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The End of an Era: What Was Your Favorite iPod?

iPod Mini. I asked for one for Christmas in 2005 so you can guess how that ended. Got an iPod Video as I hated the Nano, not knowing that they would make the Nano all colourful a year later and I wouldn’t have minded that. The Video had a pink case on it until it basically died in 2008.

Always wished I got a Mini one so bought a used one in 2012 but the battery sucked. I eventually put it in a box somewhere safe and now I can’t find it.

If they bought out an iPod SE like the render that someone posted on here I would jump on it, but I don’t want one of the last Touches. A bit of internet detox when listening would be good for everyone.
 
I was under the impression that the iPod Touch still had a pretty large market in the commercial space as a handheld device for things like inventory tracking or whatever. Those devices with barcode readers and an iPod inside, that kind of thing. Has that market died down?

I know a lot of companies, even big ones like Wal-Mart, have found that it's cheaper just to offer an allowance for employees to buy their own phones and then giving them apps; instead of maintaining hardware. So maybe that market is dying out?

The iPad is definitely what the iPod Touch used to be; the gateway drug. Every kid wanted an iPod touch for Christmas. Which was a brilliant strategy from Apple. If they're using an iPod touch, then the phone they're going to want is going to be an iPhone once they're old enough for a phone. Similar to how Microsoft in the 90's aggressively targeted educational customers and basically gave their software away in some cases instead of seeing education as a profit center. They also aggressively lobbied and pushed to convince educators that kids NEEDED to learn "computer skills" (they weren't wrong), but of course that meant teaching kids to use Windows and MS Office. So, naturally, business customers don't look at anything else; because everyone already knows how to use Office. Anything else is something they'd have to train.

End of an era indeed. I still use my 4th, 5th, and 7th gen iPods! The 5th gen is my favorite. It is for me the quintessential iPod, like the iPhone 4 is for the iPhone. That was the moment they said "Yes, this is everything this device can be". Gens 6 and 7 for the iPod and frankly every phone since the iPhone 4 have all been iterations and improvements of the technology. But the iPod 5th gen with it's big color screen, and the iPhone 4 being the first phone to really imagine what a well built phone using materials like glass and metal instead of cheap plastic; both pushed the genres forward (with the available technology of the time) in imagining what devices like this could be.
 
Funnily enough, my first iPod wasn't until fairly recently.

My iPhone 4 was my first portable Apple device. The iPod was big when I was in high school but I couldn't afford one. I had always been a Mac user but things like mp3 players were usually cheap used devices for me. When I got an iPhone 4, I still didn't need an iPod because it could do most things an iPod could do (just limited on storage).

What ended up happening is; iPhones got bigger! And my phone no longer fit in the small glovebox on my motorcycle, which is where the cable is that interfaces with the stereo (using a 30-pin connector, no less!). With previous iPhones I just used a 30 pin adapter. But now, they physically wouldn't fit. So for a while I just didn't use that feature. There ARE bluetooth interfaces of course but they can be finicky with handlebar/steering wheel controls.

I ended up buying a 5th gen iPod on eBay cheap, and swapping out the hard drive with an SD card. I sync it with all my music and podcasts and I'm good to go! Kind of nostalgic. It of course fits just fine in the little pocket. Even on the phone, I primarily use downloaded music and not streaming because cell service can be unreliable on the road.

I also have an iMac G4 and up until recently that was the holy grail. Because an old version of Spotify for PowerPC actually let you sync spotify music onto an iPod. I'm not clear on whether that was an intentional feature (I think it was only ever supposed to manage music you already own, alongside streaming) or some sort of a bug, but it 'worked'. I'd plug my iPod into that iMac G4, and my spotify playlists would sync right over to it. Alas, that app no longer connects to Spotify's services. PowerPC support is finally dead for Spotify!

So-- my first iPod was the one I got a couple years ago and still use to this day!
 
I personally liked the iPod nanos, including the fatboy model, for size/portability/pocketability.

But the Classic models (with the large mechanical HDDs) I think were best for those people who kept huge volumes of music with them.
 
I had a Nomad Jukebox, which could store a LOT more than the available iPods at the time, and I also don't remember if that was when you needed a Mac to use iTunes. The Nomad was fantastic, although it was almost the same size as a portable CD player! http://www.iretron.com/blog/posts/technology-flashback-creative-nomad-jukebox-2000/

After that I had an Archos portable video player that could record right off TV at the same time Apple had the video iPod that could only capture videos off of iTunes. Archos was well known for great products and also maybe the worst quality control and customer service in the entire world.

Then I finally got an iPhone and never looked back...
 
I have one Shuffle. Still standing after all those years!

iPod.png
 
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Any iPod Nano, especially last (7th) generation. Small, light, radio, and hardly noticed in the
pocket during long walks or hikes. The Touch to me was a bit too bulky, too much like an iPhone, and no FM radio.
 
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Though I have several different iPods (5th Gen Touch, 3rd-6th gen Nanos, and 4th Gen Shuffle), the only one I continue to use is my 4th Gen Shuffle when out on my mountain bike.
 
Sadly, the only iPod I ever owned was the first generation Nano, and it died many years ago.

I always considered buying the touch that's now dwindling in supply, but the steep price tag for what amounted to a pointless trinket always kept me from pulling the trigger.

I do have a relative who uses one as a communication device, so I might just see about getting a more powerful, similarly priced iPhone to gift them, and ask for their red iPod touch in turn. Just to have one.
 
I still use a 5G iPod in the car. Great travel device back in the day. Use to load it up with movies etc and play my own content on the plane or at the hotel with RCA cables.

I also have an original ipod with firewire.

Had a great run!
 
BrownyQ said:
I always considered buying the touch that's now dwindling in supply, but the steep price tag for what amounted to a pointless trinket always kept me from pulling the trigger.
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I have been considering it too.

The lack of connection is good to listening to music with no distractions from notifications. But I wasn't able to justify it.
 
I used my first iPod, a 3rd gen, for years until upgrading to a first gen iPod touch. I still remember paying the $5 for the app store update.

I'd say the 4th gen, with the click wheel, is the best overall design though. I picked up several old iPods for my collection at the beginning of the pandemic, and the 4th gen is probably my favorite. 2nd Gen comes close, sole for the nostalgia.
 
I still have my click wheel 4th gen, stored for posterity.

It was the first and only iPod I bought for myself ( I bought a couple of 2nd gen Nanos and Touch ones for the kids).

I used it until I got my first iPhone (4s). Ironically, that was my last iPhone until my latest 12 Pro.

But if I had to pick the GOAT, I'd say the 6th Gen Nano is the greatest.

Basically an Apple Watch, TWELVE YEARS AGO. Insane.
 
Does this mean when iPods stop getting iOS updates, they’ll rename iOS to iPhoneOS again? I mean, only Ionesco will run it since iPods will stop using it, and iPads run their own OS. my favorite iPod was the 3rd generation nano.
 
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my fav was/is 5th & 6th generation, still use them now, sure you can stream, but i want to hear my cds from over the years and my fav songs not someone elses. Apple made a big mistake when they stopped making these and went to the iphone like ipod. it was too big and bulky, and ugly of course people dont want them. In effect, apple killed the ipod, when there were still people buying them. Kinda like the 17th in macbook pro which i use now exclusively for itunes for my ipod and is my repository for all my music. I still use my ipods at work, and i rigged one, plugged in an adapter and made it bluetooth so i could use it with wireless earphones. Love it!
 
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IPod Mini. I had a huge collection of music on my MacBook. Being newly married I wanted a iPod so bad, So did my wife. Well we got a nice tax return do to an error from the IRS. So we went to I believe it was Target and the guy was stocking them. We got the just released 6 gig iPod Mini. Mine silver my wife pink. We stayed up all night loading up our songs and loved them. We kept them alive until 2014 and 2015. The day mine died I was sad.
 
While I (still) love using my iPod Classic 6, my favorite daily driver is the iPod nano 3. Its a great little device and I use it moat days.
 
my favorite was the first generation iPod. That physical rotating wheel was extremely satisfying. The iPod also crushed the mp3 competition. I also had an Archos Jukebox and eventually the Zune. The original iPod could not be matched. I recall using the firewire cable, which was worlds ahead of its time.
 
kc9hzn said:
Seems the hard drives and some of the other components the iPod Classic depended on ceased being produced, so Apple was more or less forced to drop it. (Wouldn’t have been economical to bring another manufacturer online for whatever meager sales the iPod Classic was getting.) Could be the same thing with the iPod touch.
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The iPod Nano was still selling in the millions, it never should have been canceled. It made more sense than the Touch since it is small and portable
 
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For me, the iPod died with the retirement of the clickwheel iPod Classic. I think no other interface represented and will represent Apple for me forever.

If Apple ever came out with an internet-connected iPod Classic with headphone jack and a high quality d/a converter (with the ability to make use of their high quality music files) I would buy it and subscribe to Apple Music instantly. If it supported Airpods for casual on the go listening listening and podcasts, that would be an added bonus. But basically, I just want a great music experience from Apple. Using any of their iPhones with an adapter still feels like a compromise to me (and I am subscribed to Tidal instead of Apple Music because why not on a device that supports all those apps).
 
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I was tempted to buy a Touch now before it and the entire line of iPods disappears for good. But the current iPhone SE is very similar with of course added phone capability. So my thinking is invest those funds in the SE, with much improved display and processor as well.
 
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coolfactor said:
Models with the Click Wheel, starting with the 2004 models, were magical.

You have to give Apple credit for discontinuing a product that many other companies would continue to sell just to keep the market filled with revenue-generating products.
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Same here. Literally the day I first got one for Dads & Grads special dropping the effective price to $70, I got sent overseas for work.

My colleagues used to ask, "what's that?" By early 2005 they were envious of it. Soon after that they'd all gotten color iPods and mine was a joke with them asking, "what's that?" for very different reasons.

It was a radio. It was a voice recorder. It was a portable HD. It was a "gaming device".

It also played MP3s once in a while.
 
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