buying DS his first IPOD - what do I look for?

[newholidayx2]

DS is asking for an IPOD for his 8th grade graduation. Any particular to look for? brand? etc? Thank you

 

[Quinn222]

There is only one brand of iPod, it's made by Apple. They have several models and the one you choose is pretty much based on your budget.
If you just want to buy him an MP3 player then there are tons of choices out there. I'm only familiar with iPod and love mine.

 

[CraftyMouse]

I have read great things about the Sony Bean. It does the same thing as an iPod but it has a much longer battery life. Almost every model of iPod has had issues so do your research before buying one. DD has an iPod mini (no longer available) and had to have it repaired within a year because the battery wouldn't hold a charge. A few of her friends have iPod Nanos and have had problems with those as well. If I ever have to buy another mp3 player I'll be buying a Sony Bean.

Good luck with your purchase and congrats to your son.

 

[tkd lisa]

DD has the SanDisk brand. I bought it at best buy. It was a lot cheaper than the IPod, and so far it works great.

 

[EthansMom]

If your son want an IPOD, I recommend paying a little extra and getting the IPOD Nano. It has a solid state memory (no moving parts), whereas the larger IPODS have drives in them (moving parts -- drop them and they can break).

I recently got IPOD Nanos for myself and DH at Costco for about $10-20 cheaper than on Apple's website. Plus, Costco has such a liberal return policy that if something goes wrong in the first few months, I know I can just return the IPOD to Costco instead of dealing with Apple. We have seen the IPOD Nano recently on sale at Target for $25-$30 less. I paid $190 for the 2GB Nano and $240 for the 4GB. A 2GB Nano will hold up to 500 songs (at 4 min. per song) and would probably be sufficient for an 8th grader.

The face of the IPOD scratches very easily, so you'll want a case before anyone uses the IPOD. I would recommend a case that has a plastic cover over both the IPOD screen and wheel, a belt clip to hook the case to pants or a belt, and cutouts for the earbuds and computer hook-up cord. DH's case only has a snap to hold his case to a belt or belt loop, but it has cutouts for both the earbuds and computer cable. My case has a traditional belt clip that can hold onto the edge of my pants, but it only has a cutout for the earbuds so I have to remove the IPOD to hook it up to the computer for downloads. A good case will cost $25-$35.

Your son would be able to download music from his own cds, but he'll probably also want to download some music from http://www.itunes.com. Songs there cost $0.99 per song. You might consider purchasing your son a giftcard so he has money for downloads.

You can buy an IPOD online from http://www.apple.com (the manufacturer -- free shipping), you could try Costco, Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.... Also, your local mall may have an Apple Store. You can buy cases from Apple, Target has a good selection, and Radio Shack had quite a few here.

Good Luck!

 

[auntpolly]

If you get an IPOD, make sure you get apple support with it -- trust me, you want to be able to have the support desk available and be able to take it back if (when) it goes bad!

We love our IPODs, but they have been problematic!

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I'd recommend getting the Apple Warranty. And make sure it is an APPLE warrenty and not Best Buy or someone substituting their own warranty. I got my son his iPOD mini a little over 2 years ago and he's had to replace the battery about 4 times. When he he uses his warrenty, he has a new unit in a couple of days.

My husband got the Best Buy warrenty with his iPOD. It takes them nearly two weeks to get his iPOD fixed and back to him.

 

[ktulu]

I have an iPod shuffle and an iPod video, the shuffle is like the nano, no moving parts, but no display screen. I like how small it is, and I can easily take it out working in the yard and such. The video is great as well, but it costs a bit more. I'd recommend a shuffle for an 8th grader, and maybe upgrade to something better when the tyke is in high school.

darren

 

[flatline]

my third 20 gig Ipod just fragged it's hard drive. I'll never buy another hard drive based MP3 player. no complaints about my Nano, though.

 

[Galahad]

my third 20 gig Ipod just fragged it's hard drive. I'll never buy another hard drive based MP3 player. no complaints about my Nano, though.

I agree. I really like my Nano. No moving parts is the way to go.

 

[ChrisnSteph]

I have read great things about the Sony Bean. It does the same thing as an iPod but it has a much longer battery life. Almost every model of iPod has had issues so do your research before buying one. DD has an iPod mini (no longer available) and had to have it repaired within a year because the battery wouldn't hold a charge. A few of her friends have iPod Nanos and have had problems with those as well. If I ever have to buy another mp3 player I'll be buying a Sony Bean.

Good luck with your purchase and congrats to your son.

I've had my iPod mini for about over a year now, and my dh's had his iPod since Christmas. Both are used almost daily - we haven't had any problems with them. If we're in a car we keep it hooked to a battery charger, and at home we put it on a dock so we don't have issues with the batteries dying. Having had an MP3 player and an iPod, I think the iPod is way easier to use. I haven't checked out the Sony Bean though.

 

[ThePhantomsGirl]

I just bought a Creative Nano Plus and I love it! Cost around $70 with tax.

Was trying to decide between an IPOD (which is an Apple brand) and an MP3 player. Finally decided the features I wanted veered me over the MP3 player side. If I wanted video I'd probably have leaned towards the IPOD.

I like audio books - so for me I didn't need the other features. For an 8th grader - I'd start out inexpensively and then go up from there. I'd hate to spend upwards of $200+ and have them lose it or drop it - or worse - get it stolen.

 

[foolishmortal]

I love my iriver!!!