Apple iPod Video 5th Generation White (60 GB) MP3 Player

The iPod, the world's best digital music player has just got better. Over the years Apple has added games, photos, podcasting, and other add-ons to the iPod but now, you can watch video too. This 5th generation iPod has a slick, crisp and clear 2.5 inch screen capable of displaying a 320x240 screen resolution. The screen is perfect for viewing photos, playing games, and of course, watching video. The controls are very simple, there is a device called a 'click-wheel', this is a big circle that's like a laptop trackpad, it has a button in the middle and 4 button invisible-button-sensors on the surface: the top, bottom, left and right. This makes it very easy to navigate your digital library on your new iPod.

I received the iPod shortly after it came out and I was very happy with my purchase. I ordered the 60gb video enabled iPod in white. The 60gb model is a bit thicker than the cheaper 30gb model but, it had a larger battery life (the 60gb model has 20 hours of battery life compared to the 30gb's 14 hours – both models have only about 2-3 hours or less when watching videos or viewing slideshows with music) and allows me to store more data on it.

Setup could not have been simpler with the iPod. I have the original 5gb iPod from 2001, so it has been a long time since I've set up a new iPod with my computer. But, this wasn't hard at all. I just had to plug the iPod in with the included cable and I was good to go. I had already previously updated the iTunes music software on my computer but, this is included on a CD-ROM incase you do not have the software (which is required to get music and more onto your iPod). I just plugged my iPod into my Macintosh laptop (Don't forget the iPod will work on Windows 2000/XP PCs also) and iTunes launched asking me to name my new little iPod. After a few other quick questions I was already transferring music, video, photos, contacts, and podcasts to my new little white buddy.

Now some people think..."2.5 inches? How can you watch a movie on that?", it's very easy actually. The screen is very sharp, it's nice and clear and looks fantastic. I downloaded one of the Pixar videos available from the iTunes online store for $1.99 and let me tell you, it looked so great! It was way better than I expected, so sharp and colorful. I would have never expected video to look that good on a tiny screen. I think this is great for watching TV shows on the go, or catching up with your favorite video podcasts while away from your computer.

If you are tech savvy enough you can put a lot of different types of videos on your iPod yourself, such as from videos you record off of TV or a DVD from your library of movies at home, it will take a long time to encode video so you better have a fast machine but, if your smart enough to do this you'd know that already but,….of course Apple doesn't officially support this - that's why you have to figure it out for yourself. Don't worry though, if you have any QuickTime video files on your computer, such as movie trailers or some short video clips, you can shrink them down to iPod compatible files using QuickTime 7 Pro very easily. (http://www.apple.com/quicktime - $29) But, this doesn't mean that you have to know a lot about computers just to view videos on your iPod, Apple has ABC and Disney TV shows, Music Videos, and Pixar animated shorts available to download from their digital online iTunes media store for only $1.99 a piece. If you think about it though, the iTunes store sells a 4 minute music video for the same price as a 1 hour episode of ABC's "Lost", of course what you want to buy is up to you, it's your money. Also if visit Apple's movie trailer web page online (http://www.apple.com/trailers) you can download and save some movie trailers that are the right size (usually small or 320x240) and save them on your computer to put on your iPod later. You can even hook the iPod up to your TV with a special cable to view your downloaded videos on a big screen for all to see.

The iPod can act as a spare hard disk drive too, you can store files on it like you would on a hard drive for easy access. Just remember this about your disk space, the more documents and files you put on, the less music and movies can be stored. For example, say if you have 20gb of files on your iPod and 20gb of music too, this will leave you with less than 17 gb left. Also you may be asking, why is my 60gb iPod only showing 57gb space free? Well see 30gb iPods usually have about 28gb of space and 60gb iPods usually have about 57gb of space, this is a lot of space still free but in order for the computer to make a database of files and space for data it has to format the iPod which takes up some space, the same thing happens on Hard Disk Drives, CDs, and DVDs so this is nothing new in the tech world.

In order to use your iPod you will need to use the iTunes software. iTunes software is free to download, and comes on a CD with your iPod. It makes it real easy to transfer all types of music, photos, contacts, videos and more from your computer to your iPod, weather your on a Macintosh or Windows computer. The iPod comes with a pair of Apple earphones, a USB cable to connect to your iPod to the computer (for transferring data or charging the battery), and a soft case and two white Apple stickers. Although the case has no opening to view the screen or to move the click-wheel, it'll keep your iPod safe until you go out and buy a better case. The iPod is only about half an inch thin and is very light, it may be small but, it packs a powerful punch. It has the power to decode MPEG-4 and H.264 video files, for you non-tech savvy people this means the video playback is nice and smooth without any problems. The only thing you will notice is a 3-4 second pause when starting to play a video, especially if the videos are large files..

If your looking for a great music, video, and photo viewing digital companion with tons of space for your media, look no further than the iPod. It's small, light, and has a nice sharp screen. I use the iPod everyday to listen to music, share photos with friends, and watch videos if I'm in a long car ride, you can even store your contacts on your iPod too, so you can check a phone number or house address quickly. The only thing I would like to be added to the iPod is a removable battery but, thanks to the special dock connector on the bottom of all iPods there are sure to be external battery packs coming out for extended play time.