2008 Apple iPods

[Pumapayam]

And yes, I did an "iPod" search, and only the iPhone thread came close.

So Zune got a price drop yesterday to $199 with the pending news of not one, but TWO NEW iPods.

iPod touch, the aforementioned iPhone-like iPod with a whopping 120 GB hard drive and 3.5 inch screen.

and the new iPod nano, or as the bloggers have commented, iPod fatty, shorter and stouter version, like a marriage between a nano and video iPod, comes with a 2.3 inch QVGA screen and video capabilties now. It will possibly have 12 GB or 16 GB of flash memory.

Stay tuned for the official announcement within the hour!

[MidtownCoog]

What

[Pumapayam]

Official photos from the store, really slick.

Notice the iPhone price drop too!

[KimberlySayWhat]

I wonder why they changed the shape of the Nano.

[Pumapayam]

I wonder why they changed the shape of the Nano.

I guess to accomodate the larger screen.

Watching TV shows and movies on the previous screen was not possible.

And now it shares the same resolution as the full size iPod. 320 x 240.

[KimberlySayWhat]

I like the new shape a lot. I've been looking around at different players because I want a new one, but I wasn't really considering an Ipod until I saw those. Nice prices, too. I really like the turquoise Nano. Other brands will probably soon follow with their own price drops and new designs. Maybe I'll hold out for a while.

[gwilson]

What

[Pumapayam]

It is a highly functional touch screen. It is far more than tapping the screen.

So hear me out, between the (2) touch screen models, I can't justify paying $100 more for twice the memory.

I really just want a functional media player and I think 8GB should be more than enough for my small library of music (I only have around 500 mp3's)

So what do you think, should I save $100 bucks or pay the 33% premium for the same functionality for the 16 GB one?

Right now, I am thinking 8 GB is great and the $299 price point is even greater.

[gwilson]

I'll be honest. I don't use mine only as a music/media player. It is a portable storage device as well, and comes in quite handy when needing to transport large documents or even large sets of documents.

Additionally, being a picture buff, it is awesome to have the extra space for photos.

I think you'll find that the added functionality might translate in to you expanding your collection a bit, be it by adding more music or downloading video podcasts (free, and there are around 25,000 of them to choose from, I *LOVE* Diggnation (from Digg.com), to movies to TV shows. Have a show you wanted to watch but missed it? Buy it from the iTunes store and watch it while working out at the gym.

Another great feature is the Wi-Fi access to the iTunes store and the Starbucks (YES, Starbucks) integration. If you are sitting in Starbucks enjoying your grande cinnamon dolce no-fat no whip frappuccino and you hear a song that you absolutely love, simply click the Wi-Fi iTunes button, click the Starbucks button, and it will show you WHAT song is playing and allow you to purchase it with one click. How cool is that?

The fact of the matter is, it is far more expensive to get the 8gb, then find out later you need more space and have to drop the dough on the larger one, than to just get the larger one now.

I'd say it is worth it. Worst case scenario, you've got room to expand.

You know you can also rip all your personal CDs in to iTunes and sync them up to your iPod for free as well.

[Pumapayam]

The fact of the matter is, it is far more expensive to get the 8gb, then find out later you need more space and have to drop the dough on the larger one, than to just get the larger one now.

I'd say it is worth it. Worst case scenario, you've got room to expand.

You know you can also rip all your personal CDs in to iTunes and sync them up to your iPod for free as well.

I will start a poll to see what other thought people have on it too.

It is weird, if it were priced at $499 and $599, I'd say for $100, go for it.

But $100 is a greater percentage at a lower number, so for$299 and $399 it just seem different.

I guess it is the same difference.

And with the iPhone, you only get an additional 4 GB, and with the iPod touch, you get 8GB extra with the $100 premium.

[Jax]

Now that the price has dropped, I might actually consider getting an iPhone. But first I want to have a guarantee that I can use it with t-mobile. I know there are ways of unlocking it now, but I also believe you have to disassemble it and void your warranty to swap SIM cards. I'm not so sure I wanna do that...

If the iPod Touch had email support, I might consider it, since it would be useful as more than just a music player. Maybe I'll wait and see if somebody develops a 3rd party email app or hacks it to use the iPhone email app.

For now, I'll stick with my 1st generation iPod Nano and Nokia cell phone (with OS X theme).

[sevfiv]

the iphone unlocking instructions are way too long and confusing for me, and i don't feel comfortable soldering phone parts

i have a nano, but really only use it in the car...occasionally. for me, they're all too much money for something too fragile.

[Subdude]

Hello there. I am the boy with "Sucker" tattooed across his forehead. I shelled out for the new iPhone the week it came out, and I got to use it for all of three weeks before leaving the country, so the phone part is now turned off. Although I thought the iPhone was great in just about every way, the music capacity is less than my old iPod. And to top it off, they just cut the price $200. Grrrr. Grrrrr.

* Subdude kicks self *

Oh well. The new touch iPod looks great, and would be perfect for those who can't use AT&T phone service, but I read that it lacks the external volume control that the iPhone has. That's pretty stupid.

[Pumapayam]

If the iPod Touch had email support, I might consider it, since it would be useful as more than just a music player. Maybe I'll wait and see if somebody develops a 3rd party email app or hacks it to use the iPhone email app.

Can't you just simply log in to whatever email website you use with WiFi and check and send mail through that?

[Jax]

I don't use webmail, I use POP mail.

There's probably some website out there that would let me check my POP mail on the web but it's just not as good as having a dedicated email application.

[Pumapayam]

I don't use webmail, I use POP mail.

There's probably some website out there that would let me check my POP mail on the web but it's just not as good as having a dedicated email application.

Gmail has "mail fetcher" for free.

just sign up and all your POP mail is forwarded.

[MidtownCoog]

So how may of you iPodders members of the "living dead" I see walking in a trance downtown? All spaced out, listening to music.

Or ARE they listening to music?

[Jax]

Gmail has "mail fetcher" for free.

just sign up and all your POP mail is forwarded.

I guess that could work.

Apparently the iPod touch runs the same binaries as the iPhone, so I doubt it will be long before somebody figures out how to copy the mail app over.

[Pumapayam]

Hello there. I am the boy with "Sucker" tattooed across his forehead. I shelled out for the new iPhone the week it came out, and I got to use it for all of three weeks before leaving the country, so the phone part is now turned off. Although I thought the iPhone was great in just about every way, the music capacity is less than my old iPod. And to top it off, they just cut the price $200. Grrrr. Grrrrr.

* Subdude kicks self *

Hey, get your $100 Apple credit!

Look for something on the website next week!

[Pumapayam]

Here's one way to look at it -- is your music library likely to grow or shrink? Buying a larger one will help future-proof yourself so you won't want a larger one so soon in the future.

But say 3 years from now, the battery doesn't hold a charge anymore, and much nicer newers ones are out.

I dunno, it's a toss up, but I am still thinking the $299 one is the way to go, priced just right.

Remember the last big contest (100,000 posts) we gave away a gift basket from Texas and the Territories.

Yeah, so 200,000 posts is NOT likely. . .

[Guest Marty]

What does the engraving look like on this stuff. Do they use lasers or something?

[ricco67]

What does the engraving look like on this stuff. Do they use lasers or something?

Probably your typical engraving. It's free? So?

Just don't take it to the engraver in the basement of the galleria. I was more outraged at the price engraving ($40) my daughter's name (15 letters) than the price of the damned IPOD ($400, I think).

I'm STILL kinda' peeved by that and that was 3 months ago!

[EastEnd Susan]

Shhhh....I still use my Sony Walkman.

[gwilson]

I desperately need a new iPod. I have a 4th gen iPod (30gb) that died. I plan on replacing the HD in it ($65 bucks), but it still has the BW screen, but it is personalized to me. I also have a 1st gen iPod Nano with the color screen that shows the cover art and such. It was basically given to me by accident. It was heavily used though and has problems.

If I had my Kudos, I'd get a new european iPhone which will be on T-Mobile in Europe, but I don't know when this will launch. Aside from that, I'd love the new 16gb touch.

That being said, here is to hoping this is the magic post for the new Nano. *crosses fingers*

[Pumapayam]

I desperately need a new iPod. I have a 4th gen iPod (30gb) that died. I plan on replacing the HD in it ($65 bucks), but it still has the BW screen, but it is personalized to me.

So your HD went out before the battery did???

How so?

I also have a 1st gen iPod Nano with the color screen that shows the cover art and such. It was basically given to me by accident. It was heavily used though and has problems.

Not comforting, so both NAND and HD storage gave you problems?

[gwilson]

So your HD went out before the battery did???

How so?

Not comforting, so both NAND and HD storage gave you problems?

The HD died because of how it was used. I've had the device for three years or so now. I used it often in the bathroom while showering (I moved a set of speakers in to the bathroom to groove while I scrub). I think the problem was the power fluctuations while plugged in in the bathroom.

The Nanos problems are that the person that owned it previously pressed the buttons too hard. They also dropped it a lot. It is heavily damaged on the outside. Other than the scratches and having to press the buttons harder to get them to respond.

[editor]

But say 3 years from now, the battery doesn't hold a charge anymore, and much nicer newers ones are out.I dunno, it's a toss up, but I am still thinking the $299 one is the way to go, priced just right.

When it can't hold a charge anymore, you either give it to Apple and they give you a refurb one (new battery, screen, etc...) for something like $50. Or you buy a kit on the internet and change the batter yourself for $20.Or you can turn it in to Apple and get a credit toward a new iPod. This is how it is for all iPods when the batteries go flat. Too bad other companies with similar products aren't so generous.

What does the engraving look like on this stuff. Do they use lasers or something?

I don't know what they do on the current iPods. I had my wife's 3G engraved at the factory and it looks exactly like some of the after-market laser engraving I've seen, so I can say that one (shiny back) was probably a laser.

So all I have to do is post and hope that it's the magic number!?

Something like that. It should be noted that qualifying posts must be over a mystery length, and be posted in a mystery category. It's all so mysterious.Here's a hint: Neither Off Topic nor Way Off Topic are the mystery categories.

If I had my Kudos, I'd get a new european iPhone which will be on T-Mobile in Europe, but I don't know when this will launch. Aside from that, I'd love the new 16gb touch.

The T-Mobile Germany iPhones come out this month, I think. Didn't they say Q3? Or maybe it's the end of the year. Either way, you don't have long to wait.

[gwilson]

When it can't hold a charge anymore, you either give it to Apple and they give you a refurb one (new battery, screen, etc...) for something like $50. Or you buy a kit on the internet and change the batter yourself for $20.Or you can turn it in to Apple and get a credit toward a new iPod. This is how it is for all iPods when the batteries go flat. Too bad other companies with similar products aren't so generous.I don't know what they do on the current iPods. I had my wife's 3G engraved at the factory and it looks exactly like some of the after-market laser engraving I've seen, so I can say that one (shiny back) was probably a laser.Something like that. It should be noted that qualifying posts must be over a mystery length, and be posted in a mystery category. It's all so mysterious.Here's a hint: Neither Off Topic nor Way Off Topic are the mystery categories.The T-Mobile Germany iPhones come out this month, I think. Didn't they say Q3? Or maybe it's the end of the year. Either way, you don't have long to wait.

but will they work with T-Mobile in the states, with the same features?

[editor]

I've merged the posts about the HAIF nano contest into this thread.Let's keep this thread for talking about the gadgets, and the other for talking about the contest.

but will they work with T-Mobile in the states, with the same features?

In theory it should work, except for the Visual Voicemail. That feature requires some re-wiring of the phone network, itself. I doubt the T-Mobile USA will be willing to do that while the iPhone is still an AT&T exclusive.What will be interesting to see is if in 4.5 years from now T-Mobile and whatever other GSM/3G providers have sprung up modify their networks for full iPhone integration when the AT&T exclusivity period runs out.The problem with using a T-Mobile Germany iPhone on the T-Mobile USA network is that you'll still have to pay roaming charges for use, even though they're both T-Mobile. And European roaming charges are typically MUCH higher than American ones.

[KimberlySayWhat]

EastEnd Susan:

Shhhh....I still use my Sony Walkman.

Do you really? Not even a Discman?

You should upgrade to some sort of MP3 player. I don't think you would be disappointed.