# Quality on 4th gen & under iPods? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 26, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-on-4th-gen-under-ipods/349905 "2006-03-26T01:04:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-on-4th-gen-under-ipods/349905/1 "2006-03-26T01:04:56Z")
A friend is wanting to order a refurbished iPod, 3rd or 4th gen- Had they worked out the bugs by then? How do they compare with the latest/5th gen ones? What problems did they had & how do they work now? ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-on-4th-gen-under-ipods/349905/2 "2006-03-26T01:10:22Z")
Well, there were the explosions … the lethal amounts of radiation … the unfortunate tendency to attract mountain lions … the microchip that inserted a subliminal “KILL, KILL, KILL!” message into every song. Otherwise, they were great! ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-on-4th-gen-under-ipods/349905/3 "2006-03-26T01:17:35Z")
Well, the main trouble with Ipods is the tendency for the battery life to run down after a year or two of use. For that reason alone, I’d probably get something else where I could replace the battery myself instead of sending it off to be replaced. But it’s a reasonably good product, as long as your friend knows exactly what he’s getting and what it can and can’t do, it’s not a bad idea. Personally, I liked the 2nd gen. ones, because there were no actual buttons- just a wheel and touch sensitive pads. The 3rd gen. ones always struck me as a little less elegant because the buttons actually moved, and I’m a sucker for Heinlein-esque devices that can’t wear out because they have no moving parts. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-on-4th-gen-under-ipods/349905/4 "2006-03-26T01:39:00Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > Well, the main trouble with Ipods is the tendency for the battery life to run down after a year or two of use. For that reason alone, I’d probably get something else where I could replace the battery myself instead of sending it off to be replaced. But it’s a reasonably good product, as long as your friend knows exactly what he’s getting and what it can and can’t do, it’s not a bad idea. > > Personally, I liked the 2nd gen. ones, because there were no actual buttons- just a wheel and touch sensitive pads. The 3rd gen. ones always struck me as a little less elegant because the buttons actually moved, and I’m a sucker for Heinlein-esque devices that can’t wear out because they have no moving parts. BZZT, wrong answer. My two year old 3g ipod still gets 6 hours on a charge (got 8 when new) and the local Apple place sells replacement batteries plus tools for $30. 4g ipods were the ones to get the rocker switches…I’ve heard nothing worng with them. Revise your world view. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-on-4th-gen-under-ipods/349905/5 "2006-03-26T02:28:31Z")
I’m wondering the same thing. I got a Nano and now I want a big one. Some people at some other forums I frequent say that the 4th is worse and has audible artifacts when the hard-drive moves and whatnot. Stereophile magazine tested the 3rd and said it was better than many CD players, at least when using Lossless compression and driving an aux input. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2006, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-on-4th-gen-under-ipods/349905/6 "2006-03-26T03:54:31Z")
> [@appleciders](#): > > Well, the main trouble with Ipods is the tendency for the battery life to run down after a year or two of use. I believe you’re thinking of the first & second generation iPods, which required the battery be fully discharged before recharging.