iPod touch vs DSi

[cari12]

With all the threads about the iPod Touch, I am starting to re-think my Christmas plans for my kids. DD8 wants a Touch however, she already has a DSi and iPod nano. These are only a year old and still in great condition. So I was not going to buy her one this year to let the other devices get some more use. But the Touch can do so much more! Can an iPod touch take videos -she would really like something to take videos?
DS6 wants a DSi because he only has a Leapster explorer and would like to play DSi games. Do we spend the money on another DSi only to have him ask for a Touch next year?
The Touch has a lot of games and apps but can you get games of their favourite characters like Mario? If not, then the DS is actually better for gaming. Am I correct on this?

 

[PrincessNoelle'sMom]

Take it from someone with personal experience. Once the kids have an ipod touch they will NEVER use the other devices. Yes an ipod touch can take videos. Both children are at the right age for ipod touches IMO. I'm sure you will have others on the boards who will have comments regarding wifi and internet access regarding parental controls. I monitor my children when they use the computer, ipod touch, etc...so I don't find it to be an issue. I would HIGHLY recommend the ipod touch over any other electronic device - you won't be sorry.

ETA - Your son can always use your DD's DSi for gaming if the ones he wants are not available on the app store.

 

[mrseace711]

We bought DD9 a DSi 2 Christmas's ago and she was already asking for an iPod Touch last year! DD7 had my hand me down NDS lite and after 6 years of use its ready for an upgrade and so we are going to upgrade her to the Ipod Touch as well.

Cons with the DSi = game cartridges very tiny and easy to lose cost more money. Thats my only gripe

 

[Fyrefly]

Depends HIGHLY on your child.

Honestly the idea of using a iTouch or any other multi-task handheld like that as a gaming system is laughable - to me. Because I greatly enjoy gaming and I like good games with excellent plots, gameplay, production values, etc. The stuff for iTouch in my opinion are cute time wasters - but they are not the caliber of Mario or Zelda or Final Fantasy or any of the other high-quality titles you can get on the DS.

But that might not matter to your son. I will say though a major pet peeve of mine has been this growing idea that games are one size fits all, just buy whatever is cheapest. Comparing Angry Birds to The Legend of Zelda is like comparing a home video of two kids fighting with sticks on Youtube to Star Wars.

If this kid is showing interest primarily in high-quality games and wants to be a GAMER, get him the DS. If he just wants something to do in the car, it might be better to get him an iTouch.

 

[luvmy3]

With all the threads about the iPod Touch, I am starting to re-think my Christmas plans for my kids. DD8 wants a Touch however, she already has a DSi and iPod nano. These are only a year old and still in great condition. So I was not going to buy her one this year to let the other devices get some more use. But the Touch can do so much more! Can an iPod touch take videos -she would really like something to take videos?
DS6 wants a DSi because he only has a Leapster explorer and would like to play DSi games. Do we spend the money on another DSi only to have him ask for a Touch next year?
The Touch has a lot of games and apps but can you get games of their favourite characters like Mario? If not, then the DS is actually better for gaming. Am I correct on this?

My dd has had a version of the DS since the original, she has a DSi now. We got her an Ipod Touch 2 years ago and it get used daily, her DSi now only occasionally. Before the Touch she did use the DSi alot but I don't think a day has gone by that she hasn't used her Touch. She does have an ipod nano that she uses for Itunes because the 8GB Touch she has now doesn't hold all her APPs, videos and music on it. For the most part she just listens to Pandora on the Touch anyway so she rarely uses the nano anymnore.
She is older than your dd and does use the internet checks email, youtube) on it so for her its not just Apps, music and videos. They do have cameras and can take videos (some don't depending on generation).

My 2 dses do not have Touches, they have their nanos and DSes. They have played around with the Touch but they are "gamers" and love their Mario games, and their Lego games. They would use a Touch if they had one but I believe they would get more use out of their DSes still.

 

[cari12]

Depends HIGHLY on your child.

Honestly the idea of using a iTouch or any other multi-task handheld like that as a gaming system is laughable - to me. Because I greatly enjoy gaming and I like good games with excellent plots, gameplay, production values, etc. The stuff for iTouch in my opinion are cute time wasters - but they are not the caliber of Mario or Zelda or Final Fantasy or any of the other high-quality titles you can get on the DS.

But that might not matter to your son. I will say though a major pet peeve of mine has been this growing idea that games are one size fits all, just buy whatever is cheapest. Comparing Angry Birds to The Legend of Zelda is like comparing a home video of two kids fighting with sticks on Youtube to Star Wars.

If this kid is showing interest primarily in high-quality games and wants to be a GAMER, get him the DS. If he just wants something to do in the car, it might be better to get him an iTouch.

This is what I was thinking based on the game apps my husband has on his iPhone. They are not near the quality of games, just little time wasters. Cheaper is not always better!

 

[cari12]

My dd has had a version of the DS since the original, she has a DSi now. We got her an Ipod Touch 2 years ago and it get used daily, her DSi now only occasionally. Before the Touch she did use the DSi alot but I don't think a day has gone by that she hasn't used her Touch. She does have an ipod nano that she uses for Itunes because the 8GB Touch she has now doesn't hold all her APPs, videos and music on it. For the most part she just listens to Pandora on the Touch anyway so she rarely uses the nano anymnore.
She is older than your dd and does use the internet checks email, youtube) on it so for her its not just Apps, music and videos. They do have cameras and can take videos (some don't depending on generation).

My 2 dses do not have Touches, they have their nanos and DSes. They have played around with the Touch but they are "gamers" and love their Mario games, and their Lego games. They would use a Touch if they had one but I believe they would get more use out of their DSes still.

What is Pandora? Is it radio for the Touch?

 

[Scurvy]

Depends HIGHLY on your child.

Honestly the idea of using a iTouch or any other multi-task handheld like that as a gaming system is laughable - to me. Because I greatly enjoy gaming and I like good games with excellent plots, gameplay, production values, etc. The stuff for iTouch in my opinion are cute time wasters - but they are not the caliber of Mario or Zelda or Final Fantasy or any of the other high-quality titles you can get on the DS.

But that might not matter to your son. I will say though a major pet peeve of mine has been this growing idea that games are one size fits all, just buy whatever is cheapest. Comparing Angry Birds to The Legend of Zelda is like comparing a home video of two kids fighting with sticks on Youtube to Star Wars.

If this kid is showing interest primarily in high-quality games and wants to be a GAMER, get him the DS. If he just wants something to do in the car, it might be better to get him an iTouch.

I agree. The two items are just so different, and serve such different functions, that it isn't really a matter of saying one is better than the other. My son has a DS and ipod Touch, and I have a 3Ds and ipod Touch. They all get used quite a bit. Sometimes we'll go days without picking one of the two up, if we're really engrossed in something on the other one. Then we might focus on the other for a while. The DS especially seems to come in waves - if one of us is into a game on that, we'll play it constantly. Then we might finish that game and set it aside until the next really good game comes out. For movies, music and casual games the ipod (or ipad) is great. For more substantial games, the DS is much better. Whether you should get one or the other depends entirely on what exactly the recipient wants to do with it.

In the last year or two, I've seen parents who bought what they thought would be best rather than getting what their kids had asked for, who then didn't understand why the kids didn't love the gifts as much as the parents thought they would. One got a Wii rather than a 360 because it looked like more fun to the parents, but the child then couldn't play online with his friends on their 360s which was the whole reason he wanted it. I've seen a child get an ipod over a DS when all he wanted was something to play Mario and Lego games on. I've seen a kid get a DS instead of an ipod because it seemed more kid-friendly. but she just wanted to watch movies and play Angry Birds. If your kids have expressed a preference, listen to them. At least ask why they prefer that, because chances are they have a reason that they want that item instead of a different one. If they haven't stated a preference, then look at what the different items do. They aren't interchangeable, and different ones are going to be better choices for different people.

OP, I think lots of people don't look at it as a "one or the other" thing, since they are so different. The DS (DSi, 3DS, etc) is a gaming device that also does a few other things. The ipod Touch is a multimedia device that plays some (mostly casual) games. If you get your child a DSi now there's definitely no guarantee he won't ask for an ipod Touch next year. If you were to get him a Touch this year, he might well as for a DSi next year. You are correct that there are no Mario games available on anything but Nintendo products, and it appears that isn't going to change. The newest ipod Touch does record video, and with the next software update (coming next month) the 3DS will be able to record short 3D videos.

 

[happydisneyfamily]

It all depends on the child. My kids have always wanted the newest Nintendo handheld game systems and I thought this year would be the same. However this year they want an Ipod Touch. They have used them before and had the ones with the least amount of memory. I brought up the idea of another handheld game system and they said no, they are over it. The like watching videos, listening to music, and even the simpler games on the Ipod Touch. In fact, just remembered that my older son sold a couple of his games this past summer.

 

[MinnieGi]

Both my kids have Touches and DSi's. While the Touch does get more hands-on use on an everyday basis, if they really want to play a game, they do the DSi thing.

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

Wait a little longer and you could add the Amazon tablet to this list as the price will be about the same.

 

[Ksquared]

Both of my kids have DSI's and they both want Ipod Touches this year. So that's what they will get.

I agree with what Scurvy said, I think you have to ask why you child wants what they are asking for. Each device has pros/cons but do completely different things.

They may tell you what they want to use it for and you may get it for them or get something else with the same capabilities but at least you'll know what it is that they are expecting the device to do for them.

 

[racechick8293]

The iTouches would be better for the long-term. My kids have iTouches and DSi's. The DSi's have very rarely been touched since they got the iTouches.

 

[QVCshopper]

Good thread. My son wants a DS, and I thought an iPod Touch would be better for him. But, after talking about it a lot, I think we're going with the DS. Yes, I feel like the Touch will have more "life", but we already have an iPad and he wants to play bigger, longer games. We're coming up to a year with the iPad and I can see him getting sick of the games. He's only five, though, so in his case, the DS is probably the better choice. He's really excited about the DS and can always use the iPad if needed.

I kinda want an iPod touch for myself, but it's really not needed at the point. I think I'll wait until the kids are older and want one of their own.