R.I.P. iPod! Should I get a Touch?

I used to work at the Apple Store a couple of years ago when I was in college so I may know a thing or two:

Sounds like the nano is for you since are mostly interested in listening to music, and the new Nano has a radio that even the iPod Touch doesn't.

Personally, I have an iPod touch and love the ability to check my email, stock quotes, and surf the web, but to me, it is quite useless without wifi. I don't listen to much music anymore except when I plug the iPod into my Prius.

I know I haven't told you much, I'll be back with more...

 

Why Apple? When SANDisk is cheaper per Gig, uses a standard USB, has a mini-SD memory slot, etc.

Unless you want to play games, iTouch. If just a media/MP3 player, generics are way cheaper.

iow, if a SANDisk player + DS Lite is cheaper than an iTouch...

I like MP3 players that can be easily expanded, can be used with any computer (Mac, Linux, Win), and the battery can be easily serviced.

Ever since I got my BlackBerry Pearl, I've not used a dedicated music player.

 

I think the OP will be disappointed going from having an iPod to a SanDisk player. That is a downgrade.

The upshot of an iPod is quality, technology, familiarity and the use of iTunes. I think that's well worth the price.

 

I have a touch, and prefer it. I got it when I sold my iPhone. It is very satisfactory, especially if your son and you take it traveling. You will find that you can access wifi and be entertained with your own in movie flight, without having to pull out a big laptop or anything.

It is an overall wonderful device.

 

Don't know why I said your son... I am all messed up today. Glad to see you posting again. Reward yourself with the touch if that is what you desire. Live each day like it could be your last, without making it your last or endangering your future. LOL

That's my motto.

 

Maybe you can help me. I have a 2nd gen iPod and a Powerbook G4 (yeah I'm old!) When Apple prompted me to install a new version of iTunes I did it following the directions carefully. The result was that I lost all the songs in my MAC. I went through the APPLE tech and got back half. Most of the purchased songs are gone. The iPod still has all the songs. Now I have an iPhone 3GS. I don't know what to do. I don't want to sync because I will losw all the remaining tunes. Any advice?
Thanks

 

There are 3rd party programs that will allow you to copy the music from the iPod onto another computer, so that you don't lose the music on the iPod. One such program is called Senuti (iTunes backward) and I believe there are others. I think you can also do it using Terminal if you are into the whole command line thing. Google it, I'm sure you will find something.

Re: iPod Nano vs. iPod Touch vs. iPod Classic

Just because you can download video, surf the Web, etc. doesn't mean you have to. If you are just interested in music, any of the above will work and it is really a matter of which size and capacity best meets your needs. I have a first gen Nano which I still really love, but its only 4GB, so I wish it was bigger. I also have a iPod Touch, but I only use it for music; I have used it on WiFi to watch YouTube videos but again it only has 4GB, so I wish it had more room.

 

If you knew for sure you'd only ever listen to music, then the nano does the trick. But the touch does everything except phone home - it seems to me to be the perfect little travelling computer. I'm sure you'd soon find some very useful features - updating your flights, checking the weather, downloading a book to listen to, posting on PriusChat....

Get the touch. And keep your eyes open for the new iTab.

 

If you had an iPod Mini, then a Nano would be a more than suitable replacement.

I think the Touch is a pretty poor value when you start going to toward the larger capacities. You may as well get an iPod Classic instead (160 gig Classic is $249).

If you're ok w/refurbs and sometimes not the latest generation, consider a refurb from Refurbished iPod - Apple Store (U.S.) (select lower left of Refurbished iPods from store.apple.com if my link doesn't work.)

IMHO, using an touchscreen device like an Touch or iPhone as a music player isn't the best in a car (where I use my iPod a lot). To navigate between songs, you have to use the touchscreen and can't really easily almost do it blindly/by feel like you can w/the clickwheel interface. My music and podcast collection was too big to fit on the largest Touches at one point, so it made no sense to go with one coupled w/the high price and the above.

As for surfing on the Touch, finding free open wi-fi can be a challenge. It's not that readily available wherever you go. I can speak from experience w/my iPhone 3G. It's also much slower to surf on such a device compared to a real computer, even over wi-fi. I think that surfing on a Touch is gimmicky at best due to the limited connection availability unless you also carry around a mobile wi-fi hotspot like a Verizon MiFi.

As for lots of cool apps, yep. There are a TON. You might be surprised that you will find some useful or at least cool. You might even find some casual games that you like.

If you have plans to watch videos, then a Touch would be better due to its larger screen, but you might find its capacity to be limiting. (My iPhone's only 8 gigs and I have to limit my music, podcast, photos and videos synced to it to be a VERY small subset. For my 80 gig iPod Classic, I just let it sync everything and still have tons of room to spare.)

FWIW, I have have an 8 gig iPhone 3G, 3rd gen Nano, 6th gen 80 gig iPod Classic, and a no longer used 4th gen iPod.

 

I love how easy it is to download apps and podcasts on my Touch.
I am trying to learn French and I have downloaded translators and dictionaries, also French podcasts, as well as my Pimsleur cd's.

 

I'd highly recommend going with the iPod touch, as the endless selection of apps and wi-fi connectivity in such a compact device are very valuable. I have several iPods, but the touch gets the most use. Even around the house it is handy for quickly looking up information & checking social stuff (e-mail/chat/twitter/fb/whatever) without always running to the computer or opening the laptop. You are correct that it has no built-in GPS, and network connectivity does require one has access to the wireless network (a sore point with me at work), but even offline I use mine a lot to entertain the kids, read books, use various apps.

One great thing is, once you buy an app (which tend to be ridiculously cheap), you can use it on all the iPhones and iPod touches linked to your account. We currently have two, one for my wife and one for me, but I'm seriously thinking of getting a couple for the kids instead of DS's partially because of this fact.

 

If it were me, I'd get a new 64GB Touch and enjoy it. If you don't need the space, get a smaller one, but IMHO, the Touch is the way to go for now.

We've got 4 iPods in the house (4G, 2x5G, and a 3G Nano), and I am itching for a Touch for the wifi capabilities. Probably will hold out for the rumored tablet to be announced soon...

 

My granddaughter got a Touch for Christmas, and she loves it. I'll defer to her judgment, lol.

 

If you have a bunch of songs purchased from iTunes, you are probably stuck with an iPod. The Nano or a classic are both great music players. If you want it only for music, I'd stick with either of those. The Touch, in my opinion, does a fine job of "playing" music, but is cumbersome to navigate (not a good thing for a car). On the other hand, you can connect to your Prius through Bluetooth, avoiding any wiring, so that may outweigh the navigation issues. I have both and seem to use the Touch on shuffle more than my Nano, primarily because of the bluetooth connectivity. The Touch is a much better toy for email, games and web surfing (provided you have wifi). It's essentially an iPhone without all the dropped calls.

 

You could buy one of each, Daniel, and give the one you like least as a present for someone.

 

Hi Daniel,

My iPod Touch linked up to my wireless router with no problem, I just had to enter the password I set for my network. I wonder why yours isn't happy?