|
shallowdeep -> RE: Apple's iPhone... (2/1/2012 9:24:43 PM)
|
Pindar? Out of curiosity, did you perhaps mean Pandora? Or am I not up to speed on streaming music apps? If you are happy with that and aren't hitting any data limits with your carrier using it, it's probably not a bad solution.
Another option would be to make the files of the songs you have smaller. By default, iTunes currently imports tracks with a 256 kbps bit rate, which is probably the setting you used. That rate can be reduced while still maintaining decent audio quality, which is useful when trying to squeeze a library into limited space. There is actually an option in iTunes to automatically convert songs into smaller 128 kbps files when transferring them to an iPhone. Using that option would roughly halve the size of your files.
If you are satisfied with the sound quality of Pandora, which uses 64 kbps HE-AAC, you could reduce the bit rate of your songs even further, to 80 or 64 kbps HE-AAC. The lower rates don't have an automatic conversion option, so you have to create tracks at the lower bit rate yourself. To do so, you can import CDs at the lower rate or, for tracks you have already ripped, use the "Create AAC version" item under the Advanced menu to transcode the file. In both cases, you first need to set the desired encoder settings, which are found in the "Import Settings…" (Edit > Preferences > Import Settings). Using 64 kbps could reduce those 5 GB to less than 1.5 GB.
Still, the 8 GB in the low-end iPhone 4 is a bit limiting if you are using it for media. Over the course of a two-year contract, $100 extra dollars for the improved camera and processors, Siri, and 16 GB capacity of the entry 4S is probably the better deal. Too late to exchange it? :)
[image]local://upfiles/324704/926570BE8F6446EFBA39C22ED6753310.jpg[/image]
|
|
|
|
