What size iPod Touch for a 12-year-old?

May 3, 2010 2:34 PM

iPod Touch for a 12-year-old: More memory, or more buying power?

Pretend you're turning 12, and you have an awesome aunt who's buying you an iPod Touch for your birthday to replace your old Nano. You only own about 250 songs so far, but you're really excited about playing a lot of games and emailing and stuff. Would you rather have the 8g unit and an iTunes card, or the 32g unit all by itself?

posted by ferociouskitty to technology (21 answers total)

I would want the Aunt to ask me directly or having my parents ask me, if she wants to keep things secret.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 2:39 PM on May 3, 2010

Definitely the bigger capacity. There are many places to find music to load that are not as expensive as the iTunes store.
posted by mzurer at 2:41 PM on May 3, 2010 [1 favorite]

apps don't really take up that much space and if the kid doesn't have much music, then it seems like the 8 gb + itunes card is a no brainer. i have the 8gb touch and am super happy with it.
posted by lia at 2:45 PM on May 3, 2010

I'd go with the smaller one plus gift card, since the child in question doesn't have that many songs, or likely access to sources of online funds. 8 gigs can still hold thousands of songs or dozens of large apps. If it were me, I'd rather have a small amount of space and the easy means to fill it up than a large capacity device with only 250 songs and no easy way to fill it up other than begging parents for iTunes authorization.

Responses will vary though, since this is a preference question rather than an absolute.
posted by yellowbinder at 2:45 PM on May 3, 2010

I had a 30-GB iPod Photo (oh yeah) before it sadly broke and I upgraded to an iPod Touch. I went with the 8-GB model and frankly, I rarely miss having *all* my music with me. 8 GB is plenty of music and apps, as others have said, and she can explore more music with a combo iPod + gift card present.
posted by fantine at 2:48 PM on May 3, 2010

Seconding the above two answers (speaking from personal experience).
posted by special-k at 2:48 PM on May 3, 2010

Definitely 8 gigs with a gift card!
posted by Aleen at 2:51 PM on May 3, 2010 [1 favorite]

I have the 8G and there is plenty of room for TONS of songs, pictures, apps, etc.
posted by cooker girl at 2:53 PM on May 3, 2010

8GB will be plenty of room for most of her music and apps, but might not be upgradable (if that matters at all.
posted by honeybee413 at 2:56 PM on May 3, 2010

Smaller, I think: there seems to be another generational shift going on where the post-Napster generation of CD rippers and digital music hoarders gives way to teens and tweens who'll find the songs on YouTube or stream them from other sources. The apps are where it's at with the Touch.
posted by holgate at 3:04 PM on May 3, 2010

I have a 16gig iPhone which replaced my phone and my 40gig iPod. My entire music collection already didn't fit on the iPod. Trimming down to a good standard set + space for rotating things in every couple weeks was not hard at all.

Nthing 8gigs with gift card - especially since I believe you can use the card on apps now, not just music/movies.
posted by ish__ at 3:06 PM on May 3, 2010

32GB.

The 8GB model was carried over from the previous generation with a software update.

The 3rd generation 32GB and 64GB models have noticeably faster hardware.
posted by pants tent at 3:10 PM on May 3, 2010 [1 favorite]

Defintely 32 gig.
posted by rglasmann at 5:07 PM on May 3, 2010

i'd go 32G - it leaves space and a little more longevity. also, you can then do birthday/special day/xmas/just because purchases of itunes cards/GCs, and so can other people.
posted by koroshiya at 5:23 PM on May 3, 2010

32g. How to acquire music for free is a valuable skill for a kid to learn.
posted by box at 6:38 PM on May 3, 2010 [1 favorite]

I'd say if there's any chance the kid will want to watch movies/TV shows on the ipod you should go with the 32GB because they take up space fast.

If it's only for music/apps/internet then 8GB would probably be fine.

Are there any other relatives (grandparents, maybe?) who could be asked to give the child an itunes gift card for their birthday, so that you could get them the 32GB but they still have some money to play around with on itunes?
posted by lwb at 7:23 PM on May 3, 2010

Important point: when the new 4.0 software comes out this summer, the 32 and 64gb ipods will get loads of cool new features (most notably multitasking), while the 8gb will not. They have different processors.
posted by raygan at 9:42 PM on May 3, 2010

32gb
posted by pompomtom at 10:35 PM on May 3, 2010

32gb, definitely
posted by Bergamot at 4:44 PM on May 4, 2010

8g. I have a 32G iphone with oodles of apps and I'm not making a dent in it's storage. My 8G ipod touch has plenty of podcasts & apps and is fuller, but no where near full.
posted by chairface at 10:24 AM on May 5, 2010

We went with the 32GB - my niece's first reaction was a lot of hyperventilating and OMG awesome's, and then she saw that it was the 32 and it started all over again. She was aware of the processor and software differences.
posted by ferociouskitty at 3:14 PM on June 3, 2010