Buy iPod now or wait?

[tech4all]

Ok three questions regarding iPod:

1) Would it be wise to buy an iPod right now? Will Apple be updating the iPod anytime soon?

2) How long can a person expect the battary to last on the iPod on average? And when the battary does eventully go bad, I could take it to a local Apple store and have the battary replaced for $100, right?

3) iPod can be used as a portable hard drive right? I've heard people at my college say you have to set up iPod for hard drive usage. How hard is that to do?


I appreciate any information you can provide.

Thank you.

 

[alywa]

Ipod info

Do you need an ipod right now? If so, get one.

However, if you just "want" one... I'd advise waiting. It has been a long time since the last update (excluding the ipod mini), and rumors abound that an updated ipod is coming. Among the most common rumors are whether the new ipod will tie in somehow with the Airport Express (ie will it be wifi capable, will it act as a remote for iTunes, etc), that the new ipods will be in aluminum cases (in different colors, like the mini), that they will have color screens, and that they will sport larger hard drives.

I don't have first hand experience with the battery issues. The battery in my wife's mini works fine... lasts around 8-10 hours depending on how it's used. Rumor has it that an ipod battery should give you like 300 charges, so i'd have to imagine at lease 2-3 years of normal, active use.

The ipod is really easy to use as a portable hard drive. Just plug it in via firewire, and it acts just like any other drive. Songs transfered via iTunes are in a seperate area on the ipod... ready for audio playback. Files transfered to the ipod (by dragging them in on the desktop, including audio files not imported via iTunes) are not accessable from the ipod itself, but are accessable from another computer, just like they would be on any other type of drive.

One of the big rumors is "Home on Ipod", a scheme where you would be able to sync your mac with your ipod, and then use the ipod to pull up your desktop, files, some applications, etc... from another mac. People expected this feature in OS 10.3, but it didn't appear. Perhaps in Tiger, perhaps with the next ipod release.

Personally, I love my wife's mini, but I'm holding out for the new generation of "big" ipods, for the reasons mentioned above. The mini is great as a music playback device (I mean, you can hold 75-100 CDs worth of music on it, and switching them out takes only seconds), but I want one to use as a harddrive, and to hold my entire music collection for home stereo playback.

Good luck,

alywa

 

[thehuncamunca]

you can get the iPod battery online along with instructions on how to do it for $50, apple will do it for you for around $100 if you don't want to do it yourself
the battery lasts a while, i've been charging mine every single day for over a year and i still get 6 hours of battery life

Ok three questions regarding iPod:

1) Would it be wise to buy an iPod right now? Will Apple be updating the iPod anytime soon?

2) How long can a person expect the battary to last on the iPod on average? And when the battary does eventully go bad, I could take it to a local Apple store and have the battary replaced for $100, right?

3) iPod can be used as a portable hard drive right? I've heard people at my college say you have to set up iPod for hard drive usage. How hard is that to do?


I appreciate any information you can provide.

Thank you.

 

[MacDawg]

Hey, why BUY an iPod when you can get one free! Just respond to one of the ridiculous free iPod threads... shouldn't be hard to find one!

Seriously...

1. Unless you know for certain that the iPod is being updated AND that it will have features that you want... I would buy now. Its like any other technology purchase, yes, there will be new models and upgraded features, but every day you wait, you are missing what you could have now. The iPod you buy today will still do what it does... and that's a great value. I love mine, and I wonder why I waited so long to buy.

2. Battery life isn't a real issue with me. I have a charger for the car and one for home, and I've never been dead in the water and cursed the battery life.

3. Yes, it can be used as a portable drive, but from all I've heard it isn't that reliable as a drive. Some have great results, others not so much. If you want the storage space, there are other cheaper and more reliable solutions for that.

I say... go for it and get one!
If you wait for all conditions to be perfect, you'll never buy! Just think, you could be listening to your iPod right now!

 

[Grimace]

I posted a thread in buying tips about a possible ipod back to school special coming next week. If you can wait - there *might* be something good. It might have to be coupled with a powerbook - not sure yet.