Should I buy an iPhone?

Hopefully I am posting this in the right forum. If not, please excuse this and accept my sincerest apologies...

Anyways, I am in a dilemma. For awhile now, I have wanted to purchase an iPod as I have a huge interest in music (I'm a musician/songwriter/producer) and perhaps videos. Namely, I have had my eyes on the iPod 80 GB. Having over 4,000 songs on my iTunes playlist alone - not even counting my countless hundreds of other CD's that aren't even imported - I figured that would be the perfect thing, as well as using it for videos and photos.

Then came the iPhone.

After watching the video tutorials and everything about it on Apple, I have been absolutely blown away at what it can do. Even though I don't use my current cell phone too much, the features on this thing are AMAZING; though I realize I'm preaching to the choir on that. But my question is... seeing as the iPhone costs $270 more than the 80 GB iPod, is the price difference worth paying to get everything else that the iPod doesn't have? I mean, sure, I can use the internet on my 20 inch iMac to use Google Map and the other stuff it comes with instead of doing it on a 3.5 inch screen, but some of this stuff that this thing has is just SO freaking tempting that it's almost impossible to resist the thought of dropping $600 on one.

What should I do and what would you think would be the wise purchase in the long-run? Unfortunately, I do not have the financial resources to purchase both, but any help on making this tough decision would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

if i were in your position i would buy the iPhone. $270 extra for a device that completely blows away an iPod is a good deal. i wish i could trade my iPod in towards the purchase of an iPhone.

If you're going to be using it mostly as an iPod then get the 80 gig iPod. The iPhone only has 8 gigs and for a person with that much music the iPod would be the wiser choice.

Thanks, guys. It's a tough choice, I guess. Though I have to admit, even though I don't have THAT much use for an iPhone, I am leaning towards it because someone made a great point to me... I said earlier that I can also browse the internet, use maps and everything on my iMac. And someone said: "Yeah, and you can also listen to 4,000 songs on your Mac too... what's the difference?" And that's sort of the thing... even if I bought an 80 GB iPod... would I even NEED to put 4,000 songs in there? Would I even HEAR 4,000 songs? At least with the iPhone - the 8 GB - I would assume I could fit say 1,000-1,500 in there and that should be enough to get me through my day or trip... plus, the map thing is really cool. And the traffic... and the internet... the iPod in it... and, oh yeah, about everything that it comes with.

Argh! Definitely a tough choice.

Matthew M. said:

I have wanted to purchase an iPod as I have a huge interest in music (I'm a musician/songwriter/producer) and perhaps videos. ...Having over 4,000 songs on my iTunes playlist alone - not even counting my countless hundreds of other CD's that aren't even imported - I figured that would be the perfect thing, as well as using it for videos and photos.....the iPhone costs $270 more than the 80 GB iPod.....Definitely a tough choice.

Click to expand...

killedbyinterne said:

If you're going to be using it mostly as an iPod then get the 80 gig iPod. The iPhone only has 8 gigs and for a person with that much music the iPod would be the wiser choice.

Click to expand...

I would have to agree with this. Heck, with all of that music, you need an iPod with a large storage capacity. That is something that the iPhone simply cannot do.

Its not a tough choice at all. You want an iPod.

The only thing the iPhone has over the iPod is the larger screen, and you didn't mention anything about video content, so using it for audio would not be any better. Having to always "update" your audio content and deciding what music you want to carry and what to leave could get annoying compared to just having it all.

As for the other features, think of how great they are, but think of how much you would REALLY use them. How often do you NEED maps on the go? How often do you NEED internet on the go. For exmaple, the other day I was out and thinking I'd catch a movie. I thought to myself "I could use an iPhone for internet right now", but in actuality I just needed to ring up 1-800-FAN-DANG for Fandango to get movie times. So I didn't really need it. Maps, restaurants, phone numbers: just a little pre-planning or use of Google's free info hotline can get you all that.

You sound like a guy who is limited in terms of money. (aren't we all!) In this case, I'd say go with the iPod.

Thanks, guys. I guess I was just caught up with all the hype that came with this. Granted, I am still amazed with it and think it's an awesome phone - which I'd love to have down the road - but at this point, even though I tried to, I can't justify paying $270 more for features that I might only use at times. Considering Apple has a history of releasing things in September, I'm tempted to wait until September to get the iPod, but, in any event, it looks like it will be the iPod that I will get.

Thanks for your help, everyone!

Agreed, you really need the 80GB iPod. Sure some of the internet features would be nice, but you are stuck with 7.2 or so GB of storage for your music and videos. The OSX on the phone is said to take up 700MB. For your main needs the iPod Video 80GB would be a better investment.