My first iPod - Classic or Nano?

[mystcloud]

Hellos everyone. I've been using a tiny one gig MP3 player and it just destroyed its memory card, so I've decided to upgrade and get my first iPod! I've been looking online and searching around the forums here but I can't decide which would be best for me, classic or nano. I am not interested in getting an iPod touch. There are several factors going into this for me,

first - I'm worried about how fragile the hard drive in the classic is as opposed to how fragile the actual ipod nano is. I'm not going to be jogging or exercising with it, but this thing will probably be carried around in my purse nearly all the time. I've been told by some sources that the classic is "sturdier" but then it also has the internal hard drive that is rather delicate, right?

Secondly - The screen size, I'm a computer animation student and one of the things I'd like to do with my iPod is put my animations and portfolio on it. Does the .5 inch difference in screen size really make a difference?

Also, big question! ???? can you use an iPod similar to a portable harddrive, transferring files from one computer to another? I've asked several people who own iPods and they haven't been sure.

Thirdly - The Size - I have probably about 5 gigs of music (but that's quickly getting larger) and when I add my art and the size of those files in there I'm worried about 8 gigs being too small. I'm liking the idea of having EVERYTHING on my MP3 player instead of having to pick and choose every time i want to add new music.

Fourthly (is fourthly a word?) - I guess my last thing would be aesthetics. I really like the colors you can get nano (I'd get the (RED) one) in but am not so excited about black or silver.

So sorry for the wall of text!! If any of you can help me with this I'd be greatly appreciative, I'm trying to do my research before I go and drop a few hundred dollars on the wrong one. Though I'm pretty sure I'd be happy with either, really.

 

[illidian]

first - I'm worried about how fragile the hard drive in the classic is as opposed to how fragile the actual ipod nano is. I'm not going to be jogging or exercising with it, but this thing will probably be carried around in my purse nearly all the time. I've been told by some sources that the classic is "sturdier" but then it also has the internal hard drive that is rather delicate, right?

The Classic has moving parts, but feels much sturdier in the hand (IMO). If you're planning on tossing around your iPod and requiring it to survive significant falls, the Nano may be a better choice. But I wouldn't classify the Classic as "delicate."

Secondly - The screen size, I'm a computer animation student and one of the things I'd like to do with my iPod is put my animations and portfolio on it. Does the .5 inch difference in screen size really make a difference?

Personally, I wouldn't dare putting my portfolio on either one as anything other than a "Hey, check this out." This is something you could find out for yourself quite easily by checking them out in person. While it can be done (though I personally wouldn't) with the Classic, it's quite a stretch to demand this out of a Nano.

Also, big question! ???? can you use an iPod similar to a portable harddrive, transferring files from one computer to another? I've asked several people who own iPods and they haven't been sure.

You can if you have Windows. I don't believe this "feature" is supported by the Mac OS.

Thirdly - The Size - I have probably about 5 gigs of music (but that's quickly getting larger) and when I add my art and the size of those files in there I'm worried about 8 gigs being too small. I'm liking the idea of having EVERYTHING on my MP3 player instead of having to pick and choose every time i want to add new music.

What I do with my iPhone is make a random playlist - iTunes puts ~7GB of music from my collection onto my phone. Most of the time I just hit "Random" anyway so this works great for me - I don't feel like I'm making any compromises. If you plan to look through your iPod all the time and need all your music on there, then you may need to go with the Classic. Though 16GB Nano models may be available in the next couple months...

As far as your art taking up too much space - you can compress it to a small footprint without being able to tell the difference on the tiny screen. The difference between high-res and low-res may be significant on your computer monitor or wherever else you take your art, but on an iPod it won't make a bit of difference.

 

[eXan]

Also, big question! ???? can you use an iPod similar to a portable harddrive, transferring files from one computer to another? I've asked several people who own iPods and they haven't been sure.

You can use all iPods as an external hard drive, except for Touch and iPhone.

 

[mystcloud]

oh, don't worry, I wont be using my iPod as my ONLY portfolio. Its going to be used more as a "just in case" thing if I were to run into someone somewhere unexpected and wanted to show off my skills. Its just a lot easier to show them a snippet and hand them a business card than carry about my 11 x 14 inch portfolio and a laptop everywhere I go.

Alright, I do run Windows on my home computers so the ability to use my iPod as a portable harddrive is another factor towards wanting a larger one, as I need to buy a new portable harddrive anyway.

Does anyone else have any opinions on my situation?

 

[mdgolom]

Hellos everyone. I've been using a tiny one gig MP3 player and it just destroyed its memory card, so I've decided to upgrade and get my first iPod! I've been looking online and searching around the forums here but I can't decide which would be best for me, classic or nano. I am not interested in getting an iPod touch. There are several factors going into this for me,

first - I'm worried about how fragile the hard drive in the classic is as opposed to how fragile the actual ipod nano is. I'm not going to be jogging or exercising with it, but this thing will probably be carried around in my purse nearly all the time. I've been told by some sources that the classic is "sturdier" but then it also has the internal hard drive that is rather delicate, right?

I have both, and I would go for the Classic. The hard drive isn't that fragile. The only time I've had a problem is when I'm out running and the hard drive doesn't like the vibrations and will shut down (which is a good thing). This is why I bought the Nano.

Secondly - The screen size, I'm a computer animation student and one of the things I'd like to do with my iPod is put my animations and portfolio on it. Does the .5 inch difference in screen size really make a difference?

I don't thing it'll make that much of a difference.

Also, big question! ???? can you use an iPod similar to a portable harddrive, transferring files from one computer to another? I've asked several people who own iPods and they haven't been sure.

Yes, it's supported. I believe you will beed to enable the feature in itunes. there should be a check box somewhere.

Thirdly - The Size - I have probably about 5 gigs of music (but that's quickly getting larger) and when I add my art and the size of those files in there I'm worried about 8 gigs being too small. I'm liking the idea of having EVERYTHING on my MP3 player instead of having to pick and choose every time i want to add new music.

You're music (and picture and movie) collections will only get bigger which why I recommend the Classic over the Nano.

Fourthly (is fourthly a word?) - I guess my last thing would be aesthetics. I really like the colors you can get nano (I'd get the (RED) one) in but am not so excited about black or silver.

I'm sure you can find a colored case for the iPod Classic.

So sorry for the wall of text!! If any of you can help me with this I'd be greatly appreciative, I'm trying to do my research before I go and drop a few hundred dollars on the wrong one. Though I'm pretty sure I'd be happy with either, really.

No matter which way you go, you're going to love the iPod.

 

[26139]

yep

The nano is a heckuva lot more durable than a classic. The flash memory eliminates many problems regarding falls and jostling.

All iPods (sans the Touch and iPhone) can be used as external hard drives by either Macs or PCs.

8 gigs isn't a whole lot of storage space if you're storing files on it, though. Remember, you don't HAVE to sync your entire music collection.

 

[204467]

Hellos everyone. I've been using a tiny one gig MP3 player and it just destroyed its memory card, so I've decided to upgrade and get my first iPod! I've been looking online and searching around the forums here but I can't decide which would be best for me, classic or nano. I am not interested in getting an iPod touch. There are several factors going into this for me,

first - I'm worried about how fragile the hard drive in the classic is as opposed to how fragile the actual ipod nano is. I'm not going to be jogging or exercising with it, but this thing will probably be carried around in my purse nearly all the time. I've been told by some sources that the classic is "sturdier" but then it also has the internal hard drive that is rather delicate, right?

Secondly - The screen size, I'm a computer animation student and one of the things I'd like to do with my iPod is put my animations and portfolio on it. Does the .5 inch difference in screen size really make a difference?

Also, big question! ???? can you use an iPod similar to a portable harddrive, transferring files from one computer to another? I've asked several people who own iPods and they haven't been sure.

Thirdly - The Size - I have probably about 5 gigs of music (but that's quickly getting larger) and when I add my art and the size of those files in there I'm worried about 8 gigs being too small. I'm liking the idea of having EVERYTHING on my MP3 player instead of having to pick and choose every time i want to add new music.

Fourthly (is fourthly a word?) - I guess my last thing would be aesthetics. I really like the colors you can get nano (I'd get the (RED) one) in but am not so excited about black or silver.

So sorry for the wall of text!! If any of you can help me with this I'd be greatly appreciative, I'm trying to do my research before I go and drop a few hundred dollars on the wrong one. Though I'm pretty sure I'd be happy with either, really.

1. The Classic is not as fragile as people make it seem. I've dropped mine several times, and minus minimal case damage, it is just as good as the day I got it.
2. If you want to show people things on your iPod, than the Classic is a better choice simply because of the larger screen.
-File Transfer- Yes, you can use both as a portable harddrive, though once you allocate a certain amount of space for external storage, I don't believe this can be used to store whatever iTunes would put on there.
3. If you have a growing music library, like having all your music with you, plan on putting your portfolio on there, and also wish to use it as an external hard drive, then the Classic (with all its storage) seems like the best bet.
4. As previously said, you could get a colored case for the Classic; however, you may grow to like the black/silver as time goes on. I know I really loved the silver once I saw it in person, much better than white. And yes, fourthly is a word, so don't worry.

 

[alphaod]

If you have a lot of music, get the Classic, otherwise just get a Nano.

 

[albusseverus]

iPhone

iPhone - you only want one thing to carry around and it does it all, pretty well.

Also has a MUCH better screen for your animations, although both Nano & Classic will do Progressive if you connect them to a television (requires a US$50 cable). The Touch and iPhone only do Interleaved & require a lower data rate (quality) when encoding (Handbrake does 1500Mbps for Nano/Classic and 960Mbps for Touch/iPhone).

Only the Touch/iPhone do widescreen. Sorry it's not simple.

Dead hard drives are the usual reason for 'those' iPods dying.

iTunes makes it dead easy to shunt parts of your library on & off the device if you need the space.

I've got a Nano and it's great, but it stopped displaying contacts & calendars a few months ago, even though the files are there and I can open them on the computer - today's firmware update didn't fix it.

Can you find a shop to look at the devices?

The Touch has good capacity. Expect more capacity in iPhone next year, although The Touch will always have more.

And most importantly, new iPods are expected in September. It would be inadvisable to buy before then... if you can wait.