A Little Background... I loved my 20gb iPod. I had it running like a top for a few months but last week it started to skip songs on me. The scroll-wheel began to take more effort to scroll than it did when new. I take it back to Best Buy for replacement and much to my surprise, there's a shiny new 30 gigabyte model with new features awaiting me in the glass display case! They took back my 20gb and handed me the 30gb. Not a bad deal!
My Favorite New Feature The things that stand out from the 20 gb model right off the bat: This new model has a
docking station! It's a little while box that sits on your desk that you use to 'Sync' (read: connect) with your computer. It's got a port on the back to connect your firewire cable to and also an 'Audio Out' mini-jack. This audio-out allows you to hook the iPod in it's dock up to stereo equipment via a mini-plug. Not a bad addition! The docking station keeps your iPod from getting scratched up lying on your desk while you're uploading songs or charging it's battery.
Bigger is not always better... This new iPod is smaller by quite a bit. It's thinner and the scroll wheel has been reduced in size. I can see the difference when I place the new iPod in my old iSkin case. I'm waiting for the new, smaller iSkins to be released. I'll be first in line. The edges of the new model iPod are rounded, contrasting the very sharp, broken-plexiglass-like edges of the 20gb model. This is much nicer to hold in your hand.
Touch me...feel me... One of the best new features is the elimination of all but two moving parts: The hard drive (which spins) and the Hold switch, which slides. Apple has replaced all of the push buttons used for operation on the old models with touch-sensitive buttons, just like the scroll-wheel. The buttons work beautifully, they are so sensitive you don't even have to completely touch them...they seem to activate on body heat alone! Even the 'select' button in the center of the scroll-wheel is touch-sensitive.
See the light! Apple has also improved the backlighting of the iPod. The old model had a nice backlit screen but none of the buttons had lights. Now, Apple has added red backlights to each of the four touch-sensitive buttons above the scroll-wheel. A very nice touch indeed!
Again, a beautiful package! As usual, Apple has taken a flawless approach to packaging the iPod. Those of you who have opened the box know exactly what I'm talking about. The packaging is, for lack of a better word, perfect. Apple was also considerate in a few ways. They've included
TWO pairs of foam ear-bud covers and TWO plastic caps for the firewire port. They've realized it would be nice to get a couple of the smallest, easiest-to-lose gizmos rather than just a single set. Classy move, Apple!
Getting it wired up Setting up the iPod was a piece of cake. Plug it into your firewire port and it's ready to go. I have one comment, I realize that this product says that it's specifically for the Mac. That's incorrect. Another innovation that Apple has made is one model for both Mac and Windows. I am using the iPod under Windows XP. I've had no problems getting it running. I highly recommend downloading the
EphPod software rather than using the packaged MusicMatch software. I can't describe MusicMatch as anything but crap. It's horrible, enough said. EphPod is simple, quick, intuitive and much nicer to your computer than MusicMatch. It's not an intrusive, install-myself-everywhere-and-make-uninstallation-impossible piece of junk like MusicMatch is. Ok, I've ranted and I'm finished on that topic.
Fill 'er Up Uploading music is simple. Make a playlist on your computer (I prefer to use WinAmp to organize my songs and playlists) and upload the playlist to the iPod. Bingo, you're done. Since this uses FireWire, I've been uploading at anywhere between 4.5 and 7 megabytes per second, or roughly 1 to 1.5 songs per second. Very fast indeed. Also, I don't know how anyone could upload 30gb of music and keep track of it all. I've barely crossed 6 gb and I have more than 1000 songs on there!
The case no one wanted One choice of Apple's that I don't like is the inclusion of the same terrible carrying case that they included with the 20gb model. You can't use any of the buttons while the iPod is in it's case. Totally useless. I'm waiting for iSkin to release skins for these newest, smaller models. Until they do, I'm continuing to use the old iSkin, it's better than nothing at all. I want to avoid scratching up the beautiful polished chrome backing of my iPod.
Audiophile-quality sound The sound quality that comes from the iPod is simply amazing. Part of that quality comes from a very nice set of earbuds. These earbuds are distortion-free throughout the iPod's volume range. I've listened to them at full volume in an airplane and didn't detect a hint of distortion.
The Fun Stuff Apple has included two more games with the iPod. In addition to the Brick game (Pong, to some of us) there is a Parachute game and Solitaire. I haven't experimented with either of them much, but they seem to be easy to play and perfect for those moments when you're bored to tears and have nothing to concentrate on.
Excuse me, but may I get a Menu? The menu structure is the same as the older iPods. You can select many different options that control your iPod, such as shuffle/repeat, backlight timer, alarm, shut-off timer (a new addition) and many others. Nothing too new here but why change what's already perfect?
The Life of Bri...Battery I don't have much to say about the battery life except it is stellar. Charging takes a couple of hours and it lasts for well over 8 hours straight. I still wish Apple would let you change out the battery though. Maybe that'll be a new feature on the 100gb model in a few years, unless battery technology advances so much to eliminate rechargable lifespan issues!
The Grand Finale Now I realize this is a lot of money for a MP3 player. If you love music and have lots of it, the iPod is for you. It lets you carry around more than 600 CD's worth of music in your pocket. This is simply the best MP3 player that money can buy. Anyone who says different is jealous, in denial, and probably wants an iPod deep down inside. If there is some information that you weren't able to get out of this review, I'm sure you'll find it in my 20gb Ipod review. For the sake of not being repetetive, I tried to only review the new features of the iPod. If you think something's missing, check out
Androoos' Review of Apple's 20GB iPod Enjoy!
