The next ipod iteration
Written: May 23 '03
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Pros: Ample storage, ease of use, increasingly great design
Cons: quirky system software, can only use specific type of firewire cable, ultra scratchable
The Bottom Line: Cautiously recommended
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| automatts's Full Review: Apple iPod 3rd Generation White (15 GB) MP3 Player |
OK. It is an amazing thing, and increasingly so as time goes on. The 15 G is more than enough for everyone but those who need to carry around several full-length motion pictures with them. It's all great, until it isn't. The system software caused constant (three or four times a day) freezes in the ipod. The trouble can be solved with a key combination that effectively restarts the thing, but that should not be the measure of first resort every tine, and it turns out to be. I'm just waiting for the bugs to become more severe. Additionally, the included case is a goof. Sure, it protects the ipod, but it also blocks access to any of the buttons, and the remote, while cute, is not even close to what a buyer of a $400 music player should be entitled to. So you have to take the ipod out of the case to have real access to the music, and so it will only be a matter of time before you drop it.
Battery Life? Don't buy the figure Apple gives; it is amusingly optimistic. You will have about 3 hours of music...slightly less if you obsessively switch around playlists, etc.
If you intend to plug in the ipod somewhere else but home, Apple has designed the unit to operate ONLY with its proprietary firewire cable, so you have to take it with you everywhere you go. It is a surprisingly huge pain, and a significant design flaw compared to the first ipods, which could use any firewire cable in any mac that had a port. I'm certain that it was done to make copying songs from another computer more difficult, but punitive design ain't going to win them masses of new customers.
The last point is a minor one...possibly. The plexiglass that sits in front of the screen is so sensitive to abrasions of any kind that I actually managed to scratch the screen by simply having it in my back pocket and walking. The simple motion of walking managed to do that! Again, for $400, can the whiz kids over there put a crowbar in their heads and pop out a slightly more durable plastic for God's sake?
In all...good, but could be significantly better.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 430
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Epinions.com ID:
automatts
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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