[sebascrub]

So, it's almost that time of the year again, when my mind turns to getting a new iPod. My 5G 60GB was served me faithfully for the past two years, but the newer iPods are really testing my resolve to not break out the credit card.

I find myself in times of trouble, though: I'm torn between the Touch and the Classic. For what it's worth, I have about 45GB of music, so my main dilemma is whether or not I would want to have all my music with me at all times. If I get the Touch, I'd probably spring for the 32GB (after the rumored price drops) so that I can get as much in there as possible. If I go for the Classic, it'd be the 80GB to save some money. In the end, that's what it comes down to: I'm not sure if I want to save money and have all my music with me at all times, or make some fancy smart playlists and buy the Touch with all its added capabilities, like Wi-Fi, more responsive Cover Flow, and the larger screen. No moving parts is also attractive, but less so - I hardly ever drop my iPod and have never had troubles with the HDDs in my four or five years of owning iPods.

I use my iPods largely for music - in the last couple of months I've only watched one movie on my iPod.

Any thoughts from people who have owned the two, or made a similar decision?

 

[Uncle Erik]

I've been thinking about upgrading from a 5G iPod.

The only advantage for me with the Touch is the solid state memory. I much prefer that to a hard drive. Flash uses less power and is more reliable.

But I'm leaning towards the Classic, because I'm probably going to re-rip my discs into ALAC. I'm using AAC right now, which is OK. I mostly use it in the car where I don't care about fidelity, but I should really switch to lossless.

When I ran computer-as-source, I had part of the collection ripped lossless, and it was pretty good. Might go back someday.

 

[dazzer1975]

Storage space swayed it for me, along with the fact that I have umpc's and cell phones and another dap wich can connect wirelessly, albeit only for radio.

Regarding the cover flow, thats just a gimmick imo, a fancy graphical touch (pardon th pun) which ultimately, adds little in the way of value or sq. I never listene to the touch, but after garnering opinions and reading plenty of threads I plumped for the classic, which, it has to be said, has a pretty good sq, infact, according to vinnie from RWA the classic is the best sounding stock ipod out, although in the interests of balance and fairness, he doesn't compare it to the touch, so thats probably more of a moot point.

 

[GlennSter]

I see that you are from montreal...we have awful winters here in canada. I use my gloves and during severe winter months like from december to feb, i use gloves when im out all the time.

I chose the click wheel instead of the touch because i didnt want to take my gloves off to use my ipod while walking or waiting for my train =p. I know this is a small issue...but an issue nonetheless for me and helped me decide what to get.

 

[Frienes]

I also thought about the classic and the touch and finally bought the classic. Why? More memory for a smaller price which means that I didn't have to make my mind about the songs I put on it, I can simply carry my hole collection. Furthermore the use of the touch has a "WOW-effect" at the beginning, but it also has some disadvantage, e.g. it's hard to use it without throwing an eye on it or in a pocket. I'm happy with the classic and wouldn't change.

 

[senns&nonsense]

I recently bought a Classic and the sound quality is fantastic. Much better than my 1st Gen shuffle (which I have always liked) and my previous iPods.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

I believe you answered your own question: Ipod Classic is for you. You want space, don't care about the flashing features of the Touch, and can't decide what music to take with you if not all. Plus you have been pretty lucky with HD based players.

 

[sebascrub]

Yeah, I guess the Classic is the way to go for now, at least until flash prices decline and sizes increase. I don't mind having to take the Touch out of my pocket to control it, and I don't own a pair of gloves for the winter (except for snowboarding, and those are mitts), so the touch interface isn't a big deal. I guess now it's time to see if I can sell my iPod and save money for the Classic. Thanks for the replies

 

[raymondlin]

I have both (16G touch and 80G classic), since getting the touch last week I have not touched (pun intended) the classic. Went away this weekend and used the touch everywhere. Free wifi in bars and pubs I was in, watched movies on the train, listened to music on the move, used it to check weather reports and show friends photos.


The Classic is just an ipod, the touch is a true gadget.

 

[Zarathustra19]

Touch is overrated IMO. I have the Classic and I've tried the touch. Personally I prefer the tested and tried design of the classic, as well as the capacity. But to each his own.

 

[ILikeMusic]

Quote:

I use my iPods largely for music - in the last couple of months I've only watched one movie on my iPod.

I think your answer in in that statement.

Personally I think that one of the greatest features of a DAP is the ability to have access to all of your music all of the time. My library is about the same size as yours and there's no way I want to futz with figuring out what I want to hear in advance, loading and unloading music constantly, etc. For me a player first and foremost must be able to hold my entire music library... if it can't do that it's more of a toy to me than anything else.

Since you don't seem to have a real craving for the gadget features I'd get the Classic and leave the other stuff to your cellphone or whatever. In another year or two there will be a 64 gb Touch and if you want you can get one then.

 

[sebascrub]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raymondlin /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have both (16G touch and 80G classic), since getting the touch last week I have not touched (pun intended) the classic. Went away this weekend and used the touch everywhere. Free wifi in bars and pubs I was in, watched movies on the train, listened to music on the move, used it to check weather reports and show friends photos. The Classic is just an ipod, the touch is a true gadget.

Damn! And then there's posts like this that really make me want to get the Touch. I've heard of services like Dot.Tunes that let you access your iTunes library over the internet, so you don't really have to make any choices. Anyone played with something like that? Do they work?

But then, I could just listen to reason and stick with the Classic... haha. What's the UI like? I've read reports that it's sluggish, especially when looking at Cover Flow (I love flicking through Cover Flow on my MacBook to decide what album I'm going to listen to next).

 

[7even]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebascrub /img/forum/go_quote.gif Damn! And then there's posts like this that really make me want to get the Touch. I've heard of services like Dot.Tunes that let you access your iTunes library over the internet, so you don't really have to make any choices. Anyone played with something like that? Do they work? But then, I could just listen to reason and stick with the Classic... haha. What's the UI like? I've read reports that it's sluggish, especially when looking at Cover Flow (I love flicking through Cover Flow on my MacBook to decide what album I'm going to listen to next).

Get the Touch

It's great to have even when you're not listening to music - with the music off, all you can do with the Classic is stare at it

Then again, my music collection is quite small and alongside a few videos it fits OK on a 16 gig Touch, so..

 

[Gino]

There was no struggle on my end on which iPod to get. I wanted the iPod Touch for semi-mobile internet use period. And that it does so very well.

When I got it, it quickly transformed (thanks to Jailbreak) into a PDA. With 3rd party apps, I am able to create, drag and drop documents to and fro the machines. It has been the perfect companion to my Mac with excellent syncing of music, video, calendar, and address book. I get my Gmail from the Mail app too.

It doesn't sound as bad as reviews would put it. For the most part, I enjoy listening through my podectomized Altec Lansing IM716 iems. And to make things interesting, from what I read, the line out signal is much better. So things are only getting better for me. I am soon building an amp for this.

I never found the need to have all my music in my iPod. I have flavors of the month. I just select on iTunes which ones I want to listen to at any given time. Makes sense to me. I am not going to be stuck in an island. The battery will be dead sooner or later anyway.

 

[raymondlin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sebascrub /img/forum/go_quote.gif Damn! And then there's posts like this that really make me want to get the Touch. I've heard of services like Dot.Tunes that let you access your iTunes library over the internet, so you don't really have to make any choices. Anyone played with something like that? Do they work? But then, I could just listen to reason and stick with the Classic... haha. What's the UI like? I've read reports that it's sluggish, especially when looking at Cover Flow (I love flicking through Cover Flow on my MacBook to decide what album I'm going to listen to next).

Not tried that program but i've heard of it. As for cover flow, its smoooooooooth, actually smoother than my PC believe it or not, I never see the grey blank squares on the touch in cover flow even when flicking it and make it flip to the other side in 1 swoop. The Classic is much slower, it takes time to load each one so if you turn to wheel really quickly all you will see is grey squares unless you slow down/wait for it to load first and the flip it.