What iPod Type Device Holds The Most Memory (And Isnt Awful)?

[Tom Scharpling]

Hello there -

I would love to get some opinions on some kind of big memory iPod-type portable listening device. My 80 gig iPod is full, and I have been dumping stuff onto an old 40 gig. It's ridiculous; I'm a grown man with multiple iPods.

I would love to have gotten one of the 160 gig iPods but they don't make them anymore (why?).

And if I buy one of the 120 gig iPods, it's a matter of time before I'm full yet again.

What's out there that's got more than 120 gigs and works well?

Thanks!

Tom.

[nec13]

Tom,

Here's one that holds 160 GB. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to get great reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/Archos-Wi-Fi-Portable-Media-Player/dp/B000W0Q2PU

It doesn't seem like there are many DAP's out there that exceed 120 GB in capacity. Even though they have been discontinued, there are some new 160 gb iPod Classic's available for purchase, but, should you choose to buy one, it will cost quite a bit of money. You can find some used/refurbished 160 gb iPod's on eBay and amazon.com for cheaper prices.

[buffcoat]

Hello there -

I would love to get some opinions on some kind of big memory iPod-type portable listening device. My 80 gig iPod is full, and I have been dumping stuff onto an old 40 gig. It's ridiculous; I'm a grown man with multiple iPods.

I would love to have gotten one of the 160 gig iPods but they don't make them anymore (why?).

And if I buy one of the 120 gig iPods, it's a matter of time before I'm full yet again.

What's out there that's got more than 120 gigs and works well?

Thanks!

Tom.

Tom,

Apple is (rumored to be) phasing out the hard-drive ipods entirely for a two-line strategy - 1) the tiny shuffle/nano extremely portable ones and 2) the iPod Touch, which holds a lot of stuff in flash memory and also allows Internet access.  So the iPod becomes a relative thing of the past.

[Martin]

What's the idea behind that, do you know, buff? That people nowadays change/shuffle their music collection so often anyway so that bigger iPods becomes irrelevant?

[Andy]

I had a 160 stolen and was pissed when I found out they discontinued them.

[yesno]

Trying to find an iPod that can hold all your music is a losing game.  160 gigs is kid's stuff.

I switched to Nanos and now the iPhone a while ago.  I just sync a playlist called "rotation" that has what I'm currently listening to, which I manually manage.  Then there are a few automatic playlists (Rated 4 stars and higher, haven't been played in 8 months) that also sync over.  It's plenty of music.  Even if you went on a month vacation you could fit a good amount of tunes on a 16 gig model.

Part of the reason they're phasing out the larger capacity ones is that it's hard drives that give iPods a reputation for breaking.  Flash memory is more expensive for now but way more rugged.

[Matthew_S]

One option I found  -- really a portable video player but ... the Archon 5

http://www.amazon.com/Archos-250-Internet-Media-Tablet/dp/B001D0E4DA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249067945&sr=8-1

http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/2008/09/archos-5-review.php

[ian]

it's going to be a little while before we start seeing numbers like 120+ gb in flash memory based mp3 players, but it'll happen

i've had 3 ipods in the span of time that i've had one creative zen, the zen is built like a tank, has been dropped onto concrete a couple times, and still works after 4 years

but i'm going to buy an ipod touch soon anyway

[Gilly]

Tom, what do you think about streaming your music from your computer? The iPhone or iPod touch allows you to use a free program called Simplify Media that connects to your home computer with all your files and streams them directly to the device. The touch would need you to be around wifi but the phone would allow you to have your entire collection with you at all times, barely using any hard drive space.

The two drawbacks:

-You need to pay for an iPhone and the service to really make this work great.

-It's streaming quality.

[Trembling Eagle]

What are you doing to fill all those devices?
audio alone
video
pics + documents
all of the above?

Maybe your problem is not one of space but resource management and file organization.

[Reeleyes]

Tom,

I have a 160g ipod that I almost filled with 3 computer's worth of itunage the first few days I had it and then I finished filling it within 3 months so for real audio fiends a 160 isn't much better than a 120. I recently got a 250g portable hard drive for all of my video and my extra music and with the addition of all The Mighty Boosh, I've filled that as well. I'm getting a Terrabyte next but judging from how much of my films fit on the 250 I don't know that it'll be enough. The point is: memory is a bitch. They just need to come out with a 10 Terrabyte device that's not much bigger than an ipod and I'd be happy... for now.

[roubaix]

I've got a 160 too.  I don't like it b/c the screen is too small (sometimes I watch TV episodes)

But I would never fill it with music ... I like to keep the rotation fresh, and a full library takes too long to browse.

I use externals for music & video backup.  The price keeps dropping on them, I just saw a 1 TB at Staples for about $109.  It will likely be even cheaper after Thanksgiving.

[iAmBaronVonTito]

ive had this problem my whole life- i didnt have enough space for cassettes, CDs, or LPs when i was young.  now that i can afford to have more than one room to myself, it's in the age of portable/pocket devices, making it irrelevant how big my apartment is to fit all my music.  now i cant find ipods/etc that are big enough to hold everything.

i can't win for losing.

[yesno]

160 iPod is back, all hard drive-based Zunes are being discontinued.

[amiright??]

160 iPod is back, all hard drive-based Zunes are being discontinued.

And did I hear that prices will be coming down this week, too?