Time for a new iPod...no?

[pkatzman]

Well, it's finally happened. My 3G 20GB iPod has finally given up the ghost and displays just the exclamation mark/folder icon upon startup. After digging around on the web for a while it just doesn't seem worth it to spend upwards of $100 on a new hard drive to put in it, especially when I'm considering trying to drop $500-odd on an Ampeg (that's another story.)

So, now I have a few options in front of me:
-buy a refurbed/used Mini (or Shuffle or whatever) and use it until the holidays and I maybe have more money to buy a new (hopefully 6th gen, widescreen) iPod
-pull together the funds to buy a current (probably 80GB) iPod
-just use nothing for the time being

Honestly, though, it's really hard for me to go without listening to music for very long. Not having some kind of portable music player would get to me after about 2 weeks. That said, if I'm going to drop $500-600 on a new amp (I'm starting to gig more so I really need a good loud amp of my own) I maybe shouldn't be spending money right now an iPod.

What are your thoughts?

[torifile]

Buy a refurb. You can get a 30 gig for $179. When it comes time to move on to a bigger one, you'll recoup at least $125 of that if you sell it.

Edit: or get a mini for $99. Again, you'll recoup a ton of that when you're ready to move to a newer one. I'd wager that you'll be able to get $75 of that $99 back.

[turtle]

I'm with torifile, get a refurb. The Mini's are really low in price and it'll cover your needs for music until you can get want you really want.

[pkatzman]

Yeah, that's what I was leaning towards. As a bonus, it's the 2nd gen Mini so even better battery life! And anything's better than the way my 3G was going, haha.

Now the only decision left is...silver, blue or green? Blue's generally my favorite color, except the blue Minis are bright almost neon blue, whereas I like darker colors. I like the silver, but for some reason it seems a bit feminine to me. That's gotta be a Freudian something right there...

[Perfecting_Zero]

djfusion,

This past weekend, I received my refurbished Mini from Apple, and it was a positive experience in every way. I had expected to find slight scratching and evidence of previous use; instead, the 6 GB Mini that I received was visually, as well as functionally, pristine and indistinguishable from new -- the brown box and black foam in which it shipped, notwithstanding. An excellent value at $129, in my opinion.

Good luck with your decision!


Z

[pkatzman]

Ah, wait, I just remembered another option. For the same $99 I can buy a refurbed 2GB Nano. I could really see myself mucking around with it (given that I installed iPodLinux on my 3G), plus it's flashed-based, so it's more durable and has better battery life than the Mini. Not to mention it's newer so it hopefully would have a higher resale value.

Or am I totally off base here?

[thegeriatric]

What about a Shuttle to tide you over. I bet You could still find a use for it when you get what you really want.

[pkatzman]

What about a Shuttle to tide you over. I bet You could still find a use for it when you get what you really want.

Well, I thought about that, but not having a screen would be pretty inconvenient, as would only being able to hold ~200 songs. When I listen to songs, I tend to listen to complete albums.

[thegeriatric]

Well, I thought about that, but not having a screen would be pretty inconvenient, as would only being able to hold ~200 songs. When I listen to songs, I tend to listen to complete albums.

True enough. But remember it's only a temporary fix. I suppose it all depends on how long temporary is.