The iPod Nano, Classic or Touch? Or None?
I need music on the go. And my Sony Ericsson K530i just isn’t doing it for me anymore. After my Creative Streetwear Earphones EP-50 died out, I’ve completely stopped using my phone for music, and to be honest, I don’t have the guts to spend another 1000 bucks on earphones that will give up on me anytime they wish to, leaving me alone to rot on a silent lonely ride (to wherever it is that I am going). I need to carry my music collection with me, because friends lately have been unreliable, and I am therefore forced to travel alone sometimes.
Video playback would be a nice additional feature to the device I’m looking for, but as Brian correctly pointed out, watching anything on a 2 or 2.5 inch screen would be torture to the eyes. On the other hand, Vishal already owns an iPod Touch and watches 24 on it, and I agree, the 3.5 inch screen, though not sufficient, but is acceptable.
With the iPod Touch, you get much more than music, the iPod Touch is more or less the iPhone without the phone. It has Wi-Fi support, applications, upcoming support for all other kinds of things. But you still feel the pinch with a guy like me, who can never imagine spending 13k on something with purely entertainment value and zero educational purpose.
The iPod Classic boasts of an amazing battery life, and also of a 120 GB hard drive, but the restrictive nature of the iPod will not allow me to use the free space for other file storage purposes. And I, for one thing, know that my music collection will not reach anywhere near to 120 GB even in the near future. So the extra space goes waste. 16 GB is more than enough for me, if I am to store only music. If you start adding video, then of course, 120 GB is also a small number. Price for the iPod Classic would be around 14k, which would be justified if it were a little less bulky.
The iPod Shuffle is a pretty much useless device, even with the new improvements (voice and iTunes playlists), because a music player ought to have a screen so you can easily navigate to the track you want to listen to without having to wait for it to turn up like silly douche bag. You also need an equalizer, which is only possible when you have a screen. This crosses out the Shuffle completely from my list. Also, 4 GB is really a small space to fit all your music into. I’m the kinda guy who likes to keep the whole album if I like one track in it.
After all this thinking, the conclusion I reached was that none of the iPods offered by Apple suit my needs. Now I turn to other portable multimedia players in the market. Sony is one that comes to your mind when you think of the Indian market. But then I want to have a hands-on experience with a device before I decide to buy it, because a lot of things are left out intentionally in the reviews.
With everything the I require from my device, do you guys have anything in mind? Suggestions would be highly appreciated.
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lavkush on 
nandan on 
puneet on 
April 14th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
U could use the ipod classic as an external hdd in manual mode where u drag and drop the music files instead of syncing (which i think is much easier).. what else do u need to add?
The Zune 120 is also ok.. but its microsoft so do the research on this one b4 buying..
Then there is the archos 605 30gb, which has a nice touch screen, has wifi and good resolution
so there u go…
April 14th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
@Perx
I have considered Archos too, but the problem is that there is no customer support and warranty in India, so if anything goes wrong, my money goes in the drain.
April 14th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Hey.. also check out the cowon mp3 players.. they have a pretty good range too
April 14th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
@apoorv
CHeck with an online store once.. some companies offer international warranty like hp and dell..
April 14th, 2009 at 2:18 pm
What’s wrong with the Nano?
April 14th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
@Sneezy Melon
The price. If I am going to buy the Nano for 8k, I will want to put in just 4 more and get the Touch which has Wi-Fi, apps, and a multi-touch interface.
April 14th, 2009 at 11:17 pm
Creative.
Let me repeat that for you.
Creative.
You can throw a Creative MuVo from a running bus, submerge it into water, smash it with a hammer, heat it, cool it, send it into outer space – and still have a working device. Ankush got a 2GB MuVo for 2.5K, but the newer ones are even cheaper.
(BTW, why this sudden obsession with everything on the go? Can’t you just relax and enjoy a journey?)
April 14th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
@Uncool
Hmm, I need to check out Creative as well.
About things on the go, I have had way too much time spent alone pondering over my miserable life, and I don’t like that anymore. I like to be a coward and mask it up with a temporary high on terribly depressing and anguish-filled music.
April 15th, 2009 at 12:00 am
You can’t sync an iPod touch on Linux. You can’t even access it’s internal memory outside of iTunes. No wait..actually you can but only over WiFi. The iPod touch is a great media player. The display is gorgeous. With NetNewsWire and TwitterFon on my iPod touch I don’t really need to switch on my computer to waste my time online. Safari is great too. If you don’t think iPhone OS 3.0 is worth the $10 upgrade then you might want to wait before you purchase your iPod, if you’re buying an iPod touch.
But if you’re a Linux user you might want to choose between the Creative devices and the other iPods(that is not including the iPod touch). Also, from what I’ve read Zune sync doesn’t function on Mac OS X and Linux.
April 15th, 2009 at 12:14 am
@Ankur When I was standing in my balcony, my iPod touch slipped from hands and fell inside a flower pot in my garden on the ground floor. It seems to be working just fine. May not be as sturdy as the MuVo but it’s still pretty good.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:27 am
@Abhishek I know Apple makes sturdy products. That’s why I’m on a Mac right now. I suggested the MuVo because:
1. It’s cheap.
2. It’s just a USB drive when you plug it into a computer. Remember: we use 3 different operating systems.
Of course, if I had cash to spend I’d pick a good phone instead of an MP3 player, but it’s Apoorv’s choice.
April 16th, 2009 at 8:15 am
@Uncool
I already have a good 3G enabled phone which does almost everything I want except for my music. That is why I need something dedicated to music/multimedia.
April 16th, 2009 at 8:31 am
So you’re going to carry two devices with you? I used to do that when I was still into the music-on-the-go fad. Gave up on it after a few weeks.
April 19th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I think you should go for the touch…..
Its just 15k
My bro has it
I also have used it
And i find it a great product….
Have you thought about an iriver
I had bought an iriver e10 from dubai
And i love it so much that after using it
I had purchased another one the s10
You can use it as an external hdd
You can scyn it with any os i also tried it with linux
My final word 2 u is
Either go for the touch or any of the irivers
Iriver certainy has more features that any of the ipods…
April 20th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
I wouldn’t get anything but a iPod. They are just simply made better. Just get a 8gb touch and download the simplify music app. This allows you to access your iTunes library over the Internet and the music streams to your iPod in excellant quality. It’s the perfect app if your concerned about not have enough memory
July 30th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
iPod nano is very good as a walkaround mp3 player. my only complaint is that the included headphones lack good bass. I replaced it with the Sennheiser CX-300 and the sound was awesome.