iPod’s Untimely Demise

I’ve had a “long,”:http://doodlemonger.com/archives/2003/11/17/ipods.php “long”:http://doodlemonger.com/archives/the_joy_of_itunes.php relationship with Cupertino’s iPod family. I’ve owned probably six or seven iPods over the last six years and used them daily. And in all that time, I’ve never managed to lose, break, or otherwise damage a single one of those glorious little bricks of digital joy. Until now.

On Thursday night I walked with flinching delicacy toward the garage to confirm the fate of my beloved 3rd generation iPod touch. The iPodslaughter was carried out with horrifying efficiency by the washing machine while the poor, helpless Jobsian was trapped in my pants pocket, leaking micro-volts into the surrounding water and slowly winking out of electronic existence.

So. I’m experiencing what “Merlin Mann”:http://www.merlinmann.com/ would call a true first world problem. Now that the iPhone 4 has been released, I know what the next generation of the iPod will look like, with several non-trivial upgrades (mainly to the resolution of the display). Now, of course, I don’t want to buy a replacement iPod touch while I know what the next generation will look like. The next generation iPod is usually released around the September/October timeframe. At the same time, I’m used to having my entire music library with me at all times, and regularly use it.

I could:

  1. Do nothing; giving up podcasts, audiobooks, and portable access to my formidable music library until sometime in September/October
  2. Buy the cheapest possible iPod (the 2GB shuffle) to bide my time until the next generation iPod touch comes out
  3. Buy the cheapest possible iPod with a screen (the 8GB iPod nano) to hurt a little bit less until the next generation iPod touch comes out
  4. Sell my current smartphone, swap phone numbers with my wife, swap Verizon for AT&T, and get an iPhone 4

As I said, a true first-world problem. What would you do?

5 comments

  • 5. Use one of the 6 older iPods I still have because I didn’t know what to do with them except stuff them in a drawer.

  • Oh the difficult decisions necessary to first-world living. 😉

  • Hah! I sold each generation to buy the next 🙂
    Unless of course you mean that you’ll be donating to the cause.
    : Tyler

  • Did the drying trick not work? A replacement glass screen is only $40 and I have a $5 off coupon around here someplace. If all else fails I have to admit #4 is a very tempting option. With #4 you could also sell your flip mino to help offset the cost since the iphone has HD video. 😉

  • Or you could use my iPod Touch until you decide what to do….

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