what generation of iPod is the best one to buy? and why?

Question

And please also put all the generations in your answer cause i don’t know what those are. Thanks!

Answer 1

There are four basic models, and they are (in order of release) the iPod, the Mini, the Shuffle, and the Nano.

-The iPod has been through five and a half generations now. The first generation had a physical scroll wheel (the surface actually turned) and the four click-wheel buttons were located in a ring around it. It came in 5GB and 10GB capacities, synced by Firewire, and only worked with the Mac platform. The second generation introduced the touch-sensitive scroll-wheel and PC compatibility, and came in 10GB and 20GB capacities. The third generation moved the circle of buttons to a single row right below the screen, introduced the dock connector and PC support for the iTunes program, could sync by USB (but not charge), and came in 10/15/20/30/40GB capacities. The fourth generation borrowed the new click-wheel (which is the standard interface now) from the Mini, switched to allow full USB or Firewire charge/sync support, included a full color screen and the ability to display photos (probably including album artwork, but I don't know for sure), and came in 20/30/40/60GB models. The 5th generation included Video support, switched to a metal-backed case with a clear acrylic face that had a colored layer underneath (for the first time offering the option of either black or white instead of just white in the full-sized models), eliminated Firewire sync capabilities (just usable for charging now), and came in 30GB and 60GB capacities. A revised version (known as 5.5 generation) increased the screen brightness and battery life, included a new Search function, and upgraded the 60GB model to 80GB capacity while retaining the same physical cases used by the original 5G Video models.

-The Mini had two generations, both encased in an anodized aluminum shell instead of white plastic, and the first one introduced the current click-wheel, came in silver/gold/blue/green/pink, included the dock connector and full USB/Firewire support, and came in just a 4GB capacity. The second generation came in silver/blue/green/pink (with brighter shades than the previous generation), and came in 4GB and 6GB capacities. The Mini was abruptly discontinued the day the Nano was first announced.

-The Shuffle came in two generations, which are the only models that do not include any form of display screen. The first generation was a long white stick with a USB jack (thus no Firewire support at all) that mixed the look of the early iPods with the shape of a USB flash drive, was the first iPod that didn't include any form of scroll-wheel or click-wheel interface (just the five basic buttons and the Hold/Play/Shuffle slider), was the first to use flash memory instead of a physical hard-drive, and came in just 512MB and 1GB capacities. The 2nd generation reduced the size to an incredibly tiny clip-on tab in a silver aluminum shell (drawing back to the look of the Mini), the headphone jack has been heavily modified to serve as the charge/sync connection as well (this is also the first iPod since the release of the 5G Video to ship with its own dock, since it's pretty much incompatible with the so-called Universal Dock), and it only comes in a 1GB capacity.

UPDATE- It appears that, with little fanfare, the 2G Shuffle is now available in five different anodized aluminum colors, including the original silver, pink, green, blue, and gold (just like the 1G Mini).

-The Nano has seen two generations and effectively killed the Mini off, but continues to coexist with the Shuffle. Both generations have a full-color screen, but do not include video support (though the hardware reportedly is capable of it, provided you're willing to load it with homebrew firmware). The 1st generation was modeled after the 5G video, with a stainless steel back and a clear acrylic face over a black or white color layer, has the dock connector and headphone jack side-by-side on the bottom (this can be an issue depending on the bulkiness of any dock-connecting power source and/or headphone jack that you might be planning to use), and came in 1/2/4GB capacities. The 2nd generation really draws from the look of the Mini with an anodized aluminum case, but is the first iPod where the capacity determines the color selection (2GB silver, 4GB pink/green/blue/Product Red, 8GB black/Product Red).

As for which model is best, that's really dependant upon what you want to do. I'd say it's better to stick to the most recent generation of any particular line, as they will have the most capacity and features (though the Video does apparently have a considerably smaller battery than what you can get in a 4G Photo) and benefit from any lessons learned on the previous generation (like how the 1G Nano screens were so easily scratched that they switched over to the new anodized aluminum shells instead). Then it's a matter of figuring out which model is best for you. The Shuffle and Nano are both lightweight and flash-based, so they're great for activities that are likely to produce a lot of jarring motion, like jogging. The Video plays videos and has much more storage capacity, but the hard-drive will drain the battery faster than flash memory.

Answer 2

Personally I think generation 2 is the best. I own a generation 2. Now among the generation 2 you need to decide between a video or a nano. If you want video the 30gb should be plenty of space with room left over. But if you only want straight up music your best option is the 2gb nano. It's very slim and portable and mine holds about 400 songs which is plenty for me.

Answer 3

i personally would say no, but unless you aren't very serious about your music. I would rather get an iPod nano over the shuffle any day.

Answer 4

I think you should do some research on the net before you ask this question.Maybe you won't be so confused.Apple.com is a good place too start.