1st Gen iPod Touch Still a Winner
Back in September, Apple announced new iPods, including a new iPod Touch. Despite the hardware upgrade and a price cut, the refurbished 1st generation iPod Touch is still a good choice.
Since I started iPhone development, I wanted a physical device to test my software on. So I started saving money for an iPod Touch. Once I had about 180 USD, the choice between getting a new 2nd Gen Touch, or a refurbished 1st gen model came into play.
After comparing the two models, and despite the newer model’s hardware updates (a new case, volume controls on the side, and built in speakers), I decided to go with a refurbished model. I haven’t regretted that decision.
For me, the deciding factor was price. I could get a 1st gen 8 GB model for 50 USD cheaper than the new 8 GB version. I could have gotten a 1st gen 16 GB model for 10 USD cheaper than the new 8 GB model, if I wanted to. But the 8 GB model was good enough for me.
Capacity wasn’t an issue for me, even though it might be for some people. Before I ordered my Touch, I did a test with my existing iPod Video to see how much I could compress my library when syncing without sacrificing my music. I was actually able to compress it down to under 3 GB, so the 8 GB model would work.
Once those factors had been worked out, I ordered my device. It took a week to be delivered, which, whenever you get a new toy, is torture. Once I did get it, though, I proceeded to do some hacking to it, and then eventually upgraded to the 2.1 firmware.
The App Store is a beautiful thing for the iPod Touch, not only are there some nice paid apps, but there are some really high quality free apps, including the WordPress app (which I’m writing this blog post with), a great platform game called Trace, and Stanza, an ebook reader, to name just a few.
So, all in all, the 1st gen iPod Touch is a great device. You get all the great software features that the newer model has and I haven’t ever wished for any of the hardware features that the new model has. This is a great buy if you want to save money and still get a quality multi-touch iPod.
Hi,
I have an iPod Touch running 2.1 but haven’t got any video on it. In fact, apart from a few apps, and a couple of Stanza books, there is a lot of space left out of 8GB.
So I am wondering what I can fit on there. What do you have in video that compresses down to 3GB? Is it music videos? And if you ran it end to end, how long would it run for?
And what do you use to compress? Quicktime Pro or something else?
As far as I know, I don’t has any video on there, evn though iTunes says I do. As for the compression, I’m not sure. I still have to find settings that give a good result for a low file size