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Don't get it, I have had battery problems with both of my iPod touch. I recommend a used iPhone 4, 4s or whatever model floats your boat. If you just need the basics you can get a 4 for like $100 but it's now unsupported.

The touch is sealed with glue so the battery cannot be changed. If you want to change the battery, it will be very very difficult and a lot of places will not change a touch battery. The battery will be dead, near dead or display very annoying symptoms like show a fully charged battery, then after opening a few apps it will drop to 20% and thus need charging.... The battery WILL be dead in about 1.5-2 years.

If you get an iPhone you can get the battery changed easily if you know someone that can do it they can do it, the iPhones are held together with screws not glue.
 
I have an ipod touch 2nd generation, and while it stopped getting iOS updates a long time ago, it works fine. It plays music, it plays videos, and it can browse the internet on wifi. The battery life is still pretty fantastic as well on it.

I also have an ipod 5th gen that I got in 2005. The battery on that still lasts for about 2 hours watching videos (originally rated for 2 hours!), and about 10 hours of music (originally rated for 14 hours).

Both still work great, both still hold a fantastic charge, and I still use both for various things. 10 years out of my ipod has been an amazing life for it IMO. The ipod touch is about 6 1/2 years old at this point and I'm very impressed with how it's held up as well. I really don't think you can go wrong with an ipod touch considering your needs.

A lot of people will tell you that getting a 5th gen ipod touch is a mistake because it wasn't updated recently and has sorta been left behind so to speak, but for your needs, I'd say even a 2nd gen ipod touch would do you fine! I say go for the ipod touch. 16GB goes by pretty quickly.
 
As in iPod touch i have the 1st gen, and its jailbroken but i don't have the charger since everything i own using lightning cables
 
I have an 3rd gen nano from 2007 that still works perfectly fine. They can last a really long time as long as you take care of them well.
 
There probably are, but I hate phones, to be honest. I use them as rarely as possible. I still have the LG VX8300 from Verizon that I got when it first came out in 2006. Still works and looks brand new. No contract and a low monthly rate.

Actually, the only reason I switched to a cell phone at all is because they became cheaper than land lines. I was the first person I knew to get rid of their land line and just have a cell phone. Everyone thought that was risking and insane at the time!

I don't like being under contract. I like my freedom and all I require from a phone is to make and take calls. I don't even take it with me. It stays home, on the table, just like a land line would. I have no desire for people to be able to reach me anytime. To me, the phone is a convenience, not a necessity.

Get an iPhone 5c for $200-210 refurbished on eBay. You say the reason you don't want a smartphone is because of the high monthly cost, but it might even be cheaper than what you have now. Pair with either T-Mobile's 5GB LTE, Unlimited text, and 100 minute talk plan or Cricket's $35 1GB LTE, Unlimited talk and text plan. Please don't buy a current gen iPod touch. An iPhone 5c is the same price and will be much faster than an iPod touch.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPhon...591?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23462b3ebf
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Apple-iPhon...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item5d54936138
 
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I have no interest in getting any kind of smart phone. The monthly subscription fee for them is outrageous to me.

Just curious: In the UK, you would pick up a cheap used iPhone on eBay locked to a decent carrier, you go to the phone store and for £10 you get a Pay-As-You-Go SIM card with £10 credit, plug it in, and that's it. No monthly cost at all and you have a phone with you for emergencies. Is that impossible in the USA?
 
Hell I'm still using a bunch of little 2nd gen nanos from way back in 2006, they all still work great and they're almost indestructible. I just use them for audio on short trips to town, I think their battery life is down around an hour now but that's plenty. I stick them in docks aorund the house with revolving selections of music. No need for AirPlay or whatever... I'm going to run these into the ground.

But my iPod touch 5th gen I use for lots of audiobooks and some purchased TV shows and movies. I love it. Ditto older iPod touch that I use upstairs in a speakerdock for audiobooks only. It's old but I don't ask much of it and it works great.
 
I still have a 1st Generation iPod Touch 8gb (year 2007) I leave it hooked up in my car most of the time. It's so old I'm not really concerned about it getting ruined by temperature extremes at this point.

The battery lasts about 30 minutes and the wifi doesn't work. I don't think much is software is compatible with it due to its age. In terms of playing music and its other basic functions, it's not obsolete.
 
I have an 3rd gen nano from 2007 that still works perfectly fine. They can last a really long time as long as you take care of them well.

Yes, I second this! I still have my iPod Nano 3G (aka "the Fattie") and it still is working in perfect condition. But because of the limited capacity (4GB), I only use it as an occasional "gym iPod" so it only contains my tracks/albums which are geared for working out at gym. :)

I believe I've had it since 2007 also, which makes it at least 7 years old or more. This iPod still syncs perfectly with modern 2015-era iTunes Mac software.

It was a good investment.
 
I had a 2nd gen Shuffle that lasted until about a year ago, so 8 years give or take.
Two 2nd Gen Nanos got abused to death, although I continued to use the one with a broken screen as a shuffle.
A 4th gen Nano is still going, so that would be 6 years and counting?
A 4th gen Touch sometimes can't run the very latest but runs what it has very well. Four years, I think.

I'm just saying that unless abused my iPods have had lifetimes in years.
 
First generation Shuffle, still working perfectly and ideal gym companion.
iPod Touch 4th Generation, it works just fine as music player, but admittedly it fails at "modern" stuff.

What does not work? Headphones coming with the iPods. They last 1 year max, and then they either blow or the cable gets munched.
 
I'm in the minority as far as I know, too! LOL I was raised very rural, during everything by hand. I just never saw the need to change. Not even a microwave. I still make my own bread and butter from scratch every week. I don't own a TV, radio, stereo, CDs, DVDs, video games, smart phone, or an i-Anything except my iMac.

Not only did I not use/like those things, but just like I knew in advance that cell phones would replace land lines, I also knew computers would replace all of these things, too. So, I have the ability if I want to use them. I just don't.

Yeah, I'm looking at the Nano, too. But, I won't be making any decisions until my tax refund comes in next month. Thanks for the input!

In this thread you say you don't own a smartphone but in another thread you state that you did own an iPhone 5 for 10 months. Why did you sell it ?

An iPhone can be used as an iPod touch, you're not required to add a plan to it if you buy it "SIM-free", but you retain that option for the future, or just use a prepaid or pay-as-u-go plan. It seems silly to sell your phone for $350 only to turn around and buy a new iPod touch for a similar amount. That doesn't make sense. If you bought it with a plan, surely that's not even paid off and the cancellation fee would be eaten up by what you got for it.

Pardon my skepticism, but you advertise yourself as some sort of luddite, yet your tech-savvy enough to make technology predictions ?

For the purposes you describe, I would suggest, that you save the money for a new iMac if all you do is email, surf and watch youtube and buy an iPad Air 1 or 2. For basic consumption services like you describe, why buy a computer ? Tablets have replaced computers in that regard, like cell phones have replaced landlines.

If you don't need 9.7" screen, the iPhone 6+ with say 64GB might be large enough for all your requirements.

FYI, to answer your original question.
I still have an old iPod Photo 60GB from 2004 that still works great. I bought a new battery for it on ebay for $15 and switched it myself. Like new!
So, in my case, nigh on 11 years. My other iPod touch 4th gen 64GB from 2010 is also in great shape on iOS6.
 
Well, mine lasted eight months before I they jumped out of my scrub bottom's left pocket this past Thursday. Might as well have lost them cause the right AirPod was having trouble mainting a connection to the case to charge and on several occasions I would pull them out for use only to hear the right AirPod beeping due to low charge.

Luckily Best Buy had some in stock and the one I ordered to replace it will be in this afternoon.

Yes, I like them that much.
 
To address the longevity question. I have 3 iPods all of which are still working in that they still play music. I have a 60GB from 2005. I replaced the battery once and need it could probably do with another. This is not tough to do. I have an 80 GB from around 2007 that has some black lines in the display but still works well. The other is 2008 iPod touch that has no problems at all and is kept in the car.

I was guessing the dates but am probably with 1 year. So they do last well and some parts can be replaced ( check iFixit).
 
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