Alternative to IPOD touch, a portable video to play AVI.

[lorinser75]

A quick gadget question for you guys,

Is there an alternative to IPOD touch that is cheaper and portable and can play Avi videos?

My wife and kid (6 yrs old) are going overseas to SE ASIA to visit her parent, and I'm looking for something that I can buy that is cheaper than IPOD Touch, but with the same portability (slightly bigger is fine) and battery time, if there is any, and can play Avi videos. My friend recommend IPOD touch 8Gb, but I just don't wish to spend $300 for an IPOD, if there is anything that can serve the same purpose, which is, plays videos only and cheaper. NO need for musics, apps..& so on.

Netbook is out, as my wife doesn't want to carry anything as she is also taking my other 2 yrs old girl. Portable DVD is also out since it is pretty hefty to carry and only play DVD videos.

if IPOD is the only option, I guess, I can buy a USED one, but not sure if I have to buy the 1st, 2nd or 3rd gen.

Any help or recommendation is really appreciated.

Thanks

 

[TheStu]

The iPod (not IPOD) Touch starts at $229+tax, not $300. But if that is too rich for your blood, there is the previous gen 8GB, which actually has second generation guts for $149 refurbed. Apple refurbs are not scratch/dent, they are practically brand new, and covered under the same warranty.

 

[lorinser75]

Thanks for the info Stu.
You're right at the price, I guess I might be looking at the 16 or 32 GB probably.
One of the main reason I don't want to pay that much at the 1st place is because, kid might get bored, or lose it, or worse, drop or break it in matter of second, just like the typical 6 yr old kids. If he is older, and actually has a better use for it, I really don't mind paying that for Birthday or Christmas even

And yes I saw that refurb in apple store, which is a lot better than spending for the new ones I guess But one that confuse me is what is really the different in those various gens (1st, 2nd, 3rd?) I guess I was looking at those used 1st & 2nd gen ones in Ebay, which are pretty cheap. Will there be any problem if I get, say a cheap 1st gen or 2nd gen used ones? i.e doesn't support certain video format or something?

Sorry for the primitive knowledge with these kinds of gadgets
Thanks again Stu

 

[TheStu]

Thanks for the info Stu.
You're right at the price, I guess I might be looking at the 16 or 32 GB probably.
One of the main reason I don't want to pay that much at the 1st place is because, kid might get bored, or lose it, or worse, drop or break it in matter of second, just like the typical 6 yr old kids. If he is older, and actually has a better use for it, I really don't mind paying that for Birthday or Christmas even

And yes I saw that refurb in apple store, which is a lot better than spending for the new ones I guess But one that confuse me is what is really the different in those various gens (1st, 2nd, 3rd?) I guess I was looking at those used 1st & 2nd gen ones in Ebay, which are pretty cheap. Will there be any problem if I get, say a cheap 1st gen or 2nd gen used ones? i.e doesn't support certain video format or something?

Sorry for the primitive knowledge with these kinds of gadgets
Thanks again Stu

Here is how it breaks down;
iPod Touch 1: Flat back, much like the first iPhone, all capacities had identical guts
iPod Touch 2: Shiny curved back, all capacities had identical guts
iPod Touch 3: Identical externally to the gen 2, internally had more RAM and a faster CPU. The 8GB however was still a gen 2.
iPod Touch 4 (current): Updated guts to match the iPhone 4. Not quite as good of a screen (same res, worse tech), less RAM, but it is thinner than before. All capacities have identical guts again.

So, if you get a previous gen 8 GB, you are actually getting a Gen 2 8GB since there is no Gen 3 8GB.

IIRC, the Gen 1s and 2s topped out at iOS 3.1.3, but the gen 3s and 4s can get the latest version 4.2.x I think. There is not a significant difference between them, and almost none with regards to video codecs. The iPod cannot play AVIs without converting them first to MP4, but you can use Handbrake for that.

Any version of iPod Touch should be able to handle most SD resolution videos that you throw at it (properly encoded of course), but they will look best on the Gen 4 due to its much higher res.

 

[theeedude]

Zune HD plays XVID avis directly.

 

[TheStu]

Zune HD plays XVID avis directly.

No kidding? There is a thought OP, the ZuneHD is a nice piece of kit.

The iPod Touch also has apps, games and all that jazz. The ZuneHD has diddly.

 

[MrChad]

I have a Gen 2 / Gen 3 8 GB model with iOS 4 on it.

 

[TheStu]

I have a Gen 2 / Gen 3 8 GB model with iOS 4 on it.

Really, I thought it was left behind. Alrighty then.

 

[lorinser75]

Thanks for the information guys and thanks for iPod 101, Stu :thumbsup: . I really appreciate that.
I guess now my option will be refurb iPod ($159), Used 2nd gen iPod since there is not much different (from Ebay prolly), and definitely Zune HD ($159.00 for 16Gb) worth checking out. I'll definitely check it out tonight.

Thanks again guys

 

[Joseph F]

I have a Zune HD and I love it. However check out the Archos 43. It has:
Android 2.2, 4.3" screen (not sure if it's lcd or oled), 2MP/720p cam(corder), 1GHz ARM CPU, microSD slot, Bluetooth 2.1EDR, Wi-Fi and the 16GB model goes for $220 on Amazon. I haven't read any reviews on it but it looks pretty kick-ass to me.

http://www.archos.com/products/ta/archos_43it/
http://www.amazon.com/Archos-43-Inte.../dp/B0042RRTOC

 

[QueBert]

No kidding? There is a thought OP, the ZuneHD is a nice piece of kit.

The iPod Touch also has apps, games and all that jazz. The ZuneHD has diddly.

Not true at all! I think Microsoft is up too about 10 apps on the ZuneHD.

 

[Malak]

I love my ZuneHD, I didn't buy it for apps so that isn't a concern to me. If you aren't getting it for apps, get the Zune.

 

[Pliablemoose]

Apple refurbs are not scratch/dent, they are practically brand new, and covered under the same warranty.

Apple puts new housings and glass on it's refurbished devices, they are indistinguishable from brand new devices except for the box.

 

[TheStu]

Apple puts new housings and glass on it's refurbished devices, they are indistinguishable from brand new devices except for the box.

That's what I said. They aren't scratch/dent they are practically new. The only difference is that for (just guessing here) easily half of the refurbs the only difference between them and new is that they went through testing an extra time. Someone bought it, unwrapped it, realized that they wanted something else, and then returned it.

 

[Fox5]

Some of the cheaper android tablets/devices can probably do what you want, with questionable quality. The Archos portable media devices come in at under $100 for some of them, but they won't have the build quality of an ipod.

There's also plenty of dumber portable media players, get one that can take an SD card.
There's also the Nokia N800 and N810 internet tablets, they can be found under $100 and support SD cards and run Linux, so just about any file format should be good. (note, they don't have the performance to run every video type, though their bigger brother, the N900 just about can)

 

[Pliablemoose]

That's what I said. They aren't scratch/dent they are practically new. The only difference is that for (just guessing here) easily half of the refurbs the only difference between them and new is that they went through testing an extra time. Someone bought it, unwrapped it, realized that they wanted something else, and then returned it.

Yep, I steer people to refurbished Apple store products frequently, no one has had a bad experience yet.

 

[Tom]

There are dozens of much cheaper alternatives. Sony Walkman, or something like this..

http://www.amazon.com/Exclusive-Offer-Pro-Ebiz-Llc/dp/B001TK5KK0/ref=pd_sxp_grid_pt_0_0

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...CCODE=WEBAMZP1

I have no personal knowledge if these are any good, just posting as examples. i'm sure with some research you can find what you want for $75 or even $50.