iPod Nostalgia (2003 - 2007) - Or, feeling growing pains at 26.

The 3rd gen iPod nano, is the best iPod ever made. Hands down. Between its size and sound, there is not much that will touch the little beast.

 

I only ever owned the original Shuffle and I didn't really like it at all. I bought a Sansa Clip+ w/ rockbox or so years ago and it's great. They have since discontinued it and replaced it with a worse version so it was incredible value for money at £30 when I purchased it. I hated being forced to use iTunes with the shuffle.

 

I was so in love with my Zune as a device. The OS was so fluid, so snappy, had gorgeous design language, and it was so much more customizable than the iPod. The only thing holding it back was the software-- the fact that they didn't have Mac-compatible software or a USC mode was the kiss of death, but at the same time, its proprietary connections made it possible for the Zune subscription pass to even be a thing. And that's something Apple is just getting into now seven years after.

It also didn't help that Microsoft didn't promote or market the thing properly. You don't make a brown device and call it the Zune. You just don't. And you don't make it a Windows-only mess. Especially when the Sandisk players are wiping the floor with the budget-conscious market and the only brand to ever give Apple a run for its money. It was a missed opportunity given how strong the device itself was. I had the 8GB Zune 3, the 30GB Zune, and the Zune 120, and my mother still owns a Zune HD. Such lovely devices crippled by poor management and poor software. Zune was so strong that the design is still echoed in Windows Phone to this day. So it wasn't a total loss.

Sidenote, I just ordered a replacement iPod Mini after busting up my last one. I'm so excited, because having to use my smartphone as a music device has been one of the most soul-crushing experiences of my life.

 

Interesting post. It's particularly intriguing to me because I consider my generation to be the last that remembers a world without the internet. Now, technically we're the same generation as I'm 34 (it's debatable 1981 may be a Generation X year) but that means I got through high school without any peers having a cellphone, and the Internet wasn't yet a serious tool (at least not to the average high school student). The age group right behind me, so that would be you, essentially grew up with cellphones and though you remember a world where the Internet wasn't so dominant, you still spent your pivotal years exposed to it.

So I suppose we all have our own timeline of perceived and real change in our culture. In this case I'd say that I firmly associate myself with Generation Xers, while you, although you may not want to, you're definitely stuck with the millennials.

 

I have three:
60 GB iPod Photo
160 GB iPod Classic (white)
160 GB iPod Classic (black, new in box)

The 60 is for home use, the white is for car/work, and the black is ready to be filled.

 

Please ship to my address.

Which generations are the Classics? I remember really wanting the iPod Photo. I got the 20GB 4th gen, and then my friend-- who had maybe 30 CDs total at the time, got the 60GB iPod Photo, and I remember being so pissed at him.

 

When Apple announced that the Classic was being discontinued, I stopped at a local Walmart on my way home from work. They had 3 Classic units in stock. I should have bought all 3 of them. $228 each

 

I have recently started hooking my Fiio X5 up to my speakers when my turntable isn't in use. Sounds good to me

 

Man, that's a charmed life you lead.

 

For years the Zune Marketplace was where I lived. The fact that you could keep 10 downloads/month meant the service practically paid for itself. The Marketplace UI was so easy to use, unfortunately it was very resource intensive and not terribly responsive, but I used the hell out of it.

 

It's called hyperbole.

 

Has anyone tried getting their ipod fixed through the NYCipod doctor? I've read about people getting their ipods stolen from this guy.

 

lalalalalalaicanthereyoouuulalalalala

Naw, I agree with this to an extent. I do affirm my generation benefited from the time we were raised in. Because we were being raised just as the internet was becoming a household appliance like a blender, it meant that we got the best of both worlds. Technology does not feel foreign to us, but neither do manual things. At least, I hope. And I think for those of us who grew up in working class or lower-income families, technology was slow to progress for us. So even if the internet was swinging by 1997, many of us were still on typewrites. I think it's what defines us, in a way.

 

That would be enough for me to avoid. Sounds like a pawn scheme.

 

I had gen 1 touch, I purchased it with the intention of using it for web browsing, and some music. Wow was it slow on the Internet. So last year I purchased a used Classic 160gb, loaded it up with a ton of lossless files and I love it. Clunky interface, limited file formats etc. If I replace it most likely it will be with a Xduoo X3, which can play about anything, 2 micro sd slots, over 250gb possible, 365 with newer 200gb sandisk cards. I gave the touch to my step daughter, I use the classic all the time, right now as I type

 

I've been tempting by these new post-iPod HD devices, but none of them can scrobble to Last.FM yet. FiiO almost got my money.

 

It's called sarcasm

 

Trying to transfer and sync music from a Mac to a Windows Phone should be a prison punishment.

 

I've got a 5.5 80GB and a 160GB Classic. These models are considered the best sounding iPods. I use them all the time. With my phones and buds I use them with a Fiio E12. In my bedroom I can hook them up directly to the system or I have this charger/transmitter that's very convenient. Finally, I listen to them through the big rig by using an iDock+MSB DAC and they really sound great. If and when they break down, I'll immediately go to Ebay to get a replacement.

 

I have a classic 160gb with a dead screen, I play it only on shuffle since that's the only way I can trick it into playing.

 

It died while I was trying to fix another issue, and the whole thing just started unraveling from there. The replacement is on its way!

 

There was something cool about these little boxes full of songs when they first came around which is lost with all the other stuff on them now.

 

Why isn't there a place to fix ipods in the way iphone and ipads can be fixed?

 

A bit off-topic, apologies ...

Does anyone make a new iPod-like device that will work with my 2002-ish iBooks G4 running that old version of iTunes (which is no longer updateable, and isn't hooked up to the World Wide Web anyway - I can't afford Internet.)?

Ta.

 

I'll be feeling nostalgic for the iPod when Apple stops making it . I feel that the 6th gen. IPod is the best ipod , there's just so much more you can do with it than the classic iPods .