~~ iPod: A Non-Techie Perspective ~~
Written: Jan 25 '05 (Updated Jan 25 '05)
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Pros: Small, convenient, stores lots of songs, easy to use, PC compatible
Cons: Price
The Bottom Line: I love my iPod! It is convenient, small, handy, and packs a lot of tunes.
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| ms_pookie's Full Review: Apple iPod 1st Generation 5 GB (PC) MP3 Player |
I am not a techie.
When iPods first hit the market, I thought the iPod was just another crazy, expensive, techie gadget. I was certain that I did not need an iPod. So it stored a lot of music in a little package!? Who really needs one? I had a portable CD player if I really needed to listen to music. Right? Ha! If you want to get a hold of my iPod now, you're going to have to pry it off of my cold, dead fingers!
My brother upgraded to a different iPod last year and, being the nice brother that he is, he did not sell it on eBay but instead gave his "old" iPod to me! I was interested in seeing what all the hype about the gadget was, but still very skeptical that it would match the hype. I was still fairly certain that I would not have much use for the iPod.
The specifications from a non-techie point of view: The iPod comes with a 5GB harddrive. I found out very quickly that 5GB is a lot of space and was no match for my CD collection, which consists of about a dozen CDs. It has 32MB of RAM and a lithium polymer battery. I find that the battery lasts for a few hours (8 – 10 hours) before requiring a recharge. There is a little battery icon on the top right of the screen that indicates how much juice is left in the iPod. To charge the iPod, simply plug the power cord into the outlet and then into the top left section of the iPod and the screen will display that it is charging. The iPod also comes with white earbuds that are conveniently labeled R and L. The earbuds look fairly cheesy, so I will be looking for non-geeky looking earbuds soon. The iPod handed down to me by my brother has a plastic case covering. Apparently, the iPod attracts a lot of fingerprints and can scratch quite easily if it is not protected.
It's quite easy to operate the iPod as it has five buttons (play/pause, menu, fast forward, reverse, and the middle is the "enter"). It also has a dial that allows you to scroll down when selecting items on the menu. The iPod is so functional that I can operate it with just one hand. I just hold the iPod and scroll/dial and use the middle button to select. Easy! The iPod is exquisitely organized when it comes to categorizing the music. One can search for music by artist, album, or song. There are also extra features such as Contacts, Calendar, Clock, and Game. A backlight is also available to brighten up the screen; I do not use this feature often as it will drain some of the batteries.
When do I use my iPod? I use it mostly when I am exercising. I like to use it when I'm walking about, trying to get my 10,000 steps in for the day. I use it when I’m walking around the neighborhood and when I'm on the dreaded treadmill. The iPod helps to make exercise time bearable and fun. It is small and lightweight so it isn’t cumbersome to carry around. I like making playlists on my iPod for my walking sessions. I have several playlists of my favorite tunes on my iPod; I make each list to be approximately 30 minutes in length so I can listen to it during my 30 minute walking sessions. When the tunes are over, my exercise is over!
How do I get music onto my iPod? I use iTunes to manage my music; my brother showed me how to put my CDs onto the iPod through my PC. That’s right, you read correctly. I said PC … not Mac! I like that the iPod is PC compatible. The firewire connection helps me transfer music from my PC to my iPod very, very quickly (50MB/sec connections). The firewire port is what connects the PC to the iPod. The port also allows me to charge the iPod with the handy charger. I currently have 300+ songs on my iPod and have used up less than half of the 5GB available!
Final Thoughts
I love my iPod! It is convenient, small, handy, and packs a lot of tunes. If my current pod should ever die, I will be at the Apple store to pick up another. Perhaps the mini ... pink.
Thanks for reading!
Pooks the Non-Techie
Copyright 2005
* Special thanks to Howard_Creech for helping me put this review in the correct iPod category!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): gift
Recommended for: Music Lovers - High Capacity Storage for an Entire Album Collection
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