26 out of 27 people found this review helpful.
iPod 30gb review for first time buyers!
Date of Review: Jun 30, 2003
The Bottom Line: A few things to keep in mind as an owner but overall a big big win for Apple and a great product!
My first review!
Lets start this review out by stating this is not a comparison review of the older models, as this is my first iPod.
Opening the Package
The first thing you will notice is the great care that was taken in the styling of the packaging and of all the items you get in the box. You will probably want to keep the box just cause its pretty cool! You get a whole lot of small accessories such as 2 small plastic covers for the data port, extra earbud covers, remote, a clip on case, a cloth bag case, docking station, headphones, 1 iPod cable and a wall charging plug. I bought mine from the apple store with my name engraved.
Keep in mind the iPod cable goes from a firewire plug to the proprietary connector on the iPod. The same connector is present on the docking station. The wall charger exposes a firewire port (just for charging) and you use the same (or buy another) iPod cable with it.
My audio ownership experience
I have owned a number of portable music devices, from CD players, Minidisc players to a flash-based mp3 player, a Palm based mp3 player, and now a 30gb ipod.
While I have great audio equipment, I have also always been pretty sloppy with my cd's and still am. About a year ago however I made it a point to copy my music BEFORE I scratch it, into MP3 using EAC (exact audio copy) with the LAME mp3 encoder at it's highest quality settings. Also most of my scratched up CD's made it over to mp3 with the highest quality settings up. My mp3 files are fairly large due to the high bit rate and encoded at the --extreme settings.
Main PRO!
First I'll put the main point out there, there is nothing like having ALL of the music you have ever listened to, EVER, in the palm of your hand. The moment you realize you don't need to swap some memory card or change a CD or even really traverse some old directory structure to quench your thirst for some obscure song you heard in '97, its like heaven. This is the single most important factor to consider buying the ipod.
Build
Its chrome back is very fingerprint susceptable, I mostly leave it in the belt clip case. The front screen already has a minor scratch if you look for the glare, so I would recommend putting some type of PDA screen protection tape over the screen. The back chrome doesn't look like it would scratch easily.
Differences/Pro's
My other mp3 players could only dream of having such a easy user interface. Previously, I was pretty much forced to listen to the songs on my card and treat it like one big CD. What is so innovative is the real intelligent use of ID3 tags to organize your mp3s.
In most flash based players the ID3 tags are simply used to scroll the title or artist across the screen, however with the iPod ID3 tags are the -core- to giving you multiple ways in finding your music.
With the iPod, you can browse by artist, genre, album or title. With this system you can find whatever you need without spending more than a few seconds in the process. You can create your own playlists upfront or on the go. This sort of navigation would even be welcome on my home computer which is simply organized by artist\album ... It's like having dynamic folder structure built for you on the fly.
Creating your own playlist out of your library is really simple and I think it's literally the next big revolution in audio navigation.
First we had cassettes FF/RW, then with cd's we could also skip tracks you didnt like, and now you can essentially make your own CD's (playlists) before you leave and on the go without the problems of having a case of CD's!
To compare it to flash based players is definitely the wrong way to go since its really a different world when you have your entire collection at your fingertips. To compare it to other HD-based players you need to take into account the ease of use in navigation and small size.
Sound Quality
It has incredible audio quality and is great for people that like to compress at high bit-rates, it plays my --extreme LAME encoded mp3s perfectly. A wide range of EQ effects are also available.
Synching on PC
I skipped MusicMatch completely and went for the oft-recommended EphPod. If you do a google search you'll find it quickly. It has all the essential features and is really fast! It is really easy for me, so I'm not going to spend too much time on it.
Screen/Backlight
What can I say, it's a beautiful monochrome screen. One of the best I've seen. The backlight is a bright blue, I changed the timer on the backlight so it stays on longer since I like the look! The screen is blue in backlight and the buttons are orange.
Buttons
As you have probably read the buttons are human touch sensitive, like those lamps that light on touch of the base.
The dial pad is pretty cool, takes some getting used to. It also is touch-sensitive, you can begin anywhere and start making a circle motion with your thumb to scroll through the lists.
Battery
The only time its really gone down for me to 0 bars is when I left it on playlist repeat and fell asleep! It's supposed to be 8 hours of continuous play without a charge, but just like a PDA you will probably dock it at home or at work and not worry about it. While charging in the docking station the screen is always on "do not disconnect"
Cons
The ID3 tag navigation system is a big plus for me and you can see I write a lot about it. The only con I have noticed so far is with my many compilation CD's (Techno or soundtrack compilations with many artists). This makes my artists list filled with obscure names/bands I was really unfamiliar with before. Not necessarily a big con, since you can roll up your songs by album but something to consider as it can make your artists list a bit unwieldy. I suppose it will take time for me to get used to seeing those names on the artist list.
On a PC (not sure about mac, but probably the same) when you plug the iPod the screen immediately goes into "Do not disconnect" mode. To properly disconnect it from the cable or docking station you need to use the iPod manager software (another system tray icon). It's only two clicks to unmount but I feel the wait time before the iPod goes into "safe to unmount" from "do not disconnect mode" is quite long. You could probably unplug it right away without any damage or anything but I don't like to take chances with my expensive player!
The screen is great as I said, however it does have a noticeable rainbow effect on the top if left on for some time and shows only under certain lighting conditions. From my reading of other owners posts on forums, it's supposed to be caused by heat or being on for LONG periods of time. This can seem to be a problem especially when you consider the fact that charging the battery in the docking station seems to keep it a bit warmer and keeps the screen on. Haven't noticed any rainbow that doesn't eventually go away... not sure its a problem but keep it in mind if you are lucky enough to get one, just don't freak out about the rainbow.
Crashing
It has crashed once and if it happens it just needs to be 'rebooted', which is simply holding two buttons together for a few seconds. You don't lose any data in the process, except your on the go playlist.
Overall
One of my favorite purchases, I love this player. It's a great investment for anyone who loves music!
