iPod Lifespan of Ipod Nano

[riker1384]

I was thinking of getting a 16GB Nano. I've had another Ipod in the past. THe Ipods have a great interface, but they're not cheap compared to the competition. To justify the cost, I was wondering how longs I can expect it to last. I don't want to buy it and then throw it away in a few years.

The Nano doesn't have a hard drive to fail. It does have the battery that will eventually wear down and costs $60 to replace now. How long will that last? Also, is the device itself going to last a long time if I don't abuse it?

Also, how long do they support Ipods? Since they require Itunes software to work, are they going to keep on supporting it, or do they drop them after a few years? Do they still support early Ipods?

Something like the Sandisk Sansa, with its drag & drop interface and expansion slot, seems like it would have a longer useful lifespan, but I don't know if the interface is as good.

 

[Dustman]

If you don't abuse it, it will last forever. It's light, metal, and has no moving parts. And dpn't worry about it being unsupported any time soon, the first iPod from 2001 (firewire only, too) is still supported as of the current iTunes. Batteries start losing their charge in about a year but iPods have a great battery to begin with so I can't really complain about getting 20 hours of music as apposed to the original 36 hours. They are tanks.*

*save, scratching.

 

[riker1384]

Thanks for the info.

Is scratching still a problem? I got a film for my 1st-gen Nano because I'd heard about that. I'm not sure how well a film would stick to the new cruved ones.

 

[thunderboltspro]

Thanks for the info.

Is scratching still a problem? I got a film for my 1st-gen Nano because I'd heard about that. I'm not sure how well a film would stick to the new cruved ones.

Scratches will all ways be a problem unless you have a cover on it which will only decrease the chances of getting them.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Apple's iTunes will keep supporting it until just about forever. I still have my first gen iPod from 2001 and it works fine. Viva la jog wheel!

 

[dXTC]

My personal experience with my nanos (see sig):

I bought my first nano (2nd Gen) in January 2007, and got a protective case at a "dollar" store very soon afterward. It's still going strong nearly three years later, with a loss of maybe 5-10% of battery runtime. I used it on a trip to the in-laws a couple of weeks ago as a backup player while my wife used my new 5th gen nano to finish watching Star Trek, and it works pretty much like new.

Speaking of my wife: she has a Sansa e250, purchased around the same time as the above nano. Her overall experience with the device has not been very satisfactory. Sure, it plays music, but she hasn't bothered with the video functionality, as the Sansa Media Converter app is notoriously bad. Also, the "expansion" slot on the e250 is useful only for music; video files must be on the internal memory in order to play.

She ended up with multiple instances of several songs; the syncing function is not as intelligent or intuitive with WMP as with iTunes, and she didn't want to go totally drag-and-drop-- too many songs, too many folders to search. Thus, the Sansa doesn't get much use nowadays. (Take this anecdote with the appropriate grain of salt, as her music library is nowhere near as organized in Windows Media Player as mine is in iTunes, but there it is.)

Needless to say, she's getting a 32Gb touch anyday now as an early Christmas present. As such, she'll have access to my library via Home Sharing as well as her own. Of course, she'll probably want my help with setup, but this is the kind of thing we tech-y husbands live for.

 

[instaxgirl]

Never had a nano but

My 2005 iPod mini needed its battery replaced after a bit over 3 years.

My 2006 iPod video needed its headphone jack repaired after just under 3 years, but its battery's still good.

I did the cheap repairs on each of my iPods and they're working just fine now. I'm happy enough with how they've lasted. The mini went through long periods of not being used, which is probably why the battery bit the dust. Mine get dropped a lot as well.