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coppertop
Member

Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Posts: 73

Minjam vs. Stand Alone MP3

Seriously considering getting a Minjam for my Prism but can't help but wonder if a stand alone mp3 player would be better. Has anyone else tackled this question?

03-12-2002 05:52 PM

terrysalmi
Member

Registered: Feb 2002
Location: Washburn University in Topeka, KS
Posts: 450

From what I have read...

A standalone will do more than the MiniJam, and will offer you a lot more memory and options.

But the MiniJam is a one-device option

My Opinion? Get an iPod

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03-12-2002 09:59 PM

creole
Member

Registered: Mar 2001
Location:
Posts: 347

Coppertop...I'm looking to sell my MiniJam...if you're interested email me.

It's a 128meg Ice MJ (2 64 meg cards). I love it but I'm trading it in for a camera for my trip to ireland.

03-12-2002 10:33 PM

critic
Member

Registered: Nov 2000
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 201

quote:
Originally posted by terrysalmi
From what I have read...

A standalone will do more than the MiniJam, and will offer you a lot more memory and options.

But the MiniJam is a one-device option

My Opinion? Get an iPod

I wholeheartedly second that. Back in September, I bought a MiniJam and started playing with it. And immediately the problems started. The uploads took FOREVER, if I tried to upload multiple songs, my Prism would time out and turn off (thereby killing the upload), the songs would get clipped, and (this was the kicker) Mac support was non-existant.

I returned the MiniJam within two weeks and got my money back. When I had the money (not to mention a friend with an employee discount) I ponied up for an iPod. What a difference! Songs sync directly from iTunes, there's literally almost no setup, the iPod has an insanely-long life battery, and it's TINY! Plus, hey - Brickout game easter egg.

My opinion of the MiniJam (and InnoGear) was already low. But after I returned the MiniJam and posted my gripes here, I started getting e-mail from someone at Innogear's parent company, wanting to know why I returned my unit and what they could do to "make things right for me". I told her that if she read my posts at VisorCentral (which she did, because she lifted my user name), she'd know what my gripes were, and that she shouldn't e-mail me again. Needless to say, I will never buy another InnoGear product again - and I will recommend the same to everyone and anyone I meet.

Rant over.

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What do you think, Sirs?

03-14-2002 06:11 PM

Plam999
Member

Registered: Mar 2002
Location:
Posts: 17

Wow, that's quite some ordeal. Glad you got your iPOD and are a happy camper now Those iPODs sure are sweet, I'm especially fond of being able to boot my Maccy from it incase of a total meltdown.

That said, you've bought more than just a MP3 player, as the price alone will justify that. Hey, I said "price", yep, that means I'm not a "true" Mac fan as the line "how much was that?" is synonomous with PC users. I own 2 macs, yet spend all of my liesure time on my PC. This includes playing MP3s.

Now, being a PC person, I am a little concerned with Price Points, and expandability. Right now, the MiniJam is more on the mark with what fits my requirements than the pricey iPOD. I don't need an MP3 player that can boot my PC, nor do I need a player that has an easter egg game. I merely want something that will play mp3s on my visor and still leave me with just one device to throw in my pocket when my day begins. It doesn't have to be the best at what it does, but simply do it's best with it's given limitations.

Your experience with the MiniJam is unfortunate, and dare I mention the Speedloader which would have saved you countless heartbreaking moments as you came back to your idle prism now powered off by sleep mode whilst transferring that 25meg rendition of Place Artist Here's greatest hits?

Being a power user, I reckon the iPOD should have been your first purchase, as your rant exemplifies the little irritations brought on by a lack luster launch and support by Innogear, followed by an untimely arrival of the SpeedLoader.

Despite this one ill fated brief history of time, I still reckon the MiniJam is suited for my small needs, and I will continue to buy/support it.

Last edited by Plam999 on 03-14-2002 at 08:34 PM

03-14-2002 08:29 PM

gadgetguru
Member

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Arlington, TX
Posts: 334

The speedloader didn't work that well for me. It kept timing out.
I finally sold my MiniJam. Later, CompUSA had an irock 520 on
sale for $99 with a free 64M SM card. Much easier song transfers.
I was miffed with InnoGear for promising to develop apps for the
MiniJam that never came thru. Like being able to run apps from
the MMC. When I could get songs to it, it worked fine and
sounded good. The SoundsGood had better sound quality, but
the memory isn't expandable.

In short, I would say go for a stand alone player.

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www.visorsolutions.com

03-15-2002 05:39 AM

Exodus2224
Member

Registered: Aug 2001
Location:
Posts: 10

Minijam and stuff

I recently traded my Minijam for a GPS. My argument was that I don't really use the Minijam and also I am very interested in getting a CD/MP3 player like the Rio. I have a CD Burner and the Rio and its contemporaries are very cool and a lot cheaper than that iPod thingy.

Don't get me wrong, the MiniJam is cool with all of its features but it just doesn't have the memory that I need. Also, it is way overpriced, even after Innogear gave me the SpeedLoader for free. I took it on vacation over the hollidays and got stuck with 64mb of the same songs. I had no way to change the music while away from home!

The way I see it, until the MP3 players get more memory (like that iPod thingy) and become a little more affordable, the CD/MP3 players are the better route to go... but that's just me. Save your $$$ for some cool software and modules. The CD/MP3 players are around $100 and each CD can hold around 700MB of MP3's.

Anyone know if car any stereos can play MP3 CD's yet?

03-15-2002 07:45 AM

thorin
Member

Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Posts: 415

when i got the <guess which mp3 player module>, i got it instead of the minijam for 2 reasons: largely because of size and entirely because of the upload speed. I dont have a mac, so that wasn't the issue for me. but 4 minutes to change the entire song inventory(on the soundsgood) is ... acceptable. itls less if you only want tochange a few songs at a time.

of course, ipod=mp3player to beat/own/rock/end all mp3 playrs.

so yeah. though ill admit ive never used one, from everything ive read, minijam= su><0r and the soundsgood, well,

V
V
V
V

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03-15-2002 08:43 AM

thorin
Member

Registered: Jul 2000
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada
Posts: 415

Re: Minijam and stuff

quote:
Originally posted by Exodus2224

Anyone know if car any stereos can play MP3 CD's yet?

yep. i saw one at futureshop.

03-15-2002 08:45 AM

coppertop
Member

Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Posts: 73

Well I found a compromise for now. I got my wife a Minijam for her Prism as a Birthday present. I'll help her set it up and see how it works. In the meantime, a stand alone MP3 player has caught my eye and am curious if any else has used/seen it. Its the Irock mp3 player. Comes with 64mb on board memory and uses Smartmedia cards for expansion (which will be compatible with my digital camera). Any idea on performance or the bundled software??

03-15-2002 11:13 PM

gadgetguru
Member

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Arlington, TX
Posts: 334

That's the one I got. Model 520. Works and sounds great when
paired with a good set of headphones. It doesn't display song
titles or anything elaborate like that. Just track number and time.
The bundled software works fine. I use MusicMatch Jukebox to
rip my CDs and transfer them with the irock bundled software.
I bought mine when CompUSA had a sale and got a 64M SM card
with it for free. You get about 5-6 hrs of play time out of a single
AAA battery. I started using rechargeable NiMH to cut down on
cost. I really like it for the price.

__________________
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www.visorsolutions.com

03-16-2002 05:53 AM

critic
Member

Registered: Nov 2000
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 201

quote:
Originally posted by Plam999
Wow, that's quite some ordeal. Glad you got your iPOD and are a happy camper now Those iPODs sure are sweet, I'm especially fond of being able to boot my Maccy from it incase of a total meltdown.

Indeed, I am a happy camper now. I hadn't even thought about the ability to boot off an iPod, but then, I very rarely need an external boot disk.

quote:
That said, you've bought more than just a MP3 player, as the price alone will justify that. Hey, I said "price", yep, that means I'm not a "true" Mac fan as the line "how much was that?" is synonomous with PC users. I own 2 macs, yet spend all of my liesure time on my PC. This includes playing MP3s.

Now, being a PC person, I am a little concerned with Price Points, and expandability. Right now, the MiniJam is more on the mark with what fits my requirements than the pricey iPOD. I don't need an MP3 player that can boot my PC, nor do I need a player that has an easter egg game. I merely want something that will play mp3s on my visor and still leave me with just one device to throw in my pocket when my day begins. It doesn't have to be the best at what it does, but simply do it's best with it's given limitations.

Fair enough. Everyone is going to have a different need, and a different opinion, and I can respect that. But you're right that being a Mac-only person does limit one's options, and means that being price conscious can be difficult at times.

quote:
Your experience with the MiniJam is unfortunate, and dare I mention the Speedloader which would have saved you countless heartbreaking moments as you came back to your idle prism now powered off by sleep mode whilst transferring that 25meg rendition of Place Artist Here's greatest hits?

With one slight hitch - the Speedloader was never Mac-compatible. Innogear made no effort to make it Mac-compatible, and as such, it was never an option.

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03-18-2002 06:45 PM

KennBlue
Member

Registered: Nov 2001
Location: LA
Posts: 34

TO CRITIC

I have purchased several things from Innogear in the past years and I can say their customer service and tech support has improved 1000% from when they first started.

To Critic: Seems that a company who tracks a person down to make things right or make a customer happy is VERY rare... why would you slam a company for that? Do you think Handspring, Palm or any other companies would go out of their way to try and make things right for their customers? No - so I find it hard to understand why you put that into a "bad light" like that is something negative.

03-19-2002 03:03 PM

critic
Member

Registered: Nov 2000
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 201

Re: TO CRITIC

quote:
Originally posted by KennBlue
I have purchased several things from Innogear in the past years and I can say their customer service and tech support has improved 1000% from when they first started.

My experience was from September 2001. I find it hard to believe that a company could have improved that much in 6 months, unless they gutted their call center staff.

quote:
Seems that a company who tracks a person down to make things right or make a customer happy is VERY rare... why would you slam a company for that?

Normally, I wouldn't. But when they contacted me, they didn't contact me based on my registration information, or based on the fact that I informed them that I returned their product. They contacted me through my VisorCentral account. (And before you ask how I know, the woman who e-mailed me addressed the e-mail "Dear Critic" instead of using my real name.) I don't appreciate unsolicited e-mail, especially when I had made my problems with the product and my feelings about InnoGear pretty plain in these forums. In my opinion, they had no business contacting me.

quote:
Do you think Handspring, Palm or any other companies would go out of their way to try and make things right for their customers?

Yes, but there are proper ways to handle disgruntled customers. Unsolicited e-mail isn't one of them.

quote:
No - so I find it hard to understand why you put that into a "bad light" like that is something negative.

It's my way. =)

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What do you think, Sirs?

03-19-2002 06:22 PM

KennBlue
Member

Registered: Nov 2001
Location: LA
Posts: 34

If they got your name from VC then why do you have it available? Or do you ONLY want unsolicited emails from SOME people?

Second - if that is all you have to complain about then I can hand over some of my problems for you to deal with - I WISH Earthlink who burned me out of 500.00 would track me down - to have your kind of problems (like a company trying to please you) must be nice:-)

03-19-2002 11:55 PM

KennBlue
Member

Registered: Nov 2001
Location: LA
Posts: 34

deleted final words

Last edited by KennBlue on 03-20-2002 at 12:09 AM

03-20-2002 12:00 AM

coppertop
Member

Registered: Dec 2001
Location: Birmingham, Alabama
Posts: 73

Went with the Minijam....

Tinkered with my wife's minijam and decided to get one of my own instead of a stand-alone MP3 player.

I like listening to mp3's while using the HS Prism. I didn't make much sense to have two devices running when I could do everything I wanted from the Prism.

I'm still trying to figure out the software that came with it. I can't seem to transfer mp3 files to the Prism via Music Match Jukebox. I also would like to find some more skins for the player. Anyone know where you can find some?

I listen to music usually when I travel or on rare occassions when I study. Not a high volume user and it made more sense for my needs to go with the minijam instead of a stand-alone. So far I am impressed with the device.

03-20-2002 11:02 PM

Celchu19
Member

Registered: Aug 2000
Location: St. Louis
Posts: 308

When faced with this choice I checked the neither box and got a iPAQ.

Get the standalone if you don't mind the extra load, and get a mini-jam if for some reason you feel the need to intagrate and drain your batteries at the same time.

Cheers,

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