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journal: toy
30GB iPod
Yes, they’ve been out quite a while. Yes, lots of people have already reviewed them. And yes, I did say that I thought they were butt ugly when Apple first announced them. But I’ve now gone and got myself a new iPod and a universal dock as well.
First of all, let me congratulate Apple on getting in the record books for the worlds longest receipts. The receipt for my two items measures in at an impressive 37 cm (14.5 inches for those of you still working in old money). This was also my first chance to venture into the remarkable world of the Apple Store. I’ve been wanting to go to one for a long time now, but due to forces unknown I’ve never actually got the chance. And they really are some of the best shops you can go in. It’s also nice being in a shop where it isn’t up to the random Mac-using customer to set up the demo machine and sell them to the customer.
Anyway, onto the actual review. The packaging is, as always, better-designed than most competitors’ actual products. After previously having a 1st Gen and 3rd Gen iPod, the tiny packaging feels a bit different to the cubes I’ve had before. It is also nice to see Apple including cases with iPods now, not that that will stop you from scratching your iPod between the box and the case. One thing that’s highly annoying is the amount of protection and stickers on the iPod. You have the standard outer layer of protection, that unfortunately left sticky marks on the back of my iPod, then you had another layer on the face of the iPod and then you had a random sticker on the side, which like most normal people, I didn’t bother reading, but that left lots of glue on the side.
Now onto the actual iPod. Well, I got all the cables out, plugged in the dock and put the iPod in. After an attempt or two I managed to get it to mount and updated the software to 1.1.1. I then proceeded on the rather long task of putting my music onto it. Compared to the firewire connection available in my last iPod, USB 2 feels painfully slow, taking about 40 minutes to transfer 10GB of music. But after that had finished I got onto playing with it.
Having a colour screen is so much nicer than the previous black and white ones. Not only does it allow for better formatting of the music, contacts, calendars and such, but solitaire is just so much more playable than on old iPods. When I first saw the 5th Gen iPods when they were released I thought they looked really big, but in fact it’s the same dimensions as my 3rd Gen iPod, just thinner. Not being an audiophile I can’t really comment on the sound quality other than the fact that it sounds just as good as any other iPod I’ve had.
The iPod dock is really useful to stop me having to reach behind my iMac every time I want to plug in my iPod and also to stop me losing my iPod amongst the clutter on my desk. The remote feature isn’t really too useful for if that’s all you are doing, but if you wanted to buy one to put next to a TV or stereo then it has S-Video and Line out, meaning you can use it as a light weight media centre. A nice feature would be the ability to have a front row like interface appear on the TV when you hook your iPod up, but that might be going a bit too far. One thing to note is that the dock doesn’t actually come with a remote so you have to buy that separately, though it does come with several adaptors for the most popular iPods of the past few years.
Movie playback is pretty good but I wouldn’t expect to be watching Lord of the Rings on it. For one, the battery life won’t last the length of the movie. Secondly, the screen is too small for watching anything more than a short TV show or a music video, which could be why Apple isn’t yet selling movies on the iTMS. Also, the playback, while good, is far from perfect, with visible lines appearing on the screen on occasion.
All in all the iPod is worth of its market share in the MP3 market. While the nano may appeal to more people, if you have a large music collection or you want to carry videos around then it is ideal. It also makes a great back up device to keep your data safe.
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thinkback
I recently priced the dock and didn’t buy it because it lacks the remote.
| Apr. 28, 2006 | |
| moreApple | 11:40 pm |
4.5? *raises eyebrows*
Whcih color did you get? I’m saving up for something that plays videos, and my eye is on the iPod, but I’m having trouble deciding which color I want.
I got the white one just because I think it looks better. That and it looks like a mini iMac 
4.5? *raises eyebrows*
Yeah, it’s half way between 4 and 5
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| Apr. 29, 2006 | |
| 12:54 pm |
We already know your opinion on the iPod, Informer.
Yeah, I just can’t get over the tiny screen size and lack of expandability.
The screen size is plenty big for navigating around, playing music, viewing photos, watching short videos and even playing solitaire.
And I wouldn’t say that the iPod lacks expandability when you see the amount of accessories there are
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| Apr. 30, 2006 | |
| 5:10 am |
Compared to the firewire connection available in my last iPod, USB 2 feels painfully slow,
Yes, this really does suck. The good news is you probably don’t transfer 10 gigs worth every day.
| Apr. 30, 2006 | ||
| 4:56 pm |
What’s “Hi-speed”?
USB 2 has a max of what, 480 mbps? But the real speed you get from USB 2 hard drives is much lower, and lower than FireWire.
| Apr. 30, 2006 | ||
| 10:22 pm |
“Hi-Speed” is 480mbps, USB 1 used “Full Speed” - 12mbps.
The iMac looks like a giant iPod. I got the black version and the video is very good.
| May. 01, 2006 | |
| 6:28 am |
The iMac looks like a giant iPod.
There was an Apple ad for magazines that had the iPod in the dock in front of the new iMac and the photo was taken from the side.
| May. 01, 2006 | ||
| 8:48 am |
Wasn’t the whole marketing campaign for the iMac G5 “Inspired by iPod”?
| May. 01, 2006 | |
| Liam | 9:12 am |
I don’t remember that as a campaign or slogan used by Apple. I can’t find anything via Google for “inspired by iPod” either that relates.
| May. 01, 2006 | ||
| 9:58 am |
I saw a video on Apple’s website a while back where they had the Black eyed peas gushing praise about it. That’s where they said it was inspired by iPod.
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| May. 01, 2006 | |
| Liam | 1:57 pm |
Wasn’t the whole marketing campaign for the iMac G5 “Inspired by iPod�?
No, it was “From the creators of the iPod”
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| May. 01, 2006 | |
| 3:05 pm |
The screen size is no good at all for a video player. Lets say I need to use it to preview the pictures from my DSLR camera (doesn’t have a card reader so have to upload it through the computer), I would not be able to view it (doesn’t accept NEF format) and navigating/zooming pictures would be cumbersome (try viewing the top right corner of a picture and magnified).
As for video playback, with a screen that small, it is horrible for watching foreign movies with subtitles especially if its chinese (highly defined characters).
It is still an MP3 player, with a convenience of video/picture playback. I’d much rather have a PMP that plays real videos and support subtitle files (changing dialogues is pretty amusing).
Lets say I need to use it to preview the pictures from my DSLR camera (doesn’t have a card reader so have to upload it through the computer)
I’d use the composite video that’s built-in both units.
As for video playback, with a screen that small, it is horrible for watching foreign movies with subtitles especially if its chinese (highly defined characters).
I go with dubbed movies. 
It is still an MP3 player, with a convenience of video/picture playback
I agree. If I commuted on a train or bus every day, I’d definitely go with a PSP for watching shows and movies and playing games.
For an MP3 player, I’d want something smaller than a PSP. I’d probably go with a Nano.
I’ve actually had no use for either of these. I don’t commute. But recently, I started exercising twice a week for an hour and it’s really boring. I’m thinking about getting a Nano for that. I don’t jog, though, so I could easily use the bigger iPod.
The feature lacking from the iPod that compels me to get something else, though, is an FM tuner. Why do I need an FM tuner? Because the Club I belong to has three TVs pointed at the treadmills and you can only listen to them through FM. Each TV has its own FM station. So I’d like a MP3 player that can play MP3s, but also has a tuner.
The Nano would be perfect for me if it had a simple FM tuner. I have no clue why Apple doesn’t include it. It’s probably a $.05 chip to get FM.
I haven’t started investigating other units yet, but I would have no problem getting a Creative player or something else as long as it gave me “just works” syncing with iTunes.
Of course, I need to see what adding an FM tuner to the iPod is like.
Actually, I might just buy a $5 FM unit and just watch TV and screw the MP3s. Ha!!!
| May. 01, 2006 | ||
| 7:41 pm |
The screen size is no good at all for a video player.
1. When has the iPod ever been a video player. It’s always been an MP3 player that happens to play videos. That would be like calling Safari or Firefox or IE 7 RSS readers. They aren’t, they’re browsers that happen to let you subscribe to RSS feeds
2. I do actually mention that in the review:
“Secondly, the screen is too small for watching anything more than a short TV show or a music video,”
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| May. 02, 2006 | |
| 7:42 am |
I’d use the composite video that’s built-in both units.
Um, I don’t have access to a TV. I want direct access to the player.
I go with dubbed movies. wink
SRTs (dialogue) files are the way of the future.
The feature lacking from the iPod that compels me to get something else, though, is an FM tuner. Why do I need an FM tuner? Because the Club I belong to has three TVs pointed at the treadmills and you can only listen to them through FM. Each TV has its own FM station. So I’d like a MP3 player that can play MP3s, but also has a tuner.
At first I felt that I would not need the use of an FM tuner, but hey it doesn’t hurt having something there in case you need it. For example, when I’m on the road or just somewhere, I would love to tune in to the live football broadcast to find out the progress of an Aussie rules footy game (an absolute craze in Australia). I’m convenienced by the built in FM tuner of my MP3 player.
Has anyone noticed that the iPod screen is smaller than the player itself? The navigation dial takes up a large proportion of the design, reducing the effective screen size. Apple is obviously working on this.
Um, I don’t have access to a TV. I want direct access to the player.
I didn’t say anything about a TV. The iPod reviewed has composite in/out. The camera has composite in/out. Get it?
It’s a minor criticism to me because my camera has a smaller LCD screen than that iPOd and I’m perfectly happy with it. I wouldn’t review any photos or video on anything other than a computer or video monitor.
SRTs (dialogue) files are the way of the future.
What’s that?
Has anyone noticed that the iPod screen is smaller than the player itself?
Yeah, I think this has to do with battery life and the fact it started off as a hard drive-based player.
The hard drive dictates the size of the player. The screen of an MP3 player doesn’t need to be large.
If your priority was video, you’d turn the screen around and make it bigger, as Sony has done and as cell phones are doing.
| May. 04, 2006 | ||
| 9:06 am |
Wait, Informer, you are complaining that it has a screen that is too small for subbed movies? What are you, insane? You would try to watch full length movies on this? Movies drains the battery hard, 2-3 hours tops. Also, you would spend the time to convert the video file to an iPod size and format?
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| May. 05, 2006 | |
| 10:53 am |
You wouldn’t watch movies on an iPod. You would, however, on a PSP. They put out movies on it’s proprietary UMD format. It’s designed for that.
So it’s not fair to criticize the iPod for not being in a form factor that is best for videos because it’s first and foremost a music player.
informer’s priority is videos, it seems, not having a small music player.
| May. 05, 2006 | ||
| 12:49 pm |
1.
Whcih color did you get? I’m saving up for something that plays videos, and my eye is on the iPod, but I’m having trouble deciding which color I want.