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iPod Clickwheel vs Touchscreen

ribpeal

ribpeal

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 30, 2014
12
0
Wisconsin, USA
Pros of Clickwheel
-No fingerprints on screen
-Adds personality
-Doesn't crack

Pros of Touchscreen
-More responsive at times
-Allows bigger screen
-Easier for playing games

So, which do you prefer?
 
For my use on an iPod, clickwheel all the way. I use my iPod in my truck plugged in through an aux cable, and only a clickwheel lets me change songs without taking my eyes off the road. I've had multiple iPod touch's and they are very difficult to change songs when driving, you have to unlock it and hit the right spot or double click the home button and hope you hit the right spot on the top. Just not worth it.

Plus my iPod video and Classic easily go a week without charging in my truck. Great battery life, and they hold 80GB and 160GB of music so I can have my whole library on me. Great for road trips with spotty cell coverage, cant stream without a network :cool:

Here's my iPod video right in the center.
3rAEv0kl.jpg
 
It's a moot point. Apples and oranges, if you will. I imagine the majority of click wheel users are in it strictly for the audio experience making finger prints or gaming irrelevant. I don't own a Touch but I've used my iPhone for music and I don't care for it. Thank you Apple for at least making the Classic durable. Long live the click wheel!
 
Plus, using the clickwheel allows you to see the full screen while navigating menus and stuff. Touchscreens require using your finger to navigates menus which leads to a temporary coverage of the screen by your fingers. Not a big deal to me but I thought that should be pointed out. Also, the clickwheel and its buttons are always in the same spot, which makes blind navigaton possible. You can't really blindly navigate a touchscreen device because the button locations are constantly changing. Just my two cents...
 
It depends on what one wishes to use the device for.

Touchscreens are fine for a device where you want to access and use apps. However, if the whole - and sole - point of a device is the fact that it can store a large music library, and allow you to access that library and play it easily, nothing beats - I was about to write touches - the click wheel for ease of use and sheer usefulness.
 
I like the click wheel, I don't like having to scroll through thousands of artists with it though. For me, that's where the touchscreen is better.

Even if your fingers are in the way, you see the same amount of stuff that you'd see on the click wheel iPod too. When looking through artists, your thumb would be around the same area you'd put it on the wheel.

If you're left-handed, your fingers would cover the artist pictures/covers, and if you're right-handed,it would be the excess white space on the other side.

Only becomes an issue with albums, but come on, if you don't know your albums track by track... I do anyway! :p.
 
My 3rd generation iPod has a very very sensitive scroll sensor which was almost "iPod Touch" zippy when scrolling through menus but winter the cold weather screws with the sensivity. My 5th gen iPod is much slower when scrolling but the clicking was usable while in a jacket pocket. I prefer my older iPod as the buttons are in a row, the click wheel is awkward but then again I had my old iPod from spring 2004 until late 2007 so bad habits are hard to break--my mum on the other hand likes click wheels so her 4th gen iPod & iPod Nano w/camera are her faves.

For on-the-go I like my iPod Touch as I don't have to worry about a HDD crash, my 3rd gen has screeched a few times while I was on a run :eek:
 
Jessica Lares said:
I like the click wheel, I don't like having to scroll through thousands of artists with it though. For me, that's where the touchscreen is better.

Even if your fingers are in the way, you see the same amount of stuff that you'd see on the click wheel iPod too. When looking through artists, your thumb would be around the same area you'd put it on the wheel.

If you're left-handed, your fingers would cover the artist pictures/covers, and if you're right-handed,it would be the excess white space on the other side.

Only becomes an issue with albums, but come on, if you don't know your albums track by track... I do anyway! :p.
Click to expand...

I actually disagree with your first point. I find the clickwheel to be faster going end to end in a playlist than the touch screen. I have a clickweel iPod nano and now an iPhone 6 (may exchange for 5S) and I can go end to end in a playlist faster than on the iPhone.
 
For my music collection, only the clickwheel will do. Far superior controls for an iPod than a touchscreen.
 
The touchscreen wins when it comes to having more flexibility in how you program your app, and I thought the Music app does a pretty good job at taking the good points of a touchwheel and adapting them to a screen. The way lists accelerate if you keep flicking, which is kind of like circling the wheel anyways. And it also has a scrollbar of sorts on the side, at least in songs view.

The touchwheel wins when it comes to charm. And the physical buttons are a tremendous relief when it's -40º C outside.
 
bigpoppamac31 said:
I actually disagree with your first point. I find the clickwheel to be faster going end to end in a playlist than the touch screen. I have a clickweel iPod nano and now an iPhone 6 (may exchange for 5S) and I can go end to end in a playlist faster than on the iPhone.
Click to expand...

Well if it's tons of artists or songs like she said, touch can be faster if your going from bottom to top and you press the time bar at the top of the screen it skips to the very top of the page, and when going from top to bottom instantly, or anywhere for that matter, you could just press the letter on the side and have it instantly skip over...so I kind of think using a touch screen can be faster although it's not as preferred
But yeah, I guess it's nice to also have physical buttons...
 
I miss the click wheel :(. I had a fourth gen nano that got soaked but I remember really loving it, way more than I love the iPod touch for a music player at least. I really hope they bring it back.
 
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