160 GB iPod Classic

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » August 1, 2008, 9:09 am

The plan is to buy one of these today. I got on Circuit City's site and I'm ready to buy it, but I read a few reviews, and out of about 50 reviews, probably a third of them say that it broke shortly after getting it.

I'm really mad because I've been super excited about this and really want to pick it up after work, but I'm slightly hesitant after reading that. Has anyone here bought one of these that could comment on it??

Waikiki · Post by **Waikiki** » August 1, 2008, 9:42 am

I don't think you have anything to worry about. In general people are much more likely to post a negative review of an item because it breaks then to post a positive review about an item that is working as expected.

In other words, I don't think you need to worry that 33% of all 160GB iPods are defective.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » August 1, 2008, 9:43 am

Waikiki wrote:I don't think you have anything to worry about. In general people are much more likely to post a negative review of an item because it breaks then to post a positive review about an item that is working as expected.

In other words, I don't think you need to worry that 33% of all 160GB iPods are defective.

I figured as much, I just needed to ask after reading some of those reviews

Thanks.

miir · Post by **miir** » August 1, 2008, 10:17 am

Personally, I would not buy an ipod with a hard drive.

Midnyte_Ragebringer · Post by **Midnyte_Ragebringer** » August 1, 2008, 10:51 am

miir wrote:Personally, I would not buy an ipod with a hard drive.

What if it was black?

Chidoro · Post by **Chidoro** » August 1, 2008, 10:57 am

I'm in the same court as Miir on this one, the hard drives have been problematic for me and my older 15 gig 3rd gen since about 3 months after I purchased it.

Doesn't apple usually release their new generation of products right around September? I thought they have been doing this in recent years. So if that holds, I'd wait another month to see what they have up their sleeves.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » August 1, 2008, 11:11 am

Chidoro wrote:I'm in the same court as Miir on this one, the hard drives have been problematic for me and my older 15 gig 3rd gen since about 3 months after I purchased it.

Doesn't apple usually release their new generation of products right around September? I thought they have been doing this in recent years. So if that holds, I'd wait another month to see what they have up their sleeves.

Damnit! That hadn't even occurred to me, probably because this would be the first time I've owned an iPod, so I've never really followed them.

That's a good point.. I'm really antsy to get one and don't really want to wait, but I'd be so frustrated if I bought one and a month later a 300GB one came out or something.. Then again, the bigger the drive gets the more room for problems, so maybe it's not such a big deal.

I don't know..

Post by **Sylvus** » August 1, 2008, 11:51 am

I've had a 160gb iPod classic since like February, and have had no problems with it. I listen to it much of the time at work and always when I'm in my car, so it gets a good amount of use. I'd recommend going for it, unless you want something to use while you're running/biking/at the gym. For those activities, buy a nano or something without a hard drive. If it's mostly going to be sitting somewhere stationary, there's nothing wrong with the hard drive models, and I can't see an iPod with a solid state drive coming out with that kind of capacity anytime soon. The highest they've got right now is, what, 32gb? I don't think they're going to make the leap to anything other than 64, if history is any indicator.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » August 1, 2008, 11:54 am

Sylvus wrote:I'd recommend going for it, unless you want something to use while you're running/biking/at the gym. For those activities, buy a nano or something without a hard drive.

What is the difference? I haven't used one with a hard drive. Does the sound get distorted when it is moving around?

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » August 1, 2008, 11:56 am

Sylvus wrote:I've had a 160gb iPod classic since like February, and have had no problems with it. I listen to it much of the time at work and always when I'm in my car, so it gets a good amount of use. I'd recommend going for it, unless you want something to use while you're running/biking/at the gym. For those activities, buy a nano or something without a hard drive. If it's mostly going to be sitting somewhere stationary, there's nothing wrong with the hard drive models, and I can't see an iPod with a solid state drive coming out with that kind of capacity anytime soon. The highest they've got right now is, what, 32gb? I don't think they're going to make the leap to anything other than 64, if history is any indicator.

Yeah, I think I'm with you, and I'm gonna get it after work.

Now the last decision is where to buy it. I have a 8% discount from AAA at circuit city, but their extended warranties have gone way up in price (109.99 for two years, including accidental coverage), while Best Buy's is 3 years for 69.99, I just need to find out if they cover accidental damage for that warranty, and if so - Best Buy it is!

I'm so excited to not have to carry cd's around anymore, and to have all my music at my fingertips!

Post by **Sylvus** » August 1, 2008, 12:00 pm

Because of the hard drive with moving parts, moving a hard-drive based iPod around a lot can jostle it and cause it to skip. It also increases the chances of breaking it.

I was looking into the Nike+ system, that tracks workouts and such, and it's not supported by any of the hard drive models for specifically that reason.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » August 1, 2008, 12:13 pm

So what do you guys think?

Best Buy:
3 Years
No accidental Coverage
59.99

Circuit City:
2 Years
Accidental Coverage
109.99

I don't know how important accidental coverage is, but I guess I'd be pretty pissed if I dropped the thing and I was just fucked..

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » August 1, 2008, 12:19 pm

If you're only worried about the coverage for accidents, go with Circuit City's plan. I have dropped my iPod (Touch and previous Nano) one time total, and it was onto carpet.

miir · Post by **miir** » August 1, 2008, 12:22 pm

I've dropped my (current generation) Nano several times from waist/torso height and it still works fine.
It's so light and I have a leather case for it... I would probably have to throw it veru hard at a wall or something to cause any damage.

miir · Post by **miir** » August 1, 2008, 12:24 pm

Sylvus wrote:Because of the hard drive with moving parts, moving a hard-drive based iPod around a lot can jostle it and cause it to skip. It also increases the chances of breaking it.

I was looking into the Nike+ system, that tracks workouts and such, and it's not supported by any of the hard drive models for specifically that reason.

That Nike system thing looks pretty cool.
I'm gonna check it out.

Post by **Sylvus** » August 1, 2008, 12:27 pm

miir wrote:
Sylvus wrote:Because of the hard drive with moving parts, moving a hard-drive based iPod around a lot can jostle it and cause it to skip. It also increases the chances of breaking it.

I was looking into the Nike+ system, that tracks workouts and such, and it's not supported by any of the hard drive models for specifically that reason.
That Nike system thing looks pretty cool.
I'm gonna check it out.

Look for Nike shoes that have the Nike+ logo (if you like). They have a special compartment built in under the insole that fits the sensor perfectly. Otherwise, i think you can hook them onto other shoes, but Nike has a whole bunch of running shoes built specifically for it.

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » August 1, 2008, 1:11 pm

Apple has a one-year limited warranty, but I'm not sure what it applies to. It would cover defective iPods, I'd assume. Check out the terms of the agreement carefully before you buy one. Find out what happens if the company goes under... that would be my biggest concern about buying a $110 agreement from Circuit City.

Soreali · Post by **Soreali** » August 1, 2008, 1:24 pm

Funkmasterr wrote:So what do you guys think?

Best Buy:
3 Years
No accidental Coverage
59.99

Circuit City:
2 Years
Accidental Coverage
109.99

I don't know how important accidental coverage is, but I guess I'd be pretty pissed if I dropped the thing and I was just fucked..

Go with CC.. guarantee you if you buy the one from best buy, 90% chance you wont use it. Used to work for Bestbuy and Staples and had to sucker people like you into buying those things (Most of the time when it didnt really need it).. Bestbuy sucks with warranty returns. Circuit City doesn't give you grief..

Actually just had a co-worker get his Ipod replaced without issues from CC because he bought the coverage.

Go with accidental..95% of the time the reason they break is because you dropped it, sat on it, dropped it in water etc. Bestbuy will just laugh at you and tell you you're SoL.. Circuit City will replace it.

Hope that helps.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » August 1, 2008, 3:24 pm

Soreali wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:So what do you guys think?

Best Buy:
3 Years
No accidental Coverage
59.99

Circuit City:
2 Years
Accidental Coverage
109.99

I don't know how important accidental coverage is, but I guess I'd be pretty pissed if I dropped the thing and I was just fucked..

Go with CC.. guarantee you if you buy the one from best buy, 90% chance you wont use it. Used to work for Bestbuy and Staples and had to sucker people like you into buying those things (Most of the time when it didnt really need it).. Bestbuy sucks with warranty returns. Circuit City doesn't give you grief..

Actually just had a co-worker get his Ipod replaced without issues from CC because he bought the coverage.

Go with accidental..95% of the time the reason they break is because you dropped it, sat on it, dropped it in water etc. Bestbuy will just laugh at you and tell you you're SoL.. Circuit City will replace it.

Hope that helps.

Yeah, I worked at Circuit City and I know that they are great about warranties, so I lean that way by default anyhow. I actually was comfortable pushing people to get the warranty there, because really on a lot of electronics, it's stupid not to get it.

I have a sub/amp that I could keep for the rest of my life.. Even if the stuff doesn't break, if your warranty is almost up, break it, and get a new warranty - and a lot of times you even get a upgrade for no extra charge because of your model being obsolete.

Thanks though, I think you're right. I should go with the accidental coverage. It's one of those things that you'll likely never use, but if you didn't get it, you would need it.

noel · Post by **noel** » August 1, 2008, 3:49 pm

BTW, there is a lot of rumor that Apple is about to do a refresh on all their notebooks and iPods (including the Touch) in the September timeframe.

Not sure if that will affect your buying decision, but figured I'd confirm Chid's post.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » August 1, 2008, 3:56 pm

Funkmasterr wrote:Even if the stuff doesn't break, if your warranty is almost up, break it, and get a new warranty - and a lot of times you even get a upgrade for no extra charge because of your model being obsolete.

Yeah. Fraud. That's great! Seriously anyone who breaks shit just to get a new one is an asshole. I hope someone shoots you coming out of CC with your looted goods. Castle doctrine will apply!

Soreali · Post by **Soreali** » August 1, 2008, 4:59 pm

Aslanna wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:Even if the stuff doesn't break, if your warranty is almost up, break it, and get a new warranty - and a lot of times you even get a upgrade for no extra charge because of your model being obsolete.
Yeah. Fraud. That's great! Seriously anyone who breaks shit just to get a new one is an asshole. I hope someone shoots you coming out of CC with your looted goods. Castle doctrine will apply!

So you're willing to say whole heartedly that if ever given the opportunity to say, get a brand spanking new TV for the cost of an extended warranty that was about to expire, that the retail company makes a 65% margin on easily anyway, and your TV was older and had less features than the new one, you wouldn't?

Dont get me wrong, I'm not for fraud, but if you shelled out 100-200 bucks for some extended warranty that was about to expire (aka just flushed 200 bucks down the drain) I would get my money's worth for it.

miir · Post by **miir** » August 1, 2008, 5:20 pm

Soreali wrote:Dont get me wrong, I'm not for fraud, but if you shelled out 100-200 bucks for some extended warranty that was about to expire (aka just flushed 200 bucks down the drain) I would get my money's worth for it.

I guess the difference between fraud and getting your money's worth all depends on your vantage point.

Midnyte_Ragebringer · Post by **Midnyte_Ragebringer** » August 1, 2008, 5:39 pm

For 5 years at CC, I made a fortune off of the dummies who took the extended service plans.

miir · Post by **miir** » August 1, 2008, 5:42 pm

I always get the warranty when I buy my headphones there.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » August 2, 2008, 1:24 pm

Soreali wrote:
Aslanna wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:Even if the stuff doesn't break, if your warranty is almost up, break it, and get a new warranty - and a lot of times you even get a upgrade for no extra charge because of your model being obsolete.
Yeah. Fraud. That's great! Seriously anyone who breaks shit just to get a new one is an asshole. I hope someone shoots you coming out of CC with your looted goods. Castle doctrine will apply!

So you're willing to say whole heartedly that if ever given the opportunity to say, get a brand spanking new TV for the cost of an extended warranty that was about to expire, that the retail company makes a 65% margin on easily anyway, and your TV was older and had less features than the new one, you wouldn't?

Dont get me wrong, I'm not for fraud, but if you shelled out 100-200 bucks for some extended warranty that was about to expire (aka just flushed 200 bucks down the drain) I would get my money's worth for it.

Precisely. SO many people do it I think some would be surprised. And if you buy a nice LCD/Plasma TV you are probably looking at more like 400-600 dollars for the warranty. So, CC makes, like you said, about 60-70% profit margin off the TV, then 100% profit margin off the warranty? Fuck that, I'm gonna profit too

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » August 2, 2008, 1:30 pm

noel wrote:BTW, there is a lot of rumor that Apple is about to do a refresh on all their notebooks and iPods (including the Touch) in the September timeframe.

Not sure if that will affect your buying decision, but figured I'd confirm Chid's post.

Well, I ended up buying it, and I'm pretty geeked about it tbh. I didn't know of a lot of the stuff you can do on/with an iPod, so I'm finding all sorts of cool little things

I will be pretty upset if they make some big revolution in the iPod a month after I got mine, but I tried to tell myself to wait until September and I couldn't, I've wanted a iPod forever

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » August 2, 2008, 2:38 pm

Funkmasterr wrote:
Soreali wrote:Dont get me wrong, I'm not for fraud, but if you shelled out 100-200 bucks for some extended warranty that was about to expire (aka just flushed 200 bucks down the drain) I would get my money's worth for it.
Precisely. SO many people do it I think some would be surprised. And if you buy a nice LCD/Plasma TV you are probably looking at more like 400-600 dollars for the warranty. So, CC makes, like you said, about 60-70% profit margin off the TV, then 100% profit margin off the warranty? Fuck that, I'm gonna profit too

Wow so many people do it it must be a legitimate tactic!

Call it what you like it's still fraud. I guess I was just brought up better. It's no surprise to me that you weren't.

noel · Post by **noel** » August 2, 2008, 2:54 pm

WIthout getting into the namecalling and disparaging remarks, I'm going to agree with Aslanna.

If you have integrity, you're not acting in this manner. Capitalism works because people pay for services or goods that they make use of. If you're taking advantage of things like warranty coverage, you're hurting America.

Post by **Sylvus** » August 4, 2008, 5:00 pm

Funkmasterr wrote:Well, I ended up buying it, and I'm pretty geeked about it tbh. I didn't know of a lot of the stuff you can do on/with an iPod, so I'm finding all sorts of cool little things

Extras -> Games -> Vortex

When I need to kill 15-30 minutes at work, I just head into the bathroom, sit down on a stall, and try to make it past level 28, which I have yet to do.

And just because I'm in this thread already, no one makes 60% margins on a TV. Particularly not big box stores.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » August 4, 2008, 5:54 pm

Sylvus wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:Well, I ended up buying it, and I'm pretty geeked about it tbh. I didn't know of a lot of the stuff you can do on/with an iPod, so I'm finding all sorts of cool little things
Extras -> Games -> Vortex

When I need to kill 15-30 minutes at work, I just head into the bathroom, sit down on a stall, and try to make it past level 28, which I have yet to do.

And just because I'm in this thread already, no one makes 60% margins on a TV. Particularly not big box stores.

I beg to differ. My employee discount when I worked at Circuit City was cost (they get shafted now) and it was not uncommon to get 40-50 % off of a TV (maybe not 60%). There is a bigger markup on them than anything else in the store!

I have played vortex a bit, but haven't gotten that far into it, I'll have to try to beat that level now! I also downloaded Song Summoner which is a neat little game that's like FF Tactics (made by Square/Enix), Phase (Guitar Hero type game), and Brain Challenge. All the games are pretty cool actually.

The only thing I'm upset about it the FM transmitter I bought doesn't work too great. Actually the biggest part of it is my damned cell phone (T Mobile Dash).. It interferes w/ it. If I power the phone down and take the battery out, the reception gets better, but it's still not great. I'll just have to replace my deck so I can use stero in.

I found a bunch of the shit for the iPod's (games, apps, etc.) on demonoid but it requires you to do a firmware hack. Has anyone done this that could tell me the pros/cons to hacking the iPod (legality of it not being a factor I care about, mind you)? I am leaning towards not doing it cause none of that shit is very expensive, but I figured someone here has to have done it (winnow) and have some insight.

Fash · Post by **Fash** » August 4, 2008, 6:14 pm

Funkmasterr wrote:I found a bunch of the shit for the iPod's (games, apps, etc.) on demonoid but it requires you to do a firmware hack. Has anyone done this that could tell me the pros/cons to hacking the iPod (legality of it not being a factor I care about, mind you)? I am leaning towards not doing it cause none of that shit is very expensive, but I figured someone here has to have done it (winnow) and have some insight.

Totally not worth it, imo. iPod Touch, yes, but a standard iPod? No way I would hack that.

Truant · Post by **Truant** » August 4, 2008, 6:25 pm

the radio frequency adaptors are pretty horrid. The same is true of that technology when people used portable cd players in their cars. Sound quality generally blows ass, and volume/interference issues are common.

You can get a new head for your car with an Aux in for not that much, and it's worth it imo.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » August 4, 2008, 6:59 pm

I bought the FM emitter for my Zune. Didn't feel like buying a new head for my 97 Jetta. I've been happy with it personally.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » August 4, 2008, 7:46 pm

Yeah, I'm not sure that it will be easy for me to replace my deck, that's part of the problem. Someone told me that everything around my cd player was all one piece, I haven't found out if there is any truth to that yet, but if so aftermarket stereo won't be an option.

Even if it is, I really just don't want to deal with the hassle of buying a kit to make my dash look semi normal again, and buying a kit to make my steering wheel controls again, etc. I am going to try and find out if maybe there is a stereo in port on the back of my deck, maybe I'll luck out.

Chidoro · Post by **Chidoro** » September 9, 2008, 4:26 pm

New iPods out there between now and the end of the week. The thicker 160 is no more and the thinner one is 120 gigs. The fatty must not have went over as well as expected as there is a new nano that looks razor thin but giving it the accelerometer to still keep the screen viewable in 8 and 16 gig models. The touch is really becoming affordable finally and it's thinner as well.
Not a fan of the "Genius" application as I already know what I like to listen to, but I'm an old fogie for this stuff and the music industry is probably very happy about it's potential.

Reasonably good stuff though. 8 gig nano for $149 is pretty enticing as is the 16 gig touch for $299.

http://store.apple.com/us?cid=OAS-US-KW ... andName-US

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » September 9, 2008, 4:41 pm

the new iTouch has a built in speaker which is nice. That's one thing I wish my current iTouch had.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » September 9, 2008, 5:22 pm

I'm glad I got my iPod when I did, the downgrade to 120GB would have upset me, 160 is already proving to be a bit too low for my tastes as it is.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » September 9, 2008, 11:37 pm

There was a really meh-worthy day in the iPod lineup imo.

My choice was between the 120GB Zune at 249$ and the 16GB iPod Touch for 299$.

The most important thing for me is a big screen as I plan on watching video on the thing(which explains the 2 choices up there). The Zune syncing my media center content natively is a huge plus. Audible support is good since I was planning on using the free trials that they advertize on This Week in Tech (twit.tv).

The App store, while interesting doesn't hold any real interest for me.

Syncing my podcasts over any wi-fi connection without going back home is what is selling me to the Zune however. I'm always looking for more content and it pisses me off when I finish the podcasts at the office and I have nothing to listen to on the way back home.

Syenye · Post by **Syenye** » September 10, 2008, 1:32 pm

Winnow wrote:the new iTouch has a built in speaker which is nice.

That sounds awful. Most people suck too much to only use that feature when they're alone.

Truant · Post by **Truant** » September 10, 2008, 1:59 pm

Syenye wrote:
Winnow wrote:the new iTouch has a built in speaker which is nice.
That sounds awful. Most people suck too much to only use that feature when they're alone.

Yeah, I hear enough of guys trying to show off by listening to some song playing on their cell phone (which sounds like shit).
Not really looking forward to this addition to the penis compensation crowd's public displays. (does it have a useful application outside of that? sure, I guess so...but I don't really know what, or care)

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » September 10, 2008, 4:18 pm

iPhones have had speakers since the beginning and there's a lot more of those around than iTouch.

There are plenty of times when I wish I had a speaker. I hate headphones in general. I don't listen to my iTouch or iPod with people around anyway. Although I have a wireless bluetooth headset, it still takes time to sync it up, and also I don't want to carry around a pair of headphones everywhere. Wired headsets suck. Can't stand the cords and also don't like "bud" headphones that you can carry in your pocket.

It would be great for podcasts or a Youtube video referenced in a forum or something. Don't know anyone that would want to listen to music on a crappy little speaker.

Aardor · Post by **Aardor** » September 10, 2008, 4:27 pm

Winnow, does the iTouch have bluetooth that just needs to be enabled somehow, or did you mean to use with other things?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » September 10, 2008, 4:33 pm

Aardor wrote:Winnow, does the iTouch have bluetooth that just needs to be enabled somehow, or did you mean to use with other things?

It has wireless. There's a wireless network where I work and at home. (if you're referring to YouTube watching)

If you meant the headphones, there's a little receiver part that attaches to the headphone jack which allows you to use the Bluetooth headset (comes with the headphones) Ill link the ones I have in a sec. I posted about them previously and everyone flipped out over me driving while wearing them. It was great.

Motorola makes a nice stereo bluetooth headset for phones.

Aardor · Post by **Aardor** » September 10, 2008, 4:42 pm

Ah, yeah, I meant only bluetooth, not wireless. I didn't realize your headphones came with a little device to plug into the audio output jack on the iTouch, I thought maybe they had included the bluetooth hardware on the iTouch but not enabled it, allowing you to enable it through jailbreak apps, and connect to the iTouch directly (as you can do with an iPhone and a bluetooth stereo headset). If you can still post the link, I'll check them out. Last I checked, bluetooth was limited to 80kbps transfer rate or something, so wouldn't that possibly hurt the sound quality (though it might be doubtful unless you have loseless files on the iTouch, and it still might not matter due to the lack of a real amplifier).

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » September 10, 2008, 4:48 pm

Aardor wrote: Last I checked, bluetooth was limited to 80kbps transfer rate or something, so wouldn't that possibly hurt the sound quality (though it might be doubtful unless you have loseless files on the iTouch, and it still might not matter due to the lack of a real amplifier).

It's definitely higher than 80kbps.

Looks like over the past year they've come out with several more bluetooth headphones.

The four bottom headphones on ths page are bluetooth:

http://us.creative.com/products/welcome ... tegory=438

From Motorola:

http://www.motorola.com/motoinfo/produc ... jectId=177