Travel Technology - Help an ipod/it ignoramus for Christmas

Gee I would appreciate some help.
My really young staff all would like Ipods for Christmas, well it may end up being New Year, but then that's not the problem.
because I travel a lot to BKK, they all assume, (a) that I would be able to buy them cheaply, (b) that I would be able to have them loaded up with music, (c) that I know what they are talking about :confused: and finally (d) that we should get them a couple for our shops with speakers and that would save them having to worry about CDs.
As I am checked fairly thoroughly by Australian customs, a by-product of constant travel to Thailand, I am not looking for anything that could cause me any grief, but if you are in the business and/or could direct me to someone, or can advise me which one to buy, hey, drop me a reply.
May I thank anyone in advance should they reply as I will be in transit and will not pick up the replies if any for a day or two.
Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, bkkrop:)

There are real iPods available here and many, many knock-offs. Real iPods are cheaper in the U.S.A. than here, but am not sure how they are priced in Australia.

The last time I looked here ( 3 months ago ) the prices here were:

5,500 - 6,200 THB for the 1 Gb Nano iPod
7,500 - 8,300 THB for the 2 Gb Nano iPod
9,500 - 9,900 THB for the 4 Gb Nano iPod

There is a technology forum here in FT where experts can advise on the available solutions.

It would probably be easier to just give them gift cards from the local electronics store and let them buy what they want?

Ipods are $70-80 more in BKK than the USA. Really nice Apple Shop in Siam Paragon.

... and the prices above apply only to the 'Nano' iPod, a poor man's version of a 'real iPod :rolleyes:
Whether your employees will be happy with that is a point to consider.

The 'real' iPod is a somewhat larger, more robust item, and comes with either a 30 or 80 gig Hard Drive. (I believe the 'Nano' is flash drive driven).
The larger version of the iPod retails for $299 and $399 respectively (probably can be gotten on sale over the net or during the inevitable January sales).

This puppy is a real powerhouse and will hold a kazillion songs and plays quite nice music videos of excellent quality.

Depending on the number of employees you have, if you choose to go the 'real' iPod route you might also wish to change your posting handle from BKKROP to BKKRUPT :D

Cheers ...

Umm... this 'real' iPod business is complete nonsense. Calling a full-size more robust is not only ridiculous, but totally wrong.

The Nano is a perfectly good product designed to fill a certain market segment -- it's as small and durable as you'll find in a flash based player, and can store 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB depending on the model. It's the flash memory that makes it more sturdy-- no moving parts means it's less sensitive to damage from rigorous use (it's targeted especially towards use during exercise, though it's perfectly useful in any situation). The Nano cannot play video, but it can display photos. Nanos go for $149, $199, $249 in the USA.

The "regular" iPod is significantly larger (physically) and can hold 30GB or 80GB. Since it has a hard drive, I wouldn't take it jogging every day. And by the way they are $249 and $349, respectively. This model can display photos and playback video.

They are both outstanding products targeted to different purposes. Calling the big one the "real" iPod and the Nano some sort of impostor, combined with several direct factual errors... I dunno... it makes me want to break flyertalk's rules against personal attacks. Just a completely ignorant thing to say.

Anyway, good luck with your decision, OP. There's no real savings buying them in BKK.

Disclosure: I have an older (4th gen) 40GB iPod used to store my entire library, and a 1GB shuffle (another flash model) for exercise use.

Now now Bud, take a pill. Don't let your humourlessness get in the way of your post-Christmas spirit.

Anyone with half a, er, 'thought' could (probably) see that my tongue (keyboard) was severely pressed up against my cheek. Oh dear ....

OK, serious.
I didn't say there was anything wrong with the Nano. I was just pointing out that there's a second "type" of iPod available . . . and it had not been mentioned in the posts above mine or your (rant). I thought this info might be interesting to a gentlemen who is considering buying one for all his employees, and says he doesn't know an iPod from a Tyrannasaurus Rex.

On the price point, I'm sorry ... I forgot to add that my quotes above are in Canadian dollars. Why? Because I'm Canadian.
It may well seem unbelievable to yourself, but non-Americans do not always automatically quote figures in the almighty greenback.

I also hope the Moderator does not consider this an "attack" ... simply considered rebuttal to an "almost" attack.

Cheers ... :p

... and the prices above apply only to the 'Nano' iPod, a poor man's version of a 'real iPod :rolleyes:
Whether your employees will be happy with that is a point to consider.

The 'real' iPod is a somewhat larger, more robust item, and comes with either a 30 or 80 gig Hard Drive. (I believe the 'Nano' is flash drive driven).
The larger version of the iPod retails for $299 and $399 respectively (probably can be gotten on sale over the net or during the inevitable January sales).

This puppy is a real powerhouse and will hold a kazillion songs and plays quite nice music videos of excellent quality.

Depending on the number of employees you have, if you choose to go the 'real' iPod route you might also wish to change your posting handle from BKKROP to BKKRUPT :D

Cheers ...

First, welcome to FT.

Back to the real iPod saga.....given 'your' definition of what is a real vs poor man's version, tell us pray tell how you would define the old mini - which by the way was the best selling model when it was still on the market?

There is nothing wrong or poor re the Nano, nor for that matter the shuffle. Not everybody get's off looking at video's on an iPod and having the smaller poor man's version has some distinct advantages....obviously something the apple folks got right!


PS- moderator - you might want to move this to the travel technology thread :)

" ... There is nothing wrong or poor re the Nano, nor for that matter the shuffle ... "

Whoooaa ... some serious issues of comprehension going on here. You guys are incredibly defensive.

Where on earth do you read that I said " ... something is wrong ... " with the Nano version?

Look, you're obsessing about my (already explained above) use of the word "poor". And you've obviously not read my second message ... and, completely misinterpreted the first.

OK slow down now. One more time: T h e - u s e - o f - t h e - w o r d - " p o o r " - w a s - t o n g u e - i n - c h e e k ... a n - ( o b v i o u s l y ) - m i s g u i d e d - a t t e m p t - a t - l i g h t n e s s .

Serious stuff indeed. Looks like not my kind of message board :rolleyes:
I'll not post on this thread again, because you're right, this tiny kerfuffle has taken away from the original poster's topic.

Cheers ... thanks for the welcome.

To the Modertator: perhaps you are giving some thought to ~ because I am a first-time poster here and have inadvertantly gotten into the middle of some off-topic posting shenanigans ~ me being a message board troller or such like.

Nothing could be further from my mind. My only interest in this Forum is because it's about Thailand.
I will be retiring there next year, and Forums such as this with a focus on Thailand are naturaly of interest to me. This iPod silliness is pure serendipity, and very peripheral to my primary interest in being here.

No hard feelings, Nongkhai, but several folks misinterpreted your "tongue in cheek" as a pretty serious slam on the Nano. Therefore, we wanted to make sure the OP, who doesn't know much about iPods, DOES get the whole story. Two different products for two different uses. One might be more appropriate for him than the other. Neither is better or worse overall.

Nongkhai, hope you stick around and participate in the Thailand forum. We're a congenial group of folks here.

And for the OP, I'm going to move this thread to the Travel Technology forum. transpac has done a great job of giving you Thai prices, as has SaigonCyclo. Looks as though your question is now more technology. The guys who hang out in the Travel Technology forum are wizards, and will have great info for you.

SanDiego1K
Senior Moderator

Today's prices in the local (Bangkok) Apple shops...

2 GB Nano 6,100
4 GB Nano 8,290

30 GB iPod 10,490
80 GB iPod 14,500

prices in THB, not sure if VAT (7%) is included or extra, forgot to ask.

It may be too late for the OP, but here are some thoughts...

iPods (and all products from Apple for that matter) do not vary much in price in general. Going fron country to country prices do vary a little, due to currency differences, but if there's a concern about getting searched through Customs, a suitcase full of iPods would definitely raise suspicion. This could make the buying trip more of a hassle than anything else.

If you purchase from the Apple Online Store, you can get them engraved for free. This works out great for gifts. Currently customers in the US and Japan can get them gift wrapped as well.

Alternatively, you may be able to find last generation's models through a closeout web store or through the Apple Store's Special Deals section.

Getting them loaded with music (whatever the price of the CDs) would be rather tedious, I would think. Plus, as soon as the employees want to plug them into their own computers to sync with their music libraries there, iTunes will require whatever music you loaded to be wiped off first. iPods can only sync with one music library at a time. There are workarounds to this, but officially this is the way it works.

iPod speakers in your store sounds like a great idea. I can understand why employees would be for this, since iPods can offer a wider variety of music than the typical CD player that might be in a store. I've been there, and 12 years later, I still can't listed to Esquivel, becuase it was played so frequently at the retail store where I worked. If you do have a stereo system already in your stores, take advantage of this and just get a headphone jack to RCA jack dongle to enable the iPod to be plugged into your stereo. If not, then get speakers in which you can dock the iPod. You'll want to select something that is not directional. Many are designed to project the sound to a limited area, and this wouldn't work well in a store. Check out reviews on ilounge.com to see what would work best for your environment. I wouldn't get anything too expensive, since it could get banged around in there or even stolen, and sound quality won't be all that important. Just find something that's a decent value, pumps out enough sound and is sturdy enough to hold up decently. One last note: Make sure whatever music your employees play on it is G rated and universally appealing. You don't want to run off customers with Japanese industrial punk happy hardcore or something. ;)

That's a very nice gift to offer to your employees! They're lucky to have a boss like you. :)