To consider iPod touch for 10 year old?

[dilemmasdecisions]

DS has asked for an iPod touch for his 10th birthday and I'm unsure what to do! I think he likes the idea of it as much as anything. One of his good friends has one, they used to be at school together but aren't now, and I think would message each other on there.

He does already have a kindle fire tablet and laptop, has access to FB messenger (but an inactive FB account) to message said friend, plus has email. Laptop mainly used for school stuff and educational things, he's not massively into games but has dabbled in eg minecraft.

He says he would use it to message friends/family, listen to music/audiobooks, take photos etc. I'm worried it could be a lot of money to spend on something he might not use for that long as once he's at secondary school may have his own phone. But it is the only thing he has asked for for his birthday! I wouldn't allow social media and would put in place parental controls and restrictions of course. Just really unsure whether to go for it or not.

Any suggestions for amazing alternative presents for 10 year olds gratefully received!!

I believe iPod touches are now getting obsolete. So not really worth getting one as the soft ware will stop being updated. We have them for work and they are being replaced with iPhones.

I loved my ipod touch but it is sadly sitting in a drawer because the updates don't work on them anymore.
I know I will get my revenge one day when they become "classic" "vintage" "retro".

I would buy a secondhand smartphone and not put a sim in it, you can then activate it as a phone when the time is right

Maybe consider a phone with parental control software (we use Qustodio). If it's an android phone you are able to restrict it much more than an iPhone.

It would give you more scope to allow functionality as situations arise and less likely to be obsolete immediately. Plus you'd get a reasonable camera on a smartphone.

I’d get a phone with no SIM card so he can use it over Wi-fi only.

I didn't realise people still used them.

Surely he can do everything on his kindle anyway? If not i would get an iPad over an iPod

We got our 9yo a Google Home Mini as she wanted to listen to music and DH and I have a family Google Music subscription, which DD has a child account on. We have also bought some audio books via Google Books.

Not without issues as even with the parental controls on, I can't guarantee she won't access inappropriate content. However I can see everything she asks it and the answer given, via the app.

Just another thought if music/audio books are the 'new' functionality he's after and he can message via other means.

I loved my iPod touch but that was five years ago, today it just doesn’t make any sense, especially when it’s still so damn expensive. Second hand if you must but in a year or two he will want/need a phone. If you or friends and family have an old iPhone knocking about them use that.

I don’t think they make them anymore, and if they do they are phasing them out so I wouldn’t buy one as soon you won’t be able to update it.

@jessicawessica I sold my iPod classic a few months ago for really good money!

They do still sell them, I think 7th gen is the latest version but I would look at 6th gen which would be around £180 new. So not cheap and hence my agonising over whether to go for it!

But then it's literally the only thing he has asked for and he can't think of anything else he'd like. I could come up with a few smaller things but wondering if it would be wasted money trying to compensate for not getting the one thing he wants.

Hadn't thought of giving him my old iPhone. I do have one. Can he use that for iMessaging without a SIM? And the other things eg music, audible, browsing?

Sorry for ignorance but can he use an old iPhone without SIM for most things if he has WiFi? So at home or out and about in restaurants etc with WiFi but not at the park?

They've just updated the iPod touch range so definitely not obsolete. But I think at 10 it would be a waste as he'd want a phone next year. Has he got a younger sibling it could be passed to?

Yes you can use a phone without a sim as an iPod.

My 10 year has an ipod touch. It’s a lovely thing with access to music, apps and he can facetime and message family with wifi.
He’s too young for a phone and won’t get one until he goes to secondary school.

Yes he can use your old iPhone without SIM, you can connect to WiFi so he can iMessage, Email, Skype, etc. You can limit the apps he has access to on the iPhone too.

I think it’d be a waste to get him a brand new gadget when he’ll be wanting a phone very soon.

Also if you have Spotify, you can save songs for offline use, so still able to listen to music at the park without Wi-fi.

Thanks for all replies! How would it work in terms of resurrecting my old phone? Do I need to create a new Apple ID? What number would you iMessage? My new phone uses the phone number I had with my old one. Complete technophobe here as you can see! Struggling to connect old phone to iTunes (it says I have to in order to update, cannot do it wirelessly....)

I would erase all of the data on current phone, create a new Apple ID and set it up with parental controls. You would be iMessaging his email address it s phone number.

Delete the data on the phone I'm giving to DS, Pika? How do I do that? Also is it straightforward to set up a new Apple ID?

Go to settings and restore to factory settings

Thank you! Everyone has been so helpful. I was reluctant to spend so much on something I was struggling to see the value of for him, and which he won't use for that long. Using my old phone is the perfect solution and I suspect he will be pretty chuffed as he doesn't think he will be granted his wish! Now to dust it off and get it ready for him to use.....

I can now treat him to a few other bits I know he will like but hasn't even thought of, like a mixer for baking as he loves to bake!