My Son's 13 In 4 Days & Wants A I pod....

[teeitlow]

Still bouncing between here and a job out of town and here I sat browsing the bay for about 3 minutes when I realized I do "NOT" know crap about I pod, phone, nano, touch, classic, 1,2,3,4,5 generation...It's beyond me!

Music! Yup that's what the boy is into.

Need some help or just pointed in the right direction and I'll go used since I just replaced the piston and cylinder on my 575.

Thanks in advance!

-D

[nogamejames]

if it just for music get a 80gig classic. They are built like music playing bricks and can hold tons of music. If for apps and web browsing get a 3rd gen ipod touch , they go for cheap and i'm pretty sure are still being supported by apple. If the device you are looking at has a cracked screen and does not have a front facing camera its a cheap fix and could save you some cash. good luck

[Pudgelewis]

It's been a while since I got mine, but may I recommend going to Apple's site and checking out their refurbished products. I got my 60GB video iPod for a great price when it was still current and it came in the original box and wrapped like it was a brand new one. I believe it carries some type of warranty, also. Mine's still going like a champ.

[prestiege]

does he have a collection of music purchased from itunes? if not than go with a regular old mp3 player. they make them with a lot of storage these days and they are much easier than having to create all kinds of playlists in itunes and constantly sync the thing just to add a few songs here and there.

regular old mp3 player shows up as a usb drive and you just drag and drop your music on it. the problem is music purchased from itunes wont play on these devices unless you remove the itunes protection.

[teeitlow]

[quote name='prestiege' timestamp='1352950237' post='5936299']
does he have a collection of music purchased from itunes? if not than go with a regular old mp3 player. they make them with a lot of storage these days and they are much easier than having to create all kinds of playlists in itunes and constantly sync the thing just to add a few songs here and there.

regular old mp3 player shows up as a usb drive and you just drag and drop your music on it. the problem is music purchased from itunes wont play on these devices unless you remove the itunes protection.
[/quote]
Good point, apparently his older brother does...I know I don't so he wont be syncing here....I'm trying to figure out if he just wants his brothers collection of music or what. Sounds like I would have to have an itunes account to make this a reasonable purchase?

[Pudgelewis]

IMO, iTunes is very easy to use (and sign up for) and do everything you need to. If you've already got all the music in another format you may rethink the iPod, but if you're going to have to put music on the computer anyway, don't let it be a deciding factor.

[Crab Daddy]

The iPod Touch is a very cool device (5th gen is the latest). I can't imagine a kid not wanting the apps available for it, in addition to the music. (BTW - mine is 13, too). The only problem is that buying an older model limits it's useful lifetime because it requires iOS updates like the iPhone & iPad. Eventually, the hardware will not be compatible with the latest iOS release. In the meantime, it's a lot of fun.

[PZero]

Get him an iPod Touch. He can use it for the apps and music. My little cousins have them and do not go anywhere without them.

[teeitlow]

[quote name='Pudgelewis' timestamp='1352951810' post='5936419']
IMO, iTunes is very easy to use (and sign up for) and do everything you need to. If you've already got all the music in another format you may rethink the iPod, but if you're going to have to put music on the computer anyway, don't let it be a deciding factor.
[/quote]
Yup I would have to set it up on mine if he wanted anything other than what his brother had. I don't have any music on mine since I've never been a "music" person.
-D

[bppry]

As stated he refurbished section on apples site is the best deal. You get the same warranty as a brand new one at half the price. I've bought twice and both pass as brand new.

[SilverBullets]

As a 26 year old, I can say, just pony up and get the iPod Touch.. the 5th gen. Guarantee its what the 13 yr old would want. You can use apps, play games, surf the web... basically its a iphone without the phone function. Check the refurbished site. If not, the current ones don't seem to go on sale very often.

For what its worth, the music doesn't have to be purchased on itunes to use on a ipod. It just has to be in iTunes (im sure theres some back way around it but i don't know it or do it). You can load CDs in to iTunes, there are also programs (at least there used to be) to convert MP3 files into iTunes. Pretty easy stuff.

In terms of syncing, you can only sync the iPod with one library. So if he is using his brother's library he would just sync it there.

Size wise, I believe the 5th gen (the current one) comes in a 32gb and a 64gb... the 32 I would suspect would be plenty big enough. You can also save money by going with the 4th gen. The 4th gen touch is still nice it just doesnt have as fast of a processor, as nice of a screen, camera, etc. Really still has most of the bells and whistles just not as advanced. They have a 16 and a 32 on the site. The 32 is only $50 less than the 5th gen though.

[Birdies4Days]

can't go wrong with anything apple. the brand new one just came out and heard it's great.

[teeitlow]

Thanks for all the feedback gentlemen. I used what I read here and researched as best I could, then another little gadget got thrown in the mix, named zune. Frankly we live in the woods and our internet is pretty limited. It's just a wireless card with 5 gigs that I use for here and my wife and kids use for school. He could probably download stuff at his brothers place or WiFi and such. However I just havent been allowed the time to research it enough to be comfortable that I'm making a practical purchase...Quite a few tips and information in this thread have me leaning towards this could just be a $200-$300 boat anchor given where we live and our internet availability. I do realize...that it's a pretty damn cool device.
Given that, this ipod/zune is going to have to wait until Christmas. If we were town folk with unlimited access to the internet it would be a no brainer.
Once again thanks for your help!
He is receiving a pretty sweet gift as it is.
-D

[HackerVance]

Use the money for a new set of Scratch irons instead. He can use them when he gets older and you can take care of them in the meantime.

[Pudgelewis]

[quote name='HackerVance' timestamp='1353452756' post='5959843']
Use the money for a new set of Scratch irons instead. He can use them when he gets older and you can take care of them in the meantime.
[/quote]

What kind of iPod are you rockin' that costs as much as a new set of Scratch irons?

[Dr. Shankenstein]

I think you should consider taking it a step further and consider the iphone. My son, who is now 12, saved his money and bought a current version ipod touch and used it all the time...until we got him a phone. Now the 8month new ipod touch just sits unused and he puts all his music on the phone. Of course this opens a new can of worms and you need to figure out when will he be asking for a phone and how to monitor all the calls and texts and such. But something to think about.

[Jim Clark]

[quote name='Dr. Shankenstein' timestamp='1353474854' post='5961129']
I think you should consider taking it a step further and consider the iphone. My son, who is now 12, saved his money and bought a current version ipod touch and used it all the time...until we got him a phone. Now the 8month new ipod touch just sits unused and he puts all his music on the phone. Of course this opens a new can of worms and you need to figure out when will he be asking for a phone and how to monitor all the calls and texts and such. But something to think about.
[/quote]

Agree with the Doc on this one. Probably makes more sense to go with the iPhone. Agree that it will require more monitoring as far as the phone/text use. But iPhones can hold a lot of music. Although I'm not a parent, I can see where a phone "can" be a good thing for a 13 year old if it's properly monitored. It's a potential safety device. I believe there are methods/apps that allow you to monitor the kid's position at any time using the built-in GPS. It IS something to consider.