was perfect

Iv been through so many ipods and i hat eitunes so i just get freeware alternatives to itunes and I have no issues. I have a almost brand new ipod 160gb classic(plays videos and podcasts and all that) for sale in the other section...