I've Become One of the iPod People With the Apple iPod 20gb MP3 Player
Written: Feb 11 '05 (Updated Oct 12 '08)
Product Rating:
Sound:
Ease of Use:
Portability:
Battery Life:
Pros: holds an amazing number of songs, sound quality, easy of use
Cons: cost, difficult to replace battery myself or have to send out to Apple
The Bottom Line: Now that I finally have one of my own, I am so glad I invested in Apple stock. They have a goldmine with these easy-to-use MP3 players.
AliventiAsylum's Full Review: Apple iPod photo 4th Generation (20 GB) MP3 Player
When gifts were being sent out around Christmas, one of the first things I heard that someone received was an MP3 player. I could hardly contain my excitement at the prospect of owning one of these machines. I didn’t get that, but for once my husband actually paid attention and noticed how much I wanted one. For Valentine’s Day, this became my gift. He gave me the Apple iPod 20gb MP3 Player last week when I hurt my neck and spent a lot of time confined to the couch, figuring it was something I could play with.
When I took it out of the box, I was shocked by the smallness of it. For some reason, I had it in mind that it was the size of a Gameboy. I couldn’t wrap my head around how much space and how many songs 20gb was, and was a little disappointed that he hadn’t chosen the 40gb model. However, the unit fits easily into one of the zippered interior pockets of my coat, making it easy to keep hidden away except for the earphones.
The unit itself is very attractive and easy to use. The white and metal case is attractive and although it shows fingerprints, it also wipes finger marks away . The click-wheel is very sensitive to touch and is easy to operate once you get the hang of it. It’s taken me several days to really get used to using the iPod and the menu system It’s extremely user-friendly.
Starting out I put the CD in my Sony VAIO Notebook and it installed easily. At the time I was prompted to, I plugged in the iPod and it began to format. The instructions said not to disconnect it, and on the iPod’s screen it had that ominous circle with the line through it stating Do Not Disconnect. After an hour, this was still on the screen and nothing had changed, so I did disconnect it and restarted from the beginning. This time, it took only about a minute for the Apple iPod 20gb MP3 Player. You will not do permanent damage if you disconnect it during this time!
I then spent the next few days preparing my music. I had a good selection of MP3’s from right before Napster was shut down - lots of bootlegs from live shows and rare selections by artists I like. I also have a Pioneer 300 Disc CD Changer that’s almost full so I went through everything and picked out the songs I wanted. All totaled, this came to over 1,700 songs. This took up only about 7gb on the Apple iPod 20gb MP3 Player! I was shocked when I finally loaded it all in at all the space I still had.
The iTunes software which comes with the Apple iPod 20gb MP3 Player is easy to use. I was prompted to open an account with iTunes and I did. I downloaded a couple of songs from them and this was automatically updated to my iPod the next time I plugged it into the computer. That was it - I didn’t have to tell it to download it or direct it in any way. The software automatically updates the iPod the next time it’s plugged in. If for some reason you don’t want to use the iTunes software, it can be used with Winamp or RealPlayer. I opened RealPlayer for something else while the Apple iPod 20gb MP3 Player was connected and it detected it right away and prepared to download.
The sound of the Apple iPod 20gb MP3 Player is great. There are equalizer adjustments, but I haven’t had the need for them yet. There is terrific balance between the earphones and the sound was tinny to me at all. I thought it was as good, if not better, than any time I‘ve listened to CDs on our stereo, and definitely better quality than any CD player I’ve ever used before. When I had them in and was walking outside, even on the busiest streets here in suburban New York City, I felt cut off in a way from the rest of the world. I haven’t decided if it that is good or bad, but I definitely felt immersed in the music.
Operating the Apple iPod 20gb MP3 Player was easy. The click-wheel feature takes some getting used to as it’s so responsive, but once I got the hang of it adjusting or changing anything was easy. Scrolling through my music collection was easy when I wanted to find a particular band or song I wanted to listen to. Most of the time when I go for a walk I just set it to shuffle the songs and let things come up at random, but every now and then I think of a specific song I want to hear and it’s easy to find it. There’s an option on here to store contact and calendar information. I haven’t used it yet, but I probably will instead of buying a personal organizer just because I don’t have so many appointments that I need all of the features many organizers have. Scrolling through the menus and setting with the click wheel feature is just so easy and so pleasant that this feature alone makes it a step up from any personal audio component I’ve ever used before.
One of the complaints I read about with MP3 players was the battery life. I haven’t run the battery out yet and the most I’d say I used it without having it plugged in was 4 hours. The specifications state that it will last for 12 and I see no reason to doubt it. One of the areas I do have some concern about has to do with the battery. replacement can be done through Apple or with the help of kits available on the internet but which involve opening up the iPod and getting into the internal works - something that always makes me nervous. It didn’t come with a carrying case and I’m debating getting one for the summer months when I won’t have a comfy jacket pocket for it. Since I’m something on the clumsy side I do worry about the fragileness of the Apple iPod 20gb MP3 Player and having it in a cushioned case would probably be best.
The Apple iPod 20gb MP3 Player comes with the iPod, an iPod dock connector and FireWire Cable, and iPod dock connector and USB 2.0 Cable which plugs into the serial port of a computer, an iPod power adapter into which the FireWire cable goes for recharging the batter via a normal electrical outlet, a CD with the iPod and iTunes software, and a set of Apple earphones including two sets of covers.
I like it so much and it’s so easy to figure out, I’ve already decided that my daughter will probably get one for her birthday next fall, barring any bad behavior on her part that forfeits it. I’ll probably get her one of the cheaper models since she doesn’t have anywhere near the same music collection I do, and doesn’t need the space I have. Apple has really hit the jackpot with these devices and I look forward to lots of power-walks with my entire music collection accompanying me.
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