Are non-iPod MP3 players compatible with iTunes?

[Piano Hero]

This might be a dumb question, but...if I bought an MP3 player other than an iPod, could I put music on it via iTunes? My 1G iPod Shuffle is dying (faulty headphone jack), and I wanted to buy a less-expensive MP3 player with more gigabytes for less moolah.

 

[raekwon]

I'm pretty sure a good number of players can be used w/ iTunes. Might want to check individual players' support sites to make sure.

 

[ewenlin]

What do you have in mind? Ipods are pretty cheap nowadays...

 

[OPC'n]

I know zunes are not.

 

[Piano Hero]

What do you have in mind? Ipods are pretty cheap nowadays...

I was browsing through some MP3 players from Sony and Sandisk, and some of their 8Gs were between $80-90, and the 8G iPod Nano was $130. I suppose that's not a huge difference, but I don't part with my money easily. I probably will buy an iPod if I can't find an iTunes-accepting alterative; I just wanted to check in case I could save that extra $30 or so.

 

[Marrow Man]

I believe if you check under ITunes, there is an option for burning info on ITunes to a mp3 disk. When you do so, they are now in mp3 (instead of ITunes) format and transferable to any mp3 player. I did this with some RTS ITune lectures of John Frame and it worked very well.

As far as cheap mp3 players go, if you are a music buff, an Ipod is probably going to be your best bet, as the sound quality is superior. I don't listen to much music, and I use mp3 players to listen to sermons, lectures, etc. In such a case, quality is pretty much irrelevant. I was in a Microtrends computer store a few months ago and found a 2 GB mp3 player (a knock off brand) that was the same size and design as an Ipod shuffle (even clips to your clothing). Unlike a shuffle, it also has an LED screen and lets you find selections. It cost me only $20.

 

[gkterry]

A good way to save money is the Apple refurb store - same as new - same warranty - cheaper price. Go to the Apple store website and scroll down looking in the left sidebar for Refurbished iPods link.

 

[Andres]

I have a Creative Zen V plus and I love it. I used to think itunes wouldn't work with it either, but sure enough they will. I have downloaded several of the courses from Covenant seminary off itunes with no problem. First, download the music/sermon you want and save the actual mp3 file to your computer. Then I just play them in windows media player. With the Creative Zen V plus you just sync it to windows media player and can put all those files on the player. it's really quite easy.

Creative Zen V plus comes in several different sizes 1GB, 2GB, 4GB so the prices vary pretty good. I only have 1GB but it holds plenty more than I could ever listen to! It also has video and picture capabilities and if I remember correctly I found mine at Target for around $50.

 

[Scottish Lass]

My Sansa works fine with iTunes using the conversion method Tim and Andrew describe.

 

[Rich Koster]

I have an el-cheapo creative mu-vo, iTunes recognized it with no problem. Make sure you get the updates for iTunes so that all (or at least most) devices are supported. I have 3 different devices in use and that doesn't cause a problem with recognition either.

 

[Semper Fidelis]

I use iTunes to download and manage my Podcasts. I then synchronize the Podcast folder with my Sandisk Player. In the sense that iTunes downloads mp3's for Podcasts then my player is "compatible" with iTunes. In the sense that I cannot synchronize those files using the iTunes app it is not compatible.

For music I have downloaded into iTunes, I convert the m4a files into mp3 files using dBPowerAmp.

The bottom line is that I manage music with iTunes but then I use other apps to get them into my player to listen to them.

 

[gkterry]

Most of these posts seem to indicate to me that if you don't want to mess around with your audio files, an iPod is the way to go. Perhaps, it might cost a little more in dollars but much less in time spent administrating. My time is more valuable than a few bucks.

 

[Webservant]

I believe if you check under ITunes, there is an option for burning info on ITunes to a mp3 disk. When you do so, they are now in mp3 (instead of ITunes) format and transferable to any mp3 player. I did this with some RTS ITune lectures of John Frame and it worked very well.

As far as cheap mp3 players go, if you are a music buff, an Ipod is probably going to be your best bet, as the sound quality is superior. I don't listen to much music, and I use mp3 players to listen to sermons, lectures, etc. In such a case, quality is pretty much irrelevant. I was in a Microtrends computer store a few months ago and found a 2 GB mp3 player (a knock off brand) that was the same size and design as an Ipod shuffle (even clips to your clothing). Unlike a shuffle, it also has an LED screen and lets you find selections. It cost me only $20.

What he said.