Understand the Different iPods and Choose the Right One - Choose the iPod That’s Best for You
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To accommodate your music library and such other files as you want to carry with you, you’ll probably want to buy the highest-capacity, latest-generation iPod you can afford. But if you don’t need the iPod Dock, and if it’s still the first half of 2004, and if you can pick up a second-generation 20GB iPod at a knockdown price, you might choose to do so. First-generation iPods are now too long in the tooth to be a sensible buy. (This is because rechargeable batteries gradually lose their capacity after they’re manufactured, even if they’re not being used.) By the second half of 2004, the same will apply to second-generation iPods as well.
If you decide to buy a second-generation iPod, you’ll need to choose between a Mac iPod and a Windows iPod. As mentioned earlier, you can convert an iPod between Mac and Windows, but it’s better to get the right format from the start. (See the section “Move Your iPod from Mac to Windows—and Back,” in Chapter 16, for details on how to convert an iPod from one format to another.)
If you want the smallest and cutest high-capacity player, or if you want your iPod in a color other than white, you’re looking at the iPod mini. The iPod mini is great for smaller music libraries, or for carrying only the newest or most exciting songs in your colossal library with you, but its lower capacity makes it poor value alongside the regular iPod.
Table 1-1 shows you how much music you can fit onto the iPod mini and the different models of regular iPod at widely used compression ratios for music. For spoken audio (such as audio books, plays, or talk radio), you can use lower compression ratios (such as 64 Kbps or even 32 Kbps) and still get acceptable sound with much smaller file sizes. The table assumes a “song” to be about four minutes long and rounds the figures to the nearest sensible point. The table doesn’t show less widely used compression ratios such as 224 Kbps or 256 Kbps. (For 256 Kbps, halve the 128 Kbps numbers.)
NOTE: The iPod refers to tracks as “songs,” so this book does the same. Even if the tracks you’re listening to aren’t music, the iPod considers them to be songs. Similarly, the iPod and this book refer to “artists” rather than “singers,” “bands,” or other terms.
To decide which model to buy, you’ll probably want to ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I want an iPod mini, or would a regular iPod be a better choice?
- How much music do I want to put on my iPod, and at what quality? (Usually the answer to the first part of the question is “as much music as possible,” and the answer to the second part is “high enough quality that it sounds great on my headphones and speakers.”)
iPod Nominal | iPod Real | 128 Kbps | 160 Kbps | 192 Kbps | 320 Kbps |
| | | |
Capacity | Capacity | Hours Songs | Hours Songs | Hours Songs | Hours Songs |
4GB | 3.7GB | 67 | 1000 | 54 | 800 | 44 | 667 | 27 | 400 |
5GB | 4.7GB | 83 | 1250 | 67 | 1000 | 55 | 835 | 33 | 500 |
10GB | 9.3GB | 166 | 2500 | 134 | 2000 | 110 | 1670 | 67 | 1000 |
15GB | 14GB | 250 | 3750 | 200 | 3000 | 165 | 2500 | 100 | 1500 |
20GB | 18.6GB | 332 | 5000 | 270 | 4000 | 220 | 3350 | 134 | 2000 |
30GB | 27.9GB | 500 | 7500 | 400 | 6000 | 330 | 5000 | 200 | 3000 |
40GB | 37.2GB | 664 | 10,000 | 540 | 8000 | 440 | 6700 | 268 | 4000 |
Table 1 iPod Capacities at Widely Used Compression Ratios
- What other items do I want to put on my iPod, and how much space will they need?
- Do I need a case, iPod Dock, and remote control for my iPod? (Apple tends to offer the least expensive regular iPod without these items. If you buy these items separately, you’ll end up spending more than if you’d bought the next model up, which not only includes the accessories but also has a higher capacity.)
- How much can I afford to spend?
If you’ve set your heart on an iPod mini, buy one. Otherwise, if money is no object, buy the highest-capacity iPod available: between your music and the other items you’ll probably want to use the iPod for, you’ll very likely take up most of its capacity soon enough. But if money is tight, you may need to sacrifice iPod capacity for solvency. Never mind—you may be richer next year, or at least iPod prices will probably have come down.
 This chapter is from How to Do Everything with your iPod and iPod Mini, by Guy Hart-Davis (McGraw-Hill/Osborne, 2004, ISBN: 0072254521). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today. Buy this book now. |
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