IPOD durable?

seems like most mp3 players are built to last 6 months my zen micro and sony nw-s706f both lasted around 6-7 months before the headphone jack became loose and couldn't hear shit anymore. This time i want a player that could last 1.5 years+. I was thinking about the ipod touch how durable are the ipods specifically the headphone jacks thanks :O)

if it does not have movable parts then it should be a little more reliable. I am on my third disk version in four years or so. The problem I cause my iPod's is that I ride a motorcycle on long trips and it doesn't like that.

As in, don't even dare jog with them.... and if they pop out and hit the ground it goes boom

My creative zen micro lasted me 2.3 years and I just got an iPod touch.

it really all depends on the mp3 player you receive. some zen micros have been known to crap out within weeks (earlier models that is).

iPods are in their 6th generation, so I think apple has somewhat better quality control than other manufacturers.

As in, don't even dare jog with them....

Untrue. I ONLY used mine to workout. I run 3-5 miles a day. My 2nd gen 15gig has lasted me almost 3 years. Only problem with it, is that the battery is retaining far less juice than it used to. I only get about 2-3 hours now if I am lucky. That is enough to work out, but barely.

I know what you mean about the socket getting worn too. Mine is like that, and if the tip of the microphones twists a certain way, it gets staticky or sound gets low.

Not sure if there is a player that wont do that.

I'm on my 3rd iPod, but I only upgraded them because I wanted newer models, not because they are broken.

I still have my first generation 5gb "original mechanical wheel" ipod, 3rd gen "touch button" ipod, and now 5th gen video.

They all work fine, and they've all been through hell (my 3rd gen even took a fall from about 11ft)

My gf is still using my 3G 10GB that I bought in 2004. The battery life became real bad (1.5 hours use) so I bought another battery and oped up the ipod and swapped them out. It's survived 3 years of abuse.

Shivetya said:

As in, don't even dare jog with them.... and if they pop out and hit the ground it goes boom

Click to expand...

I've worked out with my 60 gig photo for 2 years (this is the second one, the first one died 7 days before warranty was up) and it's on its last legs. It only holds about 1 gig of music and generally locks up after about 6 songs. I get lots of sad ipod and folder errors. Maybe the 60 gig photo was a bad model...

With my experience, I'd tell you to get a flash based player.

If you buy an anti-shock resistant case for it, it is durable.

They are undoubtedly the most durable players I've used. I owned a zen micro once, and it died very quickly (1 year)


I have an ipod 30gb (last model, whatever that was) and it's been running perfectly since I bought it.

If you want something extremely durable, find something with a solid state drive.
That will break your bank though probably.
IMHO you should just get an iPhone or an iPod... depends if you want storage or ease of use.

iPod touch isn't that much cheaper than the iPhone so the extra money is worth it.

Hah. My ipod Photo first gen (30gb) gets run with for half an hour a day, taken *everywhere* and thrown around like crazy. It's been in the pool, twice. The ocean, once.

It works like a champ.

As a general rule though. UNPLUG YOUR HEADPHONES before you stash your player. Torquing them is what destroys the connection!

I've only had my touch for about a month now, so only time will tell of it's durability.....but usually the only problems I've ever had with ipods is the batteries get low.....my 3G ipod with the glowing buttons lasted a long time and then I just got another becuase the battery only lasted 3 hours or so.....

My nano has been through a lot of shit (parties, water, dropped 1000 times, painted) and after 2 years, no major problems except for the fact that the back button won't work occasionally.

Another good review from me.

I got a 30gig iPod video when they first came out and it's lasted me 'till a few weeks ago when I upgraded to a 160gig for capacity reasons. (the 30gig is still going strong, sold it to a work colleague) I had dropped it a few times onto concrete (enough force to leave dents in the back plate) and it was used for 10 hours solid daily for around a year (playing music at work). The only problem I've had with it is battery degradation but with smart charging habits I think I minimized that. And a DIY battery replacement ain't so hard to do anyway.

As far as the solid state players go, I've bought the latest 2 generations of nano's for some close friends of mine and they've had no problems (despite store workers pretty much begging me to buy the extended warranties due to 'unreliability'...pfff). I've also just bought an iPhone for myself to replace my aging Nokia and I'm loving it so far. Assuming the Touch is fairly similar I'd say it'll be a good purchase as well. I'm loving the scratch-proof screen on this bad boy, I'll just have to be careful not to drop it as I hear the screens are more prone to smash than the iPods.

All in all, I've only had good experiences with Apples mp3 players.

osok11 said:

seems like most mp3 players are built to last 6 months my zen micro and sony nw-s706f both lasted around 6-7 months before the headphone jack became loose and couldn't hear shit anymore. This time i want a player that could last 1.5 years+. I was thinking about the ipod touch how durable are the ipods specifically the headphone jacks thanks :O)

Click to expand...

I've had my zen micro for over 2.5 years. It still works just fine and it has taken some falls,etc.

Also..I would believe there was flash holding my songs if I didn't know better as the HDD has never caused a skip or any problems despite movement/falls/whatever.