Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

phifer8390

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 11, 2008
47
1
Should I get the new 120 or the refurb 160? Both cost 249. Is there any advantage in the 120 besides a little bit of battery life? Thanks
 
I really want to know if it is going to get the new software!! That would be the decision maker even though not much has changed in the software. Does anyone know for sure?
 
Isn't the battery life of the 160GB even better? I think it was like 40 hours and 37 hours for the 120GB.
 
The 160GB is not getting the new Genius software (check multiples posts on this forum). But it does get better better battery life than the 120GB. But it also suffers from unsolved and well-documented glitches (random pauses in songs).

I went through the same dilemma. Luckily, I'm not in a hurry. I'm holding out for the remote possibility of the 240GB in January or if the 120GB turns out to be glitch-free.
 
Isn't the battery life of the 160GB even better? I think it was like 40 hours and 37 hours for the 120GB.

Nice...
that is true. I wonder if it would change if it got the new software.


... Headphones with remote and volume slide will not work with the 160... So says apple's webpage
 
Get the 160GB while you still can. That is the biggest drive that will work with iPods. Anything bigger may cause the OS to crash. Trust me, I spent a few days researching and asking about bigger HD.
 
Get the 160GB while you still can. That is the biggest drive that will work with iPods. Anything bigger may cause the OS to crash. Trust me, I spent a few days researching and asking about bigger HD.

DjAmTraX: I've heard you say this on several threads. What is the reason that this is true?
 
Just ask youself, do I really need the extra 40GB?

Cuz for me, the 80GB classic is way more than enough. And i was never a fan of the fat version...
 
Just ask youself, do I really need the extra 40GB?

Cuz for me, the 80GB classic is way more than enough. And i was never a fan of the fat version...

Yes.

With me (and I know this to be true with other people) I always find a way to max out capacity in any hard drive I known (computer, TiVo, iPods). I have a compulsion to use that unused space for "something." Even if the 240GB comes out, I will find a way to fill it. I'll probably put on every episode of Buffy, Gilmore Girls and Arrested Development on it. Not to mention every Play With Me Sesame for my son.

The 80GB was never enough for me. I have 110 GB of cherished, well-chosen music in my iTunes. And any "fat" iPod these days won't be nearly as thick as the 4G 40GB it's replacing.
 
Yes.

With me (and I know this to be true with other people) I always find a way to max out capacity in any hard drive I known (computer, TiVo, iPods). I have a compulsion to use that unused space for "something." Even if the 240GB comes out, I will find a way to fill it. I'll probably put on every episode of Buffy, Gilmore Girls and Arrested Development on it. Not to mention every Play With Me Sesame for my son.

The 80GB was never enough for me. I have 110 GB of cherished, well-chosen music in my iTunes. And any "fat" iPod these days won't be nearly as thick as the 4G 40GB it's replacing.

I can feel what your saying here. Most definently since you can use it as external space. I only have 96GBs of music but if you add my videos and tv shows then I am over 110 and 10 free gigs is not enough wiggle room!
 
The 160GB is not getting the new Genius software (check multiples posts on this forum). But it does get better better battery life than the 120GB. But it also suffers from unsolved and well-documented glitches (random pauses in songs).

I went through the same dilemma. Luckily, I'm not in a hurry. I'm holding out for the remote possibility of the 240GB in January or if the 120GB turns out to be glitch-free.

Correction. The 160 is not getting the software update. That rumor was taken from the front page because it was not true.

Edit:

I wrote this in another thread somewhere.


elmateo487 said:
In summation:

Positives of 120:

1) Significantly smaller, the 80 gig felt so much smaller than the 160. Now the 120 is the same size as the 80

2) 50 dollars cheaper. Brand new ipod classics are going for 300 now from apple themselves.

3) Possible new UI features? I don't know, no one has talked about it yet! Pisses me off. SHOW ME A HANDS ON! I hope they included the "hold down the center button for more option" option. If not that is RETARDED.

4) Genius features for sure. Which will be nice for a large collection.

5) Support for the uber inexpensive high quality headphones with volume, track, and mic control!!! Super sweet. Possibly 3rd party support?

6) Will get all the new updates in firmware.

Positives of the 160

1) It has 40 more gigs.
 
40 more gigs and negotiable price...

I was struggling with the same question. I decided on the 160 and went to Sam's Club to pick one up. They had dropped the price down to $279.99. The manager couldn't find one and said they were down to the display model. It looked brand new so I said that I'd take it if he'd lower the price. We agreed on $210.00! I think that's a great deal and beats the 120. Storage space will come in handy for movies and now I can store my whole library on the iPod. Anyway, get out there and negotiate a great deal.
 
Honestly! What is the with the crazy obsession to have everything absolutely new??
I wait 'till the product is well tested and I am absolutely sure that my old hardware is completely and totally obsolete.

Now, back to the more pressing issue. The 120gb iPod may have some new features, and genius support, but I don't think it's honestly worth it. If someone really wanted to have a genius playlist on their ipod, they could just transfer the playlist from their computer. Also, refurbished is no different from new. So what if the hardware has been used before? Apple cleans everything and fixes all the problems. It doesn't matter what condition it's in.
The Final Issue: 40gb is a lot... I use handbrake to rip DVDs and they take much less than 1gb of space each. That means that I could fit about 60 movies, or 10,000 songs on the bigger iPod. Ipods are meant to be a long-term purchase, and your collection will continue to get bigger as time goes on. Eventually, you might need 40gb extra space for your media needs.

That's my take on this whole issue.
 
If you can deal with the lower capacity, get the 120GB. I can tell very little difference between 128kbps AAC VBR and an original CD on a moderately good (several thousand $) stereo system, and 256kbps is virtually indistinguishable. At 256kbps VBR you can fit 960 hours of music on the 120GB iPod.

If you really need the extra 40GB, it's the only reason to upgrade, because that will net you about 1280 hours of 256kbps AAC (and with earphones, you really shouldn't hear any difference at all between that and Lossless, and you'd be hard-pushed to tell much difference even at 128kbps).

The 160GB may have an extra 3 hours battery life, (37 vs 40?), but it's 20g heavier, 3mm thicker, and refurbished. It may not be brand new, and it could have a ding on it and you won't be able to do a thing about it.

So the only thing the 160GB has going for it is capacity. If you need that capacity, and don't mind the "refurbished" part, then go for it. Otherwise, the 120GB is best.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.