Can someone humour a technophobe and tell me about MP3 players and IPods?

[puff]

My favourite radio station keeps mentioning the fact that I can download it's programmes via a podcast? I want to be able to record the shows I like, and listen to them while I'm at the gym. So, do I need an IPod or an MP3 player? I want something v small and lightweight that I can clip on my clothes.

TIA

I think an Ipod IS an Mp3 player - it's just a brand name. Not totally sure though. I do know I got my dh a Sony MP3 for his birthday and neither of us can get the thing to play tracks downloaded from the internet..

I have an Ipod and it is fabulous, can download podcasts and tunes from Itunes very very easily. Highly recommended.

an ipod is an expensive MP3 player. Ipod is the brand name. Podcasts is a new thing, where news or programns or whatever can be downloaded as an alternative to straight mp3s.

You don't need an MP3 player. You cna listen to them on your pc. If you want to listen to them on the go, you would need an mp3 player, but not necessarily an ipod. It depends how much you want to fork out and how much you need to store.

If you would use it enough for it to be worth the money, I would recomend the ipod, as it is soo easy to use. You can then use itunes to download podcasts. Itunes is the software you uuse to transfer stuff to an ipod.

Okeydoke, what's the minimum outlay for an ipod?

use it enough

we use it constantly in our house. We have the docking station with speakers so you can carry it from room to room, and even have it out in the garden on warm summer nights with friends. You can also plug it into your car stereo. In fact we are getting another, smaller one.

the ipod shuffle is about the smallest - holding around 110 songs. You can get those for under £70 if you shop around. I think really though, u want at least 20Gb, which are around £200. Agree with Enid though, they can be used loads.

• £200 - better butter up dh tonight !

Message withdrawn

I am about to buy the Ipod Nano for DH's birthday, but also know very little about it. I was going to get the 2GB one and it costs £139 from wherever I look. Does anyone have the nano?

smaller ones might not be able o hold the bigger podcasts - the file sizes would be too big. I think the mini is too small personally. I have a 20Gb, and it is about two thirds full.

Do MP3 players all use software to download off the net and convert from CD. I got a cheap one and you had to use the software with it. It put lots of adware in my PC and I still can't get rid of it all, after all that it didn't even work. Took it back, but I am put off getting another, any recomendations or anyone had similar problems?

i have a MOS MP3 player, very easy to do, just connect via USB cable, then drag the songs into the MPS player window onscreen., bingo you are done.

There's just been a huge discussion about this on the NCT-Coffee group at yahoogroups which has resulted in at least two people going out and buying the nano just because it's beautiful! And one of them, prior to the discussion, was a dedicated MP3-player-and-I-don't-need-an-ipod bod.

You don't need any software at all for an Mp3 player ( is ipod not Mp4? I thought it was). Infact all the software does is make it more complicated. Just plug the mp3 player into your usb port. Click on my computer, go to drive E, cut and paste mp3 files into drive e and it will automatically transfer them. If you import your cd's onto windows media player it is usually formatted as mp3. If you transfer your music onto itunes it usually is mp4 ( on mine anyhow)

DP uses itunes, the mp3 player I had wouldn't upload anything without its own software. So I take it that isn't normal. I wan't one for running as every CD player I have tried jumps, probably due to my bouncy bum

Why don't you all just get free ones? Fairyfly needs referrals for hers.

It's because you can't upload mp4 files onto mp3 players, you need to use windows media player.

link to free ipods thread