My old iPod Touch seems unlikely to last much longer – the battery currently won’t last as long as the length of an album without recharging. I want to replace it – I can’t justify the cost of an iPhone much as I’d like one, and I’m quite happy to carry on using my old Nokia mobile… I really need it most as a music player that’ll take good-quality photos and has a really good battery life. I’m tempted to just get another iPod Touch – even though it appears it’ll soon be obsolete – or I could fo for a cheaper smartphone (under £200). Any thoughts/suggestions/insults?
Thanks
Gadgetary advice – smartphone vs iPod
by 23 Comments
I just got an LG G4 (Android) which will end up costing me around 60 quid (with no contract), I like it a lot. It’s pretty fast, large screen, camera is excellent and there is a slot for micro SD cards so I can get most (or eventually all) my music on there. Also has a removable battery. Compared to the ridiculously over priced iPhone (with no possibility for memory expansion) it is a no brainer.
I recently bought the popular budget Moto G5 phone. I’ve been using an old Iphone and various music players for years but I’m impressed with what this android phone can do. I use an app called Jet Audio which has all kinds of plug ins for modifying the sound, not something I thought I’d be interested in but actually they work really well. It can play all music formats too, including Flac. I’ve not looked back.
I think that this is what Mrs. Paws purchased recently. Looks reet smart.
Far be for me to drag you away from a Smartphone future, but it might be worth considering just getting the battery replaced in your iPod Touch – there are plenty of Google-able repairers out there, and from a pal’s experience, circa £50 should sort you out… just a thought!
I know I always pop up recommending this lot when iPod repairs/replacements come up, but the did a really good job (and quick) for me with a couple of my classics, so…
https://www.ipodrepairs.co.uk
Me too, although they’re somewhat out of my reach now.
Buy a second hand refurbished iPhone and all of your needs will be met.
Wait until the iPhone8 is launched in September/October this year and I am sure you will be able to get a good deal on a used iPhone6 from those people who choose to trade up.
Not me though, the iPhone6 with 128Mb storage gives me everything I will ever need in a smartphone.
128 MB? What’s that, like 3 songs? 😉
Even my prog faves are not that long!
Get the battery replaced. I’ve had a couple of iPhones done in a phone shop near us and it cost £25. If not, get an iPhone if you use iTunes or Apple Music or an Android if you use other music services. Generally speaking, the newer the phone, the better the battery life.
The battery life thing with portable devices had vastly improved, it seems. A combination of better batteries and lower-energy chips.
Apart from the mediocre camera, I was pretty happy with my previous Samsung Galaxy Note II. The battery lasted a couple of days, usually.
I had some spare dosh and succumbed to temptation. Decided to splash out on a Google Pixel XL because of the better camera. The improvement in battery life is astounding. About 4 days on a full charge. More if I don’t stream anything.
I got an iPhone 7plus about 6 months ago. The battery life is fantastic. The camera is astoundingly good as well. I don’t get 4 days though – but I am pretty constant on the thing because of work.
Agree on getting it repaired as a first option.
I suspect an iPhone is probably a more likely path from an iPod.
I’ve got a Galaxy S7 edge thingy from work which I can recommend as a slightly cheaper alternative to the very latest and greatest S8 model, if Android is at all attractive. The camera is wildly better than the one in my similarly recent Sony Z5. The Edge screen is a useless gimmick though.
The Edge screen is classic style over substance – looks nice until you try to use it near the edges. I only got the S7 Edge because the S7 screen was smaller (the S6 was the same size for both) and it’s about the only thing that is worse than the S6 – other than that it’s a brilliant device.
Smartphone.
Up until recently I used an old Motorola Razr and swore blind I didn’t want or need a smartphone, proud of trusty ‘brick’. Then it packed up, my attempts to replace it via eBay were a disaster and I accepted the gift of an old iPhone from my mum.
It’s the old, old story. I genuinely don’t know how I ever managed without one. I don’t bother with the music because I hate the ‘interface’, so I still use my iPod. But everything else. Oh my days! The news updates, the live football scores, kindle, weather, checking my emails, the ease of sending text messages (you can dictate them!), timetable enquiries, chess, F1 and Uber. Fuck me, Uber. I honestly don’t think I’ve seen anything as outright impressive in the digital age as Uber.
So from a recent convert: smartphone.
A fantastic music player with really good battery life, but one which won’t take photos, is the Fiio X1.II (£99).
Apologies for the delay, I’ve been up offline for a week.
If you had a smartphone, you’d have been online!
Not up the Caledonian canal, I wouldn’t. Not even FM up there.
Bloody lovely, it was.
“Not up the Caledonian canal, I wouldn’t”… you’re soooo vanilla.
The best camera for “up the Caledonian canal” is called an endoscope. It, too, is better without edges. You can try dictating texts but are unlikely to have much success..
Oh yes. I’ve had three colonsocopies recently. That wide-angle 35mm Nikon lens made my eyes water.
“Good morning Mr Fenton, your colonoscopy this morning will be done by Dr Stanley Kubrick”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”
It appears I can’t even write seriously about my holidays without unintentionally inducing smut. I am beyond help.