Tips for Purchasing an Imitation IPod

The undeniable success of the Apple iPod has spurred the creation of many 'clone' iPod MP3 players. These media devices are no produced by Apple, cost less, and are not as well made. Websites like eBay are absolutely loaded with these items, and in many smaller countries these players are all that is sold. A normal iPod clip on model (later generation iPod shuffle) may go for $50 to $90 online, but the clone versions of this shuffle retail for roughly $20 to $30. How well do these copy players function? I recently got my hands on a couple of them, and was able to speak to their owners about using them. For anyone who is considering investing in one of these cheap iPod alternatives, here are some tips for how to carefully make the best purchase.

As previously mentioned, these copy clip-on players are very cheap and affordable. Ebay is the main place to purchase them online, although some websites sell only these clone players, for a slightly higher price. My friends were able to get these players for less than $30, and they have 1 GB of storage space, comparable to iPods of similar design. From the outside, these clone shuffles appear to be almost exactly the same as the true Apple models. They are so similar that some of my friends believed them to be real iPods! However, truly discerning MP3 users will be able to spot the subtle differences. Most of the clone players do not sport an Apple trademark, although a few sport a fake one. More importantly, some of the clip on clones support a smaller size headphone than do the real ones. Users have to specially order these online, as they are made for standard Chinese MP3 players. Finally, the way the clones connect to a PC is different-they have an odd USB connection tool, similar to a digital camera cable, unlike (as far as I know) a real Apple iPod shuffle. The differences become more noticeable when one starts actually loading music onto clone player. This is done by simply dragging and dropping .MP3s into the linked device, through My Computer. Real iPods are synced through the iTunes music program, something that these clones do not support. Sometimes users will need to convert their iTunes-purchased music over to unlocked .MP3s before attempting to listen to them on a clone player.

Finally, the biggest complaint my friends had with the clone iPod shuffles was the lack of random play functionality. Supposedly, these players had a normal mode and a random mode, but neither clone shuffle seemed to correctly order songs randomly-they would often repeat the same song order, all the time. Obviously, real iPods dot have this issue.

However, both of my friends really liked their clone clip on shuffle MP3 players. These worked great for jogging and working out, as the clip rarely slipped, and the music loading system was really easy. Music did not get noticeably distorted during the playing process, nor did files get corrupted. Finally, and perhaps best of all, these people got MP3 players at a fraction of the cost for a brand name one.

For users that don't mind the lack of a brand name, and the downsides to a clone MP3 shuffle player, I would suggest looking into purchasing one of these. There are some fantastic deals to be found online, and this is certainly one of them.