Apple's iPod lives up to all the hype!
Written: Apr 09 '05
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Pros: Excellent sound, attractive, many features, easy to use, large storage capacity, portability
Cons: Pricey, no carrying case, software/communication issues, battery life, occasional crashes
The Bottom Line: Apple's iPod definitely lives up to the hype. If you can afford it, I highly recommend it. You won't find a better MP3 player elsewhere.
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| natedogg2000's Full Review: Apple iPod (20 GB, PC - M8741LL/A) MP3 Player |
I received the Apple iPod as a Christmas gift. It has turned out to be one of the bests gifts I have ever received.
Why I like the iPod so much:
Attractive design: The iPod has an attractive white exterior on the front with a shiny metal exterior on the sides and back. It has a nice click-wheel for easy navigation and an easy-to-read, attractive display screen.
Size and portability: For what is essentially a 20 GB hard drive, it is quite small (about 2" x 4" x 0.5") and is easy to carry and fits easily in my pocket. This makes it very portable, which leads to the next point...
Convenience! Having a 20 GB portable MP3 player allows you to carry around your entire CD collection and much more without the hassle of carrying around a big bulky CD case and CD player. It's a true space saver and is great to bring to work or travel, especially by air where you have limited space.
Storage capacity: 20 GB of storage is more than enough for most CD/MP3 collections. You aren't stuck with just a few dozen songs like on many other MP3 players.
Excellent sound quality: Obviously an important aspect of an MP3 player--the iPod's quality of sound is second to none, and can be enhanced further by the equalizer. It is crisp and clear with good bass and no distortion as I've seen with some other MP3 players. So far I have yet to hear a better quality of sound from a portable audio device.
Serves as more than just an MP3 player: You can also use the iPod as a back-up storage device for other media such as photos, a Palm Pilot or daily planner/calendar, a notebook, an alarm clock and so on.
Great features, options and settings: These include an optional back-light that stays lit for a specified amount of time, shuffle and repeat options, sound check which equalizes the volume across all tracks so your ears don't get blasted then you can't hear the next song (wish more MP3 players had this feature!), some games such as solitaire, a good graphic equalizer, an option to browse songs by title, artist or album, and so on.
Easy to use: Powering on/off, navigating through the menu and scrolling through the song list (scrolling can be a bit tedious if you have a lot of songs stored, but the scrolling accelorates automatically after a couple seconds), intuitive buttons and easy menu selection; simple yet able to perform all necessary functions. There is also a hold switch to prevent accidental operation.
Internal rechargeable battery: You won't need to keep purchasing expensive alkaline batteries as the iPod comes with an internal rechargeable battery. It can be charged through the A/C firewire adapter or the USB cable that connects the iPod to the PC, and can even charge while in use. The battery can accommodate many charges (few hundred?) over its life. The only downside is there is not much you can do when the battery finally runs out of life altogether. Also, because of the fixed battery, you won't be able to listen for too long (battery life could be better, perhaps six hours or so on a single charge) if camping, flying, etc. where you can't access A/C power or a computer to charge the iPod. Fortunately, there is an optional battery pack (that uses AA batteries) for those situations.
iTunes software and transferring songs: You must install the iTunes software (included with the iPod) before transferring songs to the iPod. This was a bit confusing at first, because it took awhile for iTunes to recognize the iPod. In fact this is still an issue: the program sometimes either won't recognize the iPod when it's connect or will take a long time to recognize it. Not sure exactly what the issue is here. As for transferring songs, this is fairly easy once you apply the proper settings in iTunes. You can update the iPod automatically, manually, only certain playlists, etc. The transfer speed is slow, but this is only because I have the older (slower) USB 1.1 ports on my PC. If you have USB 2.0, download speeds should be very quick.
Aside from the communication issues with the iPod, iTunes appears to be a solid MP3 player/reader. It can be a bit slow at times on my PC. It is easy to add songs to, browse through, and organize your library. One caution: Make sure your ID tags are correct on your MP3s (title, artist, album tagged correctly). Otherwise, it can be hard to find certain songs. iTunes has a nice equalizer (that is customizable) and you can rip and burn CDs and also purchase music directly from the Apple store (in AAC format), which can then be downloaded to your iPod. Note: Music cannot be downloaded to your computer from your iPod due to copyright laws.
Accessories:
Headphones: Not a big fan of earbuds as they tend to fall out of my ears and I can't hear the bass very well unless pressed right up against my ear. Much better to use a standard set of headphones or Apple's in-ear headphones which are about $35.
Carrying case: Not included. You can buy a protective skin or case for about $20 or $30. I would recommend this as it makes the iPod easier to grip and protects the screen and the body from scratches. You can get a skin/case with or without a belt clip, armband, etc.
Others: Also sold separately, you can buy a car charger, battery pack, iTrip for playing through car stereos, and some other miscellaneous accessories.
Biggest problem: On two occasions my iPod has locked up. You can reset it by pressing the middle white button AND "menu" simultaneously for 5 seconds, although it took me several attempts to get it to work. Once reset it was fine, and I didn't lose any of my music.
Overall impressions: Though pricey, the iPod is well worth the money. It has loads of features, is portable easy to use, has excellent sound quality and huge storage capacity. No more will I be carrying around large bulky CD cases--I can fit all my music in the iPod!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 299
Recommended for: Music Lovers - High Capacity Storage for an Entire Album Collection
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Epinions.com ID:
natedogg2000
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Reviews written: 7
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