Buying an IPOD?
 

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone knows a cheap place to buy an IPOD (new)? Can one get them in duty free? I'll be flying through IAD, ORD and SFO, although currently in NYC. what is the difference between the regular and the HP ones?

thanks
goodo

The price is pretty well fixed. Sometimes you can get 10% off at target, or some other on-line stores.

The Hp one is identical except the SW is supposed to work better for windows. And it has HP on the back in small text.

Duty Free is pretty much non existent in the US, except for booze and ciggies...

As said earlier, your best bet would be to check a site like www.bensbargains.net and keep an eye on any good deals.

There have been a lot of deals on the HP Ipod, where you can get the $299 Ipod for $250 or less. You can also check out fatwallet.com. Remember to use a mileage earning portal to get some bonus miles when shopping.

Also, while in NYC check out the Apple Store in Manhattan (a short walk from the Hampton Inn, Chelsea). They often have deals on a big whiteboard that they don't advertise online. I got a good bargain on a 20Gb iPod there in April.

You just have to suck it up and buy it. I waited a year thinking surely I'd find some discounts out there, but finally bought the $499 40GB and never looked back.

Is that the ONLY apple Store in NYC? Are there any near Times Sq?
I am thinking of either getting the I-Pod in HKG or USA> I presume USA will be cheaper? Is it true?

What deals do they have?


Also I head that the I-Pod actually doesn't play he mp3 format. It as to convert the songs to a SPECIAL APPLE format? Is it true??? This must be annoying and inconvenient.

Dunno. I'm sure there'll be a listing on apple.com

Again, dunno. That would be one for somebody else.

Well in April I got a 20Gb second generation one for $299 there. But as I said, they write them on a white board so you need to go in to find out.

I don't think so. Is this perhaps propaganda out of Redmond?

You might also want to check out the Apple Store online. They often have decent deals on refurbished products.

They are closing apple stores left and right. I do imagine there is only one, but do check apple.com.

I found ipods in SE asia to be MORE expenisve, not less.

As for the format, it will play all your existing mp3 songs. As for ripping new songs, the default setting is to rip to an apple-specific format, but that is easily set to rip to mp3. The only songs you cannot get in mp3 are songs you buy from the apple music store, those come in a special DRM'ed format.

If you're willing to go with one of the older 10 GB iPods Amazon has a good deal at $220 with no tax and free shipping.

crutchfield
 

So, you can always buy one from crutchfield, for first time buyers you get 20$ off first purchase, so that is ALWAYS available. Shipping is 4.95 I think and there is no tax outside of VA.

Targte often has the 10% off coupons now, they have one going on now, but shipping eats into pricing as does tax if there is a target in your state. Most states do.

You might try finding a student access to the apple site, but that really only yields 7% or so on the ipod, plus tax, plus shipping. So, net cost I would say crutchfield is the best.

closing??? they are opening more and more stores all the time. unfortunately, that has taken a toll on the non-apple owned stores that sell apple products, and some of those have closed.

aac (.m4a) is not an apple specific format - its part of the mpeg 4 standard. it is not as prevalent as mp3 because it is relatively new. many non-apple devices play aac, including some cellphones for ringtones.

music from the itunes music store are standard aac files with fairplay drm (.m4p). apple (foolishly) won't license it so that it can become the defacto drm standard. for protected aac, one needs itunes (mac or pc) or an ipod.

Closing Apple stores left and right?? wow, that's a new one. Surely you're not talking about Apple's own retail stores, none of which have closed since inception.

As far as non-Apple Retail stores go, a few have closed, but not any significant proportion. With respect to iPods specifically, the number of retail stores carrying the product is skyrocketing. Foley's, Macy's, Saks, Nieman's, even Costco and WalMart... It seems there are more companies selling the iPod each week, and, in fact, more retailers signing on for other Mac hardware as well.


To get one cheap, here are some ideas...

- Check out the Special Deals on the Apple Store web site.

- If you can, consider shipping to Oregon, New Hampshire, Delaware or another state that does not have sales tax or buy over the Web from a company that does not have a presence in your state, like Amazon, so that you don't have to pay sales tax.

- Befriend someone who works for Apple :)

- Befriend a student and use their student discount

- Check out sites like DealMac for good prices

iPods play MP3, AAC, AA, WAV, Apple Lossless... iTunes will convert non-DRM WMAas well so that thy can be played on the iPod.