Which Ipod do I need?

You should be able to find a nice used iPod video (4th generation) with a 30 gig hd for less than $200 on eBay. I know money is no object, but these are sturdy and should hold up pretty well in the Texas heat. You'll get about 7-8,000 songs on this unit with decent quality.

The newer iPods (Classic and Touch) use new interfaces and accessories are not as "universal" as the iPods of just a year ago. Check out iLounge.com for more iPod info than you could ever use.

 

If you are just going to use it in the Prius then you don't need video or a nice screen. I have a 8 GB Nano and it holds more music than I could play in a month of driving. All the iPods are durable but I wouldn't leave them in the car in freezing weather -- it shortens the battery life. I don't think heat has the same effect.

Hope this helps.

 

Welcome to PriusChat, Jason! I agree with Jack66 that a flash memory iPod may be a little sturdier in a car, no HD to vibrate. You'll have to take the iPod out of your car now and then to load new music.:rockon:

You can get a 1G iPod shuffle for under $40 at the Apple Store, so you could get several for different moods. Load one with cruising music, load another with Barry White for a different kind of cruising...

 

I agree with others about getting a model with flash drive rather than a HD model for durability. If I am not mistaken, I believe that all new iPod models (after the Classic and Touch) will be flash driven.

Howevever, if you will not be experiencing extreme cold, I think a HD will be fine.

Personally I have the iPod Classic and if I am going to be away from my car for any sustained period, I just bring it with me (not becuase of weather but because I don't want stolen!). I probably wouldn't do that if I had a Nano!

 

Personal experience: I've ye olde 4th gen 20 gig no color iPod for the past 3 years in my 2004 Prius using the pre-Dice interface unit from iPod2car...omg...I can't remember the name of the mfg! Oh well, suffice it to say it runs as a cd changer and it charges the iPod while in the car. No text on the Prius touchscreen. Just the sound from the dock connector which is better than the headphone out. My opinion anyway.

Sube zero temps (-15 F one morning in South Dakota, before we moved), blazing heat (gets over 100 F more often than people think), and the little iPod did not freeze, did not boil. It has been great, to say the least! and not one but TWO longish trips from S. Dakota to Pennsylvania during our transition. It's about 1,500 songs from here to there, FYI. All without a hiccup.

I killed it just last week by unplugging it from the computer when it said do not disconnect. My bad. Replaced it with a 30 gig photo (still 4th gen, to use in the Prius) for $120 ebay.
I like the color screen, bigger storage and photo ability. But, I did just resurrect my old 20 gig 4th gen with a replacement drive and new battery (just for a longer run time, the old battery did ok). $41 total and it is now my 'home iPod' connected to my stereo.

All in all, i would refrain from direct high-heat (in the 110 F dash area, all day), as well as REALLY cold (well, that's relative, as -15 F WAS cold, but the iPod survived it and other cold overnights).

 

The DICE unit comes with a Y cable to let both it and a sat radio plug in, so doing it at the same time is a good idea. Search here for many discussions of antenna and controller placement. The DICE unit shows up as a CD player, the sat radio shows up on the MFD as SAT. I think both Sirius and XM use the MFD for channel display.

 

The 4th gen is NOT the iPod video. The first gen to have video playback capability was the 5th gen. During the 4th gen, the color iPod Photo was introduced but it couldn't play videos.

As for sturdiness, sure flash based ones are sturdier but I'd be using a hard drive based 4th gen iPod in my very bumpy Nissan 350Z, my former 02 Maxima and more recently my Prius since mid 2005. It still works ok although I upgraded to a 6th gen iPod Classic about a month ago.

 

Thanks for the clarification. The generations do tend to run together for me after owning (or buying) 5 different iPods over the years. The original post said money was not an object and as pointed out in other posts, and logically, the flash based units are less prone to problems from vibration. My gen 3 iPod 20 gig has worked perfectly for the 3+ years I've owned it. B&W screen, hard-drive, no video/photo, etc, and it just keeps pumping out great "geezer-rock" for the ride home following a satisfying day's work. The iPod is a beautiful piece of technology that brought music back to life for me following many years of listening to whatever was out there on the free radio. I was the guy in the dorm that made road tapes for everybody before spring break. Now armed with the iPod, 4200 "favorite" songs and playlist feature, I really enjoy listening to my own music better than ever before.