iPod durability

[Gymnut]

For all ipod owners, just how durable are they? I've gone through three Rio's(Rio 300, 500, 600( and all have experienced some sort of breakdown internally despite my best efforts to treating them well. I'm currently using Samsung's Yepp when I work out but, in all honesty 64 mb's worth isn't all that much. I'd hate to plunk down several hundred bucks for another player that'll turn into a paperweight after daily use.

 

[mim]

Mine is a 10gig original scroll wheel, bought Junish last year. No problems. It did crash a bit for a while, but this actually seemed linked to a couple of songs that I had recorded at a fairly low bitrate (I was in a hurry for a party). Once I took them off everything was fine.

Mine has been through a real battering. I have dropped it mulitiple times, people have spilt beer on it but it just keeps on going. I can only imagine that the new ones are even more robust.

Cleaning it to new condition seems to be fairly easy (but it's been a while since I last did that).

Brasso seems to work ok on the polycarbonate face, and a steel polisher does the trick on the back.

I think you'd never regret getting one. Mine's like a child to me

 

[melchior]

iPod's seem to be very tough. the new model remains to prove itself, but past revisions survive a lot. drops, jogging, etc... they will scratch like nothing else i have owned, but the inside seems extremely durable.

 

[mim]

Originally posted by melchior
iPod's seem to be very tough. the new model remains to prove itself, but past revisions survive a lot. drops, jogging, etc... they will scratch like nothing else i have owned, but the inside seems extremely durable.

I can't think of any better material that they could have used. Even though the polished stainless base does scratch, it is increadibly resilient and stong. Nothing else would survive the same beating (some ceramics maybe, but could you imagine the weight?).

It can be brough up to new quite easily. And it will >never< break. What more could you ask for?

 

[shadowfax]

mine scratched like a bitch the first day i got it--and i am pretty careful with my stuff. you leave it in your pocket with the headphones, and you will have scratches on it when it comes out. but it seems to take a beating internally pretty well. get into that mindset of "scratches build character" that everyone who owns one tells you about, and you're pretty much set.

 

[melchior]

Originally posted by mim
I can't think of any better material that they could have used. Even though the polished stainless base does scratch, it is increadibly resilient and stong. Nothing else would survive the same beating (some ceramics maybe, but could you imagine the weight?).

It can be brough up to new quite easily. And it will >never< break. What more could you ask for?

anodised magnesium aluminium alloy....

yeah... hehe, is that asking so much? just cause it's not shiny doesn't make it bad

 

[madoka]

Check the web for more info

You may check out ipodlounge.com to see what their technical problems forums have to say. I learned a lot about troubleshooting my ipod and am prepared for future emergencys.

I've had one major problem with my ipod and I'm surprised more people haven't reported it. You aren't supposed to have the ipod charging off your firewire cable and mounted to your desktop for too long. I did that with the supplied case still on and the ipod heated up really, really hot. Apparently the heat generated by these circumstances corrupted the firmware. Took me two hours to restore the firmware as the ipod keep freezing. Afterwards it seems to work ok, but I wish I knew you could overheat the ipod so easily. But so far I've not run into anyone else with this problem.

 

[chewbaccapits]

Man, I dropped a pair of pliers on my NEWLY redesigned iPod on the first day!!!I was so pissed. Left a nice scratch on the front by the display and on the wheel..I was so pissed, but nothing internally happened...

 

[melchior]

Originally posted by chewbaccapits
Man, I dropped a pair of pliers on my NEWLY redesigned iPod on the first day!!!I was so pissed. Left a nice scratch on the front by the display and on the wheel..I was so pissed, but nothing internally happened...

that is... harsh. sucks to be you!

 

[somecows]

I also got a huge scratch on my new ipod almost immeditely, even though it was in its case and I am the MOST neurotic person in the entire world when it comes to taking care of my things.

I love the way the new ipods look, but persoanlly, I think they should be made of something more durable (in an external sense) since they are going to be carried around non-stop in people's bags, pockets, etc.

I have a digital elph camera that is very durable yet also very cool looking, so there are other options out there to make products out of.

 

[toughboy]

ipod is rock-solid!

Originally posted by melchior
iPod's seem to be very tough. the new model remains to prove itself, but past revisions survive a lot. drops, jogging, etc... they will scratch like nothing else i have owned, but the inside seems extremely durable.

I'm using my iPod for 6 months and no problems..
droped couple of times, nothing more then several scratches on the back..

 

[technocoy]

not plugged in too long?

Man,
I leave mine plugged in all day long at work... thats what i play my songs from on my work mac. and i've gone through a 10gigger (which i sold to get my 30 gigger) and i have NEVER had any corruption problems!! ?That's strange... although i did leave mine in the case once as well, and it did get smokin' hot!!

 

[ikari]

Very happy with my iPod. I do tend to baby it a bit, but I do that with all my most valued things I think anyone who buys an iPod will be very pleased with it.

 

[sparks9]

Originally posted by ikari
Very happy with my iPod. I do tend to baby it a bit, but I do that with all my most valued things I think anyone who buys an iPod will be very pleased with it.

YEAH of course!

btw: The best iPod forum out there definitely is www.ipodlounge.com

 

[mim]

Originally posted by melchior
anodised magnesium aluminium alloy....

Once you scratch the anodised layer (it's very tough, but also very thin) then that's it. You have a scratch, and you've exposed the milled aluminium.

Stainless steel will "self heal" - i.e. re-oxidse a thin layer no matter how deep you scratch it. That's also why you can polish the scratches out of it. Not possible with anodised aluminium.

But all these things are really cosmetic issues, which I guess goes to show how durable the 'pods are

So, got one yet?

 

[rainman::|:|]

for scratches on the front of your ipod. get some Brasso, rub it in, let dry, buff off. repeat. it slowly heals the small scratches and shrinks the big ones...

pnw

 

[melchior]

Originally posted by mim
Once you scratch the anodised layer (it's very tough, but also very thin) then that's it. You have a scratch, and you've exposed the milled aluminium.

Stainless steel will "self heal" - i.e. re-oxidse a thin layer no matter how deep you scratch it. That's also why you can polish the scratches out of it. Not possible with anodised aluminium.

But all these things are really cosmetic issues, which I guess goes to show how durable the 'pods are

So, got one yet?

it's true that once you scratch, that's it, but the chances of that happening are rather small. especially if you look after it they way you do your current iPod personally i think those scratches, which tend to be small, but deep 'nicks' are a lot better than wannabe brushed metal. and besides, it's not just milled aluminium the metal of choice is an alloy of magnesium and aluminium for strength, or straight aluminium for optimal lightness...

anyway, it's not going to happen. jobs and ives love their shiny iPod's too much. just because they pull a new one out of the box every day it doesn't matter to them.