i want a cheap ipod touch but if i get a 1st gen will there be a big difference between that and a 2nd gen. Also im thinking either 8 or 16 gigs 32gb might be too much space and it costs more. i have checked google and ebay and they all look like the same price. please keep me posted. Thanks, Hunter
The touch has a great interface but it is 'locked in' to itunes. This is a deal breaker for me. The cheapest place to buy the touch is to buy a returned one at apple. The touch is solid state. They are retunred because the user couldn't figure out how to get it to work. Use google shop to locate that section of the store. You can't get there inside the store. I just bought my wife a returned 16g Sansa View for 65 USD. The hardware is a generation ahead of apple. The screen is vivid. Sansa is also the first player to use a new polymer battery. It lasts about 4 times what my daughter's disked ipod lasts. I know that is an unfair comparison. However, they claim the battery will last 36 hrs on audio.
I used to be on your side of the fence too, and until the Touch, iPods were behind technology-wise, now they're way out in front. The gaming capabilities are better than a PS1 or DS which is pretty surprising considering it's supposed to be for playing music. The large screen's also beautiful and the touch controls are better than with any other device on the market right now, it works smooth as anything (it's got a processor that runs twice as fast as a PSPs so it's no wonder), it's got very good wireless internet with the best mobile browser i've ever seen and plays back videos flawlessly, along with the fact that it also has a 36hr battery life when listening to music (whoever came up with coverflow's a genius). Finally, there's also the fact you can now jailbreak the second gens which makes them all the better; cool themes, emulators (such as for playing GBA or NES games), useful widgets, free app store games... The accelerometer is also something pretty cool that's utilised in a lot of ways - you won't find one in any other MP3 player and it's more responsive than any you'd find in upmarket phones. All in all, certainly worth the £160 i paid for my 16GB. I'd say definitely go with a second gen over a first, they're only about £20 more and you get bluetooth (okay, so that's not usable yet, but when Apple releases firmware 3.0 it should be), an external speaker and a way faster processor, most people also liked the slightly curved backing more than the flat one of the first gen. As Mez said - the only way you're really going to see them much cheaper than retail is getting a refurbished / returned / ex display model - chances are you can even pick them up cheaper than used ones.
Shokz, obviously you never saw one of these or you would not be talking this way. I do not know about gaming, but I was completely accurate when I stated Apple is not even in the same league as Sansa hardware. Apple does not use polymer batteries yet. That is huge in my book. The iPods are lucky to get a movie out of one battery. With these, you can watch videos all day on one charge. Apple is behind on the screen technology as well. The Zune has a screen like the new View. It makes all the Apple products look washed out. I am sure Sansa will have the first 32 g flash drive. I bet it will be out in time for Christmas. Actually, since the view already takes a 16 G memory card you can have 32 g today. Sansa has been taking market share from Apple like stealing candy from a baby with 25% better hardware for less than one quarter the price. I really can't see how Apple will compete with the leading chip and screen manufacturer. I am sure Sansa is designing new chips to be easily integrated into their players. They will probably not sell their most advanced chips to a competitor. As far as the gaming, if it doesn't game, that will probably change with market share. Apple has the market share so that is where the money is. I would suspect Sansa either is of will make an ASpple game compliant player. I would say buying a protable player with out at least looking at a Sansa would be a mistake.
It seems from your tone you want a fight... It was supposed to be a harmless statement. I'm not sure if it matters what type of battery each uses if they can both manage 36 hours on one charge - or am I missing something here? I used to have an Iriver that had an AMOLED screen, arguably one of the best there is, and I have to say that going to the touch this screen seems no worse, and, at 480x320 it's more than likely a higher resolution than the Sansa. Interstingly, you mention the GB / TB race, but you must be forgetting that there are a LOT of memory manufacturers out there and SSD and flash memory producers are constantly fighting to produce the next biggest chip, and they could all go bigger right now if they wanted to, it's just not cost effective, so you have a moot point. I do wonder why you refer to Sandisk as the name of their product line... As I said, Apple IS ahead, in the functionality of the player and the hardware inside, the only thing for a while that could change this is the new Snapdragon processor for phones by Qualcomm, which I really can't wait for in the new Toshiba TG01. Also, as a little testament to the iPod Touch, I typed this post on it
Oh, I don't mind a scrap from time to time but not when I am in the wrong. No, I did. I agree 36 hrs is 36 hrs; my bad I know I checked the Apple site "recently" but not recently enough. You caught me napping! Because there line of players are called Sansas. But yes, Sansa is an arm of Sandisk. You are correct again. I am convinced there is a race but you are also correct that it will not sell if it costs too much. Well, I will concede they are in the same league. They might have higher resolution as well. I am still convinced they will be burried but not in the next year or two. I am glad to see them at least keeping up with Sandisk. It looks to be a heavy weight fight.
It's not often i see someone willing to concede And yes, i can't wait to see what the other manufacturers will create to try and outshine the Touch, it's just unfortunate that Apple pretty much has them on the back foot due to having the extensive App Store helping support the product. It will be interesting to see if the Android operating system starts to edge into the personal media player market as is should do very well in phones this year.
Well, you can't be right all the time and I don't mind admitting when I am off. I prefer arguing with someone that did homework at least you learn something. I am glad to see Android. We have been living in the Shadows of M$ and to a lesser degree Apple.
you boys know your stuff.... could you help me please as looking to buy one for my daughter whos 15 and wondered if you can still put any music on she wants say from a mp3 on to the ipod touch, and videos could you use you tube videos on the touch or maybe a home made movie . would these need to be converted. seen 8gb 2nd generation from littlewoods direct for £165 and can pay in installments. any help you could give or direct me to pages where i can get info from would be most appreciated. thanks tim
You'll need to install iTunes, but yes, just import all the music onto that and then it'll sync to the iPod when you connect it to the computer. You can also import video files into iTunes and use the inbuilt converter to create an iPod version that'll sync with the music. There's also an application that comes preinstalled on the iPod that lets you browse YouTube videos (you'll need Wi-Fi, of course).
I would recommed the Sansa View. Sansas are taking market share from Apple because they are as good or better than Apple products for much less. A refurbished 16g can be bought for under 70 USDs. Apple is obsessed with punishing users for aquiring music illegaly. Apples polacy is to shoot first and ask questions later. The current version of itunes will permently lock down the ipod if it connects to a PC other then its 'owner'. I can't see paying double so you can be punished. Apple is the only company that puts a policeman in ever player it makes. I would avoid disked players they don't last like the flash players or even the older disked players. I would NEVER use itunes on my PC for that reason. ipods are the only Apple product that does not require itunes on the PC to sync. I would buy refurbished and buy an extended warentee. At ecost the warentees can be purchased for very little. 8g nano (limited time sale price) http://www.ecost.com/detail.aspx?edp=42264830&source=EWB062809EML&cm_mmc=Exact%20Target-_-Hotsheet-_-Summer%20Clearance-_-Apple%208GB%20iPod%20Nano%203rd%20Gen%20-%20Green%20-%20MB253LL/A%20-%20MB253LL 16g view http://www.ecost.com/ecost/ecce/category/category.aspx?Category=155438252
Are you sure you have any evidence to back that up? I've got two PCs and I can still charge it and access it on the computer that it isn't 'registered' with. And, unless you've bought music with DRM, you'll certainly have no problem.
No, other than the complaints. Most users are either not sure or are not telling what 'nailed them'. I suspect it is not just connecting and charging. I suspect it is a transfer of files either to or from the ipod that is the 'killer'. Because the reset is faulty and does not fix the problem, the punishment is permenent unless you can hack your way in to fix it. I suspect the reset failure was not intentional. This is worth more than a little caution until a hack is figured out. I suspect you are smart enough to avoid copying files on or off your ipod from a 'different' computer. That is what flash drives are for. toptimm mentioned so I figured a note of caution was in order. I would like to ask you a question. Can you remove tunes from your player with itunes? That was not an obvious when I used itunes. My next cell phone might be an iphone. Not because of the wonderful interface, but because of the calendar that syncs with a computer. I do not want to pay for the internet connection and do not like entering information on tiny keyboards. That leaves me with only one choice. I would like to scrap my ipod so I only carry around one device but I tire of music easily. I swap out 2g of tunes monthly on my 4g nano to keep it fresh. If not, I will just have to carry 2 devices.
