Well, I think I’m going to spend my Christmas gift money on an iPod. But I can’t make up my mind.
Here’s what I see:
Shuffle Pros:
→ 1/2 the price of the cheapest Nano
→ Super Tiny!
→ 1G is still a lot of songs
→ handy dandy clip!
Shuffle Cons:
→ No display - can’t look up a song visually
→ Not sure about accessories like a car FM adaptor thingy
Nano Pros:
→ 2-8x the memory of the Shuffle
→ Display - easier to look up a specific song
→ Tons of accessories, including the all-important car FM adaptor thingy
Nano Cons:
→ At least twice as expensive
→ Bigger, somewhat bulkier
→ I’ve heard they’re fragile
→ No handy clip w/o some kind of accessory
Now, I could afford anything up to about the 4G Nano, except of course if I buy the cheaper one(s), it lets me buy other stuff too - accessories, or tri clothes, or movies, or whatever.
I think I have two items of paramount importance:
Being able to play it through my car stereo… a FM transmitter is acceptable here
Being as unencumbered as possible when running with it.
I think I’d like to be able to look things up on the screen of the Nano, but I’m not sure it’s worth an additional $70. I’m pretty sure the “bulk” of the Nano is still under my threshold for running, so long as I had a convenient attachment method…
Comments?? Help me decide? Do I fork out for the Nano with the nice screen and all the accessories, or do I go for the cheaper, ultra-compact Shuffle and the freedom it entails (not to mention the new tri suit to wear it on…)
Unless you are ONLY going to use it for running then perhaps the shuffle, but go with the Nano if you ever want/plan to use it elsewhere. You won’t be sorry. I LOVE my Nano and may get the shuffle as well.!
If it is strictly for running I would go with the Shuffle. I never look at my Nano screen while running. I wear an armband for it but it would be great to just clip it on. I just hit a playlist and go and if a song that I do not want to hear at that time comes on I just skip forward. Around the house and in the car I like the Nano. I can plug it into my car and I have an alarm clock beside my bed that I put my Nano in. All in all I love my Nano. It goes well in the arm band for running but I am still searching for the best earphones for my ears while running. My come out sometimes and sometimes often.
Based on what you’ve written, I think a Nano is more suitable for ya. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t say enough good things about the second generation Shuffle but I only use it for training tunes, hence, I don’t find the need for playlists and a screen. For that stuff, I use my iPod video.
If you want to someday get a Nike+ footpod you need a Nano. I have been using one and I love it. It’s basically a glorified pedometer but works well enough for me to keep pace and distance during training. I find it really handy.
Buy the Nano first. (EDIT - Geeze, this is what I get for posting pre-coffee! I meant get the *Shuffle *first!)
Just about everyone I know who purchases an Ipod eventually wishes they got something different, whether it’s more capacity for use in the car/at home when they get a smaller Nano, or something physically smaller for running/biking when they get a Video Ipod.
Avoid this by purchasing the cheapest thing available, so if you figure out you would be better off with something else, you didn’t spend a whole bunch of money in the process.
I own a Shuffle, a Nano, and a 5G, and the Shuffle gets the most use (cycling,) but I can’t stand it for the car, because the memory is so limited. I have 60 gigs in my 5G, and have it set to automatically update my podcast library - it’s like an audio Tivo, I never listen to the radio anymore.
The Shuffle is great for running and the weight room, where I won’t look at a screen anyways, and don’t want to take a chance destroying a more expensive device by sweating on it/crushing it…
With a shuffle, it is virually impossible to pick a particular song or songs to listen to. It is designed to put 200+ songs on and play them in sequence (random or straight through). This works great if you are using it only during a workout but it is severely limiting in regular day to day use. The Nano on the other hand will let you load 4 times as much music, create many different play lists you can pick from on the fly, listen to podcasts etc. A Nano is infinitely more versatile than a Shuffle.
I have an iPod and love it. I am thinking of getting a Shuffle to use when I workout since I generally just play a 200 song play list on random anyway and using a Shuffle would mean I only have $79 at risk instead of $300 if I drop it or sweat all over it. But, I use my iPod in too many places other than the gym and in too many different ways than just playing 200 songs at random to make a Shuffle my primary iPod. A Shuffle would be a nice 2nd addition to my iPod collection but I don’t think it is a good place to start.
If you want to save money you can get an RCA for about $35 that has an SD card slot. Another $35 on a 2gig sd card and you have a full player with 2g of memory for $70. I use mine for running all the time. And you can get accessories for playing on the radio.
I would go with the Nano. Two reasons, Nike+ and podcasts. You can use the shuffle for podcasts but it’s a pain in the neck to navigate to your selections.
Okay, Nano it is. Now, is the extra 2G of memory and my choice of colors (silver is fine, but I like the black, too) worth the extra $50 for the 4Gig version?
I have the shuffle - use it mostly for running - got it in the apple “refurb” section - for half price - just $50 - comes with the same warranty as the new one. Got a nano for my son for Xmas - also a refurb - was only $99. He likes to see songs on the screen. We are going to use his old shuffle as our “standby” model for when the battery runs to low on one of ours.
memory space is up to you. I have 100+ songs on mine and it’s not even close to full. It’s the smaller gig variety. I wouldn’t even know what to do with double the memory.