'Which iPod are You?' Buying for Yourself and Others on Your List?
Before you Go Out to Shop for One (or Two), Check this Out First
| by Joe Leo, Columnist |
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The iPod classic, I think, is at the end of the line. I don't think Apple can do much more with it, save for bigger hard drives. But even that. Flash drives are the "in" thing and there are no moving parts in it, making it more reliable than the latter.
Plus, any improvements they plan to make are already present in the new nano and touch.
As much as I don't like the classic when compared to its brethren, by itself, it's pretty cool. Considering the 6GB iPod mini back in 2005 was $249, you do the math!
I still have my 6GB mini, and the funny story there is that I first started out with a 4GB first generation model the week before. I gave into temptation. I didn't really need it, but everyone had one and I kind of liked the idea of having music from iTunes somewhere other than my computer's hard drive.
I also never took a liking to the regular-sized iPods, all the versions before the classic.
The 4GB and 2GB models were rumored to be updated soon (at the time) and the big thing was that it would sport color screens. I thought that'd be nice, but I couldn't care less. And I figured it would probably cost more for that technology.
Lo and behold, the second generation rolls out the week after my purchase, and the the money I plopped down for a high-end 4GB mini was now enough to get a high-end 6GB mini. Or, I could save $50 and get the new low-end 4GB mini (or pay even less and get a now "antique" 2GB mini at a bargain basement price!).
Alas, I had opened it and Apple charges a restocking fee, so for the price I had to pay for opening the box, I didn't want to pay that just to get a new and cheaper 4GB mini-- I would've lost on that deal. So I went for the new 6GB mini, ate the restocking fee, and for that $22.90 fee (oh yeah, there was an educational discount back then, paid only $229), I gained 2GB more space!
If I wanted to, I could have gotten the 2GB mini for under $179, or the new second-gen 4GB mini for that price ($199 retail minus the $20 educational discount).
What's the point here? Well, I kind of got lost in memory lane (not the yellow brick road?), but now we move on to price points. For $249 and the 80GB capacity, the iPod classic is a steal. Maybe Apple's doing the stealing because they're getting you to buy less (the nano) or even less but paying "more" (the touch).
With the new nano and touch, who wants to buy the old fogey in the line with a classic?
Think about it. For $199, you get 8GB of flash storage space, but the ultimate in portability with the high-end nano. Plus a sharp screen. For $100 more, you get the same amount of storage in the iPod touch (my students call it the "iTouch" and so have a lot of other people!), but you get a huge screen, a widescreen, along with zoom features on photos, and Safari browsing.
But for a measly $50 more than the 8GB nano, or $50 less than the 8GB touch? You get TEN TIMES the amount of storage than either of those models, in the low-end iPod classic.
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