Christmas 2010 Buying Guide - iPods

I started this post as a discussion of all Apple products.  After covering just the iPods though, I had a rather lengthy post and decided to cut it off there.  I'll continue with the other Apple products at a later date.

There are currently four different base model iPods and each base model has various colors and/or capacities.  I'll describe each model and then make a more general recommendation at the end.

iPod Shuffle: (silver, blue, pink, green, orange)
The iPod Shuffle is the smallest cheapest and most basic iPod available.  It comes in only one size: 2GB and is available in about five different colors.  There's a clip on the back to clip it to your clothes with and the front has the basic controls.  There's no screen.  Cost? $49 from Apple but Amazon has the price listed at $47.54 currently.

These are probably the best option for younger children.  They don't have a screen that can be broken, they're easy to operate and they're dirt cheap as far as iPods go.  The biggest downside is that they're extremely tiny and therefore fairly easy for a child to loose.

iPod Nano:
(8GB: Graphite, Silver, Blue, Green, Pink, Orange)
(16GB: Graphite, Silver, Blue, Green, Pink, Orange)
The iPod Nano received the most dramatic makeover this year, going from a widescreen, pack of gum look to something that looks like a larger version of the iPod Shuffle with a screen.  The Nano is now a touch screen iPod, has a clip like the Shuffle and probably most importantly, no longer plays video.  It comes in 2 capacities: 8GB ($149) and 16GB ($179) and each size comes in six different colors.

The Nano would probably be good for "tweeners", a child that's a little more mature and can handle a little responsibility but maybe isn't someone you want to spend more than $200 for a device on.  They're neat in that they're kind of like a tiny iPod Touch and at 8 and 16 GBs, they can hold a pile of music.  They're middle of the road price-wise with Amazon selling them for around $143 for the 8GB and $172 for the 16GB.

iPod Touch: (8GB, 32GB, 64GB)
The iPod Touch is probably the Cadillac of the iPod lineup.  It's definitely the product that Apple is pushing people towards.  This is basically an iPhone without the phone part.  It has access to all the apps in the Apple app store, it can access the iTunes store, the internet, mail, games, etc...  The newest model even has front and rear cameras allowing for Facetime video calling and 720p HD video recording.  It doesn't have a cell antenna, so communication is achieved via built-in wifi. The prices run $229/$299/$399 for the respective capacities.  Amazon has them for $223/$288/$382.

This is the model for anyone and everyone.  If you have a teenager, they've probably already asked for one and if they haven't, they probably will.  Great for wives, husbands, young and old, this is the iPod that can do pretty much anything that anyone without an iPhone can want to do.  The higher capacities are more expensive, but the cost versus the feature set is a pretty good value proposition I feel.

iPod Classic: (Silver, Black)
This is the latest version of the granddaddy of iPods.  It comes in two flavors, Silver and Black and both clock in at 160GB of capacity.  Retail is $249 but Amazon has them for $228.99 and $232.95.  They do play video as well as music.

If you know someone with a massive amount of music and they want to be able to take all of it everywhere with them, this is the iPod for them.  It's easy to use, now familiar interface has been around since nearly the first iPod released.  It's going to be a little heavier and larger than the other models and you don't want to drop these since they use an actual hard drive instead of flash memory, but for the user that has a vast amount of media, this it their iPod.

iPod Recommendations
As I stated in the descriptions for each model, there are pros and cons for each based on who you're buying for.  That said, I have a hard time recommending either the 16GB version of the iPod Nano or the 8GB version of the iPod Touch.  For the nano, I think 16GB is unnecessary since you can't do video.  8GB is plenty of music and at the lower price point, to me, is a better value.  Similarly, I think 8GB is far too small a capacity for the Touch.  This is especially true when you consider that you can and probably will be recording HD video with it.  Finally, I wouldn't recommend the Classic for anyone who hasn't specifically asked for that model.  The audience for the Classic is just too specific and narrow and the Touch is just far better for the general user.

So that leaves us with the following:
1) The Shuffle is generally great for the younger set since it's cheap.  Only one size so pick a color and you're set.
2) If you're looking at the Nano, don't worry about the 16GB version.  Go 8GB, pick a color and you're good to go.
3) The Touch is the hippest and coolest option. Skip the 8GB and look to the 32GB version as the sweet spot of the price vs capacity scale.
4) The Classic is for true music lovers with a huge library.  If you have vast amounts of mp3's ripped from your stash of LPs, this is the iPod for you.  The choice is Black and White.

And that about covers the iPod lineup.  I think that in order to keep up with the personal posts, I'm going to have to start doing the Christmas posts at night or something.  Maybe on Saturday/Sunday morning, something like that.  Anyway, have a good weekend.

--Paul