Shuroki Online

A few people at work have kids with iPods on their Christmas wishlists and have asked me to explain the differences between all of the shiny little devices that Apple currently offers.

As they’ve said: “”There are Shuffles, and Nanos, and Minis in a range of shapes and colors but they’re all called iPods?! Just what in the heck is the difference – and why should I pick one over the other?”"

I figured I would go ahead and post a quick breakdown of the differences between these gadgets, as well as some things to think about when deciding to go with an iPod over other mp3 players.

There are five models of iPods, but two have been discontinued and will start getting harder to find. The new models are huge improvements, so there’s really no reason to get the old ones. The five models are: the Shuffle, the Nano, the Mini, the iPod Photo and the flagship “”iPod”" (sometimes referred to as the video iPod). For purists: the flagship iPod has actually had five generations (including the photo), but for the scope of this little article, we’ll stick to the above descriptions.

Here are all of the available models from least to most expensive:

* The Shuffle is the smallest and will store either 512 MB or 1 gig of music (1 gig is around 240 songs) and runs for 12 hours on a charge. The major downside is that it doesn’t have a screen, so its hard to find a particular song that you want to hear. My 8 year old son has a Shuffle and wishes that he had one with a screen. He uses it obsessively, but we frequently hear comments about the lack of a screen – especially after his older brother got a Mini last year )

The great thing about the Shuffle is that they are very hearty. He drops it frequently (just as you’d expect of any rough and tumble boy) and it keeps rolling along. The 512 meg goes for $100 and the 1 gig is $130.

* The Nano is the mid-size which just replaced the Mini. The major difference is that the Mini had a harddrive and the Nano is all flash memory, so the battery lasts way longer. Instead of the Mini’s 4-5 hours of battery life, the Nano will go for like 14 hours on a charge. The Mini had two models: 4 gigs or 6 gigs (in four different colors). The Nano also has two models: 2 gigs or 4 gigs (both in either black or white). The small Mini/Nanos are $200 and the big Mini/Nanos are $250. I think the Mini was music only but the Nano does music, and photos/slideshows.

* The new “”iPod with video“” replaces the iPod Photo. These are the biggest iPods and the one I’ve got. Well, mines over three years old now and doesn’t do video or photos. These have harddrives and are sold in two models: 30 gigs or 60 gigs (in either black or white). Apple says the battery life is somewhere between 14 and 20 hours (the 30gig has less battery), which surprises me because my third generation 30 gig only ran 5 hours. I guess battery technology has really improved in the last few years.

The full iPods play music, show photos/slideshows as well as mpeg video. You can buy TV shows (Lost, Desperate Housewives, and a few others for now) as well as music videos from Apple’s iTunes store for $2 bucks each. There are ways to get your own video content on them, but it takes some tech savvy. I think the 30 gig is $300 and the 60 gig is $400.

So where should I buy one?

You can buy an iPod from most major electronics outfits: Best Buy/Circuit City/or the Apple Store – heck even Target and Walmart carry them now. They are all the same price no matter where you buy them from. The only benefit of buying one direct from Apple is that they will do a free laser engraved message on the back.

There are a few “”special”" versions on the Apple store with special laser engraved stamps (like the Harry Potter logo) which are a little more expensive, but they come pre-loaded with audio books or other stuff that goes with whatever logo is branded on it.

Ok, so which one should I buy?

Unless the recipient has a lot of songs and/or wants to watch video, the largest Nano will probably work well for most people. They don’t have any moving parts, so they can handle getting bumped around pretty well and the battery life is the best of all models. The 4 gig Nano will hold over 1,000 songs which is close to 60 hours of music and plenty for most people.

Of course, bigger is always better. My 30 gig holds close to 8,000 songs and I’m always having to dump stuff to make room – so if capacity is important, then the top of the line is the best choice. Pricewise, the best price-per-megabyte is in the full iPod with Video as well – the jump from 4 gig Nano to 30 gig iPod is only $50 bucks. However, it does have moving parts and won’t take being dropped very well, so the Nano is good for really active (or clumsy) people because it will take a beating.

The Shuffle is still good for kids under 10 or so because it’s a little tank. It is so light that a drop from just about any height won’t hurt it, and there is no screen to scratch up. Plus, it plugs directly into a computer, or wall charger (no cords to lose) so its ideal for kids. They may complain about having to skip over a bunch of songs to get to the one they want (since there’s no screen), but if our kids are anything to go by, they hit the back/repeat button more than anything )

If you do get a Nano – its very important to get some kind of screen cover/protector for it. The screens are pretty high resolution, and since they are small, any scratches can really mess up the visibility. I heard that they recalled the first batch and are shipping with more scratch resistant screens now, but a $10 – $20 cover is well worth it. Also, I’ve heard that scratches show up more on the black iPods than the white ones – and believe me; no matter which mp3 player you buy, it will collect its fair share of scratches.

I got one… now what?

All of the iPods connect to your computer with a USB cable. Older models used Firewire, but they are all USB 2.0 now. You can buy songs on the iTunes store for 99 cents each and most full albums are $10 bucks. The iTunes store will automatically download and load the songs for you into the iPod. You can “”authorize”" the songs to be played on up to five or so computers, and you can burn them to CD. You can also do pre-paid accounts – so, you could load $20 bucks into your kids account and s/he can buy/download until the money runs out. Like I said, you can download shows and music videos for the big iPod w/video at $2 bucks a pop.

You can also easily load your own CDs into any of the iPods, or any mp3s that have been *ahem* acquired from the Internet. iPods will NOT play files in Microsoft’s WMA format, so if you or your kids have any WMA songs, they’ll either have to be re-ripped from CDs or converted on the computer (neither the Apple or Microsoft programs will convert, you need to get a converter from the Internet).

I think that about covers it. If you have questions, you can always leave a comment below. I have very little experience with competing mp3 players, but I’ve got tons of audio experience in general, so I can probably answer any non-iPod questions as well.

Happy Holidays!
-Choochus

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