iPod durability? (Read 982 times)

Hey all - Have read mixed things on iPods and durability for running. Main complaint I've read is that the jarring motion that is common in running causes the poor things to lock up. For those that have costcos near by, I also hear the Ipod Nano is available, though I don't know that you have the same color choices.

The Nano and smaller models of iPod are solid state, so I would imagine they could handle motion and dropping without nearly the same issues that the full-size iPod would have, which is why a Nano is currently at the tops of my Christmas list. Yay, no more burning CDs for the car, either! k

hah. Well that would explain things *sigh* shows what I know! maybe I need to go check them out LOL

When my MP3 player died suddenly recently, I bought one of these: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_e/102-4888442-7172111?url=search-alias%3Delectronics-aps&field-keywords=Creative+Zen+Nano+Plus+1+GB+MP3+Player+&Go.x=9&Go.y=11 It cost me $70, which is cheaper than the iPod Nano. It comes in various colors. I wanted the hot pink one (just to be different ) but it wasn't on sale so I went with the boring blue. I chose it because it also has a built in radio tuner, and a whole bunch of other features (that I will never use) that the Nano does not offer. Since I run with that thing all the time, when it's hot, raining, snowing, or freezing out, it has to be cheap so that when it dies, I can afford to buy a replacement. Besides, I want to run for fun, not so I can run away from would-be-muggers coming after my MP3 player.

I had a 4g ipod mini and never had any problems with it locking up. I abused the heck out of it - carrying it in my purse every day, traveling, running, etc. I recently got a regular ipod (U2 special edition 30g video) and it has locked up on me once, but the reboot is easy enough to do while running. Plus, my chubby arms probably cushion the jarring some.

Man, I wish we had a Costco near us, but we do have an Apple store and hour away...I love to go there and ogle stuff... k

Once it locks up though all you can do is wait for the battery to die and then recharge it and it works fine.

Mine locks up all the time if I clip it to my waist and even sometimes when holding it, which I prefer not to. Anyway if it locks up, you do not have to wait for the battery to die. You can reset it imediately by holding 'Play' and 'Menu' at the same time for a few seconds. Some models differ, visit this site for more info. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61705 By the way,there are so many tiny mp3 players out there for around 50 bucks that are worth it for the fact they are easier to run with. D

I sort of want to chime in on the other end of the iPod spectrum briefly. I would strongly encourage a Nano over the full deal for running, but I'd comment that the standard iPod (in my experience) isn't as weak as people might think. Granted, I have one of the second generation ones (much older, with the 4 buttons above the wheel) and while it's the one with all the battery life problems, the thing has been like a tank. I don't run with it that much anymore, but this January when I went out every single day I'd tuck it into the chest pocket on my technical (nordic skiing actually) jacket, and away I went. Thus it probably still got some good bouncing, but no problems. When I'd trip and fall flat on my face (crazy Syracuse winter + not the best roads = falling sometimes) this thing got a nice shock of impact and, while the song might skip a bit, that's about all I had to deal with. Still, the nano's are great, hold a lot of songs, have good interfaces, etc. As mentioned, the Zen line is also pretty good, my little sister has one of those and she likes it, though I'm not as big a fan of the interface, nor the fact that I've never really had a good experience with anything made by Creative.

grrrr...my 'tank' (2nd gen ipod) just died....

oh man, sorry to hear it. I got one of the new Nanos for my birthday. Guess what, it's Pink, to match my Virgin Race Running outfit...now I'm stuck waiting for all the cases to be upgraded - right now I run with it stuck in the side pocket of my running skirt. I'm thinking of getting a iskin Duo and pairing that with the either the xtreme mac arm band or the one of the marware products. I'd like to get the Nike+ mod for xmas presuming I get well and truely hooked on running