iPod suggestions?

[Aragorn]

So I have one of the old iPods (I guess they call them Classics now), and it appears that the battery can't hold a charge anymore. Half an hour in, an hour in, doesn't really have a definite time but the battery life will be pretty close to full and then it'll just drop to nothing and die. Sometimes after a few minutes it'll come back to life with the battery mysteriously replenished, but most of the time it'll stay in the red.

I could take it to an Apple Store and replace the battery. When I looked on the Apple site it said it'll cost me at least $59 to replace it.

Or for 50-75% more, I could just buy a new iPod Touch.

Do you recommend I replace the battery or just buy a new iPod? And if it's the latter, do you have any iPod recommendations?

 

[spinnerlys]

The iPod Touch costs at least 220$, so more than 50% more as the replacement battery.

If you meant the iPod Nano, it costs 149$ and up and has only 8GB of storage.

If you're fine with less storage than your old iPod (30-16ßGB), then go for it.

But if you still like to have all the storage your current iPod has you have to invest at least 249$ to get the same storage with a new iPod.

I would say, look around at eBay for a replacement battery and do the job yourself, if you're handy and have access to some tools,

Here are some guides for opening your iPod: http://www.ifixit.com/

 

[Garrovick]

I have the 5.5 Generation iPod. Three years and still going strong. If my battery was failing, I'd just get it replaced.

 

[Aragorn]

Oops, I wasn't thinking right when I put in the percentage. I meant 3 to 4 times as much for cost of a new iPod versus the battery.

 

[David cgc]

What's the size of your current iPod?

 

[Aragorn]

Mine's just a 30 GB. I think it's just called iPod (one site is telling me it's 3rd generation, another site tells me it's 5th, but I still have the box somewhere if I can find it). It's pretty basic.

Anyone here have experience with iPod Touch?

 

[Guartho]

I have a 30 GB and I know it's 5th gen. In the 5th gen 30 was the low-end. 30 could've been the high end for 3rd gen though. Anyway, I broke the screen on mine and got a new one from ifixit.com/. They've got very detailed instructions and top-notch new replacement parts. Chances are the battery you could get from them will outperform what you got when yours was new.

If you're even the tiniest bit good with your hands I'd say you can open it up and change that battery.

 

[Aragorn]

I was able to look up my serial number on the Apple site. It's fifth gen.

That ifixit site stops at 4th gen for plain iPods.

 

[Guartho]

Yeah, it's under "iPod Video" Here are the parts.

 

[Chess Piece Face]

I've opened an ipod and changed the battery - it's not hard. This was a few years ago and the batt was 30 bucks.

Edit - oh, I see the batt is 14.95 in the above link.

 

[ATimson]

If you're going to get a new iPod, try to hold out for the new models in late September.

 

[Mr. B]

I'd go for the cheap battery replacement... and Rockbox.

 

[Garrovick]

I'd go for the cheap battery replacement... and Rockbox.

Rockbox is only for the really cool kids. And the Gamers. I tried it once. It does nothing to improve the iPod

 

[msbae]

Mine's just a 30 GB. I think it's just called iPod (one site is telling me it's 3rd generation, another site tells me it's 5th, but I still have the box somewhere if I can find it). It's pretty basic.

Anyone here have experience with iPod Touch?

I have an iPod Touch. I love it both for its ease of use and the fact that I didn't pay a penny for the device. I won it in a school event called 'Tech Fest.' That was a pretty happy day for me.

 

[GalaxyX]

I just bought an iPod Touch.

I like the way it look and for music it's fine. Try getting Video on this thing though and you'll be pulling your hair out.

It only plays "MP4" and "Quicktime", and it has to be a specific encoding of MP4, like H263, and audio can only be AAC.

What the heck kinda video player doesn't support Divx? or MP3? or even good ole' MPG?

Friggin Apple and their friggin' bullshit Mac standards.

Also the iTunes software doesn't miss an opportunity to tell you you can buy music/apps/movies directly from them. No thanks, not interested. I only bought it because I needed a video player that could fit in my hand with a decent screen. Now I have to spend hours reencoding all my crap just to get it to play.

 

[Garrovick]

I just bought an iPod Touch.

I like the way it look and for music it's fine. Try getting Video on this thing though and you'll be pulling your hair out.

It only plays "MP4" and "Quicktime", and it has to be a specific encoding of MP4, like H263, and audio can only be AAC.

What the heck kinda video player doesn't support Divx? or MP3? or even good ole' MPG?

Friggin Apple and their friggin' bullshit Mac standards.

Also the iTunes software doesn't miss an opportunity to tell you you can buy music/apps/movies directly from them. No thanks, not interested. I only bought it because I needed a video player that could fit in my hand with a decent screen. Now I have to spend hours reencoding all my crap just to get it to play.

I basicaly agree. I'd like to replace my iPod, any suggestions as to which brand? For a lower cost too.

 

[Chess Piece Face]

I just bought an iPod Touch.

I like the way it look and for music it's fine. Try getting Video on this thing though and you'll be pulling your hair out.

It only plays "MP4" and "Quicktime", and it has to be a specific encoding of MP4, like H263, and audio can only be AAC.

What the heck kinda video player doesn't support Divx? or MP3? or even good ole' MPG?

Friggin Apple and their friggin' bullshit Mac standards.

Also the iTunes software doesn't miss an opportunity to tell you you can buy music/apps/movies directly from them. No thanks, not interested. I only bought it because I needed a video player that could fit in my hand with a decent screen. Now I have to spend hours reencoding all my crap just to get it to play.

Reencoding video? You don't hear me whining because I have to rencode stuff for my PS3 that works on my appletv. Get over it. Set your computer to do it at night. And you act like the specific encoding is difficult. You are just clicking a choice in a menu. I don't see why you're pulling your hair out.

I get stuff online all the time that won't play on my iphone or apple tv. You know what I do? I drop it in a program that reencodes it and I push a button. Done.

 

[GalaxyX]

Reencoding video? You don't hear me whining because I have to rencode stuff for my PS3 that works on my appletv. Get over it. Set your computer to do it at night. And you act like the specific encoding is difficult. You are just clicking a choice in a menu. I don't see why you're pulling your hair out.

Well I try to get the highest quality playback possible, so I spend a ton of time tweaking and previewing my videos before "pushing the button". On the plus side, I impress the hell out of people when they see my videos playing on my iPod that are near DVD quality.

And the iTouch is VERY picky about how you encode the video. For example, you can't do "Quantization Based" Encoding, you have to do "Constant Bitrate", and it seems that 1200-1400kb/s is the limit before the iPod starts freaking out with jerky motions.

Another problem I've ran into is that I have a ton of training videos that I need to see, but they are all encoded with WMP 9 which is a format that no software I have (or know of) will convert. (I can't really blame Apple for that one though, rather Microsoft with their stupid proprietary codecs)

 

[FordSVT]

Mine's just a 30 GB. I think it's just called iPod (one site is telling me it's 3rd generation, another site tells me it's 5th, but I still have the box somewhere if I can find it). It's pretty basic.

Anyone here have experience with iPod Touch?

I have a 32 MB G1 Touch. It plays music, it plays videos, it has a touch screen. Other than that it's like any other iPod except it eats its charge in about 3 hours of constant use unless the screen is turned completely off.

Forget what Apple says on their website about a 32 hour battery life, that is with the volume turned almost off, the screen turned off, and a play list controlling 128kbps AAC files using no equalizer effects. If I'm just listening to music with it (screen is often on, using the menus, etc) I get about 6-8 hours before it dies. I like it, but I mostly use it in the car where I can keep it plugged in. I tried to watch a movie on it once during a slow work day but with all the breaks in between it was dead before I got to the end. One thing is for sure: reduce the standard "full on" brightness level.

It's funny, Apple's list of "things to do to make your iPod batteries last longer" basically says "don't do anything with the iPod that made you buy one over a cheap no-name MP3 player in the first place". I get it, but I still think it's funny.

 

[Stag]

I am an old schooler - I have a 3rd gen black and white 'classic', I have replaced the touch wheel, the battery, the screen...it is like an old faithful car I don't want to get rid of it. We've seen so much together and the music that has come and gone on their is enough for a VH1 holiday marathon of 1 hit wonders and bad 80s hair bands.

Anyway, those two of those who love me bought me an iPod Touch 16g and a 120g 'classic' because they felt bad I traveled around with this jalopy of an iPod. I have to say that while both of the new models are improvements and amazing in different ways, there is something to be said for the simplicity of the original.

Anyway, thanks for walking down iPod memory lane.

Anyone want to know about my new Palm Pre?