Firewire vs. USB. Those of you who are fervent Mac or PC users will likely have strong feelings one way or another on this age old debate. Which one is better? Well which one is better in a general sense is not so important to this article, but rather which one is better when it comes to your iPods. Some iPods can only use USB, while some can only use Firewire. First a brief explanation of each.

Firewire, the thicker more rounded connection shown up top, has been for roughly the past 10 years the connection of choice for Mac users, video editors, etc. It offers a high connection speed (400mbits), and ample power. Its use is common on external hard drives, high end video cameras, and various other peripherals. Firewire can be found on all recent Macs (within at least the last 5 years or so), and also so high end PC’s. Sony for example was a big supporter of Firewire and was the main PC company to include it on its machines. Many Mac users (of which im one) will claim that Firewire is superior to USB, though of course this is debatable.
USB connections on the other hand are also roughly 10 years old. USB is now in version 2.0 (USB 1.0’s connection speed was 12mbits, USB 2.0 is 480mbits, both are interchangeable though with the obvious speed penalties). USB advantages are its high speed, and its ubiquity. USB is on every single new computer out there, making it by far the most common connection used today.
Now, when it comes to iPods each connection has its own advantages and disadvantages. First though, you must understand which connections can be used with which iPod. Bear with me please, as the following may get a bit confusing…
1st and 2nd Generation iPods had a female Firewire socket (these were the days before the iPod dock connector found on the bottom of all iPods today). What this meant was that you needed a male to male firewire cable to connect your iPod to your computer. There was no USB connectivity.
3rd and 4th Generation iPods including the iPod Photo, came with what is referred to as the iPod dock connector. A proprietary connection on the bottom of the iPod used for charging and syncing your iPod as well as offering audio out connectivity when used with appropriate cables or a dock. Now, 3rd generation iPods can connect and sync with your computer via either USB or Firewire, however they can only charge via Firewire. If you connect your 3g iPod to your computer via usb, you can load on all of your songs but it will drain the battery. 4th generation and iPod Photo models are the most versatile when it comes to connectivity, meaning they can charge and sync with either USB or Firewire connections.
iPod Mini’s can also use both connections equally well.
Moving up to the 5th generation iPod with video and iPod Nano’s, we can charge and connect with USB, and charge but NOT sync with Firewire.
Phew! Alright, we are through the worst of it! Now as to which one is preferable and why. Generally, with models that fully support it, I use Firewire. For one, firewire ports provide more power than do USB ports. What this means is that for instances where your iPod needs to be restored/reformatted, Firewire provides the power that is necessary to perform this procedure without needing to use a wall charger. Also, I have found that in my experience Firewire transfer speeds when syncing my songs is quicker with Firewire despite its apparently slower maximum transfer speed (400 v. 480mbits). Also, at least for those of you using Macs, using your Firewire port will keep your USB open for things such as USB mice, keyboards, etc.
Your not really going to go wrong with either cable, however, like I said, in my experience in dealing with thousands of iPods, I have found Firewire to be preferable and more reliable. Hopefully this article covers most of your questions concerning your iPod and your choices when it comes to iPod connectivity. As always please continue to check back regularly for more articles on keeping your iPods in tip top shape, preventing problems, and fixing issues when they do occur.