best place to buy an iPod Touch?

WeAreGhosts

I've looked on Amazon, but is there anywhere cheaper? I don't really want a second hand one from ebay because I bought a phone off there and had trouble with it, so it's made me a bit wary.

Also, is the 5th generation really any different from the 4th?

Im_just_careful

Tesco Direct look worth checking out for a 4th generation for £129.

If I were in the market for an iPod touch I think I would buy that rather than the 5th generation for £90 more.

It's a great device although consider the iPad Mini.

Lifeforms

go 5th gen, another few months and the next gen will be out. Actually I'd sit and wait till that happens, then take the 5th or the new one at that point. But be aware 5th gen onwards will have the new lightning connector on it, and 4th and under is the old one. If you are looking to buy dock, for speakers or otherwise generally cheap is still older connector, dearer is new connector. (as in quality vs price, not brand vs price)

That 4th now is only one generation out, in a few months it will be 2 gens out and apple don't cater for very old generations, although a 4th gen should still be supported till its battery needs replacing and at that point you wonder pay the £~70 for that, or buy a new one don't quote me! :P

Im_just_careful

Lifeforms, very valid points.

If I were prepared to spend £219 on the 5th generation then it is getting close to the cost of the iPad mini.

If starting in the Apple "ecosystem" then the new dock connector on the 5th generation is probably worth considering.

Having said that £129 for a 16GB iPod Touch and some Tesco points is very good.

My 8GB iPod touch (much used and still going) cost about £150 some years ago.

Lifeforms

I have/had an 3rd and 4th gen itouch, the batteries on both are defunct now, so not much use aside being left in a dock for me charging constantly. For the cost of a battery replacement I just bought a cheap android smartphone and rom'ed it myself which gives me basically the same, just not apple.

Frankly now I have the mini I just only want a music player that is separate, and I have just found my sansa clip that I lost months ago, under the bed attached to a nicely chewed pair of, junky thankfully, headphones in the base which is my cat's hidyhole. So he obviously "borrowed" it and decided he didn't like my music taste

The mini is far nicer if you're looking for a mid sized media unit but would also like to surf, and do email, and stuff like that. It's a bit annoying doing on my phone, so I prefer the size of the mini.

The mini is not as good spec wise as the latest full sized ipad, but for it's size it's perfect. Price is dearer, but apple is considered to be premium product. If you go down the tablet route there are comparable tablets but cheaper. Also you will be locked in with apple with any app store purchases, and frankly that can add up cost wise to start again in a year or so if you change to an android or windows based tablet. But hey if you go android, you are locked to them, and same with windows so it all works the same way before you get apple locked in syndrome

I'd say go to john lewis or an apple store and play and decide if you really do want an itouch or would prefer a mini.

Then look at apple refurb store for cheaper refurbs, which are basically as new, just saving a bit of cash)

Either buy and get nectar points, clubcard points, or cashback via quidco or similar to at least save a few quid.

Be aware that it's half way through July, usually around sept/oct the new line will be released, and that will be a new itouch, new mini most likely (as it's been out a year) and iphone, also a new big ipad, so whole range basically. It's dodgy buying now if you want up to date technology. Especially as the last generation will still be sold by apple at a reduced cost along side the new generation.

Oh and the other thing to consider is space. Space costs with apple. But you are stuck with whatever you buy forever for the life use of the product. Apps take more space, so do loads of books, and films, or tv programs, and music and you never get what is advertised either as the iOS takes a bit too. You either go extreme and do 64, or I would say always look at 32. I wouldn't consider anything less, otherwise you're forever transferring and deleting to keep space free if you use it for a proper media unit. I usually keep around 20 gigs of music, film/tv and loads of photos on mine which doesn't leave much left And then if i'm away that media side jumps up a heck of a lot.

WeAreGhosts

Thanks for the suggestions, really helpful. I hadn't considered a Mini, but will definitely have a play around with one in a store.

I did also have in mind that there might be a newie on the way and thus prices will drop for the 5th gen. I will probably end up waiting a while to see if this happens. My iPod touch is not defunct yet, but the battery life is terrible and I think it's a 2nd gen so I can't get new apps or update anything.

I usually use my Touch for apps like ebay and right move and news sites, checking emails and using safari. Plus listening to music, but my music collection is limited (I'm a bit fussy about music) so only about 300 tracks on it at the moment.
I usually use it when travelling so maybe the Mini wouldn't be good for that?

Lifeforms

If you're female and travelling the mini fits in a lot of handbags. And if it doesn't in an existing handbag, it's a fab excuse to buy a new one! (not mse, but hey )
If you are male and want a pocket item then itouch is the way to go

I've travelled with mine a lot, works on wifi (or can get a 3G model), can tether it, same as the itouch basically, so I think it does travel well, but then I carry in a handbag, and forget about it, but its great to pull out to read whilst somewhere, which i never enjoyed with the itouch. Same as films, just bigger.

But really depends if you travel with a bag or not. If you do either is fine, if you don't, then itouch will fit in a pocket, but a mini wont. As you've already got an itouch and have the battery issue then yes it's worth investing in a new one, but even with space, if you really do only have a teeny music collection a 16gb would be ok as apps and their data do take up a lot of space, along with a bigger OS on it.

Everything that you do on it can be done on a mini, but both the current mini and the itouch 5 will be cheaper in a couple of months compared to now. Not massively mind you, and both have the lightning (new adaptor) so if you have anything that you plug your current itouch into, ie a speaker or charging dock you might be able to get around using a lightning to old style adaptor, but it's messy. I do use mine with a camera adaptor I bought for my original ipad 2, and it does work, but does not work on the hdmi adaptor for on tv play. And it's yet another £25 thrown at it!

Play with them both, and see which you prefer, as I say the only difference is screen size (outside a better camera (iirc) on the itouch5, and does that have a retina screen? as the mini doesn't) Mini is more comparable to 4, than the 5th itouch.

WeAreGhosts

I'm female but tend to carry stuff in my jeans/jacket pockets. Maybe it's time to change my ways and not be such a studenty-type and invest in a nice bag ...

I plug my current iPod into a docking station that doubles up as my alarm clock so getting something incompatible would be a bit of a pain.

I will most probably hold off for a few months to see what happens to prices.

WeAreGhosts

Might've changed my mind actually, looking at the Samsung Galaxy Tab, it's on about £20 dearer than the iPod touch I was looking at.

I can't find much mention on the battery life though, just 'long life battery'. The iPad Mini says around 6 hours, which seems very short. Is the Galaxy Tab any better?

StuC75

Dont worry about the new connector making an old dock unusable.. for less than £10 I bought a Bluetooth connector that sits on the the old dock - allowing music to be streamed direct from the ipad - also works great with the macbook and galaxy tabs too.. works within 10 metres but I find it ok anywhere in the house..

WeAreGhosts wrote: »

I'm female but tend to carry stuff in my jeans/jacket pockets. Maybe it's time to change my ways and not be such a studenty-type and invest in a nice bag ...

I plug my current iPod into a docking station that doubles up as my alarm clock so getting something incompatible would be a bit of a pain.

I will most probably hold off for a few months to see what happens to prices.