20GB hard drive holds approximately 666 hours of music at 64 Kbps (or 333 hours at 128 Kbps) * plays MP3, WAV, AAC, AIFF (uncompressed), Apple Lossless, and Audible files * backlit LCD displays track info * 25-minute skip protection * warranty: 1 year *
1 iPods are for birdbaths
I borrowed an iPOD from a friend and the damn iPOD did not even work. iTunes is a joke. There is no ease of use with that program. You are better off getting a little bit less capacity and going with an iRiver or just buy CDS(I know a pain but less hassle). People who buy iPODs are followers not leaders. If you own an iPod, you deserve an *** whuppin!
2 I can't imagine life without it!
I feel sorry for people who still listen to CDs. Why carry all those discs and a bulky portable player when you can have an iPod? The iPod has changed the way we listen to music. And, on iTunes, you can download music from all your favorite bands like Scissor Sisters, DuranDuran, Britney, Beyonce, Ciara, Usher, and 50 Cent. The iPod can be used for a PC or a Mac. Don't be a dork. Stop buying CDs and get an iPod and join the MP3 revolution!
3 Ipod Maniacs
Since the MP3 format came out a couple of years ago, many people have really found other types of way to get the most affordable methods of music from the internet. Yet, with all that hype, MP3 players have been more popular than ever imagined by the computer industry, and the audio & video industry. However, with so many different companies making those, Apple really went out on a limb to break into the industry with their Ipods. Since last year, more people have bought I pods,, than MP3 CD players, or anybody else making MP3 programs. Apple really did hit one on the head quite well.
Apple's Ipod is a convient compact MP3 device, that can hold thousands of songs in one convient package. The device is really very easy to operate and very quick to learn. Unlike other MP3 devices, you can make thousands of different kinds of playlists, and it also secretly double as a seperate hard disk drive, where you can store various kinds of documents conviently.
Yet with all the hype over the Ipod, there are a couple of disadvantages with the Ipod. One of them is that it of course is too expensive, where many people may just want to consider annother Ipod device like the Ipod shuffle or mini Ipod at a cheaper price. A second problem is that it has a very short battery life. Where this one has only 12 hours, while other MP3 players might have a battery life that could be double or even triple the hours of shelf life.
You still can't go wrong with the Ipod today. It is one of the most popular gadgets on the market today. For anybody who has the desire for a MP3 player. This is really the one that should be used. I like it, and I can't wait to join the crowd of Ipod Maniacs.
Price: C+
Convience: A-
Easy To Use: B
Overall: B 1/2+
4 Not worth the money
My Ipod never worked correctly, and when I tried to send it back they said the warranty was void because of a few microscopic dents in the casing. They wanted $255 plus tax for repair. How are you not going to get wear and tear on a product meant for being on the go?
5 an awesome product -- if it doesn't break!
UPDATE: This is an update from the review I wrote a couple of months ago. I purchased the iPod at the beginning of November 2004. About a week ago (beginning of May 2005), my iPod began to have some problems. A file error began to show up. If the menu came onto the screen, it would rarely play the songs, but could read the information (i.e. song title, etc.). If the song did come on (which almost never happened), it would only play 2 - 20 seconds with skipping before going to the next song or back to the main menu. When I went to the apple website to try to solve my problems, nothing worked. I kept getting error messages ("iPod service error" or "Failed to install."). I even deleted iTunes and tried to reinstall- to get an error message. In addition, I tried to restore my iPod (delete all files and settings and have it return to factory settings). But I received error messages. I called the Apple help number, but they said they couldn't help me unless I paid 50 bucks for the phone conversation (!!!) or purchased the 60 dollar iPod service pack. I'm going to the apple store today, otherwise, I'll ship it in before the six-month warranty period expires. It's really frusturating, especially since I didn't even drop it or do anything to encourage these problems. I haven't even had the iPod for six months and it's already messing up. Otherwise, I love the iPod--when it works. See the below review for what I thought of the iPod before these incidents.
NOTE: BELOW IS MY ORIGINAL REVIEW.
I had wanted an iPod for about 6 months or so, and when my birthday came around, I used every cent of my birthday money to buy a 20GB 4th generation iPod.
At first, I loved it. It was great. I no longer had to tote around my (extremely cruddy) CD player and two huge CD cases. The pearly-white shiny surface makes a bold statement to anyone who sees it. The shuffle feature was worth 150 bucks by itself. Who wouldn't love to listen to Weezer, Shania Twain, Michael Jackson, the Shins, Duran Duran, the Killers, Bright Eyes, and the Postal Service all right after one another? Before I had my iPod, I only listened to the same CDs, but with this, you can listen to everything. So, if you're into listening to a variety of music, the iPod is the way to go. The games are pretty good-- but I still haven't gotten past level one. The sound quality is excellent. It's CD quality and you can also change the EQ on the iPod. It is extremely easy to use. Even my mom could figure it out. The click-wheel is incredible. Everything is easy to find in the menus and settings are also easy to change. The capacity seems infinite, even to a music-lover. I adore all genres of music, and have roughly 500 songs on my iPod. But this is only 10% of what the iPod can hold! Playlist options let me listen to different types of music, depending on my mood. I have homework playlists, road trip playlists and others. The rating system allows you to rate all of the songs from one to five stars. Then, in the playlist section, there is a playlist called "My Top Rated." When selected, it plays all of your songs that you have rated four to five stars. iTunes is amazing. It is easy to use, allows you to sample all of the songs in its library, and has the going 99 cent rate. It also gets songs ahead of anyone else, so you are constantly up on the music scene. They also have genre and history essentials, which introduce you to new music. The iPod can be easily plugged into the wall and charged within 2-3 hours (for a full charge). Songs transfer over quickly, and CDs are uploaded within 5-10 minutes (depending on your computer). It is very durable. I do everything with my iPod, and I can be a bit rough with my possessions. This iPod has dropped onto the concrete twice. Once, nothing happened. The other time, it froze. But all it took was a reset at home. And resetting the iPod doesn't even remove any songs! The earbuds are comfortable, but only begin to hurt after 10 hours or so (I've been on long car trips). The design is flawless. It's cute, retro, simple, and stylish. The white, although subtle, stands out. Your friends will envy you until they each get one of their own!
But unfortunately, the iPod scratches extremely easily. I had a pretty crappy case before with a suction cup on the back, which has left a circle of scratches on the metal back of the iPod. My screen is also very scratched, along with the actual iPod interface. The metal back is covered in scratches, and that is what scratches the most. The user's manual is on the iPod disc. Not only is it a pain to have to put the CD in your computer, especially when it couldn't have cost Apple that much to print out a booklet when the iPod cost 300 bucks. Additionally, the installation begins AGAIN when you insert the CD to try to use the owner's manual. The earbud headphones come with 2 pairs of black pads to slide over the top. These pads fall off easily. I had already lost both pairs within 2 weeks. Eventually the iPod internal battery will die out, and it costs 100 dollars (I think), so hopefully this one lasts a while.
But as you can see, the positive aspects of the iPod outweigh the negatives. I have become so attached to my iPod, that I have a set of rules for it! The price is definitely worth it, but if you are not a music fanatic, I would recommend the 200 dollar iPod mini. But if you don't feel the 5,000 song capacity is sufficient for you, the iPod photo has a lovely color interface. I am still glad that I chose this iPod because the mini doesn't hold enough for me, but the iPod photo is a bit more on the expensive side.
6 Ipoop is AOK
I wanted to jump on the bandwagon and not be left out, so I dropped a load of cash on what is essentially the world's most expensive walkman, to hear songs that I already own on a duplicative portable format. But I'm cool cuz I have an Ipoop - enuf sed!
7 This really isn't THAT good - ridiculous price
Back in December 2004, I picked up an iPod while I was visiting New York. The price was the same as it is here on Amazon. Now that I think about it, I'm actually not sure why I bought this over another player. I simply wanted an MP3 player and it was the first thing that came to mind... I barely considered the others because I thought of them all as rickety and not solid in terms of construction.
At first, getting the thing up and running was a little harder than I expected. I was expecting to just plug it in and go. Of course, I was on vacation in NY, so I ran to the nearest internet cafe and plugged the thing in, ready to rip a CD I'd bought the day before. For whatever reason, this just didn't work the first time and at first I thought I'd bought a dud. I had to make the journey back to my hotel room, plug the iPod in, and reset it using insructions buried in the manual, to try again. Luckily, I could transfer music this time.
I became a little uneasy when I noticed a few scratches on the back of the iPod. I knew it was pretty much inevitable (please Apple, fix the design), but I was a little dismayed that the $35 leather case I had bought to keep my new toy safe from harm was actually scratching it up. I've learned that this player is almost definitely going to get scratched, that's a given. So now I don't bother with the case anymore. If you're in a good mood, think of these scratches as personalization.
Stability. Not as good as I was hoping for I'm sad to say. It's now May 2005 and ever since owning it, the iPod has crashed about 8 times. A lot of users won't get this. It's usually due to me skipping back and forth around tracks very quickly. But it is insanely irritating at the start of a long work shift (I get to listen to music since I work at a library) to fire the thing up and have it freeze. My brother who owns a Creative player asked, "Well, why not take the battery out so it resets itself?" Ohohohohoh! No, you see, the iPod is just SO spiffy and minimalistic and easy to fit into your lifestyle, that Apple conveniently made opening the device up as hard as possible. So no, that's not an option. You have to return home, dig out the power adapter in the box, plug it in, and press a button combination listed in the manual. A player at a price like this should NOT crash.
Sound quality. Ranges from good to poor - very rarely is it excellent. Again, a huge thing to forgive when you look at the price tag. Using Eyomotic Research ER6i headphones (which are specially made for the iPod), the sound is extremely poor compared to my computer's sound card, and to make a more fair comparison, my brother's Creative mini player. It's hard to describe - it's tinny and lacking in bass, yet even on the best headphones, it produces that rippling effect you get when you tape paper onto a speaker, or play really heavy bass on a set of weak speakers. I find that turning on "Hip Hop" mode on the EQ fakes some of this bass back in, but that can sometimes cause more harm than good. I know it's not the (excellent) headphones because as I said, they sound great on other stuff.
File types. This player plays MP3, WAV/AIFF, AAC, and a few others. What they don't tell you though is that if you like to skip around a lot, it doesn't play all of them that well. The iPod handles MP3s with ease, but if you have any of the other file types in your playlist, expect the device to take longer pauses when skipping between them. I decided to avoid the other formats and just use high bit-rate MP3 files to get around this problem.
iTunes. Personally I don't think it's THAT good. I do miss Windows Media Player sometimes - iTunes is considerably slower and I'm not sure I like it's text-heavy presentation too much. All too often, iTunes has lied to me about my iPod update being complete, so I have the nasty surprise of finding that the latest song I supposedly put on it the night before actually isn't there, when I power it on on the bus the next morning. Why can't I just drag and drop MP3 files onto it like I would do with a memory stick?
Usability. 99% of the time, it is VERY easy to use. Unlike the Creative Players, the scroll wheel doesn't take getting used to at all.
To sum up, I think that this is a highly serviceable music player with some obvious flaws that really should be corrected. The reason I'm only giving it 2 stars is because of the ludicrous price, and the appearance - when you buy it, consider this... sure, it looks nice to start with, but is it going to look like a year down the line? Rather more scratched up, I would imagine. There are far too many problems here to warrant the premium price tag, and I think Apple should really sort this out.
(...)
8 Love it
I got an ipod for my birthday (September 2004) and loved it. It can fit all my music on it, and it's easy to use. However, the battery had gradually deteriorated. The 4 hours it took to charge it gave me only 4-5 hours playback on a playlist without skipping tracks. However, I took my ipod into Apple on thursday and today (tuesday) I was given a replacement ipod (brand new) at no charge. I suspect that I will have to pay for my next battery though, as my friend, who has had hers since Christmas replaced hers last month as her battery lasted 2 hours on a full charge. My only other complaint is the headphones, in a word, are crap. I used mine for about a month, then they became very static. It wasn't too bad in the morning, but by lunch time they interference was so bad I got frustrated and plugged in my cheap earbuds I got with my walkman. These still work great, with better sound than the ipod ones and have lasted for over a year (I used them previously with my walkman). On the upside, I find Itunes very easy to use, and creating playlists with the On-The-Go feature is great for when you feel in a ...... mood. I suggest that if you have a lot of CD's, and listen to them a lot, then you should consider an ipod. But get other earphones.
9 waste of money
I bought my first ipod 10 months ago. Toward the end, the battery life slowly got shorter and shorter, until finally it wouldn't even turn on. I called apple, and the said they would replace it for $30 shipping. Fair enough. I mailed the ipod to them, 5 days later, i got a "new" ipod. Opened the box, charged the player, and what do i see? The EXACT same error message! I called apple, VERY upset, and they informed me there was nothing they could do unless i purchased the "apple service care pack" for like $60!! I was irate!
This product is worthless. Apple customer care is worthless. PLEASE do research before you purchase this product, there are many other better players, it's not worth it to be "in style". I had to learn the hard way.
10 so advanced so fun
you know those boring car trips where everyone is silent or just argues or talks about buissness?scientific cure found!pack your i pod with hot songs and you won't be bored.
11 iPod RULES!!!
I found this a great product, maybe a little expensive but worth it!!! It is extremely conveniant. But the bad parts are:
-the earphones hurt without the black covers which fall of a lot
-even though i got the iPod socks i had to take it out to play and it got all smudgy and scratched, which is why the iPod skins would be useful
-if you dont have the patience to download 5000 songs (or if u only know 1000 or less songs) you should get the iPod mini
-i wish it came in colors like the iPod mini, and also the iPod mini doesn't get scratched as easily
12 I Love My iPod!
Although iPods have been around for a few years, they didn't really get hot until now. I ended up (surprisingly) getting one for Christmas. I love the features on the iPod and the many things you can do with it. It DESERVES a perfect 5-stars. The only problem is the battery life. After about 3-4 months, you see your battery draining faster than it should. After a year, your battery is dead and you need to replace it with a new one. Apple's iPod battery replacement service costs $100! Amazing. You pay $300 for the iPod itself, then $100 to get the battery fixed. If you look on Google or around the web's many search engines, you can find a site that will replace the battery at a cheaper price. Apple needs to step it up and get better, longer lasting batteries.
13 How to avoid getting slammed with unwanted marketing
It's simple: don't get sucked in by the fake get-it-at-no-charge programs posted in the "reviews" for iPods!
Anybody who takes the time to do a little research will quickly see what REALLY happens if you sign up. It won't take long for the flood to start. Your inbox will be flooded with junk mail, fyour fax machine will spew unwanted ads endlessly, and your phone will ring at all hours with telemarketing calls.
Unfortunately, I learned all this from experience. Please don't help these jokers rope in any more victims!
I ended up finding a legit discount on an iPod here on Amazon. I love it. It sure is annoying how a great MP3 player is being used as bait by slimy marketers.
14 not a good way to get the "hottest item into your life"
It's too bad nasty people are using 20 gig iPods as bait for their fake "offers".
I found out the hard way that there's a reason why people say "there's no such thing as a free lunch"!
I fell for the get-it-at-no-charge offers that are being spewed all over Amazon.com these days. After signing up, I was blasted with junk faxes, telemarketing calls, and junk emails. All for the "promise" of what turned out to be a refurbished 1st generation iPod.
I did everything they wanted, but still haven't received any iPod, new or used! Anybody in the market for 500 spams and faxes?
15 Come and experience the iPod lockup with us!
After a few months with my 4th gen iPod I've had to reset it (the 'ol Two-Finger salute (Hold Menu&select for 6 seconds)) at least twice a week. The problem is some encodes of mp3,m4b,or aac of non commercial sources (some PodCasts)can actually lock up your iPod. Reading many forums I found that I am not alone. This is extremely Frustrating with long audio files such as lectures and/or audiobooks. This could all be livable if iPod would just have a menu option for BOOKMARKS! It's been on the iPod wishlist since 1st Gen and they stil havnt figured out how to do it.
Ask yourself what you will be listening too. If all you plan to do with it is iTunes, Napster, Audible, etc you should be fine. If you expect this to be your "Play All the Audio" I find on the net device......
Look elseware.
16 let the hottest item be a part of u
battery life is not as efficient but if u want to save some money get it free here http://tiny2go.com/1w sign up here and complete the videoprofessor offer
17 Great New Toy!
I bought the ipod 20G from an Apple retail store about a month ago. So far, I haven't had any problems and I'm just delighted about the overall quality and functionality.( It beats the hell out of the crappy Sony ATRAC CD compression system that I had before. So clunky and difficult to use! Don't get me started.)
The controls on the ipod are intuitive and easy to figure out even if you don't read the manual. The ipod software was easy to install and use. The itunes store is awesome. They must have every piece of music known to man, and you can download your favorites for just 99 cents a tune. I put all of my favorite tunes from my CD collection on my ipod, about 500 songs, and it's only taking up about 1.5 G of space on the hard drive. So I probably could have saved a few bucks and went for the ipod mini. Oh well.
I do wish the ipod 20G came in the fun colors that the mini comes in. Also, it would have been a nice addition to have a built-in FM tuner for those times when you want to hear what's on the radio. Maybe in a future incarnation? Thefts of ipods are rampant these days and it would be nice to have a way to permanently identify yours from others. On the on-line store, they offer to engrave it for you. But at the retail store, they had no such option. I got the Sony cassette adaptor for the car and it works fine, but the sound quality is, of course, not as good as a CD or a well-tuned radio station. If it could be hard-wired into the existing stereo to play direct, that would be ideal. I also recommend the Marware armband/ipod holder. It has a hard front cover to protect the face of the ipod. Only problem with mine is that it's a bit too small. In retrospect I think the guy at the store may have sold me the one for the mini. Oh well (again).
All in all, a terrific, if expensive, new toy!
18 Not worth the price
the iPod isn't worth its price. It took 3 hours to get the iPod to work with my computer and then it took another hour to load the songs. Later the iPod was currupted and needed to be formatted again! The iTunes services are garbage they don't have the selection like napster. Check out the Dell Jukebox and Napster you'll be happier.
19 The hard drive fails dont get
this is not a good mp3 player the hard drive fails after a year and the battery sucks it also fails pretty fast.
20 Lives up to the hype!
The 4th Generation 20GB iPod was my first foray into the world of iPods. I can now see why they've created a culture all their own. It's a device made for obsessing over. The sheer volume of music this thing can hold is staggering, and that's where the fun for me comes in. Ripping all my CDs into iTunes and then transferring to the iPod has become an obsession with me. How many CAN I fit onto this little device??!!
I know plenty of people have thousands of CDs, and even this model wouldn't be good for them. Heck, some people probably couldn't get by with the 60GB model. But I suspect for the vast majority of average music lovers, the 20GB model will suffice. I would say you could expect to get 400-500 CDs onto the player. To me, that's quite enough (and very time consuming to rip).
If you've got the money to buy the 60GB without breaking a sweat, treat yourself. But if you're looking for something more modest and don't have every CD ever released, then the 20GB should serve. It has the same ease of use.
When you're converting your CDs to mp3, be sure to be logged on to the internet. ITunes automatically looks for the CDDB (CD Database) on the internet and will populate the album title, song, artist, etc. automatically. This is a very cool thing, and very necessary for a good experience with the ipod. If you want your albums to play back to you in the right order, you need to use this feature.
Others here have talked about the functionality and the click wheel and all that. This all works great, and the click wheel is a blast to use. It is a shame that you can't delete songs directly from the iPod without being connected to your computer...but that's hardly the end of the world.
My only problems with our ipods has been the use of USB 2.0 connections. Sometimes, the computer just locks up when I plug the iPod in. It starts to look for the new device and then I just get the frozen hourglass. This has happened on two different laptops and a desktop. I've starting using exclusively firewire, and that works without any trouble. I'm sure others have had different experiences with the USB, but for now, that has been my only frustration.
I highly recommend the ipod, but just be ready to make an investment larger than the pod itself. You'll want something for listening to it in your car. You'll probably find you want something for listening to it at home or office through some little speakers or something. You'll want a case to protect it. And NONE of these items comes cheap. So just be ready, but ENJOY. This is one gadget that's as good as its publicity!
(By the way, we bought a couple of ipods from a large "big box" vendor...I won't mention any names, but often when you go there you can get some of the best buys anywhere. They frequently have "floor models" available. The first one I got was perfect, except it was missing the installation CD [downloaded it from apple.com] and was $80 cheaper. Same extended warranties available, etc. etc.)
21 generation 4 of the ipod family
i just got an ipod for my birthday and I love it. it is unfortunate that you cannot delete songs once you put them on your ipod.this however does not interfer with my 5 star rating.I must say to the apple company great job with the forth generation ipod!!!!
22 The best invention in the last decade
The iPod is the best music player out there. Sound quality is fantastic. The click wheel is very easy to use. You do get sticker-shock at first, but it's really worth it.
23 Apple iPod
I really enjoyed the iPod. I hope it was good to me, as it was to you. bye
-Morgan
24 Good
I've had my ipod since Dec 04' I've really not had any problems with it except for the wheel sometimes freezes up and won't scroll, but usually this is fixed by itself. I've dropped the thing at least 50-60 times, and it still works. Guess I'll have to cross my fingers after the warranty run out. If Apple gives me any problems if I have problems, I'm sure my friend who is a lawyer can handle it. 8)
On another note, the earphones that come with the thing are horrible, so I just went out and bought comfortable ones that don't feel like you have a q tip stuck in your ear.
25 iPOD is completely USELESS!!
I purchased the iPOD U2 version from Best Buy. Which I don't recommend doing... THE iPOD IS GARBAGE. BEST BUY is a joke. The first iPOD I purchased did not ever work. Had to take it back after 3 days of trying to make it work. iTunes is a joke. There is no ease of use with that program. After returning the first iPOD, I could not get the PC to recognize the iPOD at all. I tried to take it back but the GEEK Squad guy got the thing to work after trying 3 computers. So, they wouldn't let me take it back right away. So, I take it home. It downloads 1/2 my library and freezes. STUPiD!! So, try to take it back and the GEEK Squad guy wants me to bring in my PC. He says there must be something wrong with it. I brought it in and he couldn't get it to work. So, he gets me to buy new USB 2.0 card, says that might be the problem. (Note that this was on the 30th day after purchasing the original) He still wouldn't let me return the useless thing. I tried the iPOD on 4 different PC's...didn't work with any of them. So, finally 31 days after buying the first iPOD... the second one won't even turn on. So, hurrah!, I take it back. Well, they finally took it back. But there was a catch... we can take back the iPOD but not the accessories. WHAT THE HECK AM I GOING TO DO WITH A BUNCH OF iPOD ACCESSORIES?! without an iPOD?! Well, I definitely do NOT recommend getting an iPOD. You are better off getting a little bit less capacity and going with an iRiver. There is no annoying proprietary software and it is compatible with any PC. Plus you get a color screen to boot. iPOD needs some major revamping before I would recommend it. Don't get caught on the iPOD roller coaster.
26 That's amazing!
What can be said about the ipod that hasn't already? I don't want to beat the dead horse here, but this device is amazing. 20G is the perfect size, not too big and not too small. It's an all too common thing that you see people purchase the 40G and 60G versions only to find out that they only have about 5G worth of music. Apple should seriously consider dropping the price of this device, 300+ dollars is a lot for anyone to spend on a music player, especially if you only use it for working out. Also, it is very rare, but I have experienced skipping on my ipod. When working out very vigorously, the player will stop playing and the LCD screen will freeze. I have to wait for the batteries to die before the problem corrects itself. This has only happened twice in 6 months. The chrome backing and the LCD screen also scratch very easily, with or without a case.
Overall, this device is perfect for die hard music heads and casual listeners. I recommend this to anyone that is in the digital player buying market. Apple's got it locked. payce!
27 it was good while it lasted...
I brought an ipod a year ago and have already sent it back to the store for fixing... twice. I'm a careful user who use the player with its case, but apprently that doesn't matter. Because the weather in where i live is usually hot and humid, the side of my ipod has cracked open. There's a gap between the front and back casings! Although this does not actually interfere with the ipod's functioning, I sent it back for a new one anyways.
A few weeks after I got my second ipod, the sides cracked again. Besides the weather, it could also be that the ipod has been in the charger for too long. The drive is over heated, which explains the popping sides. Anyway, after 3 to 4 months of receiving the second ipod, my hold button stopped working. This was not a HUGE problem considering it was a touch-pad. But sometimes it does accidently turn on, even with the protective casing, and it keeps playing until the battery goes out. And just yesterday, while i was listening to my ipod, it froze and stopped working. I've tried to reboot it, recharge it... but it's broken.
i must say it's disappointing how short lived both ipods were. however, while it functioned, it was very chic and easy to use. it was wonderful being able to carry all my music with me everywhere i go. Again, i personally find the error precentage unacceptable, so let's just hope for the best after the one year warrantee!
28 Not worth for the money....
This is a piece of garbage. I purchased a 20GB iPod for $300, thinking that it is something great, that everybody should have it. Battery last for 3-4 hours maximum. It is only one month old, started shaking parts. This has been assembled in China and quality of the product is no better than any other cheap Chineese products that you find in dollar shops.
When you can buy a new Computer for $300, why should anybody spend so much money on it?. Apart from low hardware quality, the software iTunes is also Garbage. It doent have decent options to manage the Songs.
For value of money, this is the worst item I have ever purchased in my life.
29 iPod The WORLDS BEST MP3 Player
At first I was very skeptical about what MP3 player I was going to buy for the longest time. I used to own an iriver 128mb which was my first mp3 player. It served me well, for about a year. Then it met its demise in a car door slamming accident. This was the first thing that made me worry about purchasing a ipod. The iriver was 99 dollars but an ipod is $300, that can be a lot of money for something so delicate.
The most delicate part of an ipod is the fact that it has a spinning hard drive in it, which makes it very prone to damage. That being said the hard drive can also be a wonderful thing.
First of all the fact that it has 20 gb of storage is just amazing. I already have 651 songs on mine and i have not even scratched the surface of its memory. It also makes it so that you can store other types of files on it not just music, which is very cool if you use windows and are constantly having computer problems.
To me the ipod itself seems very sturdy. Not something you want to slam into a car door, but i have dropped mine 12 times at least so far and it still works as good as the day i bought it.
The only major external problem i find is it scratches easily. You cannot imagine how easily it scratches. I recommend buying a very good case for it unless you want to have a very ugly looking ipod after about 2 weeks of use. BEWARE, even just putting it in the case can scratch it very easily.
The software itself that comes with it is very good i enjoy the way the click wheel works and how it spins through faster when you want to go through to the end, although it can become annoying at times. The way it organizes the songs is fairly neat. You can browse by artist,genre, albums, songs, composers,audiobooks, or just make your own playlists. It even allows you to save contacts and notes on it. But you have to make them on the computer, which disapointed me at first, but i never really use that anyway, I have a PDA to take care of that kind of thing and it doesnt really make sense to use even if you dont. The games are very cool to. I especially enjoy the music quiz. I do become annoyed when it quizes me on audiobooks though. And the parachute and brick and solitare games are pretty fun also. It also includes a clock and calendar.
Now for my only MAJOR GRIPE, the software that it came with, the itunes software, did not function AT ALL with my brand new windows xp blah blah blah all requirements plus some etc... computer. I ended up having to download Real Player, which i would recommend instead anyway. The really cool part is that you dont have to have a mac computer to use the new ipods. They come with a firewire and usb cord. If you have firewire definately use that, its way faster.
The firewire also plugs into the charger so you can charge it.
The battery was another major issue for me when i purchased my ipod. I had heard lots of rumors of batteries that lasted for less that three hours, to rumors saying it died out so quickly you would need a new battery within a year. Let me just say that those are all wrong. I have had my ipod for a few months and can personally say i have seen very little to back those claims up. I do notice a little bit of the battery running out fast, but I use the backlight alot which can contribute to that.
All in all I would have to call the ipod one of my bests purchases of all time. I love my ipod, everything about it. The feel, the look everything. Sometimes (No joke) i will just stare at my ipod/charger and daydream, the beautiful white like the clouds look makes me feel so fuzzy inside. I would definately reccomend the ipod to anyone looking for a way above average mp3 player.
30 Great
The ipod is great it doesn't skip you can hold all your cds on
there a calender, and a clock.But the Ipod is very easy to drop
I've drop mines a few share of times.And the headphones are bad
I suggest you get a pair when you get your ipod
31 totally awsome!
ok i got this a few weeks ago and from the second i started listening to it i loved it once you get it you'll never leave it home, the only problem you,ll find is that you definately need to get a case, you wont think its worth the extra 20-40 bucks till it starts getting scratched up really fast and you will eventually want to get one of the portable speaker systems and mabey a car system so you can listen to it throught your car stereo system oh ya, you should put the headphone covers on when you get it cuz you get way better of a sound as long as you have a good place for downloading like iTunes or Kazaa(its only $30 a year for unlimited downloads) DO NOT use the program Cakewalk Pyro for ripping cds and converting files from one format to another cuz it will turn a 4mb song into anywhere from 20-40mb but the program the ipod comes with will convert files and i think it will rip cds too so if you like alot of songs, tons of features, and a reasonable price this is what you should get
p.s. if you're also looking at the ipod shuffles they suck they dont even have a screen and the switch design is set up to break real quick and the ipod minis only have around 1/5 of the storage for only 50 bucks less
32 IPODS
iPods are the craze right now everyone just has to have one. They are a great way to have all of your songs you love on a hand held MP3 player. You have a wide variety of different iPods from small to large. The iPod shuffle can hold up to 150 songs and is the size of a gum stick. The iPod mini on the other hand has a screen and can hold up to 1500 different songs for the 6GB and 4GB can hold up to 1000 songs. The regular iPod can hold up to 5000 songs for a 20GB and 10000 songs for a 40GB. That is a lot of songs especially if you are a music lover. If you love having your pictures stored and music than there is a colored iPod waiting for you. You can either hold 15000 songs or you can hold up to 20000 songs. For you U2 fans there are a U2 special addition iPods. Engraved on the back are signatures from the U2 band themselves. iPods are the best MP3 players out there in my opinion with the click wheel which is a great feature it is an excellent gift or item to buy. Some bad things about iPods are that if you leave the light on than your battery will die faster. When purchasing an iPod you might want to buy a protective cover because your screen could get scratched if you are not as careful with your possessions. Also it sometimes does take a little while to download all those songs that you like. But in the end it will all be worth it. Honestly if you want to go buy a MP3 player your best bet is to get a iPod whether it is a shuffle, mini, iPod, or color iPod, and you will not regret anything.
33 Ok...
Ok so i got my ipod 3 weeks ago and it just STOPPED WORKING
WTF IS THAT
It was working pretty good but the iRiver H320 is same price and much better
spend your $cash$ on something worthwhile
34 Why the iPod is not that good
The iPod is hard to use and it's complicated. Why do you have to use itunes to put music on it? Plus when i plug my iPod to another computer, rather than mine, iTunes says this " you iPod is linked to another itunes library" and then it deletes all the music and playlists in the iPod. Another thing is that after using it for 3 months it started to function incorrectly, it became slow and in then it stopped powering.
35 Awesome.
I've had an iPod for nearly a year now, and it's been great. It's so handy, the sound quality is great, and it, like all Mac products, is extremely easy to use. I definitely recommend getting one. True, they are a tad bit pricey, but they're a great investment.
Also, if you don't even come close to filling it up with all of your music, remember that you can store all kinds of data here, including pictures, for instance. It's great because it lightens your computer's load quite a bit. 20 gigs really is quite a lot of space.
36 what?!
I am going to respond to a reviewer that said only 1 in 100,000 people have problems with their iPods. Well, I guess I'm the 1 in 100,000. Lucky me.
First, my iPod wouldn't turn on. My dad tried to fix it. When he brought it to the store, it turned on and it said it had no battery. But I swear I charged it the whole night.
Second problem: This is happening as we speak. I needed to reload all my iTunes stuff because the computer wasn't working. When I plug in my iPod, like it says, it says I need to plug it in. Even though it is plugged in.
Overall though, the iPod is pretty good. I just hope it will work soon.
37 The best item money can buy
Let me just inform all those ppl that complain of freezing and just random problems like that. It never happens i checked with amcontosh and apple and both say they have only a couple out of 100,000 ipods wiht problems. I baught mine and the battery life is great. the sound is awsome. IT DOESN"T SCRATCH IF U R CAREFULL.and the click wheel is awsome. It is pricey though so be careful with it and don't complain when you drop it and it never works again. i hate it when something stupid happens like that and they have to sue the company for such prblems.
BUY IT NOW
38 COOL!!
Because destinations are many and time is money,
Some Rich Guy and Apple have made it easier
for you to travel with your favorte songs!
Imagine the possibilities:
vacationing with your
family in Palm Beach,
heading for the Monterey
Peninsula on a getaway
weekend for eight, skiing
with your family in
Aspen, taking the board
of directors on a threeday
trip to Palm Springs.
Imagine the advantages: no security line hassles, no
stops en route, no waiting for security checks.
Now the award-winning benefits and service of the
Apple Ipod can be yours for
half the time and price commitments. For a limited
period, you can enjoy exclusive song acess!
39 iPods iRule
I am on my second iPod, after losing the first in the centre of London - I was so devastated that I immediately purchased another - once you own one you will wonder what you ever did before you owned it.
So, the 20gb iPod is a thing of beauty - it is easy to use, attractive, fun and cool. The only problem I ever had was with my last iPod - and that was that after using it constantly for three months it would pause itself all the time unless I was holding it so the click wheel could not touch anything.
Otherwise iPods are brilliant - hold loads of tunes (though it seems to favor some songs - there are songs I still haven't heard). Buy one today - you will not be sorry!
40 The most overrated product of the modern era.
The iPod reminds me of the Beetles. There is absolutely NO WAY IN H*LL this product can live up to the hype it has received in the last few years. Yes, it's "sexy". If you're buying something like this to be stylin', that's your business and I won't be the one to tell you what an idiot you are. But I will be the one to tell you that these break way too easily, the batteries are not replaceable, and there are virtually NO FEATURES AT ALL on an iPod. To make it do one half of what an iRiver 120 does you have to spend an additional $100 on crappy accessories. The holder is also completely useless.
Upside: navigating the iPod is a breeze, and yeah, it's a great-looking product.
Is this the first Apple product that is somehow independent of the political machine that is Apple Corp?!! That might be the question of the decade. I'm convinced the iPod is much more successful than Apple computers because it's actually possible to buy and use an iPod without having to make a lifestyle commmitment to Apple and all the Apple goons out there who have religious convictions about their operating system/graphics applications/blah blah blah.
Bottom line, if sexiness and navigability are your thing, get this and be careful not to drop it. Budget extra money for accessories to make it useful.
If durability, features, price/value are your main thing, buy an iRiver or some other brand and spend the x hundred dollars you saved on a good cause.
p.s. Wondering if Apple gives 1/10th as much money to humanitarian causes as "evil" Bill Gates. I'm not even a Microsoft fan but the incessant squawking of Apple devotees has forced me to take a position.
Enough already!
41 remarkable ipod
for all you people that are going to order the 20g ipod.
1. its really 18.5 gigs
2. suppose you are playing a song and your earphone plug comes out of the jack, the iPod automaticallys pauses the song(very hot)
3. i uploded 90 songs in less then 10 mins (pc to ipod)
4. INCREDIBLY easy to use.
5. much smaller then the other generations. i was very suprised when i saw it.
6. and it comes with 4 games;music quiz its just like 'name that song' but u have options to choose from, parachute u shoot guys coming our of air planes, brick the classic game, and solitare. you can upload notes into it, alarm clock(you can select a song list or a beep), and thats it beautiful iteam to get
42 Convenient but fragile...
Sound is great, convenience trerrific, but...
My advice is to buy a case immediately before using (make sure it covers the screen as sadly some don't). I've had my iPod since December and noticed the display scratches very easily. Unless you plan to lock it inbetween your palms and carry it around all day, the scratches are going to happen.
Also, I picked up $10 Sony speakers at Walmart that operate similar to headphones. They utilize the iPod's battery and do not require a plug or battery themselves. Small and portable, they are the perfect answer for camping, traveling, etc.
43 rest in peace
I had purchased an iPod about a month and a half ago, and it's dead already; it just stopped working!! I haven't dropped it at all, and it's been in my purse the entire time. Nothing has happened to this product for it to just cease playing (unless you count playing the songs)...
I might be in a small percentage of people who are displeased with the iPod, but $300 dollars is too much money to spend on something that just stops working...
44 To bad it can't be 0 stars
okay don't buy this it's a piece of crap!!!!You can't change the battery your self and its extremly fragile and over priced.
45 When it works, I love it...
I bought an ipod 20 gig and it was working nicely. I was able to download songs, transer cds and so on. The next day I tried to sync the pod to my PC and nothing happened. The battery was showing that it was being charged but my PC wouldn't recognize the pod. I took it back to where I purchased it and they could not get it to sync with their computer. They gave me a new one. This time I was a bit skeptical. Once I fully charged my pod, I could sync it to my pc and transfer music to it. I was happy. Fast forward 6 days and I am trying to sync my pod to my pc and the same issue is happening. I can't do anything to get my pc to recognize that the pod is connected. I need to return this one and try my hand at one last pod. If you buy an ipod, make sure the return policy is good and you also buy the extended warranty.
46 MINUS FIVE STARS
Okay, ill keep it short. I buy ipod. I get ipod. Im happy. I live happily with ipod for 1 month. While living my normal happy life, I, like many other people, reach the dreadful moment during which I drop my beautiful ipod. I go to Apple's customer support website. No help. Now I live a not so happy life, minus $300. dont buy an ipod. please.
47 iconic for good reason
When even Sony's very cool PSP comes out with white earpieces, you realize that Apple's iPod has since crossed that line separating iconic from just a hot fad. Hands down, all other devices feel like they're trying to match, trying to be just-like, and in the end, give better testimony to just how good the iPod really is.
48 apple ipod
I have an ipod and it is a great buy. It holds a ton of songs and looks cool in the palm of your hand. Very sturdy and strong. Doesn't have alot of good games on it. Buy the 20 gig because that holds 10,000 songs right there and that's alot of songs. Buy it.
49 Great gift idea for an audiophile!
I received this as a gift for xmas in 2003. It's still going strong and I still love it. I'll give you that I'm a mac person and also own an imac, so I don't know anything about compatability issues with PCs, but itunes for mac works well. My only gripes with the software are:
It takes a bit of time to burn a song compared to PC programs I've seen.
There needs to be a field for "parent" & "child" tracks, so I don't ever have to hear "Threshold" by the Steve Miller Band without it launching into "Jet Airliner" afterwards. I find that awkward when you expect 2 tracks to run together and it seperates them. Imagine "Heartbreaker" without "Livin' Lovin' Maid".
The device itself is superb. It can take a licking because of it's sturdy design. It has a lock button to keep it from coming on accidentally and draining the battery, and I find that the battery life in mine is fairly long (~3 days without a charge).
There are drawbacks, of course. The menu takes a while to navigate sometimes, especially until you learn it. There is no "delete" for a track on the device...that must be done on the computer. This is only really a hassle when a track has become currupted with skips or beeps over time and you want it off of the playlist.
For extended fun, may I recommend the iTrip by Griffin - an FM modulator that makes iPod play on any Radio.
Overall I think apple did a great job on the design and functionality of this fine gizmo.
50 Formarly Enthusiatic Owner
I absolutely loved my 4G 20GB Ipod, I used it every day and every where. I always had it in the case and treated it very gently, and then, IT UP AND BROKE! I have only had this thing for four months, and it worked fine with only the occasional minor quirk, and suddenly I turn it on and it froze, shut down, and didn't come on anymore. Also, it made this clicking sound and got really hot. I went to apple support and tried everything they suggest, and nothing worked. Would I recommend the Ipod? I dont know, I'll have to see how helpful Apple is and how quickly I can get the product repaired or exchanged. Then I'll have to see if this happens again to me, and how likely it is to happen to someone else. Oy Vey, a month ago I would have written a stellar positive report on this thing (of course with the exception of the inexcusably short battery life).
51 Beware of iPod spammers!
Don't get sucked in by the "get it free" scams in the fake reviews posted here. Spammers are just harvesting email addresses for their ridiculous products.
Think about it for a moment. How can somebody afford to give away expensive gadgets just for signing up for some trial offers? Answer: they can't!
The San Francisco Chronicle confirms says these offers are bogus. Search sfgate.com or Google for "David Lazarus Free iPod not really" and you'll see what the jokers running these programs are really doing.
52 It broke
Here is a brutally frank and candid review. My iPod just broke, and it's the 49th one I've gone through in only six months. I had the great misfortune of destroying my iPod while listening to my Britney before it dropped on the concrete, causing an open crack on the display screen. I was livid. These things are overrated. Face it. You just want to get it so that people will think you're cool when they see you with the white headphones dangling out of your ear. In fact, you'll only look like a loser desperate to conform to trends and fads, and the iPod is just that: a FAD. Weak headphones, a slow program (iTunes), an unacceptably fragile display screen, and an unhelpful support center make this the rip off of the century.
Don't do it.
53 What's with the white?
I'm currently thinking of getting an iPod or a new computer, after a bit of research, I noticed that Apple only makes white iPods (excluding the U2 Edition, but I'm not willing to spend $50 more just for a coupon), the white seems too dull, it's time for them to make less dull colours or shades. My suggestions? Black, blue, silver, dark green, even pink(!).
BTW, I'm not giving a score because I never actually used an iPod, I just dislike the colour Apple chose for their main source of money. And this is not supposed to be helpful, I'm just saying how white is dull.
54 This is a great peice of technology that is great fun
While first opening the box that it was shipped in my excitement started to grow. Inside was a cute little ipod box, yes even the carton is cute, inside of the box was the actual ipod and excitement showed on my face from ear to ear. The ipod is much more impressive when you first pick it up out of the box and you know that this one is yours. The battery comes partially charged and will get you going straight out of the box. The ipod ships with itunes and while it is ok I still prefer Real player which does a really nice job of synchronizing with the ipod and it is a little easier to organize your music. Once the ipod software was installed and it was connected to the computer I was able to synchronize it and I was off and running. The click wheel is amazingly intuitave to use and you can easily master the controls and be able to operate it in the dark. The display is backlit and is very sharp but there is no lighting for the click wheel, perhaps on future models this might be an upgrade. One thing that I noticed was that in the instructions that came with the ipod it mentioned that it would not charge through a firewire or usb port. I found this to be true with my firewire port on the front of my desktop but if I plugged the ipod into the firewire port on the soundcard everything still worked and the unit charged too. This is so cool, I am still smiling. If you want to take your tunes on the road there are a couple of options there as well there is the irock adapter that basically plugs into the headphone jack and broadcasts a low power fm signal or several manufacturers now sell head units for your car as aftermarket items that allow you to use and charge your ipod on the road while playing it through you car stereo. Let the tunage begin as you're "rolling down the highway". This is probably the nicest mp3 player on the market and although a little pricey it's worth the extra cash.
55 Ipod - The facts
Before buying my Ipod I read many of these reviews and I was still a bit skeptical when I bought mine. Now after having it a month, I realise that all questions were not answered in the review. Here were my questions and now, the answers.
1) Can i get all of my MP3s loaded.
A- Yes. Most of my "older" MP3's transferred without problems. The others that I had purchased from MusicMatch (I had a dell player before)did not. I was able to write these to CD however and then upload them into the Itunes program. I guess I was lucky that My Dell player crapped out when it did, days after the warranty ended, because I had only a few songs in that format.
2) how long is the battery life?
A- the battery life is 10-12 hours. I do alot of travel and my previous player lasted 16 or more so 10 is quite q bit shorter. However Ipod offers a battery extender which reportedly lasts 30 hours and runs on "AA" batteries.
3) Ease of transfer?
A- I found it very easy to transfer. In fact on my laptop, the Itunes program automatically transferred files into Ipod. One thing to note is that if you plan to have multiple Ipods or keep files on two different computers as I do, you will need to set up your Ipod so that you can only transfer files manually. If you don't the Ipod will automatically erase the files on it's drive and replace them with the files on the second computer each time you plug it in. The information is in the manual but does not do a good job at explaining this.
4) durability?
A- as you may read in other reviews, the case is soft plastic and scratches easily. I knew this and took particular care as I left the country without a case for it. One day while walking around I placed the Ipod in my pocket. The only other item in my pocket was a plastic, credit card type hotel room key. At the end of the day my screen was scratched up more than you would beleive. If you buy one, don't leave the store without the carry case. I purchased a PDA screen protector sticker, cut it to size and placed it on my Ipod screen as well. This does help reduce the evidence of the existing scrathes too.
5) Battery Life?
A- as it's only been a month and this is my first Ipod, I don't have an answer but apparently you can send your Ipod in for service which you couldn't do with my previous player. If your Dell hard drive crashes and you don't call before the warraty is expired, don't expect too much help or sympathy. They advised me to buy a new one. I did, only this time I bought Ipod.
After my bad experience I will not advise anyone whether or not to go out and buy this product after such a short ownership period. I can say however that I am really enjoying my Ipod and the peripherals available are pretty darn exciting. I hear that the Bose speaker is second to none. I travel extensively and I will not leave my house without my Ipod. My only regret is that the 40GB unit was not readily available when I walked into the store.
56 Great portable audio!
I use it an home (earphones) in my car (direct connection to my car stereo) and at the office (powered speakers).
It is great to have your music with you wherever you may roam.
57 it's a FIASCO
I don't know a single person who hasn't had problems with the iPod's battery life. This is my second iPod whose battery proves rubbish. Got the ZEN by CREATIVE, all problems solved. I now use my iPod as an external hard drive for my PC, it's all its good for. Highly recommended!
58 The Complete iPod Review
**UPDATES**
*(4-28-05)- Contrary to what new reviews state, you CAN delete songs off your iPod. Wonder how..? It's so simple. Connect the iPod to the computer, once it shows up on the left navigation panel, click on it and it will display your songs. Click the song(s) you wish to delete, and press the delete key. Poof, gone!
Simple as that.
****************************************
I recently purchased an iPod and I am glad to say I am thus very satisfied with it. The aspects of the iPod I will be reviewing are sound quality, equipment, ease of use, accesories, and my satisfaction with it.
1. Sound Quality (5/5)
*First off, I got my iPod and charged it for four hours, after that, I installed the firmware and loaded on all my songs. After that, I listened to them with the white headphones that came with the iPod. To my amazement, the sound quality was superb; even better than my Sony M-Models (which are great)! The sound is very crisp and clear, so this aspect gets a 5/5.
2. Equipment (4/5)
*The iPod comes with a basic starters kit, everything you need to get started: an AC Adapter to charge it, a Firewire cable for the Mac user and a USB cable for Windows users to use. Along with this comes an installation disc, stock Apple headphones and cotton earphone covers. The earphones produce great sound quality, the firewire cable plugs into the AC Adapter as well as a 4-6 pin firewire port. Otherwise, the USB Port is used for Windows. The transfer speeds with the USB is amazingly fast, transferring 500 songs in a little under 6 minutes. The only thing I was dissapointed with was the lack of instructions in the users manual, but otherwise this is a great aspect in the product. Since the dock nor case was included with this generation of iPod, this field is not to its greatest potential.
3. Ease of Use (5/5)
*Nothing much to say here: very easy to install, just pop in the disc and follow the instruction. It takes 5 minutes to set it up and start ripping songs. This gets a 5/5.
4. Accesories (5/5)
*If you're like me and don't like 'abusing' your iPod, then buy it some accesories. I would recommend getting a case or an iSkin, and the Griffin iTrip FM reciever for a bit more fun. There are loads of accesories, but I recommend the Apple dock. 5/5 on all the options. I highly recommend a case since it scratches extremely easily, I put it in my jeans the first day and the LCd looks scratched (and it is too).
Battery Life: To tell it to you straight, I do not know one iPod user who HAS had battery problems. Here is how the real battery meter works, since the iPod battery meter is misleading. The battery lasts about an hour with the full icon. It then lasts about 2 hours on the 70-80%. It lasts about 3 hours on 60% and an hour on 40%. At 20% its about 1 hour and at 10%, it can easily last 2 or 3 more hours. The battery life is at least 10 hours with the backlight off at 60% volume and about 6 hours with it on.
The Problems: People on this site say they have problems with the iPod, but it is honestly not the iPod's fault. Let me explain. Either their iPod is used on an incompatible operatins system or they haven't followed proper instructions on the disc. The iPod is only compatible with Windows 2000 ME and XP. It works on all Macs, so Mac people can just plug and play. Windows users cannot just plug and play: they need to install the software on the disc. DO NOT format it with the Windows formatter, it WILL mess up the iPod. When you pop in the disc, follow instructions and don't decided to skip a step. When you reboot the computer, REMOVE the iPod and plug it in when the computer starts. This can be a problem for many that don't know. Anyways, after everything is done, simply plug the iPod into the USB and let iTunes open. Depending on your computer, this should take about 30 seconds. Then simply drag files to the iPod or start ripping CD's.
Another problem people with a new iPod tend to have is not payint attention to the iPod. When it is plugged in to iTunes, do not disconnect it. After you press the eject button on iTunes taskbar, wait until the do not disconnect sign disappears off the iPod. If not, it is bad, it might damage your HDD.
The warranty is here for a reason people. If somehow your iPod does not work from the beginning, register your iPod and SEND IT BACK. Apple will replace it or fix it. Simple as that.
The iPod is compatible with every format of music file EXCEPT Windows Media File (WMV). Why, you ask? Probably since it is adopted by competitors like Napster and Microsoft. Oh well, you can always use the ever-so-popular MP3, AAC (which I recomment because Apple Lossless [AAC] means you lose no quality from the CD version you just burned). Though, you can always convert your WMV files with programs like Winamp.
Another problem iPod users encounter is losing their music. The thing is, you have Auto-Sync on and you think that since the music is on your iPod, you can delete it from the computer since its taking up valuable space. Then next time its plugged, everything is gone. How to fix this? Easy, disable auto-sync and enable manual sync. Just uncheck the auto-sync box when you install the iPod. Trust me, it will save you time and frustration. To keep track of which songs you need to put on the iPod, create a playlist in iTunes and store the latest songs there. After they are loaded into the Pod, delete them and keep updating and loading and so on.
Why the 20GB iPod is the best choice: The 20GB iPod is the best choice for anyone for multiple reasons. First off, the space will serve you well in the long run. You can get anywhere from 3700 songs to 5000 depending on how big your files are encoded. The elegant, sleek, and thin look makes it very professional and the battery life and portability make it even better. The price is just right for many peoples budget and you get a player to impress yourself and your friends.
The Conclusion: I am very satisfied with what Apple has given me. For 300 dollars (284 at the moment, thanks to Amazon's sale), you get a very sturdy MP3 player with loads of space, great sound quality, and a very elegant look. Sure it has a few downsides, like the easy ability to get scratched, but nothing is perfect. The only problems you might have are probably your own fault. If you thoroughly read my review, I guarantee you that you are set to go. I HIGHLY recommend the iPod to you.
Total Rating:
Total Available Points: 20
Scored Points: 19/20
Percentage Grade: 95%
Grade Letter: A
Peace Out Everyone,
Serge A.
59 I Use It Every Day
I got this 20GB iPod as a gift about 6 months ago. I wasn't exactly thrilled at the time, as I didn't think I had much use for it. Boy was I wrong. I love this iPod and I use it every single day -- when running on my treadmill, working around the house, doing yard work, and reading in bed. I just filled it up (after ripping about 400 of my CDs) and am about to buy a 40GB version! Here are some comments or pointers you might find helpful:
* Plan to buy some good headphones. Maybe they're OK for some people, but I find the included ear buds highly uncomfortable.
* If you have a Windows PC, make sure you have Windows XP or you're willing to upgrade to XP. The iTunes software that manages your music library won't run on Windows 98.
* If you don't have a Firewire port on your computer, make sure you have a "high power" USB 2.0 port. My 4-year old top-of-the-line computer didn't have one (it only had USB 1.1), so I had to buy and install a USB 2.0 adapter board. If you have a newer computer with a 2.0 USB port that's on the computer itself (as opposed to an external hub which might not supply power thru the USB), then you're OK.
* If you have a lot of music, you may end up buying a larger disk drive. If you want to fill your 20GB or 40GB iPod, you'll need at least 20GB or 40GB of free disk space, obviously. I got a 120GB drive, and now I plan to get a 2nd 120GB drive to use for backups (because I don't want to have to rip over 400 CDs again if my drive goes bad!).
* Get a padded carrying case. Before I got one, I dropped my iPod a couple of times and I was so lucky that it continued working. Case Logic makes a fine, padded nylon case with a removable arm band and belt loop. (I think Case Logic makes the best-designed cases for cameras, laptops, and other devices).
* You'll probably want to get adapters for playing your iPod through your home stereo and car stereo. After all, when your entire CD collection is in a unit the size of a deck of cards, why would you want to deal with old-fashioned physical CDs anymore? I got a generic brand cassette player adapter for playing the iPod in my car's cassette player. And a simple "stereo miniplug to RCA plugs" adapter from Radio Shack will let you enjoy all the continuos play and shuffle features on your home stereo.
* When you first set up your iPod and install the software for the first time (at least on a Windows PC), it is pretty confusing. I'm an expert computer user, and I had difficulty getting through it and had to start over a couple times. I can't believe how lame the user interface is for this process! But once you get through it and you start using iTunes to manage the music on your iPod, it's a much better experience.
* I've read complaints that the instruction booklet is not thorough enough. That is true. But there is a complete manual on the CD that comes with the iPod. When you install the software from the CD, I don't think the User Guide is copied from the CD to your computer, so it's no wonder people never see it. So make sure you look on the CD for the User Guide PDF file.
* It took me forever to figure out how to shuffle the songs within an album, but you can do it. Doesn't Apple test the user interface on real people before releasing an important product? Apparently not. It's confusing because there are 2 Shuffle options on the menus. The "Shuffle Songs" option on the main menu is what most people see and use. It shuffles all the songs on your iPod. But if you want to just play one album and shuffle the songs on the album, you have to go to the Settings menu. On the Settings menu, there is a Shuffle setting with 3 options: Songs, Albums, Off. If you select Songs, then exit the Settings menu to play an album or playlist, the songs within the album or playlist are played in shuffled order (yay!). If you select Albums, then albums are played in shuffled order (but not the songs within the albums) -- I haven't tried this so I can't describe how you start playing a series of albums.
* I've read complaints that when you shuffle songs, you get things like audio books playing in your shuffle mix. You can avoid this from happening by using a combination of the file information (tags), playlists, and the above tip on how to shuffle songs within a playlist. For example, make sure all your audio books have something in common in one of the tags (e.g., set the Genre to "book") -- you can do this in iTunes with the "Get Info" selection. Then create a playlist named "Just Music", say, by selecting all files where Genre does not contain "book". Now, you can play your "Just Music" playlist in shuffled order (see the above tip). You can use the same idea to create playlists of just classical music, rock music, etc., so that you don't get an ear-shattering Jimi Hendrix jam in the middle of your bedtime soft music shuffle! Why doesn't Apple show how to do this anywhere in their user guide or web site? Sheesh!
* Like so many others, I guess, I just love playing all of my thousands of songs in shuffle mode. I never know what's coming next, but I know it's something I will like, because it's from my music collection. It's surprising how many songs I can't identify, because they are from CDs I don't play that often. And I have discovered many great songs that I never really noticed before, simply by playing them out of context from the rest of the CDs that they appear on.
So, although the installation, some of the user interface, and the user guide are sometimes brain-dead, the iPod itself is an incredible device. For an extreme music lover like myself, I'd almost say it's "life changing", but that may be going a bit overboard!
60 Great until it break$
Nothing more to say that already has not been said, this is a great product, great interface, and a nicely designed player.
That being said, it is a great product until it no longer works. I would recommend that anyone considering purchasing this product go to take a look at Apple's site, in particular the support section. It details many of the issues that frequently occur with this product, offers several lengthy steps to take to correct the problems (none of which worked for me), all of which result in a headache, an expensive repair bill, and the ever existing question of when it is going to break (of freeze up) again.
I would guess that the problem is that these players use disks instead of flash memory; great for large storage, but there seems to be a cost to reliability.
I bought one, but will never buy another Apple (disk) MP3 player again.
61 Well worth the financial investment
It's not often I feel that I must own something. The Apple iPod was one of those few exceptions. After downloading the iTunes program more than a year ago and purchasing hundreds of my favorite songs, it only seemed appropriate that I take the next step and make my collection portable. I researched the different models offered by Apple and finally settled on the 20GB version because it was within my price range and I figured there'd be no shortage of tunes with its 5,000 song capacity.
I was at first skeptical of the 12-15 hour battery life. In the beginning, it didn't seem like the battery was lasting long enough. However, I read somewhere that it sucks more battery when you're uploading songs onto it. Sure enough, after the initial few charges, when I had the majority of my music uploaded, the battery performed exactly as it was supposed to.
To date, I've converted almost all of the CD's that I own and I still have plenty of free space on the 20GB drive. At times, I even feel overwhelmed by all of the choices that I do have. I borrowed my cousin's copy of `The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown (13 discs) and put it on my iPod for an upcoming 10 hour flight. iTunes is user friendly and the best music-downloading program I've used. I like having the option of only buying the individual songs that I want instead of having to buy full albums. And they have almost everything. I even downloaded The Wiggles for my three-year-old. A few popular artists still aren't included, but hopefully they will be in time.
So far, I haven't purchased the dock, but it hasn't slowed me down. The iPod can be charged with either a USB cable hooked to your computer (takes longer if you don't have a high-speed USB port) or via an outlet. Both cords come with it.
I researched my options for listening to the iPod in my car, and finally settled on the Belkin cassette adapter. It has the most reasonable price, and if you're not an audiophile, it'll suit you just fine. I've found that it works best when the iPod is at about 75% volume; otherwise, there is a marked loss in sound quality. I also purchased a Belkin cover for my iPod, mainly because it was the only one available locally. The one I have has no place to store the headphones, which is kind of a drag, but I think it's important to protect my investment.
Overall, I am very pleased with my iPod. It was a good chunk of money, but worth it to have all of my music in one place.
62 One of my best investments
I didn't really know anything about the ipod until I started college. It seemed like everyone on campus had one, and me (being a person who listens to music almost 24/7) had to have one. At first the price threw me ($300 for a 20gb ipod) but I started playing with ones that friends had and immediately began to see the benefit of owning one. After receiving one as a gift, there hasn't been a day where I haven't used it. So far, I've had it for about two months and haven't had any problems with it. Operating I-Tunes is simple, and accessing your music library on the actual ipod is a breeze. I was able to put my entire music collection (about 1800 songs) onto the ipod quite easily. It automatically recognizes your CD's even if they are burnt. If I-Tunes doesn't automatically recognize the CD, you can easily search for track names or put them on yourself. If you have a lot of music, this process can take awhile, but after you initally put all your existing music on, putting more on is a just matter of minutes. I've heard a lot of complaints about battery life, but mine hasn't been an issue at all. I would recommend that you invest in a good case because the ipod tends to scratch very easily. Other than that, this is a wonderful piece of equipment and I would recommend it to anyone.
63 It really IS amazing
For months, like most teenagers in America, I have craved an iPod. As you are aware, there is a premium of sorts to pay for what the iPod offers. It is well worth it however.
Unlike other players on the market, the software included with the iPod is very user friendly. It automatically syncs your music with your iPod, and it does so very fast (<1sec per song). It also can convert wma's to mp3 or aac, a very handy feature for those who frequently rip music using Windows Media Player.
Now to the iPod itself. I have used many different mp3 players, and none can compare to the great ergonomics of the player. The click wheel and intuitive menus make accessing a large library of music possible with a flick of the thumb. No extra or bulky menus are here, unlike many players such as the Dell DJ. I particularly like the iPod's playlist system. The iPod automatically creates playlists such as most played, best rated, and most recently added. But, by pressing one button, you can create your own on-the-go playlists. The sound quality is also above average. The capacity of the player will hold a massive amount of music, more than most people have.
Several features of the iPod make it more than just an mp3 player. In iTunes, you can enable the iPod to be used as a hard drive. This allows you to carry around up to 20gb of data, the equivalent of tens of thousands of word documents. The iPod also allows you to transfer your contacts, calendars, to do lists, and notes over to it. The games on the iPod, such as a Breakout-clone and Solitaire are very entertaining for long classes or meetings.
I do have two major complaints about the iPod, however. Apple has created a beautiful work of art with the iPod. People will bug you to death if you get an iPod, and there will always be someone who wants to see it. That creates another problem. Scratches. Scratches. More scratches. The iPod scratches EXTREMELY easily. I have to recommmend you buy a case for your player, or else you will grieve over an evergrowing number of little scratches.
I love my iPod to death, and so will you. It is worth the extra money. Once you get one, though, prepare to be assaulted with those who aren't fortunate enough to have one of these little works of art.
64 The Great And Versatile iPod
I love my iPod! I have wanted one for a long time, but just didn't want to spend the money. I wish I had a long time ago. The sound quality is excellent, accessing the music is easy, and the controls are generally well thought out. As a Windows user, I had to install the software including drivers and iTunes on my desktop, and this is the only area where I encountered a nuisance. The first install did not work correctly and would never transfer music to the iPod (but did allow me to register with Apple and load songs into iTunes). Eventually I had to uninstall the whole works and reinstall it from scratch, and from then on it has worked like a dream. I still give the iPod five stars, though, as it could have been something I did incorrectly during the install (though I did follow the onscreen prompts) so I'll give Apple the benefit of the doubt.
My only regret is that I bought the 20GB model, which is way too big for what I really need: I would have been better off with a smaller model of lower capacity. Perhaps over time I will fill it up, but with almost 250 songs on my iPod now and less than 1GB used, I have a long way to go. That's the only advice I would give to someone considering an iPod purchase: you really may not really need 20GB or 40GB. The iPod does come with other nifty software accoutrements, but honestly I haven't used them much as I use the iPod to listen to music while I run or on a plane. The battery holds a charge for a very long time (maybe 15 or so hours of use) so realistically there are no real range or endurance issues associated with iPod use.
My only complaint (really more of an observation) is that the outside finish of the iPod is rather delicate, so I am going to get a case for mine so it doesn't get all scratched up. (It sure does look nice, though!)
I recommend this to any music lover anywhere: the quality of the audio is excellent, the controls and indicators rapidly become intuitive, and the storage capacity and battery life are huge!
65 An amazing product but...
The iPod has everything one can wish for great sound quality, amazing portability and Apple's reliability.
The ONLY thing wrong with it is that the front and the back metal casing scratch VERY easily. My recmmendation is that you by a case ASAP
66 Quality item
Amazing quality. I've tried Mp3 players from Nex, Creative and sony and none of them lasted longer than 4 months. Half of my Music collection is on my ipod and it takes only seconds to find that song that has been anoyingly playing over and over in my head. I balked at the price, but[...] It seemed too good to be true, but I guess it's a legitimate marketing technique that more and more online companies seem to be using.
67 iPods are Superior !!
The 20GB iPod is probably the best little gizmo to hit the electronics market since the first compact disc player was sold over 20 years ago. The iPod is just like having a CD changer in your back pocket with hundreds of tunes at your fingertips to choose from. I am simply amazed by their feel, balance, sound, and ease of use. When I first purchased an iPod mini at Christmas I never thought I would use all of the memory, but iTunes changed all that. There are audiobooks, music choices, and standup comedy routines from Jerry Seinfeld to Rodney Dangerfield to choose from on iTunes. I eventually purchased a larger 20GB iPod, and now it's like having a Sirius satellite radio in my back pocket ! I am quickly becoming a power iPod user with one iPod or the other in my office, car, briefcase, or home. Now Apple just needs to invent an iPod that has long range battery power (over 50 hours) and will download and display DVD video. It's no wonder Apple controls the MP3 market with these great little devices. Keep going Apple, don't stop now !!
68 I like my electronic toys - and this is my favourite!
This little thing is just so handy! Now I can buy music from iTunes and download it directly to this portable device. I like the fact that it's not too small; I don't mislay it so easily. I bought a microphone for it, and found an unexpected boon: I now record all my lectures, so that I can replay them and listen to them again! This is highly useful for me since I study language and communication.
I can also download pictures from my camera, with the help of a small media reader. This is very handy, because I don't have to carry my laptop anymore. When I come back home I just connect the iPod to the computer, and they download automatically.
The only problem I have with it is that the batteries are comparatively short-lived.
69 next year we'll be saying iPods are so last year, but...
iPods are all the rage.
70 why pay when you can get one for free
I bought my first ipod 7 months ago and its the best but if i knew that i could get one for free i would have done that instead.
my friend told me that he got a free ipod in the internet
then he told me that i just had to refer some people and i would get one
so i did that. [...]
71 A must have item for anyone on the go
A lot of my friends had IPod's and spoke very favorly of them I said c'mon it's just an mp3 player, so what. Boy was I wrong !
So I finally decided to get a 20gb model [with click wheel - 4generation] about 6 months ago.
The IPod is great in terms of ease of use. You download Itunes and can organize your music files, audiobooks etc. You can take songs from your cd colletion and add them to your player, download songs from Apples Store, listen to AudioBooks [which I do very frequently] and set up your own playlists.
The IPod is great for plane trips, working out, and just normal day to day activities.
My only negative is I wish the battery life was a little longer. I think this is one of the best Mp3 players on the market today.
72 Greatest tech item I've ever purchased
I recently purchased the 20gb 4th generation iPod and couldn't be happier. It honestly is the greatest tech item I've ever purchased. Nothing beats being able to put that many songs in one place. It can get a bit tedious uploading all of that music to your computer but it is certainly worth. You become more intimite familiar with your music when listening to it all and deciding what's good and what sucks. I like being able to load a cd, delete the crappy songs, skits, etc and having nothing but great music left. I hook it up to my home stereo (extra accessory) and don't have to deal with changing cds. If you're still on the fence, just go for it. You'll be glad you did.
Another fringe benefit is if you have any friends with an iPod. I just borrowed one of my friend's 4gb and my sister's 20 gb and copied all of there songs to my computer. Now, I can simply tell itunes to show all duplicates, erase those, and listen to all the new music and delete what I don't want.
Just buy one, you won't be disappointed.
73 Not perfect, but I'm still enamored...
I've had an iRiver MP3 player for a year or so now, and it's really great for listening to the radio. It's small and lightweight, but it has very little storage space and the shape is clunky. I set my sights on this super sexy iPod and didn't stop until I finally had one in my hands. I am so in love with this thing I can hardly stand it.
It's got LOTS of pros, and a couple minor cons, which I will outline below. It's still an absolutely unbeatable value for the amazing technology you're getting, so don't let a few petty cons dissaude you from owning THE coolest thing on the planet right now for any music lover.
The iPod is a little more weighty than I expected, but it's not unmanageable. The arm band is fantastic and it doesn't budge even at the gym. I love the slim design; the weight would only be an issue if it were bulky.
The ear buds that come with it look cheap, but the sound quality is amazing. It sounds 10 times better if you use the little black foam cushions that slip over the buds.
The click wheel is incredibly convenient, however it can be a little overly touchy at times, which will make you frustrated with your own fingers. A lot of this has to do with being so excited when you first get it that you get beside yourself and have to force yourself to slow down. ;) I love the shuffle function, which virtually eliminates the need to touch it at all. I use mine mostly at the gym, so this is fantastic for me.
It charges quickly and holds a charge for a very long time. I love that it allows you to stop and turn it off in the middle of a song if need be, and when you power it back on it will continue right where you left off!
I am a big fan of iTunes, simply because it is terribly fast and convenient - IF you are buying the songs from the iTunes site. However, I have found that converting my CD's and MP3's into the iTunes library for upload takes a fairly annoying chunck of time. It's the biggest pain in the rear end of all the cons, without a doubt. Of course, once the songs are converted, you don't have to worry with them again. It's very fast and easy to create custom playlists for upload.
The only other problem I have noticed is that on some uploads it will switch around CD song titles (all on the same artist, it just mixes up the titles). I have no clue why this happens, as they show up perfectly in my iTunes library and there was no interruption during the uploads. It's really no big deal to me, but is worth mentioning.
All in all, the good far outweighs the bad. This is the first line of Apple products I have owned (we also have an iPod mini and are about to purchase a shuffle). I am so impressed with the iPod that our next purchase will likely be a Mini Mac. Way to go Apple! You've earned a new fan.
74 Want this iPod for so much less..
Want to get your iPod for free? this site is completely awesome and I got my iPod from them! Better than all those other free sites, trust me! Tons of testimonials and they sent out gifts everyday! You don't need to get offers from people to get your gift! You will get it, no matter what, all you have to do is sign up!
[...]
75 Ipod 20 GB - Freezing Issues
I owned an IPOD 20 GB player for 6 months. During this time the mp3 player froze on me numerous times. Several times this issue could be resolved by letting the battery die down completely (which takes about a day) or by resetting the IPOD which unfortunately causes you to lose all of the files you have downloaded on it. What a pain! Not a reliable piece of equipment at all.
Four times when the Ipod froze I was completely unable to reset it or get it to turn back on once the battery ran down. I had to exchange my Ipod at the purchasing store three times. The fourth time I took it in to get a new Ipod as a replacement I was told that the manufacturer had switched the warranty to a service plan instead of a replacement plan which meant that I would have to be without my Ipod for several weeks while it was being repaired. At this point I decided that if the past performance of the Ipod was any indication I would be without my Ipod more than I would have the use of it. I returned the Ipod and instead opted to buy a Zen player by Creative Labs which cost me less and has more features. I have also, not experienced any of the issues that I did withe my Ipod.
76 Why?
There is no reason in the world why you would want to buy such a substandard project. I hate these stupid things so much. I have owned and used five of them, and five out of five times they broke, and Apple would not repair them, for any fee. How did they break, you might ask? Beats me. Sure, I might have dropped them once or twice, as would be expected with anything that you're out and about with, but even before that, they would freeze up randomly, be glitchy, mess up, slow down for no reason and a bunch of other annoying crap.
By "be glitchy" I mean that it would, for no reason at all, go through my entire playlist by playing a few seconds of one song and uncontrollably switch to the next, and just keep doing this. Some songs in MP3 format it simply would not play, and even though it appears as a drive in My Computer in Windows, dragging and dropping will mess everything up. No songs will play when you do this, and the songs you just added won't appear.
Furthermore, converting all your music to their ridiculous format will drive you insane. It takes forever, doubles the space your music collection occupies on your hard drive, and will frequently make doubles of all your songs for no reason, in the Apple music format. I once had triplicates, and even quadruplicates of songs, appearing one after another. Even worse, the player itself is annoyingly slow, with noticeable delays when skipping from one song to the next.
The headphones are also not only horrifically bad, but dangerous to your health. I'm serious. Any bass at all will cause them to fall apart, and occasionally, the headphones will release electricity directly into your inner ear. I have been shocked MANY times by iPods, and man, is it frustrating, annoying, and painful! It makes me want to STEAL another one, and rip it apart, chip-by-chip.
The Last Straw:
I had gone through four frickin iPods. For once, I thought, let this last one work! Sure, it was working fine until now, still slow and annoying and still a trendy, trendy iPod. I was just listening to some nice, relaxing music before I went to sleep once, and the thing, like all the others before it, just froze and could not be turned off because THERE IS NO POWER BUTTON. You have to hold down the "Play" button to turn it off, and hard resets will not work when the unit becomes locked up, which it will frequently. God I hate iPods. They're also more expensive than their far better competitors, and even if you're using it with the light off, the battery barely makes it past eight hours, which is NOTHING if you're listening to music as much as I am.
I don't even know how to elaborate any more. I've had to go to thesaurus.com just to find synonyms for the word "bad" to avoid being redunant. Clearly, i'm not an anti-Apple troll, because i've had FIVE of them, and they all were frustrating, expensive, and CRAP!
Get a Zen Touch instead, or stick with CDs. This kind of frustration isn't worth the time or money.
P.S. All the 3rd party gadgets that let you stream music off your iPod onto your radio player, plug it into your car, and play songs as a radio station will work absolutley FINE with any other MP3 player on the market.
77 Heck, I would've PAID for this...
You know that FreeiPods site everyone bugs you to join? I did, and successfully got a FREE ipod through it. Unbelieve as it sounds, the little 20 gig iPod is on my desk right now hooked up to my speakers playing as a standalone unit.
This thing is AMAZING. I have just about my entire CD collection fit onto it, and you know what percent I am at towards the capacity limit? ONE PERCENT. It really is mind boggeling that I could add 10 of my friends CD collections on here in addition to my own and it STILL wouldn't be filled. The sound quality is amazing, but keep in mind the sound is only going to be as good as your files are. If you illegally download crappy 92kb files, they are going to replay as crappy 92kb files. Songs that you purchase and import from iTunes sound outstanding, rich and full.
The headphones that came along with it look pretty dinky, but once you get used to the fit of them in your ears, they sound out of this world for being included in the package.
I think the feature I love the most is that I am able to plug in my Harman Kardon Soundstick computer speakers into the top of the iPod and listen to it just like I would be listening to a standalone CD Stereo System without having to have the computer on. My entire CD collection is right here at my fingertips.
Aside from music storage and playing, I LOVE that I can use this a essentially a portable harddrive. If you're in college like I am, you have to write papers and etc. You can drop your files on here from your home computer, go to school and hook it up to a computer there and get the files off of the iPod without having to burn CD's or put them on faulty flash drives or zip discs.
This is not only an invaluable item, but really one of the best technological advancements entertainment has seen in the past few years. I HIGHLY reccommend purchasing one. Mine was free, but I still would pay for one, it is worth that much in value.
78 Love Mine!
Not only does it play music, but it's a mini PDA as well. It transfers songs fast and allows you to sort by artist, type, album name and more. I use manual mode and it's easy drag and drop. The only thing I replacted right away were the headphones, which I could not keep in my ears so I invested in another more comfortable pair. The accessories are fun and it's small and portable and easy to travel with. I highly recommend!!
79 Buyer Beware
I just want everyone to know that if anything happens to your Ipod that is not a manufacturers defect Apple will not repair it at any price.As expensive as they are if anything goes wrong you might as well throw it away as Apple wont fix it.They are very fragile. Till something breaks they are very nice though.
80 iLove It
At first I was hesitant to buy an iPod. I heard that there were several problems with batteries, sound and the device freezing. These seemed fairly serious to me so I put the iPod in the back of my mind and went out and searched for other MP3s. I was seriously considering purchasing a Creative Zen which had been recommended to me by several tech-smart friends of mine.
However, for Christmas my friend recieved an iPod and let me try it out. I fell in love. The sleek design and the easy to use click wheel definitely caught my attention. I was also impressed by how easy it was to download music from iTunes, which works seamlessly with the iPod. I thought the sound quality was great despite claims that it was so-so. I am not a sound expert but I think the average listener should have no problems with sound.
After trying out the iPod, I was sure I wanted it and began to research it avidly. I found that the once virtually non-replacable battery was now easier to replace and could even be replaced at home (battery cost is roughly $30). Convinced I purchased the 20GB.
At the tender age of 5 days my iPod froze (which terrified me and had me madly searching through user guides and online help). Luckily, the Apple website had easy directions for unfreezing the iPod and within ten minutes of freezing, it was fixed. In three months it has not happened again. Many problems my friends have had with freezing or broken iPods are the result of misuse/mistreatment. Just remember, be good to your iPod and your iPod will be good to you.
Yes, the iPod is expensive but if you can afford to, definitely make the investment. It is well worth it.
Overall, I highly recommend this product. It seems as though I am always telling friends and family that, "This thing is one of the best things I've ever bought" It will keep your music organized, accessible and, face it, music is better on an iPod. Good luck!
81 Why does everyone want one? Camp SJC
What the heck, why does every fricken person on this planet have their teeth firmly grasped on Apple's ipod since the uproar in popularity of it?
Is the iPod good? Yes, very much so. However, it's become so overrated, that every bumbling person is not willing to accept any alternative. That's naive and stupid to say in the least. I'm not going to spend $130 extra dollars on something that has 10 GB less space, and a few bells and whistles like "Solitaire" or a "touch-dial". I have a lot of things I'd like to buy, I could spend $130 on a lot of things.
Is the iPod worth 5 stars? Maybe, but people just can't seem to find an alternative mp3 player. People just buy the iPod because of its cool "click wheel" and its other gizmos and gadgets. I can purchase other mp3 players with more memory, better features, and longer battery life for $100 less. Give me a break, does everyone need the "ipod" to impress their friends?
I purchased the 4g 20gb, and found that i had just wasted my money on a piece of junk. I was so seduced into buying one, that i didn't even spend time to think of alternatives for less money. I later returned my ipod, and choose the Creative Zen Touch, which is better in battery life, and it is cheaper. I don't see why apple makes these machines so expensive, why can't they make them a little bit cheaper. If apple could lighten up a little bit, and make things more humane, maybe I could give this more stars, but for now, 2 is where i stand.
Ipod vs The compatition:
PRICE: Why do I even stress this? These days you can buy a decent 20gb player for a price that is cheaper then the ipod. You can also purchase some 40gb players that hold twice as much songs and twice as much battery life for as low as $255. I don't see why people go after the ipod that is more expensive, and lacks in the battery.
QUALITY: I do have to admit, ipods quality is mighty fine. The click wheel is overlooked as its key feature. You can purchase the Zen Touch, which has a scroll bar, for less. What is so good about the apple ipod, is that its so simple, maybe too simple. One fact is that you can't ajust the volume in certain areas, which really bothered me. Overall, there are other players that have better quality for a better price.
BATTERY LIFE: 12 hour battery life is what they say it will be. 5 hour battery life is what it really is. If you want battery life, get the 24 hour battery life of the Zen Touch. I can't stress this enough.
Itunes is a good music software, but its only compatible with the ipod. If you are looking for better music programs for any of your players(including the ipod) look at, Emusic, RealPlayer, or Music Match Jukebox.
Why did I return my ipod? Well, its because it didn't satisfy me. I am one of those people who listen to music alot, and i don't like charging my player after every 5 hours. Even after charging it, 7 month's later I had to return it. I had to pay a fine for them replacing the lithium batter. Crap. Is that where you get all your money Apple?? It was 90 dollars to replace the battery, and I had to pay for it. Apple iPod is just not for you if you listen to music alot. If your one of those people who listen to music about an hour a day, this might be for you, if you can afford it. Taht's all i have to say, right now i am listening to my Zen, and its great!
82 Now you may want to start looking at iPod photo!
This is not a review of iPod 20 GB as such - great reviews are available already. Here is some information that might help in deciding which iPod to go for.
You may want to look at iPod photo 30 GB instead of this product, from now onwards... With just $50 more, you get a iPod photo 30 GB with a color screen!
Today (23 Feb 2005), Apple announced a major change in its iPod lineup and here is how it affects iPod 40 GB and iPod photo models:
> iPod 40 GB is discontinued
> iPod photo 40 GB is discontinued
> iPod photo 30 GB (new product) replaces the 40 GB iPod photo and the regular iPod 40 GB
> iPod photo 60 GB now costs $150 less -- $449 instead of $599
> iPod photo 30 GB costs $349 ($150 less than iPod photo 40 GB and $50 less than regular iPod 40 GB)
> iPod dock ($39), AV cable ($19), carrying case ($29), and firewire cable ($19) do not ship with iPod photo (you may not really need them)
> Now we get three things with iPod photo: earphones, USB based AC adapter, USB 2.0 cable
> In additon to the above, a firewire cable continues to ship with iPod 20 GB & iPod U2 edition
> iPod photo Camera Connector is introduced - this can be used for connecting your digital camera directly to the iPod
Since I have iPod 40 GB as well as iPod photo 60 GB, I strongly recommend iPod photo for those who are looking beyond the iPod 20 GB. The color screen has much better resolution and it also has a scrolling feature for long texts. Of course, the ability to store and view the photos is a great value addition too.
83 Best MP3 player on the market.
I just bought one for my girlfriend, it was easy to set up, and we had 5 GB of music on it from our music collections within a couple of hours. It made our recent 9 hour roadtrip so much fun.
Ask yourself what you want more: A really great MP3 player that will give you a long life without any problems or a multipurpose MP3 player with radio (c'mon, if you own an MP3 player, why in the world would you want to listen to FM radio, let alone record from it) and voice recorder? Dedicated devices are always superior over multipurpose ones, which by their nature need to make some compromises. If you want an excellent MP3 player, don't compromise - get an iPOD. If voice recording is something you want, the iPOD has a microphone accessory you can use to record you voice and store on your computer (or just get a digital voice recorder with a quality microphone). Also, in terms of iTunes vs. Napster: I'm not sure most people realize that even though Napster gives you unlimited downloads for $15/month, you need to keep paying 15/month or else you can't listen to your songs. iTunes lets you buy songs and keep them forever, while Napster lets you borrow them as long as you pay 15/month. Your choice.
Like someone else said, pay the extra 50 dollars (Amazon has it for 284 right now) and get the 20 GB iPod.
84 Here's the TRUTH in short....
This is a great device, but there are its pros and cons.
Pros:
Large Hard Drive for the $$-- 20GB and 40GB are both affordable.
Decently Sized Screen-- One of the larger ones on the market at 2"
Decent Battery-- On the average size, but the 40GB comes with a dock. 12 hours is about average, and it has an AC adapter in the box, with quick charge (2 hours) at probably 80%... and 4 hours for a full charge.
FireWire & USB2.0-- For those fortunate enough to have FireWire400, your in for a real treat with autosync.
Great Design-- Very sleek and touch wheel has still never been successfully copied (vertal ones are the only competition); and now the wheel clicks, taking away a lot of headaches from 3rd gen and very navigable in the menus.
Good sound-- Plays very nicely, even though the stock headphones are kind of weak
Durable-- not the most durable because its mostly plastic, but very compact and sturdy
Games-- not really important, but existant
Hold Button-- suprisingly not all MP3s have this; this allows you to have all the buttons unusable, so that you don't accidently hit something in your pocket.
Cons:
No AM/FM Radio Tuner-- Something a large number of competetors are doing
No Voice Recorder-- this has also become an important and popular feature that the iPod unfortunately doesn't have.
No Memory Stick slots-- Although a rare feature, it would be nice to have extra storage, not that it needs it
Built-in Lithium Battery-- A huge hassle to bring this back; draining the battery once you get it helps, but removable/replaceable ones are a lot more convinient.
iTunes-- this is a love-hate relationship program; usually people with Mac like this program than people with a PC, but depending on your computer expertise, this could be a difficult program to use, and it is required for an iPod.
No inbox accessories-- An arm strap, belt strap, case, or anything would be nice, but nope...
Moveable parts-- This makes me almost want to keep my 3rd gen over a 4th; with moveable parts, its easy to damage an iPod at a gym, so this is for more casual listeners; note the iPod Mini doesn't have moveable parts and is made of titanium.
Comments:
Overall this is still a great value, but is kind of overrated in the sense that there are beater deals on the market. A lot of people go for the iPod because of its reputation, but if you honestly shop around and check out the reviews on Cnet and things like that, you can find a better 20GB HD MP3 player. This is definately worth the money to have, but certain aspects of it doesn't make it the best.
85 Still my favorite MP3 player
Is it overpriced ? Dunno, possibly but you have to ask yourself what you are neccessarily paying for, which is 20GBs worth of storage capacity, which even if all your music is in high fidelity such as 320kpbs, there is still a whole lot of room to place much music in here.
Using the software iTunes is relatively simple, you just plug the USB cable in, wait your machine to detect the iPod and voila, any songs listed in your iTunes library will be transfered on over to the iPod.
At first I primarily used it as a stand-alone portable player but it wasn't until I decided to take it in my car and use it to play back music that I truly adored this device. Now if you do decide to take the iPod on the road, my suggestion is to forego any purchasing of the FM Transmitter devices, unless you live out in the middle of Mississipi because frankly, you'll need a next-clear FM channel on your radio to get any sembelance of a clear signal.
I actually hooked up the iPod to my receivers AUX port with a Pbus connector and a Y-splitter cable, it wasn't too hard to do and now, I can listen to all my music in my car without ever having to lug around CDs again. And, with the iPods' full volume up, all you have to do is adjust your receivers' volume and your set, since the iPod itself acts as a strong amplifer of its' own.
If there were any complaints I have, they are marginal, but one is Apples' properietary set-up for music files, their incompatibility with other music services (i.e. Napster) is down right wrong. I mean, it would be nice if one day, iTunes can actually offer their customers a monthly service that allows iPod owners to load their iPods up with unlimited music with one set fee, as an option to the pay-99cents-a-track path.
Regardless though, it did set me back financially but now, I'm glad I have one. I go everywhere with it, on campus, in the gym and at work too --the Shuffle feature is the best part, especially when you have more songs at your disposal you can make your own personal radio station.
86 Very bad customer service for the amount of money you pay.
I received my Ipod as a Christmas gift last year, and since then, I have gone thru 3 of them. Finally, the third one worked for me. Apparently, you are not supposed to run with the 20 GB Ipods and nowhere on the support site or in the manual does it say that. Needless to say, two of them just stopped turning on after about 1 day after running with them (this is why I didn't know it was bc I went running), and I had to send them back to the repair center by mail. Not only was the customer service by phone awful, but they DO want $50.00 after your first call if you don't buy the extended warranty package, even if they don't help you (which they normally don't, bc they can't understand you). They don't update the website under "check your repair status" often, so you don't know whether they received your Ipod or not basically until you've already received a new one back in the mail. The Ipods themselves are great products and very handy when walking around, but DO NOT RUN WITH THEM, and if you are looking for a product with good (or even average) customer service, then Apple Ipods are not for you!
87 PERFECT- SO FAR!
I just got my ipod about a week ago and it was very easy to set up on my windows computer and itunes allows you to download music ina snap and even import music you have previously downloaded so you wont have to pay for it again. The ipod has great sound quality and great battery life. It comes with games and you can even download book onto it. The click whell is very useful and screen is very clear. I have read other reveiws of how it dies out after a while, I hope that is not for a very long time. I would definatly reccomend this product, I know a lot of people who have them and they say they never have any problems with it. The apple support is a different story though. I have to say that when I called with a question they were very rude and didnt even care if I got an answer or not, and after your first call, they want to charge 50.00 for another call, and thats pretty insane if you ask me.
88 Battery non-issue
The iPod batteries can go through a full recharge cycle 400 times. If you listen to the iPod four hours per day and you get 10 hours per recharge cycle (not the full twelve specified by Apple) then the iPod will give you over 2.5 years of daily listening.
Apple provides a good discussion of the battery technology at www.apple.com/batteries (and this web address is noted in the iPod manual)
My earlier generation (15Gb) iPod lasted two years, shortened by my own inattention to the simple maintainence asked by Apple (go through at least one charging cycle per month, and don't store the iPod in a car on a summer day because high temp. is harmful to the battery's life).
Finally, if your battery gives out, you can use any number of reputable iPod services to swap it out for <$50 and you're good to go for another 2.5 years (or longer if battery technology improves.)
Ask yourself how often you've seen battery covers break on consumer electronics. They wear out pretty easily when you're changing batteries every week or so. Given that, I find the iPod solution reasonable: keep the case sealed and let the battery be changed by a technician once every 2-3 years. No big deal.
You might change the battery once before the iPod is superceded by something a lot better and less expensive. In fact you may get a newer-better-cheaper device before you get to that point.
Finally, compare the iPod to other players on a cost/Gb, and also consider ease of use. The iPod is not overpriced compared to the market.
89 a marvel and priced as such
if you want a portable music player and nothing else and plan to use it almost everyday, then this is the one to get. You will be continually surprised at how it seems to have no faults.
on the other hand, if you think you might want to have FM or recording, then ignore the fad and save yourself money. The simple fact is: this is the best stand-alone mp3 player out there and you will pay a premium for it, but you will enjoy it for a long time. referred by WhoSave.com, amazon was the lowest priced seller at the time I bought.
90 Slick
It's as though a slit opened up in the fabric of time, a vision from the future popped through, and we called it iPod
91 What do I do?????
I know this sounds stupid, but I could only get 14 songs on my 4th Gen. iPod(thanks to my friend), now i can't import any of my songs!!!! I've asked my friend, He has a Sony Vaio(with over 3000 songs on his iPod), and he has no clue why it no longer works. Is it iTunes? Or my HP pavilion a350n computer??
FYI: my computer makes all the system requirements, and there are no viruses... I need help, please!!! The Apple support hasn't helped me and I have all the current versions of iTunes! If you could help me I would appreciate it a lot.
92 ASK ABOUT THE BATTERY POLICY!!!!!! Beware!!!!!!!
Make sure you understand you are going to have to replace this item in less than a year. The battery cannot be replaced by you. It has to be done by an authorized dealer. I was given several different stories.
1) I was told to bring the iPod back in w/in a year and they could replace the battery.
2) I was told to bring the iPod back in to be "tested". If they determined it was w/in the 1st year and the battery was bad, they would replace the iPod BECAUSE THEY CAN'T JUST REPLACE THE BATTERY.
3) If the 1 year warranty expires and the battery dies, they will allow you to replace the iPod for a similar one for $100!! They could not tell me the policy if the company discontinues the iPod model (I have the 15GB model).
I made a trip across Tampa Bay to replace the iPod a day before the warranty expired. I told the technician that it could not hold a charge more than 2 hours. He wanted me to go home and test it again because he updated the software. He was telling me to go home (30 minute drive) and see if the iPod died w/in 7 hours! It took me about 30 minutes of arguing to convince him to exchange the iPod since I had upgraded the software several times and it only held a charge for 2 hours. I was told that was what they would do when we bought it and I stuck to that policy. I still have to drive back and get it because they had to order the 15GB model.
Please be very aware that you are about to spend a lot of money on something that will require you to make trips into an authorized Apple repair center at least once a year. I'm going to use my new iPod until it dies and then look into other devices. It was definitely not worth the $400 I spent.
93 Pleasantly Surprised
I tried to resist the ipod fad. I tried using other mp3 players. Finally caved in - this is the best one out there - like everyone else has said before me - the controls seem like an extension of yourself - the ipod is an engineering feat.
My only objection is that it can't record.
94 Ipods are good, if you want to be in the "in crowd"...
Standing like a complete fool in Best Buy, staring at mp3 players, i narrowed it down to four players within my price range. ipod 4g 20gb, Creative Zen Touch, Nomad Zen Xtra, and the ipod 4g 40gb. I finally chose the 20gb 4g ipod. I noticed that it had appeared more and more in my school, so I decided to purchase it. When getting home, i charged it, and read the instructions. That was the first hard thing. Too complicated. Next, I loaded the iTunes music program. Did it with ease(good job apple). When transfering songs from my cds to ipod, I struggled a little, but that didn't bother me. After spending 4 hours jammin to Snow Patrol (great band), my ipod was on its last legs for the first charge. This bothered me. Im that kind of person who listens to music alot, and I didn't enjoy it when my player went dead 1/3 of the way they said it would be. No problem, I can just charge it alot. Well, after 7 and a half months, my battery finally went copooee. My mom drove me over to the nearest apple store, and they changed my battery...for a price. $90 to change a lithium battery, wow! Is that how you get all of your money Apple!!!??? My mom was appalled by this, and charged me for the fee. After that little event, I decided, enough is enough, time to take action. I sold my ipod on ebay for $215.54 and walked over to Best Buy. I then selected the CREATIVE ZEN TOUCH Which had 24 HOUR BATTERY LIFE, and it was $50 cheaper. With a nice aluminium body, and a snazzy touch pad, I was satisfied. After 9 months, my Zen is still going strong, and i don't have to pay a huge fine for changing the battery. Ipods are good if you want to impress your friends, but if you want satisfaction, go for the Zen. Take that Apple!
95 perfection
I'd been lusting after iPod since it first came out. I'm a Mac fanatic but could never justify the cost. My wife bought the 20GB model for me last year on my birthday and not a day goes by that I don't use it. Combined with an iTrip and any of the car power adapters, iPod is the perfect music device. It does everything I want and more. The new podcasting revolution has made iPod even more valuable to me, as I can now completely ditch talk radio on my long drives for work (2+ hours) and listen to any music or talk programming that I wish. Kudos to Apple for a stunning product.
96 The new standard
There are many reasons why the iPod is thew new mp3 player standard. With its hard disk, rechargable battery, and quick connectivity to pc / mac and supremely simple interface, the ipod has become a dream audio device.
These dreams do end, and these dreams can be shattered. There are so many pros and cons that its really up to what sort of device you are looking for than the 20 gigs of space, or the fancy interface.. etc.
Battery life: I know what its like to have a short battery life in an audio player. Walking to and from work, the battery will die eventually (usually after a couple min of walking from work) and I am stuck listening to traffic. I have gotten quite used to a irock 64mb player.. and the battery will last 4 hours with the EQ on. I prefer quality, so I cannot help but have the EQ on at all times. The ipod lasted me 10 hours and I have since turned the EQ off. I did not think that the EQ effected the battery much, I think it was all of the music uploading. 10 hours is perfect. If you upload everything you can onto the player, you will get around 14 hours. When you think about the cost of the lithium battery, spending 10$ a month on good alkaline AAA for the other player was actually a better price, since the included battery with the ipod only lasts a year or so then you have to send it back to ipod for replacement battery for around $100. You can find a do-it-yourself battery kit for around $40, but you could still damage the player and all will be lost. Realistically I prefer using replaceable battery such as a AAA for when it dies when I get off work.
Ease of use, interface: Quick, easy, its almost natural. You can even make your own main menu selections from a list. The only con with the interface is that if you would like to change the volume or song, you will have to take it out of your pocket. The touch wheel is so sensitive that theres no way you could even memorize the menu and change options in your pocket, even for changing simple things like EQ you have to go into 3 menus, Thus the ipod is not good for the paranoid.
Durability, physical: You can actually bend the ipod.. just kidding. The ipod is amazingly easy to scratch, you will want to buy a scratch guard for when you take the wrapper off of it! Within 5 min you will have scratches all over the back. The player is quite heavy (5.6 ounces if I am correct) and feels like a slab of metal than the feather-like chunk of plastic im used to. You definitely wont want this hanging from around your neck.
Bugs, strange things: For some reason some mp3s cannot be played. It tries then fails, scanning through other tracks of the same album before stuttering to the main menu or playing a random song.
Sound Quality: Here is where I have the biggest problem. The ipod has amazing treble and it sounds great loud, but I couldn't even hear the bass guitar in some songs. Some very full sounding songs on my other player sound quite dull and empty on the ipod, almost lifeless. If you want punch in your bass than avoid the ipod, you will be very disappointed. Maybe they will fix this with a firmware update later, but I highly doubt it since it has been a problem with the ipod since it was introduced way way back. Another notable problem is with the EQ. This is more of a 'true' EQ, where you cannot have bass boost and hip hop settings at once. This is not a bad thing but there is also a considerable amount of distortion (especially at lower volume) when any of the EQ settings are on. These settings are also very weak. I was always wondering how musicians were using the ipod when an audiophile like me could not stand the sound quality, so I tossed it back into its box.
Conclusion: Pros and cons aside, its mostly an object of beauty. Its not good for joggers, or me (people walking to and from work category), but if you like to play gameboy advance when your walking about or have a thick wallet, this is definitely for you.
97 POOR DELIVERY INFORMATION FROM AMAZON.COM
This item does not ship within the time specified. Mine was ordered with a "usually ships within 24 hours" notification. It has now been two weeks. One update said it would not ship for a month. Now two weeks. I wish Amazon.com would put up correct delivery information. This feels like a bait and switch practice. I love Amazon but for this product, they seem more concerned with getting you committed than with providing excellent customer service and delivery times.
98 Mankind's greatest creation
Fire, The Wheel, Electricity, Air Conditioning, The IPOD!!!
All my CD's in a metal box smaller than a pack of cig's! Unreal!
We humans create some cool stuff!!!
99 
