How much music would you like in your pocket? No matter the size of your music collection, there's an iPod for you. iPod comes in 10GB, 20GB, and 40GB models and packs up to a whopping 10,000 songs, so no matter what you choose, you'll be carrying an incredible amount of music all sorted, arranged, and cued up to your liking. At a glance: High capacity: The 40GB hard disk drive puts over 10,000 songs in your pocket. Ultra-portable: Measuring just 2.4 by 4.1 by 0.62 inches and weighing a mere 5.6 ounces, iPod is small enough to take with you wherever you go. And with 8 hours of continuous play-time on the rechargeable lithium ion battery, iPod can keep playing as long as you do. Made for Macintosh and Windows PCs: Autosync your entire iTunes or MusicMatch library over a super fast FireWire or USB 2.0 connection*. iPod works with iTunes or MUSICMATCH Jukebox Plus, allowing you to manage your music and create custom playlists on your Mac or PC that automatically transfer to iPod whenever you plug it in. Music at your fingertips: The innovative touch sensitive scroll wheel and buttons make finding your music a snap and the backlit LCD screen and illuminated buttons let you find what you're looking for in any light conditions. Premium sound: A powerful built-in amplifier and high-quality headphones enable iPod to output audio in a wide dynamic range. This allows you to hear heart-thumping bass and crystal-clear highs for a superb listening experience. Your iPo
1 Not for long distance runners!!!
Talk about frustration!! What I thought was a really great break through, turned out to be a total nightmare. After 25 minutes the Ipod would either completely stop working all together or just skip repeatedly then stop. I found out that it was designed to "catch up" after 25 minutes but it wouldnt even start again most of the time, just freeze up and be completely worthless. Returning it was a even bigger nightmare because no one was able to test it out and see that it would malfunction....I guess if you work for Apple stores you dont run. I had to pay a restocking fee to get rid of this nightmare. NEVER will I purchase another item from Apple. I love my Nomad Muvo that I bought, and couldnt be happier.
2 junk
Your better off with a Nomad. I tried 2 ipods and they will only synch with one PC. So if you want to transfer mp3 from pc to another forget this thing.
3 Ipod Stinks
Got one for Christmas. Tried for a week to get the software installed and configured correctly. After many reconfigures and downloading of updates, the best the Ipod would do was skip like a three legged dog. Went online to Apple and found others with similar problems. Called Apple customer service and afer being on hold for 45 mins, the call was droped by Apple's answering service. After that the Ipod was on it's way back to the store and good ridance.
4 Less than five stars? You can't have really used one.
At a time when the eye-popping technology advances such as seeing the Internet on an Ethernet connection have slowed to incremental improvements, my 20 Gig iPod is a huge quantum leap forward. The iTunes software is a near miracle when mated to the iPod's elegant interface. So what if you have five or ten thousand songs if you can't find them? I am able to find any album, playlist, or song in literally seconds, using just one thumb to twirl the wheel and push a button. The versatility is stunning. You can listen with a headset or on *ANY* sound system, car or home. With a $7 Radio Shack adapter, I use the iPod as the source to drive a 300 Watt amp and speakers that rock my house, or at least the room the speakers are in, with near live rock-show volume. The incongruency between my old 60-pound-each speakers and the 5 ounce iPod on which I have my entire CD collection stored (about 300) is like seeing magic. Or, you show up at a friend's house with your entire collection in your pocket or on your belt. The fidelity is indistinguishable from a commercial CD. I also have a mic and intend to record *all* lectures given in class beginning in a few days. These also can be organized and found with incredible speed and ease. This is one cool product. Initially, iPods seem pricey, but Wow! do you get bang for the buck. The price is very reasonable when you discover the power and control that you hold oh so comfortably in one hand. I honestly don't see how anyone would buy something else (and I looked at stuff for a month). You do need a fairly recent (2-3 year old) PC or Mac. The only negative is the poor headphones that that come in the box, but that's easily fixed with about $15-20. A Homerun product . Everything else is minor league. The iPod is the show.
5 Excessive Costs of Repair
I dropped my new 40 GB iPod in the sink for the briefest of moments. Believe me, it is not all that difficult to do. Water rushed into the docking port and the unit is toast. Naturally, water damage is not covered by the warranty.
But now the bad news ... it costs $249 plus $7 in shipping, or $256 to repair, compared to $399 for a new 40 GB iPod (or $299 for the 20 GB model with the same repair charge). It is the same charge whether covered by warranty or not. There is NO credit for being under warranty whatsoever. Even a battery replacement is $99 plus $7 in shipping.
Apple product support personnel were matter of fact about the charge and the problem of water. One person told me of an iPod destroyed by being splashed poolside. Another mentioned that he has raised internally the problem of water rushing into the docking port. Imagine walking around with this iPod in a steady rain.
My conclusions - the 40 GB iPod is a fragile, expensive piece of equipment with arguably a design flaw. The excessive cost of repairs undermines its attractiveness. It was my first Apple product and my last. Bad show Apple!
6 Great Product
I have had my iPod for a while and love it. I can store all my songs and audio clips on it and never worry about how much space I have left. A cover is an essential accessory to your iPod. I would suggest an egrip cover to keep your iPod from slipping in your car or other smooth surfaces. [...]
7 ipod lover
this ipod is amazing... i got it yesterday with my mini.i love them both to death.
8 IPod has so many great uses!
After reading a few inaacurate ratings here, I decided to set the record straight. How could anyone rate an IPod 1 star, when it controls 93% of the mp3 player market? I have never met an IPod user that complained about software, etc....they all love it.
I have 4 computers, 2 PCs (lap and desk) and 2 Macs (lap and desktop) and am a musician and a serious electronics nut. I have owned Archos players, and as in anything I buy, I did my research before I decided to get my IPod.
I am so happy with this product, it really has so many great features and I use them all! I find that it sounds much better than the PC Mp3 files played on WM.
I have used the heck out of my IPod, I use it in school to record lectures, listen to them later for review purposes, I download audiobooks and the other day I listened to a book while waxing my car! it's so convenient, and extremely easy to use.
You just plug it in, it updates automatically, I use it with my desktop or laptop, and I just can't say enough good about it. The prices on ITunes are great, no need to go to a store and pay $13.99 or more for a CD that's $9.99 on ITunes in the convenience of your home too!
Software is so simple to use, a child could load and transfer, like all Apple products a breeze setting up/in less than a minute I was using it with my computer, after months of use and still my battery lasts the entire day! the Belkin ITalk for mic, and ITunes for FM transmitting, Bose speakers for home are all great accesssories to have.
I never thought I'd use it as much as I do, lately I have been transferring study notes to the IPod, great for studying anywhere! no books to carry! the music quiz game is great! I download directions to it, it's a PDA, a player, a book, notes, I can't say enough, Apple products are the best, well thought out and worth every penny.
Oh, I forgot great for music I have 3500 songs on it, a Dickens novel, many lectures, study notes, and it is only 1/3 full!
GREAT PRODUCT
9 Happily returned it and bought the Zen Xtra !
I started with the 40 GiG Lyra... don't waste your money or time with that one. Store convinced me to bite the bullet and buy the "end all be all" 40 gig IPOD! Spent 8 hours trying to get my computer to recognize this thing, it charged through the USB, but I kept getting a USB driver not found error after installing the latest update for Itunes, tried contacting Apple, no help unless I send it to them, so I unistalled everything (software, usb ports, drivers) then re-installed, still the same.
Fanatics on the Apple web site responding to this complaint from many people, say things like "buy a firewire card, it is the USB that is causing the problem" and "ipod is worth the hassel". - Ya, for $640 Cnd this thing should be hassell free in my opinion!! but should we expect an Apple product to be 100% compatible with a Windows PC ( I guess not ? )
I Took the "Iprod" back to Future Shop, and for half the money bought the 30 gig Zen XTRA - WOW !!!! - Easy install, easy navigation, replaceable long lasting battery, came with a case even !!!
10 IPOD is great - lthe music lovers product
enough has been written about the IPOD - I have been using mine for 2 months now - it is really well done - the click wheel userinterface lets me find what I want to hear quickly - I have the 40GB model with about 25 GB of music -
also I have started buying music from iTunes music store - the integration is really tight - although the prices are kind of high...... I did get the presidential debates for free - that was cool
Reality check - the battery management is a little funny - sometimes I pause, put on the controls lock - and then come back the next day to find the battery pretty drained - I do the same thing another time, and the battery has not been used.... also, I find myself taking the ipod out of the 40 dollar belt holder a lot - the weather is cold, so this is kind of a pain - I guess I need to shell out for the remote...
All in all - it is the best player out there for mobile use - but still leaves some room for improvements
11 Two iPods don't work: Playlist is empty after unplug
I got my first iPod (1st generation, 5G, PC version) 3 years ago. During the 1st year, it's barely used. But right after the 1 year warranty expired, it's playlist always becomes empty after I unplug it from my PC.
Then I started running iPod for Windows 1.4 with iTune 4.6. Everything worked fine when I plug iPod and set up playlists and songs under iPod in iTune. But after unplug, iPod just jump to Language selection, browse to Playlist, it has nothing! Browse can see no songs either! I went to
"Settings->About", it reads:
Songs:0
Ca... 4294967295 GB (Can't be!)
Av... 4294967295 GB (Can't be either!)
Version 1.4
S/N (some number)
Format: Unknown (should be Windows)
I posted help message onto comp.sys.mac.system group, got reply to let me restore iPod software. I tried every iPod update, they all worked the same way. Or I should say none of them worked.
I also walked into Apple store, the technician there said he couldn't help since the warranty expired.
After months of struggles, I finally gave up. The good news is that I can still use it as hard drive. But it has absolute no ability to play any music ---- although all playlist and songs show up when I plug it in iTune.
The story doesn't end here. I thought my 1st iPod is just old, maybe it's time to get a new one. I spent $399 + Tax got an 40GB iPod last week.
Hooked up with PC and iTune, set up my playlist and MP3, unplug for the first time, the lovely playlist shows up! I'm so glad to be able to play music on iPod then.
But on the very first day, the top menu button doesn't response to cilck while playing. This is a brand new 40GB iPod and just started to work for the very first day! I can not do anything but to reset it, ok, it started to work again.
On the 3rd day, I pluged in to update my plyalist again. When unplug, surpriseingly, all playlists are empty! Songs count shows ZERO! It actually has more than 10G MP3s loaded! Do I need to reset it again?
Reset, no playlist still.
Reset again, still nothing!
Reset for the 3rd time, just behaves exactly as my old 5G iPod --- no playlist at all!!
I have nothing to do again, I'll return it and get other device. It's a really nice-looking buggy crap!!!
12 Put your money elsewhere
I have owned an iPod for a little over a month now and still have not gotten it to synch with my PC. I put my faith in the Apple myth that everything always works. The amount of time and money I've put into trying to get it to work I could have put my money elsewhere. Bottom line: Unless you have the time and money to try and make your iPod work, go elsewhere!!!!
13 Great Product, but an Extended Warranty is a Must!
About six months after giving this product a two star rating, I have re-gained my faith in the iPod as a great piece of technology for listening to music. You could literally store an entire music collection on it and keep it in your pocket. With iTunes, updating song lists is a snap..especially if you like downloading tunes, but choose not to burn a new cd-r every time you get a few new songs. The iPod also works as a really handy external hard drive. The one flaw in this is if you format your iPod for a mac, it cannot be used with a pc unless you format it again. If you only use one format, this little unit makes a flash drive obsolete. Please protect yourself when buying this product and get an extended warranty, however. I had problems ranging from battery failure to long hesitations between songs after using mine for a few months. At that point I had to choose between paying $30 to ship the product in for repair or $59 for an extended warranty. After buying the extended warranty, they replaced my iPod with a new one. From what I've seen, the lemon rate for this product is very high. While I recommend this product, I warn you to be prepared to pay for repairs. Being a relatively new technology, I suggest you buy a less expensive iPod and plan to upgrade after a couple years. Many of the kinks should be worked out by then.
14 Best digital music player on the market.
This is the best digital music player out there. The 4th generation debuts the click wheel and a much improved battery life. The click wheel makes operation both fast and simple. iPod's menus are easy to navigate and you have the option to customize the items that appear on the main menu screen. The iPod can also double as a portable external hard drive. (my main reason for purchasing the 40GB model) My only complaints are no .wma support (don't expect this to change in the future) and lack of color lcd screen. (5th generation iPod may change this)
15 Hyped Up.
I wonder how they can sell these things with the battery life of about 2 hours?
Oh, but what about when it crashes and locks up? REBOOT.
I would check out the others first before I invest in this.
16 Some practical advice
The iPod is awesome. That's a fact. So let me dwell on some practical advice here:
1. Instead of this item, buy the newer version of the Apple iPod 40gb (manufacturer cat no. M9268LL/A). The new version costs the same (as of October 2004) but has 12 hours of play instead of 8 hours. They look the same with similar description so BE SURE TO LOOK AT THE CAT NO.
2. Most likely you'll need a carrying case. Budget that in. The Apple one is nice but is around $50.
3. If you import a lot of CDs, your desktop or laptop might not have enough space on the hard drive. We're talking 40gb here! A good solution is to buy an additional hard drive. This can also serve as a backup (it's very depressing to import CD after CD and then have your hard drive crash...).
4. A very cost effective way to get an extra hard drive is to shop at your local computer store (e.g. CompUSA), look for the ATA drive that's on sale this week, and then, if you have a laptop, also get the "enclosure" that makes it into an external USB 2.0 drive. I just got a 160gb Seagate drive + the enclosure for around (...). Also great for backup of your music + pictures + hard drive etc.
17 Watch out!
I was so excited when I opened up the iPod's almost sensual packaging. But, wait, I don't remember there being buttons above the wheel when I researched it. And I thought it would last 12 hours on a battery charge, not 8. Oh, okay, now I get it. Amazon sent me the 3rd generation 40Gb (without saying it's a 3rd generation). So click on the other iPod link to order the latest 4th generation.
18 iPod rocks
The Apple iPod is really something. I have this model of the 40GB iPod and I love it. Search for your music by genre, playlists, artists or albums and iTunes makes it so easy to synch with your computer. Definitely worth the investment for all music lovers. You can even connect the iPod in your car and take all your music on the road. Just connect your Auxilary output from your desk (if you have aux output) to an RCA to mini cord which you can get for about $5.00. Good luck I have been having so much fun.
~skl24.112
19 iPod defines the Best in Class
iPod is great! Just as advertised.
However, the really fabulous part is iTunes and the iTunes Music Store for both Mac & PC... over 1 000 000 songs are now available in a instant. I have reach my 6 decade of life and have been able to download many albums I had in college... Miles Davis, Rolling Stones, etc. Also, the most current music is there like the new Ray Charles CD, "Genius Loves Company". I heard about the CD on Imus in the morning as I was getting dressed and that night downloaded the songs I liked to my iPod.
Also, I have started to download books from Audible.com. The NYT best sellers are available. Now I listen to books and music to and from work. (Buy the cassette adaptor so you can listen in your car.) By the way, did I mention I currently have 3355 songs on my iPod?...so much to do....so little time. Enjoy.
20 POOR Quality and unreliable
The concept is sensational. The unit performs well, when it works. The ear phones are shameful and the ipod is aided by the purchase of Sony headphones, for example. That's a measure of the attention to detail by Apple. The earphones are tinny and unacceptable. The unit has malfunctioned numerous times and ceased to operate altogether. This has been replaced 3 times, going for 4, and the assistance is always polite, but usually inept. I'd go for a different brand for my portable music in the future.
21 40 gig Ipod
I had an old Ipod, only 20 gigs. Had my complete cd library (about 240 cds) on it and only used 11 gigs. The new one is smaller and I recommend getting the "altech lansing" "inmotion" speakers. They sound incredible for their size! And they charge the ipod when they are plugged in.
Joe
22 I'm in love!
I am officially an Ipod addict. Having owned my 3rd Generation 40GB ipod for over 6 months now, I cannot live without it. The sexy, sleek design is like nothing else in it's range. To those of you stuck making up your minds on whether or not to get one, here is my advice...
Don't settle for other gimmicky useless 256MB MP3 players or others similar - the Ipod is the way of the future. You get more for your money, you see - the ipod is not just a portable music machine, it doubles as an external hardrive. You can save any types of files onto your ipod - I have movies, photos, microsoft documents plus 13GB of music in mine. It's hard to believe that so much stuff can fit into such a tiny device, but it does!
ITunes is a downloadable music program produced by Apple, which is the perfect accompaniment to the Ipod. I have to say that this program works best with Apple computer, but still works fine with PC's. With the Ipod, you can also store addresses and phone numbers (just plug your ipod into your apple laptop, and the addresses are automatically updated!). Use ITunes to sort and store your music on your PC, then just plug in your Ipod to transfer music across easily and quickly.
The earphones which come standard with the Ipod are awesome in sound quality. Much better than any other earphones I have used. Oh - and the Ipod is SO easy to use, anyone (computer literate or not) can use it.
The only thing that is slightly annoying is the battery life. It does not last 6 hours as advertised - more like 4-5 hours. Also - the belt clip case that comes standard in the 3rd Generation Apple Ipod box, is a really stupid design. The little Apple tag which is sewn inside this case scratches the silver side of the Ipod every time you take out or put in your Ipod. Be careful of this - because the Ipod is a sexy device you won't want to deface in any way. Sometimes too, the keys are a little bit touchy - and sometimes not responsive. These qualms are not really a problem at all in the general scheme of things, and I am 99.9% happy with the product.
So - what are you waiting for! Go out and get an Ipod, don't be left behind - because if you settle for anything less you are just going to be embarrassed to show it to your friends.
23 A true revolution in the music industry
iPod is a true revolution - looks like there couldn't be a better way of storing, handling, buying, and listening to music than how you do it using iPod & iTunes Music Store. For audiophiles, iPod is the smallest and smartest 800+ CD changer that you can take with you wherever you go.
I haven't bought any electronic item that has brought in a revolution in day-to-day life like what iPod has. For the latest and greatest on iPod, visit apple.com and ipodlounge.com. The "Most Helpful" reviews on Amazon cover a great deal of technical feasibility of iPod as well as compare it with other similar products. It is clear that iPod is a clear winner.
This is a third generation iPod. The latest model at this time (15 Sep 2004) is the fourth generation iPod. There are three models - iPod Mini (4GB), iPod 20GB, and iPod 40GB. And there are an amazing number of accessories for iPod to choose from. ipodlounge.com is a good place of finding out what is best.
You may look at a few of my other reviews where I have tried to cover some of the useful iPod accessories.
24 iPod - Better get the extended warranty
These things are expensive so it's better to understand what to expect before you take the plunge.
First off, the iPod looks and plays wonderful. The supplied iTunes software works great and you'll soon have your music collection on hand wherever you go.
And now for the bad news. The iPod relies on a built in rechargable battery which supposed to last 10 hours, maybe there are fewer minutes in an Apple hour than on my clock but I get about 4 hours out of my 6 month old iPod.
To replace the battery you have to send your iPod back to an authorized repairer because it's sealed in. What you also may not find acceptable is that you don't get your own iPod back since they provide a replacement rather than repair your own machine.
Check out Apples website, the most common reasons for returning an iPod seems to be battery replacements which is very common or general faults such as the machine freezing or the data corrupting. Whatever the problem, the return rate is high. Taking this into consideration it is likely that you will need a repair or at least a battery replacement so before you buy, look at the repair costs and policy on www.apple.com .
My advice is to get the extended warranty or buy something else.
25 This is a 3G iPod
In case anyone is still confused, this is the "older" 3rd-generation iPod.
26 The best you can get
The Ipod is the "Mercedes" of digital music players. Is it the best "value" for the money?? Maybe not technically, but it's the best you can buy, period. I'm a critical person by nature, but I can't find anything but good things to say about my Ipod. It sounds good, is easy to use, and I haven't had any problems with mine. If you want the best "value" you might consider something else, but like Mercedes, if you want the best no matter the cost, live a little and buy one. I doubt you'd regret it.... : )
27 New Models eh?
If you're reading this, it probably means you have read reviews of other MP3 players, Zen, etc. You have probably also read some of the great reviews on this site which compare the different brands. Well, I can't do any better so I'm writing purely to tell about the fourth generation iPods. When looking at this the most noticeable difference is that Apple has done away with the touch buttons above the wheel. I wondered how they did this but after receiving mine I see that they have gone back to a more convnetional approach, which actually works a bit better. Previously if you were putting the iPod in a case without hold feature (disables the buttons) on, the touch buttons could activate and pause, fast forward, etc. Now because you actually 'push' the wheel (Play, pause, fast forward and menu are 'behind' the wheel) there is no problem of skipping songs if you forget to activate hold. This new design is actually pretty neat for this reason. The only feature which still relies soely on touch with no moving parts is the volume control, everything else is a conventional button, but disguised in a way only Apple would think of. Four extra hours were also added to the battery which is nice too, eventhough I would be somewhat surprised to actually see 12 hours of straight usage (In all fairness though, what MP3 player actually has a battery life that is advertised?). All of the other new features are fairly basic. It is now easier to access song shuffle for all of your songs, but that's about it. All in all, with the new design, increased battery, and $100 off of the old price make this a great buy. Also, I had to deal with Apple because of a hangup with my order. The representative was nothing but friendly, willing to help, and most importantly, actually did what they said they were going to do. I can't praise the service enough, and the product is well worth the cost as well.
Note: At the time of my posting this Amazon has not updated the picture to reflect the most current model of iPod so you may want to contact Amazon to be sure of what model they are selling before purchasing.
28 Harddrive died in 6 month and Apple won't replace it with a
After 6 month of sitting on my desk ( I don't travel with it, I just use it as my music player at my place, the harddrive just died, Write error ).
The Apple support gave me the only alternative as a refurbish; they should replace it with a brand new one if they really care about Steve Job's style of business; breaking down after 6 months is not what Apple's name stands for.
29 this is pretty good but...
(...)the ipod is absolutely great and i love it. however, there is a new version out, which is better, and now im not sure if i wanna upgrade. if i were u, i might wait till the 3rd generation ipod have a price drop, coz amazon doesnt reflect a price drop right now.
if u wanna get a jukebox mp3 player tho, u cant go wrong with the ipod, 3rd or 4th gen. i was thinkin about the iriver one at first, but i found that website and im more happy with an ipod than id probably be with the iriver.
30 Best thing I ever bought
I Got an iPod last December and It's probably the best thing out there in size, music playing ability, style ext. It's just as good as a palm pilot. You can read, play games, anything. I love everything about it. Even if you hate music you can love iPod. It holds MONTHS of audio books. You can transfer files from one computer to another. It's the best thing I ever bought. If you try to find something better your wasting your time.
31 INCREDIBLE gadget!!!!
The Ipod 40gb is just awesome. It took me a few weeks to download EVERY CD in my collection, but it was worth it! Great sound, nice styling, easy to navigate. It doesn't get any better than this!! One of the coolest things I've ever bought! (Which means that next year, there will be a smaller IPOD, that holds twice as much, at half the cost!!!! LOL)
32 Love it!
Easy to use. Sounds great. I had a Creative Nomad Jukebox for three years that I never touched, I have had the iPod for four months and I never put it down. P.S the you can get the new 40g iPod with a 12 hour battery life for $399 now. I wish I waited four months
33 Stupid vanity item, not worth the money.
I bought the 40gig iPod, a firewire card, and some accessories. Ended up being almost $700. Man, what a piece of crap. Seriously.
First off, the iTunes software is crap, and Musicmatch is even worse. What's that? Oh yes, I want you to transfer three songs out of the almost 40 gigs I have selected, and then stop for no reason! That just licks my kitten!
Oh yea, and for some reason that hinky iTunes software wouldn't install for me, so I had to waste my time formatting my main hdd and reinstalling windows XP, just to get it to work, and then it was STILL a P.O.S. that wouldn't cooperate.
The sound quality from this thing (even at my insane, music nerdy bitrates) was crap. A VBR mp3 at ~270 kbps should not sound like it's being played through the speakers of a '92 Saturn. Even with the EQ on, the sound quality isn't impressive. Not as good as my trusty $40 CD walkman.
Basically, if you own a PC here's something I suggest: CD-Rs and a CD wallet. You can get a good discman for $50 that doesn't skip. Heck, you could even get CD-RWs, and then you could rewrite them! (eh, I hate CD-RWs, but hey, it's a thought)
Like I said, it's a vanity item. Something that rich people can spend $500 on to make themselves trendy. It's not useful, it's not easy to use, it's not pretty, it's not intuitive.
I seriously think these things are some kind of mind control device that Steve Jobs created. They wait till you're asleep, then, using the crappy headphones as legs, turn into a 40 gigabyte suppository. It attatches to your brain, and then makes you tell people about how "totally, like, cool!" it is while you're on your way to get a low carb tofu wrap after your workout.
If you own a Mac and need to make yourself even more metrosexual, then keep on truckin', I guess. But I suggest the iPod mini. At least then you can have a pink worthless piece of crap.
Oh and by the way, Apple's customer support... what customer support? Oh that's right, you have to pay for that, too. For $500, Jobs should come to your house and set the darn thing up for you. It only cost me $700 to build my whole PC.
34 Beats carrying around CDs and a Player
I bought my first Ipod to go on vacation so I could still have my music away from home. I have now owned 4 Ipods and have graduated from a 30g to a 40g. I have not yet filled the 40g up but I am over 30g of music and I still have more music to load. I have a long commute to work on public transportation and use my Ipod as a noise barrier, allowing me to sleep for part of the trip. And on planes there is nothing better than putting on your earbuds to block out fretting babies and toddlers.
The battery on my Ipod gives me about 7 hours of listening pleasure (less if you set the backlight to come on when you access song info). While I have had drop-out on song endings this is easily corrected by reloading the track into the Ipod. I did purchase an auxiliary battery pack for really long trips but have only had to use it twice.
The sound quality is fantastic when recording at 224 kbps. I have heard things through the Ipod that I had not noticed through my home stereo. And if you purchase mini-speakers for the Ipod you can acheive a bookshelf stereo system with minimal space and still be able to carry it in your luggage on trips.
On the whole, the Ipod is great and I look forward to many more years of Ipod use.
35 Has anyone actually fillied up there entire memory?
It just seems like a lot of memory to me. I dought anyone has that many cds to fill this thing up. I suggest a 15 or 20 GB model instead. I mean if you are just adding songs as you go you're being optimistic because an iPods battery only lasts about 1.5 years. And by the time you do fill up yuor iPod they'll have allready come out with a new form of it anyway. So save the extra money and buy a cheaper and less memory holding model.
36 STOP
Windows PC users. You will need an Apple iPod Dock Connector-to-FireWire-and-USB 2.0 Cable to get this running. Very disappointing to get the new toy and be unable to hook it up without going back to Amazon to order the connector. Shame on Amazon/Apple for not making this clear to buyers.
Can't rate iPod. Still waiting for the cable to arrive.
37 Battery Problem Solved!
Apple, like any company, has issues. Their products break and they fix them...most of the time. Bottom line is that my iPod had gone through hell about 5 times, and they've replaced it quickly every time.
Now, this battery thing seems to be the biggest issue people are having. However, there is an easy $40 dollar solution if you don't want to buy the extended warranty: www.ipodbattery.com They sell replacement batteries and teach you how to install them. Easy as pie.
I doubt you'll get as good performance or ease of repair with any of the other MP3 players out there. I've tried a friend's DellPod and it's clunky, and each song plays at a different frequency. Soundcheck cuts away that problem alltogether. YOu can access the entire thing single-handedly, and it takes seconds to update your collection. 3rd party software also lets you transfer songs from the iPod, keep a calendar with events and even add new games on! Check out www.macupdate.com for all of these programs and more. The world of iTunes and the iPod is pretty fantastic and makes music really fun. I have about 7 GB of movies and 18 GB of music on my iPod, not to mention that you can even read Word documents RIGHT ON THE iPOD ITSELF! Another program allows an unlimited word limit, so you could read a 180 pg. document right on your iPod. Insanely easy to read scripts or notes or go over a draft when you're not at your computer. There are so many features that a $300-$500 investment is well worth...especially considering I've had my Pod for almost 2 years now.
38 5 months and counting...
Well, I have had my iPod now for about 5 months and have had no porblems with the iPod at all. The remote broke within the first 2 months, but took it back to the apple store and they replaced it with no trouble. The earphones that come with it dont fit me so i have never used them, so i cannot comment on the quality.
I consider myself an average user to the 40 gig iPod so far I have about 5500 songs and it has never erased. I use it mostly on my commute on the bus and when i am cleaning at work in the mornings, and have never had a problem with the battery running out. I plug it in to charge every night and also use it in the car for which i bought a charger for the car. In other words, i love it i love it i love it!!!! Get one today!
39 No camparision
I have had three iPods, and only because I keep upgrading capacity. I can't speak for the WIndows experience with and iPod but as far as on the Mac it is flawless. iTunes is the best "jukebox" software available. Everything one would expect from Apple. As for those that worry about jogging, biking etc. with an iPod, don't worry. I work construction and listen to my iPod ALL day long without a problem. I also mountain bike while listening to music or audio-books and have never had a problem with skipping. People need to understand that this is all "digital" music. Nothing to "skip" while playing. It's loaded into ram and offers about 25 minutes of anti-skip protection. Scoffing at the price? Do a price comparison with similar features/size and take into account the ease of use. Nothing comes close... And for those complaints that the battery dies after a year, a new battery is $29 for Christ's sake. Big deal, if it even DOES happen. Also, I had a problem with one of my iPods a while back. Requested warrantee service from Apple online. A box was sent overnight Fed-EX for my iPod and in two days I had a new one. All overnight Fed-Ex. Great customer service provided in it is the one year warrantee). However, I do strongly recommend getting an extended warrantee from either Apple or buying through a retailer such as Best Buy or CompUSA.
40 A couple problems, but an amazing product.
Other reviews have sung the iPod's praises, and I won't repeat them, although I do agree with them wholeheartedly. I bought my Pod in December 2003, and haven't had any major problems with it. Really, I can't get enough of it.
But there are a few problems:
1. The exterior scratches very easily. Use the carrying case it comes with.
2. The battery supposedly lasts eight hours, but that seems to only be if you let it play continuously. If you're jumping around from song to song or have the backlight on, the battery life is much shorter.
3. At one point, all the songs on my iPod disappeared for whatever reason. I did, however, have all the music in my iTunes library from when I first imported it on the Pod, so it only took a few minutes to re-import the songs. It was a hassle, but really no big deal. I would, however, suggest purchasing the extended warranty if you can.
Overall, the iPod is definitely worth the money, especially if you're tired of lugging around and keeping track of all those CDs like I am. I'd buy it again.
41 i love my iPod more than i love my mother
It's impossible to stress how awesome the iPod is! Cheaper than drugs! Lasts longer than sex! Low in carbs! And prettier than 93% of the girls I ever dated.
You can read a hundred other reviews about its ease of use, its multi-functionality, its sleek design, its intuitive interface. Here's some real world Q&A after my first month with my iPod:
"Do I really need 40 GB?"
If you're like me, you do. I have somewhere around 1300 CDs in my collection, and I've already loaded 6298 songs onto the iPod. Of course, I don't listen to them all, but the great thing about the iPod is you start to remember old songs you'd totally forgotten about. Remember Arcadia's "Election Day"? Or MC 900 Ft Jesus' "If I Only Had a Brain"? Or X's "White Girl"? Or Big Audio Dynamite's "Rush"? Neither did I, but put the iPod on random shuffle, and it's about the best radio station you ever heard.
"I download a lot of music. What about that?"
If you download a lot of music ILLEGALLY (tsk), then you need to go through a re-tag your MP3s so that the iPod can read them. This is almost a fulltime job. I recommened "TAG & RENAME" which I got from download.com for free. You can rename huge batches of MP3s at a time, and if you have the full album track list, it intuitively tags them for you. It still took me WEEKS. But in searching my hard drive, I'm finding things that I didn't even know I downloaded. Like, why did I download the X-Rated version of Duran Duran's "Girls on Film" video three times?? Who knows.
"I want to run/excercise/carry it places. Shouldn't I get the mini?"
I thought this too, but the 40 GB iPod is the size of a deck of cards. It weighs less than a Zippo lighter. It's slimmer than my cell phone, and slides right into my hip pocket. Screw the mini. Get the big boy, you sissy.
"What accessories do I need?"
The 40 GB comes with the dock, which lets you connect it right to the auxilliary jack on your stereo, as long as you have a cord, which you can buy at Radioshack for $5. And you can use any old cassette adapter to hook the iPod into the stereo in your car. You don't need to buy anything special here. A few missing niceties would be a decent manual (the manual it comes with is terrible; I'm going to have to get one of the "Missing Manual" books). Also, the case it comes with is great for clipping it to your hip, but doesn't allow access to the buttons. Oh, and the headphones are terrible. Buy new headphones too.
"My harddrive is smaller than 40 GB. Since the iPod autosyncs with iTunes, does this mean I can't fill my harddrive?"
I wondered about this when I first bought the iPod. My harddrive is only 20GB, and on its default setting, iTunes synchronizes whatever songs are on your iPod to whatever tunes are on your harddrive. To get around this, all you need to do is turn off the default and drag and drop songs manually. It works much better.
And in order to simplify everything, I ripped all of my CDs as MP3s first, and then burned the MP3s to data CDs. This cab be a LENGTHY process (like...months). But then you can just load the iPod directly from your CDRs. And should your iPod ever crash, you can later reinstall all of MP3s effortlessly, without having to rip all of your CDs again.
For the first couple of months, you may feel like you're working on your iPod in every spare moment: ripping CDs, editing MP3 tags, loading songs, editing playlists. But the payoff is so totally freaking worth it. I LOVE MY IPOD!
42 terrific player
very pleased with it. only drawback is the extra cords etc (if you need to run it in the card or a second ac cord and dock) are sprendier than they really should be. itunes on a PC with audible content... it all works smoothly. mine is now 1/3 full.... about 90 days worth of music and audio books.
43 Bad seed from Apple
Nevermind the crappy title and let's move on. I was just wondering why people insist on writing a review for something they haven't had for at least a month or two. The Ipod is way way overrated. It's funny how people can complain about a product and still give it a good review. Let's be honest, the Ipod is overrated and overpriced. Most if not all of the features on the Ipod DRAIN the battery so what's the point?
My friend bought hers last year. She saved up for it and was excited when she got it. A month later her files did not want to save into her Ipod. She returned it and got a new one.
A month later either the program or the Ipod itself deleted every single song she had, not once, but twice. She returned it. The tech person at the counter suggested getting another one and admitted to liking the Ipod, but his friend returned his three times. My friend wondered about it, but got another Ipod seeing as how she could only use the store credit, and her Ipod was around 5 or 6 hundred dollars, while the other MP3's were around 2 or 3 hundred (she couldn't get a lower priced MP3 and get the rest of money).
So, she got another Ipod, about six months later she decided to clean it and put it on lock. When she finished, she couldn't shut it off, reset it or stop it. It kept playing, so she had to wait for the battery to die. She took it too the tech and said they had to ship it and she wouldn't see it for 2 weeks.
For the first month of playing with her Ipod it was fun, but as time went on, we noticed how crappy it was. Sure it looks sleek and nice, and has some nice features, but is it's quality as nice as it's pretty features?
44 Convenient, nice design, but plenty of room for improvement.
I've had my 30GB ipod for 6 mos. & use it all the time. Overall, it has been worth the purchase price, but I was able to pay significantly less than the MSRP (before Apple stopped letting retailers that significantly discount from selling them).
The Good: For the average person, iTunes is a pretty good and simple way to create & manage your music collection. The ipod does fit in your pocket (i.e. front jeans pocket) & is an easy way to carry a lot of music w/ you while in the car, at the gym, etc & frees up time & energy from fussing w/ CD's while on the go. The sound quality is pretty good out of the box....it might not be audiophile quality, but the ipod is more about convenience & if you want to upgrade to better headphones you can. iTunes (on the Mac platform) rips tunes extremely well (i haven't noticed any glitches yet) & Apples propietary format, AAC, does sound better than mp3. The remote is very helpful to have, so that you don't need to pull it out of you're pocket to change songs or volume. It is easy to hold in one hand & maneuver the controls. Being able to store other things (address info, notes, etc.) & use it as a firewire drive is an added bonus. Not having too many interfaces to the iPod might seem to reduce it's portability/usability, however it is also probably the reason why it is more durable than other mp3 players. More connectors of different types would mean that there are more things that could go wrong & Firewire connectivity is better than USB as it dispenses with the need for making separate connections for data & for power. The 1 year warranty is better than many other mp3 players & the ipod is pretty durable.
The Bad: 1. No Gapless playback. Ipod & iTunes can't play an album without introducing a gap in between songs. Annoying in live recordings & concept albums and dj mixes become ulistenable. The workarounds are either to use the cross fade feature (which overlaps the 2 songs being played) or to import the whole CD as one track (making an extremely large track that taxes the ipod's memory buffer & battery, but neither option is satisfactory.
2. Actual battery life is even shorter than advertised. Unless you use a car to go everywhere (& by a car recharger) or have access to an outlet & carry a dock with you, the ipod will deplete its charge before you get back home.
3. It does scratch easily. If youre buying it for the pristine glossy look, you'll soon learn to get over this after the first scratch. The more you use it, the more it scratches.
4. Battery indicator doesn't work. Some times it shows a full charge, but then falls to 0 quickly, other times it shows no charge but plays for more than an hour afterwards.
5. Ear buds & remote tangle easy. There is no way to store these things without them getting completely tangled & you have to spend 5 minutes untagling them before you can listen to your ipod......every time you want to listen.
6. The remote control clip is not well designed. Functionally it's fine, but the gripper is too small to really attach it to anything & it comes off w/ the slightest amount of activity & so you get an extremely long cord falling to your feet on the treadmill...
7. No way to record with the iPod itself. You can use a third party attachment....but you have to pay out....and apparently the quality of these recordings are not very good...or am I the only one who'd like to record a conversation on the fly?
8. No support for FLAC or Ogg vorbis. Many audiophiles & music lovers have already copied music to these formats because of ability for gapless playback or for the wonders of open source.
9. No way to flag poor music files. Using the music rating feature to do this is a workaround, but cuts into the usefulness of using the music rating feature to rate your music. In fact there is no input ability at all, outside of rating your music.
8. Itunes needs significant improvements to accommodate the more serious music lover or archiver if it is ever to become the sole Application for music in one's digital hub. Allowing a song to be tagged with several music genres, allowing for multiple musical libraries (i.e. one for my archived music in lossless format, another for those files I convert to AAC to listen on my ipod), having different options (converting music into different formats, burning different kinds of cd's etc.) without having to change Preferences all the time, having information on the actual CD's you own (not just the music file info) or whether you converted the file to digital from an LP & how or other cataloging information that would eliminate the need for creating an Excel database....and I could go on with about 100 other features that it could have, but you get the point.
45 Not Perfect, but Best in its Class
Compare the iPod to any other portable mp3 player in its class (meaning the price and storage capacity). The iPod beats them all in the areas of:
1 Durability (hard drive harder to ruin than on other players)
2 Ease-of-use (intuitive interface)
3 Aesthetic appeal
4 Highest quality audio output (great equalizers)
5 High Quality backlight
6 Useful palm-like organizer (but could be better)
7 Built-in compatibility with iTunes, audible.com, and other audio services
Unfortunately, the battery life could be better. I also have a complaint about the syncability of the iPod with multiple computers. The ease-of-use is also a downside, as the iPod does so much for you, if you do something unexpected, like sync with two computers, the results can tend to be unpredictable.
Nevertheless, the quality of the sound (it seems like you can get a louder output on the iPod than other players, which may contribute to the shorter, but acceptable, battery life) is better than other players. The size and ergonomics are the best. The price is a little higher, but justifiable considering the benefits.
Finally, my recommendation is to understand the player's downfalls before you purchase. Realize that this is a hard drive and even though it is better at standing up to a beating than others do not shake it vigorously, throw it, drop it, or put it in water. Just like any piece of electronics, especially those with precisely moving parts, it will break. I do not normally advocate buying a warranty, but in this case BUY THE LONGEST WARRANTY YOU CAN. If you use your iPod or any other similar player, the chances of you dropping it or it breaking from normal wear-and-tear are high. The warranty will be cheaper than replacing the unit. With all of those warnings etched upon your mind, go ahead and make the purchase. It will drastically increase the personal value of your music collection by making it more useful than ever to you. You will not regret this purchase.
46 iPods: It's Plusses and Minuses
Here are the reasons why you should buy an iPod:
1. It is compact, you can take your ENTIRE CD collection with you. The iPod slips very easily in your pocket and is pretty light.
2. It is extremely easy to use. Plug it in and it automaticcally all the songs from your computer (iTunes) to your iPod. Very very fast connection and updating. It only takes about 4 seconds to update an average sized album. Amazing huh?
3. It's very very convenient. One thing I really about the iPod is that you can create playlists so your songs can play in a particular order. You can make as many playlists as you like and it'll take like 10 seconds. If you want to burn the songs into a portable CD player, it'll take a good 20 minutes, AND you get worse music quality. You can change your playlists as many times and you want.
4. It's got a lot of other features on it. The games are really fun. You can also put notes, calendar, and contacts on it.
5. The sound is really good. You get equalizer and you can adjust to maximize the quality of music depending on the genre.
6. The design ROCKS!
Some not so great points about the iPod:
1. It scratches very easily and unless you don't mind that, you're gonna have to buy some kind of case for it, which will make it slightly bigger (but some will make it more fashionable).
2. The battery really doesn't last that well compared to some other mp3 players out there. To get the most out of your iPod battery, do not fully discharge it before you recharge it. (There's no memory effect.)Supposedly it lasts 18 months if you listen to 6 hours of music a day. (Still not that bad!)
3. The price is pretty up there... But say, you use it everyday for the next 1.5 years, the iPod costs 75 cents a day. (Referring to the 20GB version). And chances are you ARE gonna use it for more that 1.5 years.
Some final words:
Go for it, you really won't regret the purchase. The iPod is a timeless thing. The iPod really opened my eyes to music. I now listen to a wider variety of music. With iTunes, purchasing songs you like can never be easier. Once again, GO FOR IT!! NO REGRETS!!
47 Best there is.
I can't say enough good things about my iPod. I use my 40gb iPod to store my music collection and as a external HD for my powerbook. This slick setup is more than functional. If you dont want to use the extra space as an external HD you can probably save the money and and get a smaller iPod.
Functionally, the iPod is easy to use right out of the box. You wont find anything easier. Add ons finish the case for buying an iPod: Numerous third party products make this the player you have to have. Check out the custom FM players available for an iPod --no dongles anymore! consider the iTunes Music store, 99 cent songs and its legal. Numerous options for cases, boom boxes, home audio, remote controllers, the list goes on.
One last thing about using the extra space for a HD. It is easy to setup this extra space as a backup drive to copy critical information and documents.
48 terrific, but 40 gigs??
I love my ipod, no doubt about it. But if I had to do it over again, I wouldn't get the 40 gig model. We put our entire combined cd collection on it, plus some books on tape...and only used 1/2 of the memory. I'm sure we'll find something to fill up the space - isn't that they way things work. But honestly, 20 gigs is fine for the ordinary collection.
49 Warning: This is a rich person's disposable status symbol
The battery replacement is $99 plus shipping. Apple essentially designed this to be a rich person's disposable mp3 player. The batteries have a very short life and cannot survive recharging for very long and don't hold much of a charge.
The Apple site is full of advice on how to prolong the life of the battery.
To purchase the ipod is to purchase a very fragile pet with a very short lifespan that is very tempermental.
Warning: This is a rich person's disposable status symbol and little more.
2nd Problem:
I played with an ipod and became so frustrated with selecting the correct song that I gave up on it. There are constant complaints about how easy it is to hit the buttons and to affect the ipod accidently. There are warnings at the Apple site that it is easily turned on with incidental touching and that is one of the reasons that the battery wears out too soon.
Hopefully competition will force Apple to improve this device. It is the highest priced disposable music device that I have ever seen.
50 Cheap for what you get!
My wife and I bought a 40-gig iPod for Christmas. Before the purchase, I believed that $500 was too much, and now I think it's a bargin! We put 300 CD's on this thing, every one that we owned, then we put on ton's of downloaded audio talks (we like to listen to church talks), and still didn't even fill it half way up.
My only complaint? Don't try to use this thing and drive at the same time... it's easy, but not THAT easy because adjusting the unit requires taking your eyes off of the road.
Otherwise, it's perfect.
51 Great Innovation
With this IPod 40GB you can actually carry 10,000 songs in one little handy and compact system. Unlike CD or Cassette players, which are too big and bulky, the IPod is light and small enough that you can easily carry it in your shirt pocket or purse.
The only set back is that if you have on older PC (i.e. Pentium II) you will not be able to hook up your USB jack which is included with this particular IPod. You would have to end up purchasing a Fire Wire Card Adapter that is only available at an Apple Store or at the Apple web site. After doing so, there should be no problems downloading all the songs your heart desires. Definitely a great buy.
52 Just another mp3 player
This has to be one of the most overrated products on the market. Wow, a nasty screen that looks worse than an old game boy, with limited functionality. For around the same money, buy an Archos av340. These things store mp3s, store computer files, (making it a removable hard drive), record and edit video, and much more. Use the Archos, (or similar product) with your Tivo and you have Tivo to go. I have millions of Ren and Stimpy cartoons and movies with my mp3s now. If you think they are too bulky, buy a cheap workout mp3 player to take to the gym. For $500, don't let Apple laugh all the way to the bank. You can't even upload songs off of your Ipod, for $500???? Thats just insane. I am burning dvds to my Archos, and then sending the signal out to tvs and monitors at work and school.
Ipods are all hype. Look at what personal multimedia units offer for LESS money in some cases, and you will switch.
53 Had it for a month and still love it.
I would reccomend this to anyone who loves music. I have over 4k songs on it and not half full!
54 I'm Hook'd
I've played around with several ways to handle my music and I'm now sold on Apples 40 GB iPOD. I've loaded over 5,500 songs in 3 weeks that I've owned it and I'm still adding and downloading to the list. I've just included the Sony MDR noise canceling headphones to the hardware(from Amazon.com) and I don't know of anything else that will beat it. Those who complain about the battery life only have another option: carry a laptop everywhere you go! iPod is here to stay!!!!
55 Faulty product, DO NOT BUY
Please BEWARE of purchasing this product. I purchased it for my son for Christmas and the battery indicator was faulty causing him to lose all his songs over and over as his battery died without warning. Battery life is VERY SHORT and the add-on battery pack doesn't add much more. The thing completely DIED after three weeks, Apple cannot locate problem, will not fix. They supplied a refurbished unit, same problems with battery life and battery indicator. A complete waste of $500, will NEVER buy an Apple product again.
56 for travelers and those always going somewhere
THIS THING is great for those that travel but dislike a quiet car and hotel room. Get audible.com content. All those books you meant to read.... from Grisham back to the Iliad. Brush up on your high school french. Whatever.
40 GBs well I am now at 5.5 Gigs after two weeks of having it.
I am still filling it with my audible.com library of the past four years.... all that Austen, Tolsoy, Dickens, Henry James as well as the modern day stuff like Robert Ludlum, AS Byatt, Pat Conroy, todays NY Times and Wall St Journal etc.
Plus I already put on there every music CD I own - about 260 of those.
iTunes permits single song purchase so you can fill in gaps in your music collection more cheaply.
I did not find the software that tough to set up and use and I use WINDOWS. iTunes upgraded again in Spring of 04 and that version seems good. Get an action jacket to protect your investment and a car power cord. Long driving distances in the pacific northwest demand SOMETHING to listen to (to stay awake)and IPod 40gig has a BOATLOAD of space. You can customize a number of different playlists. All drag and drop...easy. I made one to travel from Boise to Baltimore (a four day trip with many flights) and back never play the same content twice. I was never bored. Lovely.
Once the price point of the 15 gig drops about 60 bucks these iPods will be on lots of christmas lists I think.
57 Lyra vs. Zen vs. iPod: A 40GB MP3 Player Guide
I've owned all three 40GB players available today: Creative Zen, RCA Lyra, Apple iPod. This is the review I wish I had read before I started shopping. It was a originally more comprehensive but I had to trim it to 1000 words.
For the most part, the Creative Zen has the best features of the three, as well as the best price. It sounds like a no brainer except for the fact that these things break like crazy! If you read some of the other reviews on here, you'll see a few people mention that their headphone jack shorted out when they dropped the player....well mine shorted out while the player was sitting on my desk not moving at all. I don't know a single person who bought one of these players and didn't have their headphone jack malfunction! Many reviewers suggest buying an extended warranty because of this problem. I would most definitely agree with them on that one, but personally I don't have the patience to wait a few weeks every time the player decides to stop working. Those warrantees are supposed to be purchased just in case something goes wrong; not because something most likely will! The Lyra from the moment it came out of the box to the moment it stopped working for no apparent reason, four hours later, was on the whole a piece of junk. That said...on to the comparisons.
PRICE: As just about every anti-iPod reviewer mentions, THE IPOD IS MORE EXPENSIVE AND DOES PRETTY MUCH THE SAME THING. The iPod is basically the BMW of mp3 players...the other mp3 player work like, and cost about as much as a Kia. They all do basically the same thing, but the cheaper ones are cheaper for a reason!
SIZE: All three players are smaller than a walkman, so it's kind of silly to even discuss this, but it seems to be a hot topic in the other reviews. From largest to smallest the players are ranked as follows: Lyra, Zen, iPod. The Lyra is the only one of the three which will not fit easily in your pocket. It is the widest /longest /heaviest of the bunch, and personally, I hated the way it felt in my hand. The Zen and the iPod were both a pleasure to hold.
CONTROLS/NAVIGATION: iPod gets first place here simple because it's touch sensitive navigation wheel allows you to get from the first album in your collection to the last in seconds and it stops on a dime anywhere in between. The Zen's controls are very good however it takes longer to scroll through your entire collection and when it really starts moving fast, it continues scrolling after you release the button sometimes skipping past another 50-75 albums! The Lyra had decent navigation, but the buttons had to be pushed more than once before they responded almost half of the time! The Zen and the iPod can be operated easily with one hand.
PLAYLISTS/SONG RATING: The Zen wins here without a doubt. It is the only one of the three where you can create, edit (even while it's playing) and SAVE multiple play lists on the player itself without connecting it to a computer. The iPod allows you to make ONE play list on the fly, which cannot be edited or saved.
The Lyra allows you to tag songs you like or don't like and it makes play lists of each...yes, it makes a playlist of songs that you tell it you DO NOT LIKE...if that doesn't explain what's wrong with this product, nothing will! The iPod allows you to rate songs 1-5 stars on the player, and then make a play list automatically based on those ratings when connected to a computer.
BATTERY: Again, Zen is the winner here. Not only does it offer a battery that lasts 14 hours instead of iPod and Lyra's 8 hour batt. it is also the only player of the three where you can remove and replace the battery when it deteriorates with age as all rechargeables do. It should be noted that the battery times I listed are the official times given by the manufacturers. The Zen actually lasts about 10 hours the other two go between 5 and 6 before needing a charge.
SCREEN: The Zen not only has the biggest screen of the bunch, it also scrolls the album title in the directory screen allowing you to see the whole thing instead of just the first few words.
TRANSFER TO PLAYER: All three units use USB 2.0, the iPod also can be used with Firewire.
TRANSFER FROM PLAYER: The Zen allows you to transfer music freely from your player to any computer loaded with it's software. The iPod does not allow this however third party software that can be purchased and used to pull songs from the iPod. In all honest, the Lyra broke before I could find out if you can pull songs off of it.
SOFTWARE: iTunes is easy to use and offers tons of ways to organize your music. Creative Media Manager takes a lot of getting used to but is decent once you figure it out. Musicmatch, which comes with the Lyra is garbage. It`s slow, difficult to figure out at times, and constantly badgers you to buy the upgrade to its premium version.
EXTRAS: The only one that actually has extra features is the iPod which comes loaded with 4 different games, the ability to read text documents that are stored on the hard drive on the player's screen, a date book, and an address book. The Lyra's ONLY advantage over the other players is the fact that it comes with a complete car kit (charger/tape adapter)....which is pretty nice, but useless when the player turns itself into a paperweight after just a few hours. All three players come with a case....iPod's is the only one which does not give you access to the player's controls when it's in the case.
Hope this helped.
58 Love it, but if you're on Windows, it could be improved...
Don't get me wrong, I'm an iPod fan. I am. At least, I really, really want to be. OK, I love the way the iPod works and looks and plays once my music is in there, but there are some shortcomings. Really, the biggest problem for me is that it has no idea how to handle multi-user environment in Windows XP. If my wife signs on to her account in our home office, my iPod asks her if she wants to erase my music and replace it with hers. It should know that I'm not signed on, and that the iPod is mine and not her's. Better yet, it should know that the two of us share the same music, although I'm sure the music industry wouldn't be happy with a husband and wife doing this, right? I decided that I didn't want iTunes to pop up and update when the iPod's in the dock and she's signed on, so I configured it. Naturally, I now need to update manually. I can get around these problems, but if Apple put as much thought into moving the iPod to Windows as it did into all of the fancy packaging, I'd have no troubles. I'm hopeful that they'll fix this.
[A MONTH LATER] After a month of owning my iPod, I now realize that iTunes is the weak link in the whole equation. The iPod is a superstar, behavior-changing product. iTunes is very basic and doesn't have the kind of robust organizational functionality one would expect.
Think about it: you have 10,000 plus songs to manage and organize, but very little database functionality beyond basic searching and sorting. Once you've got your 500 plus CD collection in there, plus all the music you've downloaded, creating a large playlist is an existential pain. You spend half your time searching around through a seemingly endless directory of titles, artists and albums. I'd love it if iTunes asked you if you wanted multiple copies of the same song in a playlist. I'd love it if I could click on a song and find out which playlists I'd put it in. Sadly, none of that exists.
In a world in which Apple is thought of as being ahead of the curve, iTunes seems a bit behind. That said, I'm sure they know it and are working to improve it.
59 extremely disappointed
Initially I was impressed with the ipod but the honeymoon is over. I will spare you the rest of my review by telling you that the hard drive fried after two weeks of use and getting it replaced from apple is a nightmare. After spending almost a week loading up almost a thousand tracks as .wav files the ipod starting acting up. First "rebooting" seemed to solve the problem but then all kinds of funky things started to happen until finally the dreaded folder icon appeared and the unit was toast. The continuous grinding sound coming from the hard drive was pretty much all I needed to hear. I pried the unit open and discovered an off the shelf toshiba hard drive that retails for a couple of hundred bucks. I wonder how much apple is paying for them? The battery never lasted more than five hours contrary to apple's claims of eight hours. I was also unhappy to learn that no audio files can be transferred off the ipod back onto another drive. I guess Jobs needed to suck up to the record companies to launch itunes. The itunes software is alright but doesn't do anything particularly well. No crossfades for example. The user manual that comes with the ipod is for morons only. It provides no real information and doesn't even show you the icon that pretty much means you are hooped. Lot of style over substance basically. I know lots of people "love" their ipods but this is one of the absolute worst purchases that I have ever made. Don't say you weren't warned. I have no one to blame but myself though...I was seduced by the nice design. My other choice was the iRiver 40 gigger and that is next on my list, although I am going to make sure they don't use the same cheezy HD from Toshiba that infests the ipod.
60 Do your homework first!
I am writing this review to help keep someone else from going through what I did. I am a heavy-duty MP3 user. I have about 10GB of music stored on my laptop and a 192MB iRock MP3 Player (64MB on board, 128MB Smart Media Card). I run quite regularly and enjoy listening to music while running. As you can imagine I was constantly changing the music on my iRock, which was beginning to be a pain. I have a number of friends who have iPods and I was fascinated with the devices. None of my friends had an iPod with a capacity greater than 20GB but I knew the form factor was the same and that the 40GB was just slightly heavier. One critical aspect that the iPod needed to meet was being able to fit into my armband carrier. Ages ago when I got the iRock I bought a Family Radio System (FRS) Receiver (i.e. Walkie-Talkie) band from Radio Shack that made running with the player a breeze. The iPod did fit the sleeve so I was pretty sure it would work out great for me. Then the day comes when my 40GB iPod arrives. Having never felt a non-tethered 40GB-er I was surprised that it was noticeably heavier than the 20GB version (Ping #1 - While the iPod has an incredible capacity it is not without a trade-off and going from a 2oz Flash Player to a 6oz Disk based player is a huge step. The weight difference is clearly obvious). This did not deter me though as the available space made me salivate. Within 15 minutes of removal from the packaging I noticed a scratch on the shiny chrome back of my iPod. I was shocked. All I did was lay it down on my desk! (Ping #2 - The iPod itself is incredibly delicate. You must handle it with kid gloves. A protective sleeve is a must). The final true test came when I took it out for a run. I am a fairly intense runner and usually average around an 8:30-9:00 minute pace per mile in my daily runs. I was absolutely flabbergasted when the iPod just all of a sudden quit playing. I set up a block of songs from a particular artist, slid the Hold button over to lock the player, and took off. When I stopped running to see what happened (irritating enough), I found that the iPod had reset itself to the initial top menu option of selecting songs by artist. The iPod also stopped playing one time while I was simply walking on the street with it nestled in my coat pocket! (Ping #3 - A disk drive based player, be it a 1.8" Drive, 1" Microdrive, or Cornice Storage Device, is a disk drive at heart and will skip and stop if vibrations or movement reaches a certain threshold.) As a final note, I know that many people love the dial pad feature for navigating though menus and the audio files but I personally thought it was irritating. If you have a lot of music you will be spending a lot of time going round and round!
So now here is my advice. If you have a ton of music and you do not intend to exercise with it the iPod is a good choice. BUT if you ever intend to run or workout you might encounter the issues I faced. If at all possible borrow a friend's iPod first, so you can get a good feeling and comfort level with the device (I know, good luck getting a friend to let you borrow theirs). I had the iPod for less than a week and fortunately Amazon did take it back (kudos to Amazon for such great service). Now I am looking into another solid-state player. The Rio Cali and Chiba are leading my list (they are expandable to 768MB - no iPod but a lot of music nonetheless). I just wish they had the same form factor as the Rio Nitrus.
61 after much deliberation i took the plunge...
and couldn't be happier with the iPod. It's everything everyone says it is. And having all my music right there beats carrying our cd's or a walkman. You can decide you want to listen to something and it's at your fingertips.
A couple of caveats: (1) if you have a PC, make sure to buy the firewire/UBS2 connection when you buy your iPod, (2) it does scratch easily, but there are different types of cases to choose from, especially on the Apple Store website, (3) when loading cd's onto iTunes, some songs will come out with a slight pause in them if they elide into the next song on your cd; make sure to choose an advanced option on iTunes for joining songs together, then the pause will disappear. These are minor annoyance for such a great idea in portable music listening.
62 Can't say enough GREAT things!!!
I just recently bought the 40 gig ipod. All I can say is WOW!!! I was upgrading from a Creative Nomad Jukebox 20 gig that was getting buggy. I had narrowed it down to the Creative Jukebox Zen 60 gig or the ipod. I had never had the problems that alot of people have had with Creative... But after reading several different reviews on different sites about the headphone jack going out and the battery cover popping off I dicided to go with the ipod. The software that came with mine was i-tunes, I also am a Windows XP user. I have never had a more flawless sync. In less than 10 minutes it was up and running!! The ease of use and feel are awesome!!! The controls are almost heat activated. The headphones that come with it are Ok but not great. I upgraded to the Shure E3c's and it is a totally different experience. One word of warning when burning your music for the first time. I had thought that there might be a problem with the output, seeing as I had to have the volume turned higher than I felt like I should for a 500.00 product. Well it wasn't until I had burned about a hundred CD's and was changing some track info that I noticed a volume slider. The slider sits by default in the middle of minus 100 - plus 100. I hit select all from edit and went to file and clicked Get info. Moved the slider all the way to plus 100 percent. Burned the CD and checked it out. I could barely turn the volume up it was so loud and full. Nothing in the instructions tell you about this. Needless to say I had to re-burn all of the CD's. Beside that I could not be more happy!!! Just remember to side the volume output up to 100 percent!!
63 the ipod...the best thing ever
sorry for those who dont like the ipod,i think that this product is the best ever.
i spend my time saving my money and i buy it at that money the worst part was that i had to sell my sony mini disc but im sure that the ipod is better than a md thats the reason and then i buy it.people who said that the battery is poor are so wrong so lets buy the fast as possible!
64 the ipod...the best thing ever
sorry for those who dont like the ipod,i think that this product is the best ever.
i spend my time saving my money and i buy it at that money the worst part was that i had to sell my sony mini disc but im sure that the ipod is better than a md thats the reason and then i buy it.people who said that the battery is poor are so wrong so lets buy the fast as possible!
65 A Dream Come True on a PC Platform
The 40GB iPod is a dream come true. It was easy to set up on a PC by utilizing the docking station (included with the iPod) and the Dock Connector to USB 2.0 + Firewire cable. To ensure the utmost in compatibility I installed the free iTunes software and started importing my CD collection of music and books. Quite rapidly I had a full range of genres to listen to on the iPod and have been adding additional media daily. Soon I will be able to completely eliminate my two Sony 200 CD juke boxes that take up lots of valuable space in my office. And the iPod shuffle feature is far more random by category than the Sony juke boxes. The battery lasts in excess of 7 hours while using Sony noice cancellation headphones for air travel - what a treat.
I then purchased the Belkin microphone and have been recording business meetings. For my staff, I then produce CD copies of the recordings to ensure we are all on the same page. I have also purchased iTrip that transmits via an FM signal whatever I would like to play from my library of available media through an FM radio. This feature is especially useful when traveling and in rental cars where local stations can't be counted on to provide the music I like to listen to (I have also used it in my own car in place of my 6 CD disk changer). Finally, I found free shareware Outpod and have imported my contacts from my Microsoft Outlook into my iPod.
The functionality of this device amazes me everyday. Well worth the investment if you are going to utilize its functionality to the fullest.
66 Don't worry about using Windows
The ipod is one of the coolest tech products you can own. And it does work as well as the hype. I use it with Windows and I agree with the musicmatch bashers. Just say no. As soon as you get your ipod go to the Apple web page and do two things. First download the software update. Second, download itunes for Windows. Do not even think about putting musicmatch on your computer. You know all those buggy little problems you have read about for the ipod and Windows? One word - Musicmatch. I didn't believe it at first. Since I changed to itunes I have not had a single problem (I have XP). Open your wallet, buy the ipod, be the envy of all your friends.
67 Incredibly Great!
The iPod is the coolest gadget I've had in years. Storing, organizing and finding 500+ discs was impossible. With the iPod I can carry my entire music collection from the 70's, 80's, 90's and 00's. That's a boat-load of music at my fingertips.
How many times have you changed the discs in the trunk of your car? I've had the same discs since buying my car 2 years ago. In the car, I now use the iPod, a tape adapter and ProClip to hold the unit. This set up works and sounds great and takes about a second to hook up. Those with a CD player should get it wired --- the FM transmitters are marginal.
I have had zero trouble with the iPod and found AppleTunes easy to use on my PC --- Speaking of PC's, I liked the iPod so much that I bought a G4 iBook for my wife. Yeah, there's a bit of a premium paid for Apple products, but they get the fact that some people enjoy quality and design that surprises and delights them. To me, that's worth a few extra bucks in the land of ugly boxes.
Thumbs up to the iPod and to Apple.
68 Stay away from this buggy product
I have had more problems with the ipod since I bought it than any other computer product. I had to send it into apple once, and now I am still constantly having problems with it. Usually the computer does not recognize it now before I sent it in the computer would demand that the entire hard drive be reformatted every time I plugged it in.
On the other hand it certainly WOULD be cool if it actually worked, when it does it is awesome. I don't think they put any effort into making it work with Windows. Also the support is horrible you have to fill out a huge amount forms then someone e-mails you telling you something that has nothing to do with what you asked...they are too cheap to have a number you can call. I have 2 computers, one with Windows XP professional, and one with Windows XP home so it is not my computer's fault I always have problems with both. Stay away. I don't know how this product got a good reputation other than how cool an idea it would be if it actually worked.
69 Great Product, Sleek Design
Just bought my iPod after much contemplation on what mp3 player to invest in and I have to say that I am completely satisfied with my purchase!
70 Deja iPod
Deja iPod
Somebody who is watchful will no doubt notice that about a year ago I gave a 30 Gigabyte iPod an enthusiastic review. Now I am on my fourth iPod, and I thought I might drop in with some summary comments. In case you think that I am a wealthy man who keeps an iPod in every room, his office, and the car, let me assure you that I still own only one, but it has gone through several phases.
For starters, I still believe that the iPod, with its technology and playing ability, is still the MP3 player to beat - when it is working. Both the iPod's own software and the desktop packages for the PC and the Mac are excellent. The machine is capable of excellent sound, and has additional features that make it surprisingly versatile for both the casual and professional user. The number of add on gadgets is breathtaking. In a word, it is the perfect tech-toy. Well, almost...
How did I manage to get up to 4 iPods. Well, the first revealed that the stereo plug is a bit more fragile than it should be. The second worked for almost a year and then, one day, translated itself to heaven, leaving me with a functional external disk drive, but no music. This second was replaced with the 40 Gigabyte model. Unfortunately, this iPod revealed a design flaw where the sides could separate in cold weather. Note that cold weather in this case consists, for my iPod, of the short walk from my car to my office and back again. Thanks to the wonders of extended warrantees this process has been 'relatively' painless. I am now hoping that I have discovered the last design flaw and can look forward to a few years of peace and music.
Obviously, the lesson here is that iPods need more care than you might think they would. Or they do in Michigan at any rate. Or they do if they belong to me. Note that I have steadfastly refused to give up the ghost and switch to a different brand. This is because, when it is working, it is amazing. So good that the irritation is almost worth it. Another thing I have discovered is that the Mac software does a marvelous job of reloading the music files onto my iPod each time.
My suggestion is that you carefully assess your ability to treat a piece of hardware with disciplined kindness before making the investment. Or you can determine if you earn enough to afford to continually renew the warranty. If you are the careful sort, the iPod will become an irreplaceable companion. If you aren't then take the necessary steps to make sure it is a replaceable one, because you will miss it when it is gone.
71 TO FAT FOR ME
YES YES YES THE MEMORY WAS GOOD BUT APPLE SHOULD REALLY THINK OF MAKING THEIR STORE HOURS CLOSE LATER SO THEY CAN MAKE IT THINNER. i AM FAT SO I CANT HAVE A FAT MP3. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. tRY USING SLIMFAST IT HELPS FOR ALL THOSE FAT PEOPLE OUT THERE
72 Simply Alright
I have been the proud owner of the Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox Zen (original model) and the XTRA. Both of these machines were well worth the money. The sound quality was amazing, the GUI eas easy to navigate and the sound features were more than sufficient. Even though the battery life was less than advertised, it still gave many hours of music playback.
About three months into the life of my XTRA, the headphone jack broke. After reading many other reviews out there, It seems like this is a regular problem. If it were not for this reoccurring issue, the XTRA would definitely be the way to go.
After returning my XTRA, I had no choice but to settle with an iPod. I was aprehensive to say the least, but since I personally knew some people that swear by their iPod, I decided to give it a whirl.
The first thing I noticed was the lack of USB 2.0 compatibility straight out of the box. I was forced to buy a $20 cable that would make it work with my computer. This was disappointing since I just spent $500 on a new machine that wouldn't work.
After I found a store that carried the cable, it was off to the computer to download the music to the player. This is where the majority of the problems came to pass. First, the software made my computer crash (I own a top o' the line PC that was custom built). When I finally got the software to work, I quickly loaded all of the songs onto the player. The transfer only took a few minutes, but I noticed that it completely drained the battery life.
After leaving it to charge overnight, I took it to school. The first song I ever tried to play froze the iPod. The first song! It worried me, but I read the User Guide and found out how to reset the player. Since then, I haven't had much of a problem, however, sometimes iTunes will not rip cd's properly. It is a quality purchase, but when Creative comes up with a new and improved Zen (Keep a look out for the Zen Portable Media Player), you can bet that my allegience won't stick with Apple.
73 Best MP3 player on the market (if you're rich)...
I've been listening to MP3's on portable players since the Diamond 32MB. I'm an absolute music junkie and use these players to get me to (and keep me in) the gym everyday. The iPod (of which I've owned 2 previous models) is hands down the best portable on the market.
What should be of concern to those in the market for this player are two things:
1. Price to Value: This is a 40GB player, your average song size is somewhere near 3MB at 128kbps playback quality (very good for headphones), that means this little guy can hold somewhere near 14,000 songs!!!! If you have even half that many tracks I'll bet the RIAA is staking your house out right now (look for snipers on your neighbors roof). I have the 10GB player (but i've bought a 20GB and a 40GB for friends) and it's way more than enough for my songs. Also, keep in mind that although the difference isn't huge, there is a noticable weight increase as you go up in GB size.
2. Battery life: You may not be aware of this, but there is some consumer litigation going on between iPod users and Apple. They claim that the battery on the iPod is engineered to die within 1.5 years (and they don't replace). The battery on my 5GB player died before 1 year. When that happened, I took it back to my computer retailer and they gave me full credit towards the purchase of an upgrade. Well, when I went in to buy another player as a gift, turns out that program has been discontinued. I'll bet it's because these things were coming back so much for that reason. There is an interesting article on Popular Science that shows you how to change the battery (not for engineering neophytes or anyone that doesn't want to void the warranty), and even a reference in that article of a service that'll do it for you.
So, if you're rich, or really intend to use it for its full features (can serve as a portable hard disk), consider the 20 or 40GB, a year and a half of high quality enjoyment may be enough. If your like most everyone though, consider the much lower priced 5 or 10GB.
Once you're an owner, check out the Apple owned iTunes site (this sounds like a commercial but...). They work phenomenal together.
I have a PC, if you do to, make sure you buy the PC version. Also, it's much easier if your PC has a Firewire port (kind of like a USB port but wider and shorter). If it doesn't, and you're not computer savvy, you might want to avoid iPod (as painful as that is to say) because you'll have to get a special card for insertion into your computer (not that easy to do).
Daily use is great. The keys themselves are heat sensitive, which is cool (no pun..), but can be a pain when you get the song you want, go to put in your pants, and accidently touch a key. Other than that, flawless. Very intuitive buttons, very intuitive menu, and beautiful looks.
Well, hope this was helpful.
74 Hard Disk MP3 Players
If you read reviews for the 4 main contenders in this market - the iPod, Creative Zen, Rio Karma and iRiver iHP - you'll notice that each has their pros and cons; none are perfect and you should decide whether you want to take to take the plunge now or later.
If your view in life is that you are going to pay $x00 to get a device then it must be near ideal - ruggedly constructed, fault proof, good product support, easy to use software - then do yourself a favor and don't buy yet. All the products have drawbacks and are not mature yet; if you expect value and reliability then wait a while. If you are OK paying $x00 for something that can be used now, but is likely to both get better and cost less in the future then try to determine which device is the lesser of evils for you.
iPod clearly has the most buzz. Great design and looks cool. Most people love the appearance and praise the touch sensitive buttons. It has a hold button to deactivate the buttons to avoid accidents; however, enough reviewers have complained that the hold button is easily broken and then the device can't be used. Some of the more geeky (non-Apple type) reviewers complain that the scrollwheel is annoying after a while and they resent being forced into this Apple-like interface. Everyone complains about the non-replaceable battery, yet this is the price of sturdy construction. iPod can be used as an external disk, and apparently stores files without problem. However, the music and data are apparently not separated; iPod reviewers complain about "white noise" in random feedback mode that comes from appointments / contacts created on the iPod during synchronization. Synchronizing music among computers, if you have more than one, seems to be an issue; research this before buying if you have multiple computers you want to be synchronized. Reviews for sound quality are generally (but not universally) positive. Reviews of Apple's support are generally poor; they seem to address issues in warranty, which covers a short time after delivery / pickup of item. After that it seems like you're on your own. iPod has no stop button; when new users mention this iPod veterans call it "unnecessary" and "so 20th century".
Creative Zen feedback suffers from construction quality, poor product support, difficulty of using the scroll wheel and reasonably consistent feedback about problems with the headphone jack. Construction quality is a difficult item. The Zen has a detachable face plate that allows the battery to be replaced. What is added in functionality (battery replacement) detracts in build quality as the face plate is prone to popping off. Drop if just a few inches on a hard surface and the faceplate pops off (but not if it's in its case). Many reviewers say the faceplate simply didn't fit well so they returned the Zen. Feedback on Creative's product support is universally poor; this is not limited to the Zen, it applies to all the company's products. The scroll wheel is finicky; it works most of the time but there is a learning curve for pressing it just right; new users say they have 50% - 75% success rate; some find it so frustrating that they just return the device. The Creative software is awkward / difficult to use and just plain doesn't load on some computers. Enough people have reported that their headphone jack doesn't work after a month of using the device to believe that Creative has some inbuilt manufacturing or quality control problem. The Zen doesn't support folders so it is not really a storage device; even with third party software that "creates" folders, documents and programs can't be launched from the Zen, so it is not a hard disk, it's a storage device at best. Reviews for sound quality are generally (but not universally) positive. The Zen has no stop button. Veteran Zen users have explained how to stop if that's what you want.
The Rio Karma feedback suffers from sensitivity in the hard disk. It seems like movement, even small movement, causes skipping in playback and even the device freezing. If you plan to carry the device around (it is a mobile device, right?) then this is something you might want to think about. Karma gets consistently good reviews for sound quality and connectivity from its docking device, which has RCA output jacks and Ethernet jacks for connectivity. Usability (button usage, feature selection, menu structure, display size and quality) also has good feedback. Repair seems to be an issue; some say the repair don't exist - you just have to buy a new player. Perhaps because of its smaller user base there is also a lack of accessories. Like the Zen, the Karma does not support folders and is not designed to be a data storage device. It only comes in 20Gb; enough for most people, not for those with large collections ripped at high sampling rates. The Karma does have a stop button.
There aren't many reviews for the iRiver iHP. Those that have it like it. The only complaint seems to be that the disk rotation is slow, leading to longer delays in some functions (playback and even a slow display of the menu?). Otherwise feedback seems to be good. No comments on reliability, warranty, repairs, accessories. No-one mentions whether there is a stop button, but the photos don't show one.
None of these are perfect. If you have the appetite choose the one that you think has the least deficiencies or is best suited to you. Accept that there will be better devices (or new generations of these ones) in a year or two that will cost less. If that is for you then pay the money, learn from the experience and you'll be a more informed buyer when you buy device #2. If you aren't into paying $x00 to learn and experiment, or the cons outweigh the pros, then wait a year or so.
75 A work of art that holds more music than you can imagine
I've had my iPod for two weeks now, and I really enjoy it. However, there are things worth noting. I've now got 400+ CDs on demand.
The box:
The iPod includes headphones, a docking cradle, a Firewire->Dock Connector, a carrying case, remote and charger - along with software.
Ergonomics:
The iPod was easier to figure out than I had imagined. It literally took 10 minutes to figure out. It's very easy to use.
Accessories:
The headphones are adequate. If you're a hardcore audiophile, then pick up better headphones. Also, the remote is either useful or useless, depending on how you listen to your music. If you tend to jump around outside of your playlists, then you will find it useless. But it's very easy to use and comes with a clip to attach to the zipper of your jacket or anywhere easily accessible. The leather case is pretty nice and should be adequate for most people.
Connection:
The iPod will charge via the firewire cable but it will be very slow to charge. So, you can use the enclosed adapter to charge the iPod with the Firewire->Dock Connector cable. However, if you take your iPod on the road a lot, then it's probably worth spending the extra money for a spare Firewire->Dock Connector unless you enjoy disconnecting and reconnecting your iPod to your computer.
Downsides:
Money. It's pricey and more expensive than other 40 GB mp3 players, but you're paying for the sex appeal of the device. The battery is a downside as well, getting 6 hours or so on a full charge. For long hauls, pick up the Belkin battery pack for this.
Overall - 4 out of 5 stars. If this device had the battery life of the Dell DJ, then it would kill the market.
76 A work of art that holds all the music I own
I've had my iPod for 2 weeks now, and I must say that I'm pleased with it. I used iTunes to rip my entire CD collection of 400 CDs with ease and now I have them on-demand.
The 40gb iPod comes with the iPod itself, a Firewire docking cradle, carrying case, remote, headphones and charger. If you're running a Windows PC, it's worth spending $20 to get an internal Firewire card for your PC.
Ergonomics:
The iPod has a nice feel to it - it's easy to use (10 minutes to truly play with and I was all set without reading the manual). It's very light and fits inside my breast pocket of a jacket or shirt.
Cables and remote:
I sort of gave up on the remote. If you're like me and like to skip around randomly without the benefit of a playlist, the remote is probably not for you. It's very cool looking and works well, but it's dependant on your music listening habits. This iPod only includes one Firewire to docking cradle cable, so if you wanted to charge your iPod on the road, you'd have to unplug the dock. This irritated me and I bought the USB 2.0 and Firewire to dock cradle cable (~$20) so I could keep that in my travel bag.
The headphones:
They're sufficient enough headphones. Nothing great, but they work well.
Battery:
The battery is the only downfall of the iPod. I'm consistently getting about 6 hours per full charge which requried me to purchase the Belkin external battery module for those Transpacific plane rides.
Extras:
There's a few games on the iPod (Solitaire is always a favorite) and the ability to hold contacts and notes (which is good - just in case my Palm Pilot's batteries die). It's a music device first, not a notebook.
iTunes:
It's not bad for cataloging your music. It's able to rip your CDs at any number of rates to MP3 or AAC. The only problem I had was Gracenote putting inconsistent information within the ID3 tags of your MP3s, so I had to go back and edit that information ("Beatles" vs "The Beatles", for instance). It was easy to create the playlists and those synced over with zero problem.
Overall I give it a 4 out of 5. The battery thing is the only real drawback.
77 Good, but could be better
By now we all know what the iPod is and what it does - but just in case you don't, it's a device similar to what the walkman was 20 years ago that plays music from an internal hard drive instead of a cassette tape. You can currently get an iPod in 3 different sizes, 15, 20, or 40 gigabyte hard drives (not including the new mini iPod which holds 4 gigs). It will play several different file formats, not just mp3s. You can play full quality (16-bit) wav or AIFF files, as well as AAC or Audible files. The unit can also be used as a standalone hard drive.
This is all controlled from a simple touch-sensitive interface that allows you to scroll through your songs in a very organized way - either by song name, artist name, album name, or according to your own playlists. You will control the songs uploaded into the iPod from a computer, either a Mac or a PC, and Apple limits you in your ability to upload a song from an iPod onto someone else's computer (i.e. it knows which computer is yours). This is to prevent illegal file sharing.
It works well in general, and will hold thousands of songs. The exact number it will hold depends upon the quality of the files you import into it. I have the 15 GB model, and I mostly use full quality AIFFs or the highest quality MP3s and I've barely gone over halfway. By the time I fill the thing up, I'm sure they'll have something else for me to buy.
There. Now that's out of the way I can get on with the opinion side of things. It's an overall great product that has helped revolutionize the way we listen to music, some of it good, some bad. Most of my complaints about the iPod center around its lack of features, rather than current features that don't function properly.
The unit seems to offer very little compared with the technology that's available today. Why isn't the screen in color? Why doesn't it offer more PDA-like features? These are incredibly inexpensive features to install and would make it a far more valuable piece of equipment. Why doesn't it communicate wirelessly with Airport systems? Why isn't there an easier way to manage playlists from within the iPod itself, not just from a computer? Why isn't there a touch screen/stylus interface for even easier, less cumbersome usage? With all the technology coming to life today, the iPod seems to be remarkably less than what it could be.
I also find the problem of non-sharing between computers to be annoying. While I appreciate and agree that such elements should be controlled, cars still drive over 70 miles per hour - we leave it to the consumer to decide not to speed and break the law. Apple shouldn't decide for us. I'm a songwriter and I store song ideas in my iPod to take to writing sessions. The problem? When I want to leave a copy with a co-writer for him to work on, I can't because the iPod won't let me transfer a song to a computer that isn't mine. Here is a completely legal transaction being blocked by Apple's stringency. It can be very annoying.
I'm looking forward to what Apple does in the future with this device. Hopefully they'll make it more functional, incorporating the current and inexpensive technology available right now.
78 Coolest MP3 Player in The World!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is Soooooooooo Cool!I Like It a Lot! My Dad Sometimes Plays Games on it ! Get it!!!! By The By My Name is Jonathan.
79 I love my 40GB Ipod
I decided to go with the most memory I could. Currently I have 792 songs and several books and have only used 3GB of memory. The sound is terrific. I also liked the fact that it came with the remote, dock and case. Although I think I probably will buy a new case since you can't see the face of the Ipod on the one that came with it and you are stuck with cords hanging all over the place. But I think it was well worth the money.
80 Love my ipod!
Seriously, I really love it. I have had it for about a month now, and really only have a couple of qualms. The biggest are the earphones. They come with these fuzzy covers to go over the metal, but within 30 mins, they were already falling off, so I, like everyone else I am sure, threw them out. The other thing is, they have already busted... sure I listen to it loud, but am dissapointed that they have already failed me. The other thing is, is that the amount of space taken up vs amount available doesnt seem to match up. For instance, If i have 20 gig saved, then it should say 20 avail.. instead it says something like 18 avail... not that big of a deal, but when you are paying for each gig really, kinda lame..
As for how it works, I love it, i have 3028 songs loaded on it so far and you can speed through the entire list in a matter of seconds.. loading my cds onto was tiresome, the longest part was copying them to my hard drive. I bought the firewire card, so once they were on the computer, they were loaded onto ipod really quickly. I originally had lots of cds loaded on windows media player, but the ipod doesnt recognize those files, so I had to recopy them.
Also, I cant seem to get random play to work, if anyone wants to email me how please do LOL
Lastly, I would say the only downside to the ipod is the price.. While I didnt really compare other, less expensive mp3 players, it was hard forking out almost 500 bones for it.
All in all, I am addicted to it, take it everywhere.
81 Another Great product from Apple
I purchased one of these right after Christmas and it is fantastic. I must say one of the best products I have ever bought. This is my second major purchase of an Apple product and I haven't been let down yet. I works flawlessly with my PowerBook G4. Apple's customer service is top notch from phone support to help at the Genius Bar inside an Apple store. They have always made a great shopping experience and have went out of their way to help answer questions. I highly recommending stopping by one if you have one in your area, you won't regret it.
82 Great Product
I thought long and hard before buying one of these, particularly given the bi-polar nature of the reviews here. People seem to either love or hate these things. Here is what I have found after a week of using the 40 GB model. The set-up was really easy without any problems at all. I loaded roughly 20 CDs onto the unit with ease. I have primarily been using it while commuting by train to work and everything works great.
Here are my only complaints:
Price - The I-Pod is way over-priced.
Control Sensitivity - I guess this is a pro and a con. It would be nice if there was a way to adjust the sensitivity of the controls. It is really easy to touch the controls without intending to while the unit is in your pocket. You can use the "hold" switch on the top of the unit to prevent this but it is a less than perfect solution.
Windows Compatibility - I-Pods should really come with a USB cable. Apple should face the fact that most of the users of these things are going to be using Windows based machines. Making the consumer buy an accessory that is really a necessity is silly. I know all of the pro-Apple folks are going to say just go out and buy an Apple computer, but that is ridiculous. I am of the opinion that Apple essentially beta tested the I-Pod with Apple computer users and then rolled the product out to the Windows world once they realized how succesful it was going to be.
So far these are my only issues. It is a great product.
83 Frustrated at best
I received my iPod promptly. And I enjoyed the user experience of unpacking the iPod...but the enjoyment stopped there. When I tried to charge the iPod on my new iMac overnight I found the iPod had only one bar indicating the charge level. So I redocked and hoped to get it charged, no use. Then I tried charging it using just the AC adapter that following night...next morning I checked it hoping the unit would be ready to go...it wasn't. Only one bar indicating the charge level. I called Apple to see if this was normal. I was instructed to pack and return my iPod to their service center where upon an iPod [a reconditioned one] would be sent back to me...not the one I just ordered off of Amazon. It seemed better at this point to return the product to Amazon. If you read my review earlier...after I contacted Amazon about the incorrect refund amount they sent me an email an adjustment will be made to my credit card [initially my refund was short by almost $100.00]. I am slightly more pleased with Amazon now...but still dissapointed with the performance of the iPod I tried. Perhaps in a few months I'll go into the local Apple store and think about trying it out again.
84 Apple's iPod Has Forever Changed the Way We Enjoy Music!
We just purchased a 40GB iPod after being dedicated Mac users for many years who never really saw the "need" for an iPod.
Now I don't know how we ever lived without it.
So much has already been written and said about it here, in the NY Times, and just about anywhere computers and audio products are reviewed, that I won't bother to tell you the 3 dozen reasons why we love it. I'll just say this:
I've been a professional musician for so long that I had really lost the love the music. I own well over 2000 CDs, many of which I never really properly listened to. Upon buying the iPod, we started ripping them and something really amazing started to happen.
We started listening to music again.
At first there were 20 albums on there, then there were 80, then 300, and so on... We're still ripping those CDs today and eventually hope to have anything and everything on there that's any good. Even using the simple categorization by genre, we're able to listen to an entire evening of jazz, or classical, or ambient, or rock, or whatever, without ever really getting bored. With one simple plug, it runs through our stereo and suddenly we get it.
CDs are dead.
They're a legacy format that eventually will look like the 8-track tape or the fax, or LPs.
The iPod mixed with iTunes and the Apple Music Store is not the future. It's the present. It's now.
It's so hard to say more than that without losing those who have never had one, and seeing the familiar nods from those who do. We just had our first baby on Christmas eve and now we get it. We totally get what parents all over the world know about having a baby and raising children.
The iPod is a bit like that too.
Hard to explain to those who think they don't need one or would never use one (reminds me of trying to get my mother to buy a telephone answering machine in the 80's), and completely unnecessary to explain to those who already know. We just kind of pass each other and do that chin up head bob to acknowledge each other. Seems to say, "yeah, I love mine too."
Anyway, if you're thinking of getting an iPod, just know that one day you will. One day we all will listen to music this way. It's just a matter of time.
Oh, and there are no diapers to change.
Enjoy!
Nica & Mick Guinn
85 My Little White Robot
The iPod is simply the best music player out there, its so small and light. My only two complaints are that the buttons are easy to activate even when you do not mean to activated them and the charger cannot plug into the base so that when you need to power it not from your computer and still sync files to it you cannot. However I have put my entire music collection on it and still have half the space available. And if you own a Mac its even better because iCal and stickies and your contacts can sync to you iPod via iSync. Best music player hands down and if you are a student $47 for the Apple care package is well worth it.
86 NO SERVICE/NO SMILE
I purchased a 15 GB ipod for a bday gift for my husband in August. He didn't want it so instead of returning it we put in the safe until Xmas to give to our son at that time. Unfortunately, you only have 90 days for free technical support. We didn't even turn it on until after Xmas and 3 1/2 months had passed. We had problems immediately. I called tech support. No help there. They want to sign you up for a service contract for 59.00. They won't answer the most basic of questions. I asked for an address to send it to. This guy told me to look online and it would cost another 35.00 to mail it back. When spending 400.00 plus converter etc, I thought they would be more helpful.It is extra for everything on an already expensive toy. I found the customer service to be rude and not helpful at all. This was an expensive mistake. Buy another brand.
87 Problems with Windows XP
I recently returned my creative nomad jukebox zen. It had worked great this last year, especially on those long convoys between Iraq and Kuwait. The reason i returned it was the earbud port was loose and sound was poor. I went to Best Buy and purchsed the 30Gb ipod. I did this while I was on leave and had nothing but problems for those 15 days of trying to add my music collection to the ipod.
The first problem i had was compatibility. Even though it is advertised as usb2 compatible, you need to purchase and aditional usb2/firewire cable. So off i went back to Best Buy and decided instead of buying a cable, to upgrade to a firewire card. I had many problems having my computer recognize the ipod i even reinstalled windows xp, after many failed attempts at reinstalling the ipod software. Finally after reloading windows i got my computer to recognize the ipod, but this took me a couple of days(I was also doing other stuff).
The next problem I have is the musicmatch jukebox software. First off it loads a cd by artists, and if the individual song has a featured artist, it will file it separately from the rest of the cd. This is a huge problem when you want to browse your music collection by artist, for instance Dr. Dre's Chronic 2001 cd, which has a featured artist on almost every track has 20 different listings when you browse by artist. Also each individual listing leads you to that one individual track. In order to view the entire cd you must browse by album and if you have a lot of albums by the same artist then you are searching through each individual album.
I know it sounds like just whining but when you have a large music collection, you want to access you music as fast as possible. The creative nomad jukebox filed everything perfectly one artist and one album, and if the artist had more albums they would be filed under the artist no matter how many artists are featured on the album.
Last of all my leave ended and i am now back in Kuwait and my ipod is constatly freezing. When I ran with my ipod on my waist it froze (the creative nomad never froze) and I had to reset it and it has never worked properly again. It constantly freezes even after having the hard disk reset a few times. I really want to keep the ipod, I like the way it looks and feels and hear great things about it, I believe I just bought a bad one and am returning it and going to give it a try again. I wouldnt recommend the ipod for windows users. Im hoping when I return it and get a new working one, I will have to come back and change this review.
88 Excellent product. Poor bundled software.
The iPod is one of the first Apple products I have ever purchased...before the iPod the only apple product that I had the displeasure of using was QuickTime. However, with the extremely favorable reactions that the iPod recevied from many different magazines I went out to a store and decided to at least give it a shot. I fell in love instantly with its ease of use and look.
So I purchased the 40 GB model. The first thing I noticed about the product was its rather...unique packaging. After finally realzing how to open it and finding the rather small unit I followed the directions located in the iPod manual and connected it up to my PC. Installation was anything but easy. The software automatically overwrote a newer version of MusicMatch jukebox and any time I tried to open MusicMatch it only would crash on me. Thus, I was forced to uninstall Music Match completely download a new version off the internet and install it. Once this was completed I succeeded in getting the iPod connected successfully and working properly. However, using Musicmatch to transfer files to iPod was a horrible experience in general.
Via a tip from a magazine I installed Apple iTunes which is now available for the Pc and found an excellent very fast product which worked with the iPod flawlessly. If not for iTunes exteremly excellent intergration with the iPod it is quite likely I would have returned the unit however iTunes completely changed my opinion of the iPod and made it actually a pleasure to use.
The actual iPod unit itself is very nice. A exteremly stylish exterior and very easy to use controls and designs make it a pleasure to hold and use. Except for the fact that it can get dirty very easily there is almost no trouble at all in transporting it around. I have gone over quite a few bumpy roads and some quick jogging and found there to be absolutely no skipping even after a 10 minute+ exposure to conditions that make my Sony CD player skip like crazy.
The only problem I really experienced in the use of the product was the lack of ability to create and SAVE a playlist directly from the unit. For example you can select and browse through all your songs and make a temporary playlist using the iPod itself. However, in order to save a playlist it is required that you use iTunes or Musicmatch and import it in that fashion. This can be quite annoying when you are like me and like to make many playlists on the fly corresponding to your emotions. However, this is a small problem when looked at regarding the rest of the unit.
One other small qualm I had was that I have quite a few WAV files that are themselves compressed in mpeg layer 2 format within the WAV format. These files do not play properly on the iPod so if you have a lot of these for some reason (I do) be prepared for lots of converting.
The last issue I had with the iPod was that it only contains 1 Dock connector to firewire plug and this plug is required to both dock the iPod to a computer and also to connect the iPod to an AC socket. If another Firewire plug was connected it would be quite nice.
All in all I was pleasently surprised with the iPod in general. The player works quite well. My main tip to other users is to not even bother with the Music Match jukebox and instead download the new Windows version of iTunes available on Apple's website.
89 Problems running with Ipod?
I had problems with the hard drive freezing up when I ran with it attached to my waist. I started holding it in my hand instead and have had no problems since. Otherwise, the ripping of songs is seemless and Itunes puts to shame to other mp3 players.
90 Not perfect, but pretty darn good
I put in many hours of research on this item, including on the internet, speaking with people directly, and demo-ing the unit in stores as best I could. I downloaded iTunes for Windows when it was released back in October, preparing for my Ipod purchase.
After downloading iTunes and updating when needed, I ripped several dozen CDs. I put the rip factor at AAC on the highest available settings. I know this uses more space, but I don't want to sacrifice quality. My own tests of AAC vs. MP3 left AAC as a slight winner, and iTunes, I believe, allows higher sample settings for AAC (but I might be wrong about this). I have little or no interest in the iTunes store, so that wasn't a factor, but my research led me to believe that AAC might be superior. My CD collection rips went fine, though it did take a while, and some needed to be reripped as there was some distortion.
Now, enter the Ipod. I had ripped approximately 75% of my music collection (around 200 CDs) and I discovered that a 20 gig unit would probably not be enough. I went ahead and purchased the 40 gig unit (on sale) with the intention of using is as a hard drive in addition to a music player. I got home, unwrapped the unit and started the installation process. Since I'd already downloaded iTunes and ripped CDs, I anticipated little work.
Unfortunately, it wasn't quite that simple. I have Windows 2000, and the Ipod software (specific to the unit, not iTunes) required a Service pack installation to the OS I didn't have. I had to download and install that, which took a couple of hours. But once I got the software up and running, the Ipod mounted to my Windows machine fine and the installation was fairly easy. The only concern I had was being able to use the unit on another computer as a drive, but iTunes has specific settings for mounting and unmounting the unit that will allow you to do this.
The sound is fantastic. Other than the earbuds, the only real complaint I have is that the buttons are inconsistent. Sometimes I hit a button and it won't respond, and other times, when sitting on my desk, the button gets hit by paper or a folder when the unit is off, turning it on. I've learned to turn the hold button on while not using the unit. The earbuds are useless for me, so I need to find some portable headphones.
Also, depending on how you set up your music collection, moving through menus can be tedious. This isn't a complaint as much as an observation as I don't know if there is any other way to effectively do this. But be aware. There is a clicking sound when moving around the menus (don't worry, you can turn this off if you want to), and in my view, there is no pressing need for a backlight, unless conditions call for it. That is good, as I don't have the backlight on at all, saving battery life.
Ahh, on to the battery issue. Unfortunately, Ipod is notorious for short battery life to begin with and a battery that slowly refuses to hold a charge over time. I've only had my unit about 2.5 weeks, so I can't comment on the "over time" issue, but I did find that my unit played over 8.5 hours continuously on a charge. I set up a playlist of 8.1 hours of music, let it go, and came back and it still had a charge. I played anouther playlist of a time I've forgotten, and it got through that, but shut down quickly afterward. This is with AAC files encoded at the highest rate, so the files are even bigger than what Apple recommends the user has, and is supposedly a battery waster. 8 hours isn't great, but I can live with that for now, and have a warranty to deal with it if it becomes a problem.
I'm happy with the purchase, though I do think I overpaid a bit -- even for a unit on sale.
91 a library in your hands but...
This is a fantastic machine. I have one 5GB and the 40GB sounds a bit better, more volume,etc.
A serious problem...
Battery goes down very fast if you have 37GB library already complete.
92 SWEET
What an incredible product! I bought mine to take with me on future deployments to the Middle East. I just wish that I would have bought one sooner!
93 Perfection
Santa was kind enough to wrap up the new 40GB iPod, and leave it under my Christmas tree. This is my first Apple product. I have Windows XP, and had no problem downloading my 4500 songs (took a few days), and transferring them over to this little white magical machine. The sound quality is amazing -- to my untrained ears, it's as good as CD quality (even though the box says "almost" as good). The iPOD's slightly sensual circular middle is perfect for scrolling quickly or slowly. It is an amazingly liberating feeling to know that I have my entire music collection in the palm of my hand.
iPOD is the best, by far. Get it. Now. Don't even think twice about the cost. The many years of enjoyment that iPOD will give you is more than worth it. Trust me: You will not regret it.
94 Bravo! Apple has reinvented the already supple iPod!
I had the 2G iPod and now I just bought the 3G 40GB iPod. First, Apple had it shipped directly from Shanghai, China (assembled there) and it took less than 1 wk. to reach me on the East Coast of the United States - excellent! There is absolutely no issues with compatibility for both Macintosh & PCs (I have both and used them both). I really didn't think Apple could improve on the 2G iPod, but they did . . . the ability to connect to my Bose stero system is just awesome (you should hear this on the Bose LifeStyle 35). Also, the base station makes it even easier to charge and download music. It is now even slimmer than the 2G iPod. My only complaint is that Apple didn't make this available with Firewire 800 (I'm sure that is coming in the 4G iPod). Anyway, BRAVO to Apple - hard to believe that only several years back, Apple was struggling to make it!!! This is the ONLY portable MP3 player worth buying for PC & Mac - it is worth the high price tag!!!
95 IPOD is Art
I got the 30 Gig iPOD for Christmas(Thanks Santa!). This is my first Apple product. I was prepared for all the problems I might encounter
