anchorgrl's Full Review: Apple iPod 1st Generation 5 GB (MAC) MP3 Player
Having owned a Nomad Jukebox for almost two years, i had become accustomed to lugging around a big, cumbersome, slow MP3 player whose batteries would usually die within the first half of my day (it also lacked an AC convertor for the car!)
But then I heard about the Apple iPod... this device is striking in its simplicity, yet does everything extremely well, and is head and shoulders above any of the currently-available portable MP3 players out there.
The first thing one notices about the iPod is how exquisitely small it is. it is almost exactly the same size as a deck of playing cards. And weighing in at 6.5 ounces, it is truly small and light enough to easily carry along anywhere you go.
The styling also draws the eye; it features one simple control cluster on its face, basically just a control dial with a command button in the center of it, and a menu button and three conventional playback buttons surrounding it. It's very clean, very simple. The whole unit is shiny, from the lucite-encased white top surface to the chrome sides and back. this looks great, but is susceptible to fingerprints and scratches, so you will definitely want to invest in one of the many iPod case options that are cropping up. (No, Apple doesn't include a case, or a belt clip for that matter. But neither do a lot of other companies!)
Dowloading songs onto the iPod is as simple as plugging it into its firewire cable, which has the same effect as placing a PDA in its cradle; the iPod automatically synchs up with any new songs that have been added to iTunes on your Mac, and also charges while connected to the firewire cable. Transfers are extremely fast, and you can specify which playlists the iPod synchs with or opt for your whole music library. (Mine is bigger than 5GB, but I am still pleased with how much I can get on the iPod, about 1100 songs at 160kbps rate!) One other important point is that the iPod is currently available only for the Mac platform. I hear rumours that there may be a PC-compatbile version forthcoming, but seen nothing to substantiate them so far.
Once you've synched up the songs, you can etiher plug in the included white earbuds, plug the iPod into your home stereo via an RCA connection, or hook it up to your car stereo system via casette adaptor or FM tranceiver (or, if your stereo happens to have a cable input jack, lucky you, you can use that!) Playback can be sequential or random, and you can create as many playlists as you like to fit your mood. The navigation on the iPaq is very efficient and intuitive. You navigate a list of pop-out menus which gives you quick access to all your playlists and settings for the unit. The command wheel or dial is brilliant; it enables you to scroll through the list of songs extremely fast (unlike my Nomad!) which is especially nice when you are trying to drive and want to find what you're looking for quickly! Playback quality is excellent, and the lithium polymer battery life is incredible; I can run the iPod in the car all day and get 11+ hours of battery life! (If you need more than that, there is a firewire AC adaptor available to plug it in in the car.)
As you can tell, I am very pleased with my purchase of the Apple iPod, and I haven't seen any available products that can come close to matching its functionality and performance, much less the sleek form factor. At $399, it's not cheap, but knowing that you're investing in performance and usability that is superior to anything else in this category should help justify the purchase!
Discontinued by manufacturer, replaced by model #M8976LL/A FireWire interface for fastest digital transfer available Download audiobooks from Audible....More at Amazon Marketplace
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.