Shop of 2009

RIP Pip

The beginning of the year found me desperately trying to replace my mp3 player, Pip. Pip was a Philips GoGear Hdd6330 30GB Jukebox that I had saved up many gift cards from my birthday and Christmas back in 2005, and I happily purchased him in 2006. I took Pip everywhere with me — riding the bus to classes, riding the bus to work, riding the bus to the store, riding the bus…. See a pattern here? I couldn’t leave my home by myself without my trusty little Pip tucked neatly into a pocket or bag. He gave me so much ear candy and musical love, and I loved him, too. Toward the end of last year, his battery began to wear down. He wouldn’t hold a charge for quite as long as he did in the past. I searched for battery replacements, but sadly his creators did not build him for battery replacement. Instead, I found ways around this dilemma and made sure Pip always got recharged after every use (well, mostly). Then one day in January or February, I noticed he wasn’t showing the recharging info while being plugged in. Odd, I thought to myself. He’s always on when he’s plugged in. I tried switching him on only to discover a screen saying something about no information being found. File corruption! My beloved Pip had died. Anxiety crept over me. Where would I get my musical fix from every time I left home? What was I to do? Sit quietly and listen to conversations on the bus? Potentially get roped into conversations with some of the interesting locals?! I was terrified.

So, I took to the internet to search for the best deal on a replacement. Now you need to understand something very, very important: I am anti-iPod. iPods require you to use iTunes from everything I’ve heard. What happens with all the music from my CDs then? Instead of leaving it up to chance (and forking over my cash to Steve Jobs), I go with anything else that has a good review and price. Wal-Mart and Target failed me. This isn’t so bad considering Wal-Mart has rubbed me the wrong way on several occasions. So that left Amazon.com. After careful consideration, I decided on the Creative Zen 8GB with an expandable SD slot. The reviews seemed good overall, the price was right, and it has the ability to cheaply get upgraded to 24GB with a 16GB SD card. I haven’t been disappointed with my purchase. (Please note: I’m not getting paid to endorse this product. Should Amazon or Creative Labs wish to change that, though, I do accept paypal. 😉 )

The orders didn’t stop there. My laptop battery needed to be replaced, so I found a good solution on Amazon. Then my laptop power adapter needed to be replaced. Then… I was hooked. I was so hooked that practically all my Christmas shopping was done on Amazon.com. I have some stocking stuffers to purchase still — uh-oh, I need to hurry up! — that wouldn’t be worth paying shipping and handling for. I stopped just short of joining Amazon Prime. Maybe I should reconsider, though.