I'm thinking about getting a refurbished iPod. Has anyone had any experience with the certified refurbished products. Also, I haven't decided on whether I should get the nano or the 30 gig iPod, any suggestions? Should I get the "Applecare Protection Plan?"

2/9/2007 11:56:19 PM

yes, the refurbs are good. I've used a couple refurbed Macs, and they're basically as good as new. Plus they come with the same warranty as the new ones, so nothing to worry about there.

nano or regular depends on your music library and your usage. I think the 8GB nanos are perfect. you can store most or all of your music, and it's small and light. If you want to watch video or carry a huge library, get a 30GB, but they are significantly bigger, heavier, and more fragile (bigger screen to break, hard drive to go bad). Plus (this is pure speculation), i think there will be a new widescreen iPod coming out soon, based on the iPhone. I think the current line of large iPods will be replaced by widescreen/touchscreen versions. When those come out, you'll feel stupid for buying an old-school one. But the Nanos are cheap and small enough that they are not really in the same league as any upcoming larger ipods.

I wouldn't worry about the APP for an ipod. You'll get a 1 year warranty. If you're "lucky", something might happen to it before the warranty is up and you could get it replaced. if it happens to break after 1.5 or 2 years (after the warranty expires), just get a new one - there will sure to be several new models by then.

2/10/2007 12:45:53 AM

Everyone I know has at least 20 GB of music. If you're a music fan at all, you're going to want more than what the Nano has to offer.

2/10/2007 2:19:06 AM

yeah fuck the nano. i have to remove stuff constantly to make room on my 30gb ipod. nano is just not enough space

2/10/2007 2:39:00 AM

I have 4G 20 gig ipod and about 30 gigs of music on my HD, but I'd still go for a nano.

8 gigs is plenty for a weeks worth of listening. The nano's size, price, and durability is well-worth swapping music once a week.

2/10/2007 3:02:12 AM

Quote :

"But the Nanos are cheap and small enough that they are not really in the same league as any upcoming larger ipods. "

the 8 gig nano is the same price as the 30gb ipod (at normal price).

2/10/2007 4:01:50 AM

^^ I want to be able to listen to anything at any time. If I feel like listening to Wild Gift and I don't have it, I'm going to be pissed. That's worth the extra bulk for my money.

2/10/2007 6:46:52 AM

^ I have to agree. I've got a 6 gb mini from back in the day. Sure the thing only cost me 30 bucks, but damnit I have over 80 gigs of music so I'm always wanting to listen to stuff I don't have on my ipod. If working out with the mp3 player is a big thing though, I'd recommend getting a 30 gb ipod video (or similar hard drive based player; bookstore has the zune's for 229.95) and a cheap flash based player like the lower end sandisk sansa's or something. Although the hdd based players aren't really THAT big or heavy, you'd appreciate having something that is so small and light you won't even notice it.

Anyways, 8gb is not enough if you're a serious audiophile.

2/10/2007 8:17:25 AM

yeah, well i thought "serious audiophiles" were "above" iPods anways. Don't you guys carry vinyl around with you so you can get the "analouge experience"?

2/10/2007 10:21:28 AM

Now now kids, let's not get what "audiophile" means confused here.

2/10/2007 11:20:23 AM

sorry, i thought it meant "pompous assholes who spend way too much time comparing bitrates of digital audio files."

2/10/2007 11:40:28 AM

^ Nope, here it means people who love and listen to a lot of music. Read serious as "great" or "large" rather than "intense." Calm down a bit.

[Edited on February 10, 2007 at 1:28 PM. Reason : ]

2/10/2007 1:26:17 PM

ok, i can get behind that interpretation

2/10/2007 1:59:33 PM

"Serious audiophile?"

or "capricious audiophile?"

To each his own, but when getting that iPod, consider if the fragility and bulk is worth being able to listen to that one obscure album that one time you might want to listen to it.

[Edited on February 10, 2007 at 2:42 PM. Reason : .]

2/10/2007 2:41:20 PM

If you're going to be doing a lot of physical activity while using the iPod, I'd go with a Nano. I'm always paranoid of messing up the hard drive of my 30GB if I wear it while running or something like that.

2/10/2007 2:41:46 PM