So I will be buying my very first iPod soon (yay!) I am not looking for anything fancy or too expensive...Does anyone have any suggestions of what to buy?

Tell us more on what you want. Lots of video? Wifi? Do you download a lot of music?

Just music

The trend seems to be shifting towards the iPod Touch, although I always preferred the original iPod ("Classic" now), since I value storage capacity over functionality, and I have an Android phone should I ever want to browse or have fun with useless apps. The three models appeal to different kinds of people though:

As mentioned above, if you have a generous music/video collection or if you enjoy lossless formats, then the Classic's probably for you. I think this generation offers 160gb of storage for about $299, though I can't confirm. I'm still using my 80gb from the 2006/2007 model year. .

The iPod Touch is the most versatile of the three in the sense that its functionality goes far beyond playing music/video or displaying pictures. You probably know all about the different apps available, and while many of them are indeed useless, some might end up pretty useful.

The iPod Nano is for you if you have a modest music collection, and that's all you're looking for. It has photo and video-playing capabilities but imo the screen is still too small to watch a full movie on. On the plus side, it's the most affordable option as well as conveniently lightweight.

I usually listen to the radio and have not really downloaded any music before haha...how much do you usually pay when you download?

Originally Posted by manu

I usually listen to the radio and have not really downloaded any music before haha...how much do you usually pay when you download?

Haha, that depends on whether you want to do it legally or not. From iTunes and most other online stores, the average price is about $0.99 or $1.29/song and maybe $9.99/album.

But if a pirate's life is for you, then you don't need to pay anything. If you are paying for piracy, you're probably doing it wrong.

If you want it for just music it depends on your price range/how much music you want.

I have a 120 GB iPod Classic, this would now be the 160 GB ones they sell in stores. I love it but it will set you back about $300, they're $269 + tax currently.

If you don't need that much space you can go for one of those new iPod nanos, $147 + tax for an 8GB and $187 + tax for the 16GB. These are more are smaller and cuter than the Classic, and they have cameras now which can shoot some photos and videos if you're into that. A friend has an iPod nano and has ever changing music tastes so the limited storage doesn't bother them, they just load on whatever they're into for the moment and listen to that.

As mentioned if you have a large music collection that you like to have with you than the Classic offers a lot more capacity for the money. Plus with any extra space you can also have some games and videos with you, the screen is bigger than the nanos for on the go video watching too.

If you want the iPod touch which also has Wifi capabilities, games etc on top of music a 32GB one will set you back $298 + tax, and almost $400 for the 64GB version.

Personally if its just for music if you have the money I'd recommend the Classic, you'll never run out of space. A quick iTunes check tells me I have 4018 music items at the moment taking up 20.74 GB, so well over the 16 GB capacity of a nano. I like to have all my music with me when I commute because I like to listen to different things depending on my mood and I like to be able to have a very wide variety to choose from at any given time.

Also to note you can use the iPod Classic like an external hard drive/USB key so that's a bonus if you'll always have it on you you can use it to carry and transfer files as well. This of course is only if you use your iPod in manual update mode, you don't want to try this if you have it set to automatic sync or you'll lose all your music plugging it into another computer.

iTouch if you don't have a phone, otherwise something like nano. My iTouch only has 8gb of 32 used up so far... and thats split between games/apps/music/video/podcasts.

Yeah, I'd go with nano if you aren't willing to spend a lot of money on it. Since you don't have a large collection of music either, it seems that you won't be needing a lot of storage space.

Thanks everyone!! So what site would be best for downloading music?

I use grooveshark/youtube to check stuff out and just LimeWire anything i like. If its not on LimeWire, i use filestube or google. I torrent albums (torrentz/thepiratebay/demonoid) if i happen to like an artist instead of individual songs.

Originally Posted by manu

Thanks everyone!! So what site would be best for downloading music?

I get songs off YouTube by converting the videos using Zamzar

Remember, you can also upload your cd collection into iTunes, which syncs onto your iPod.

Just music - Classic.

Other stuff (internet, games, apps, etc) - Touch

If you care anything about sound quality, get a Cowon D2/D2+ (or ANY Cowon Media Player for that matter)

iPod is for apps