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iPod touch vs DSi for 11yr old bday

flopticalcube

flopticalcube

macrumors G4
Original poster
Sep 7, 2006
10,481
233
In the velcro closure of America's Hat
My daughter turns 11 soon and has been looking longingly at her older bro's 1g touch. He got a new 3g for his bday so his older one is now ready to be handed down (after battery and rear cover replacement). She also has a 2-year old DS with a wonky mic and a collection of DS games. I was thinking of trading it at GameStop (at which I already have about $200 credit) and getting a DSi for about $130. I see the DSi as a replacement really as she will be losing her DS to get it. I guess I'll need to get her some iTunes money as well but will probably control the download of Apps/music myself. So which way to go? touch or DSi or both?
 
flopticalcube said:
My daughter turns 11 soon and has been looking longingly at her older bro's 1g touch. He got a new 3g for his bday so his older one is now ready to be handed down (after battery and rear cover replacement). She also has a 2-year old DS with a wonky mic and a collection of DS games. I was thinking of trading it at GameStop (at which I already have about $200 credit) and getting a DSi for about $130. I see the DSi as a replacement really as she will be losing her DS to get it. I guess I'll need to get her some iTunes money as well but will probably control the download of Apps/music myself. So which way to go? touch or DSi or both?
Click to expand...

What part of the purchase are you worried about? Money? Which one is better for games? Maybe even spoiling her?.....
My niece and nephew (and their friends) all have the DSi. They love it. Nintendo games are great for kids, they love playing with the camera and recording their voices, etc. The games are more expensive then the touch of course and games are so much easier to buy on the touch as well. Nintendo games can be bought though wi-fi, too but I'm thinking that that their are much more, much cheaper ones for the touch (could be wrong).
I would think that both might be overkill for an 11 year old but if thats what you can afford and she's a well-grounded kid, then I don't see anything wrong with getting her brother's used itouch and trading in her old ds for a new dsi. (Keep in mind, that the ds will be totally re-done next year and she might want to hold out for that.)
 
What does her friends or other kids at school have? At my kids elementary school they have some variant of Gameboys/DS's (most likely inherited from older siblings). Makes it easier to trade games with each other.

btw. this was just announced, so maybe a price drop in the current DS?

http://kotaku.com/5479225/dsi-xl-hits-north-america-next-month-for-190
"The DSi XL hits North America on March 28 for $189.99, Nintendo of America's Cammie Dunaway told a group of writers gathered in San Francisco for the Nintendo Summit this morning.

The DSi XL includes a larger screen and super-sized stylus."
 
I would run for an iTouch. Mainly because there are so much free games and stuff and it also works as a music player. I see all Nintendo game consoles quite limited as they are nice and cool for short time and will then be sitting in a closet but iPod is always handy and nice
 
I went the iPod Touch route (refurb 2nd gen) for my 5 yr old son and 6 yr old daughter after finding them repeated asking to use my or my wife's iPhone 3Gs. Both have no trouble using the device and it offered a ton more flexibility--games, movies, music. There's tons of games and kid friendly apps available for far less than what you'd spend on DS games (and you only have to purchase them once for both to use) and my kids love using the learning apps for reading, math, problem solving, puzzles, etc. We also used to cart around a portable DVD player which usually resulted in an argument about which movie to watch--now they tell me what movies they want on their own iPod Touch and I just sync them from our movie library. The parental controls allow me to limit their access to certain functionality (app store, iTunes, Safari) as well.
 
you say she already has DS games, and you are prepared to trade them in? is this because she doesn't play her DS?

If that is the case, get an iPod touch.

However, I think the DSi is more suitable for people of this age group. Plus you already have a touch you could give her? is that right? then... why buy another one?
 
My 12yr old had a Sony PSP. Never used it. Sold it and bought him a 16GB touch. Installed an invisibleSHIELD and a hard shell. He loves it and uses it everyday. Songs and apps are purchased from my iTunes account, which he doesn't have access to. May get him his own, but not right now. Maybe when he's old enough for a job. At 11, my guess is she'll get more use out of a touch than DSi.
 
Depends on what she does with it. Does she have another mp3 player or whatnot that the touch would replace?

If not, just get the dsi and get her a few games to go with it. She'd probably get more use out of it in the time being.. She'd probably get more use out of a touch in a few years time, but .. eh.

I don't really know much about kids though. If it's strictly for gaming, go with the DS. If you think she'd use it for more than just gaming, get the touch. If you're not sure, trade in her old DS, replace it with the DSi, and get her both.

... you probably can't go wrong with getting both though, she'd probably be on her best behaviour for months if she opened her gift and found both of those inside :)
 
iPod Touch vs DSi

I have 2 boys, 10 and 13. The youngest has a DSi; the oldest a Touch.

The oldest rarely plays with the Touch. He's more into xBox 360 and will use the Touch if he can't get to the 360, if he remembers to bring it when we leave the house. He used to be a DS guy, but abandoned that when he started to get proficient with the 360.

My youngest takes the DSi everywhere he goes. He absolutely loves it. He will use my iPhone sometimes if we're somewhere and he doesn't have the DSi with him, but he prefers the DSi. He also likes the Wii; he's a lot more Nintendo oriented than my oldest. A lot of game titles/characters are available for both platforms, and he likes that.

I think a lot of it depends on the games your child likes. My youngest loves Pokemon, Mario, Zelda, games like that. If your child is into the Nintendo franchise games, then the DSi would be the way to go. If your child isn't hooked on the Nintendo characters, then maybe the Touch would be better.

If you have a used Touch she could use, then I'd get the DSi; she'd have access to the Touch if it turns out she likes that better or outgrows the DSi.

Then you could move her up to an iPad. :)
 
Thanks for all the replies. I didn't realize that a new model DSi was right around the corner. Her bday is very close to the release date so maybe a price drop will happen. She has about 20 DS games she has invested in and plays them fairly regularly. She also has a 3g nano that I will sell if I give her the touch. The touch is her brother's old 1g so I have that now. Since her DS is going down hill, a DSi price drop may be happening and I can get a discount on a trade-in, I'll definitely get her the DSi. I'll probably give her the touch too as its s choice between selling her nano or the touch and it would allow her to have some transition out of the DS and into the touch. My sons stopped playing with their DS's at 12 after they got their touches.

Thanks again for all the comments.
 
flopticalcube said:
Thanks for all the replies. I didn't realize that a new model DSi was right around the corner. Her bday is very close to the release date so maybe a price drop will happen. She has about 20 DS games she has invested in and plays them fairly regularly. She also has a 3g nano that I will sell if I give her the touch. The touch is her brother's old 1g so I have that now. Since her DS is going down hill, a DSi price drop may be happening and I can get a discount on a trade-in, I'll definitely get her the DSi. I'll probably give her the touch too as its s choice between selling her nano or the touch and it would allow her to have some transition out of the DS and into the touch. My sons stopped playing with their DS's at 12 after they got their touches.

Thanks again for all the comments.
Click to expand...

I don't know if you saw this yet, but your first hunch may have been the right one :)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/26/survey-says-android-users-mostly-male-webos-not-just-for-women/

65% of ipod touch users are 17 and under.
 
glasscity said:
I don't know if you saw this yet, but your first hunch may have been the right one :)

http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/26/survey-says-android-users-mostly-male-webos-not-just-for-women/

65% of ipod touch users are 17 and under.
Click to expand...
Yes I saw that. Its 100% in our household. :D

At any rate, it was all really a matter of deciding if two items with so much overlap was overkill. I decided that there was enough of a difference to justify both of them. My local GameStop has a promotion where I can get a DSi for half price with a DS trade-in and a game. I thought the camera in the DSi would be a nice feature as well since she enjoys taking pictures.
 
Hellhammer said:
I would run for an iTouch. Mainly because there are so much free games and stuff and it also works as a music player. I see all Nintendo game consoles quite limited as they are nice and cool for short time and will then be sitting in a closet but iPod is always handy and nice
Click to expand...

iTouch? Hellhammer! Shame on you!

It's a iPod Touch!
 
Yvan256 said:
Just FYI, the DSi can play AAC audio files via an SD card.
Click to expand...

there is no argument - if he wants to listen to music, get the iPod.

My brother is 13 and loves my iPhone. My sister is 4 and loves my iPod

They are super fun, and the iPod provides pretty much limitless content. The parental features are great as well.
 
DSi all the way in this case.
Let's face it, the funnest part about having a hand-held gaming device is the ability to play with other players...the DSi usually has a leg up on the Touch when it comes to that. Plus, the cameras provide hours of entertainment and would let her take pictures of/with her friends.

If you're really unsure, you should ask her...women are complicated, even when they're young.
 
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