Pre-loaded or load your own?
You'll need to decide whether you want to order a ready-to-use pre-loaded iPod®, or whether you want to load your own. Here are some factors that will help you decide:
Likely to Load Your Own iPod
If you already own an iPod and are competent using iTunes, then you'll likely load your own. You'll need to have the desired birdJam Maker module(s) and the bird song CDs associated with those modules. You can order a download of birdJam Maker to save both time and money, but you must have the physical bird song CDs. If you order a download of birdJam Maker, you can always re-download in the future if you need.
 If you don't own an iPod, but you are planning to add lots of content such as music, movies, phtographs, etc. to any iPod you use, then you should seriously consider loading your own iPod from the start.
Likely to Order a Pre-Loaded iPod
If you don't have the time, experience, expertise or patience to spend about an hour at your computer, then you should likely order a pre-loaded birdJam iPod. You can take it out of the box and be on your way.
Also, if you don't plan to add/change lots of content to your birdJam iPod, a pre-loaded iPod may be the easiest answer for you.
Type of iPod
If you wish to order a pre-loaded iPod, we carry both the iPod Nano (on the right in the photo above) and iPod Touch (left in the photo) with plenty of capacity for birding. birdJam Maker East and West requires less than 1GB. See our preloaded iPods page to see exactly what we have.
If you want a larger capacity iPod, we recommend that you load your own iPod as the implication is that you are going to be adding lots of content to your iPod. If you insist, we can special order and load a larger capacity iPod for you. Call us at 1-800-403-5524.
The iPod Nano is small and lightweight, and will easily fit into a shirt pocket. It operates with the classic iPod click wheel--you scroll your finger around the wheel to change and select functions. The screen on the latest Nano iPods displays the photographs large enough to be discernible and useful. The iPod Nano does not include a speaker, so you listen either with ear buds or an attached external speaker. See the Cyanics Swing Speaker and Case Combo for a useful speaker for birding with the Nano.
The iPod Touch is somewhat larger but is still quite light and portable. The larger iPod Touch screen operates with the flick of your finger. The photographs are very useful for identification purposes. The iPod Touch includes a built-in speaker, but we characterize it as a "personal" speaker that is not sufficient for attracting birds or for groups. Many people chose to use an external speaker such as the iMainGo2. The iPod Touch includes many other features such as built-in Wi-Fi for internet access, ability to download apps from the iTunes Store, etc.
Yes, the iPhone is also an excellent option, with many features similar to the iPod Touch, and of course, is also a cellphone. iPhones are available from Apple and AT&T.
If you have never seen or held an iPod, you may wish to make a trip to your local Apple store, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, etc. to help you decide which model iPod is best for you.
Apple ships iPods with ear buds and a USB cable. The USB cable is used to recharge your iPod via your computer. Many people order a wall and/or car charger as accessories since it eliminates the need to have a computer to charge your iPod.
Background: Content is loaded to an iPod via iTunes, Apple's free music management system that runs equally well on Mac or Windows computers. If you load your own iPod, then you'll use iTunes on your computer to do the formatting and loading of your iPod.
If we do the loading, then we'll attach your iPod to one of our computers (Mac or Windows--whichever you specify), and load your iPod via iTunes on one of our computers. |
