plays MP3, WAV, AAC, AIFF (uncompressed), Apple Lossless, and Audible files * displays photos converted from JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF and PNG formats * functions as an external hard drive for backup of computer files * 65,536-color backlit LCD screen * 40GB hard drive holds approximately 25,000 photos, transferred from iTunes and 1,333 hours of music at 64 kbps (or 666 hours at 128 kbps) *
1 The good, the bad, and the ugly
Apple iPod Photo: GOOD.
Falling for an obviously fake marketing ploy: BAD.
All the unwanted email, faxes, and telemarketing calls you'll get after signing up: UGLY!
2 get unwanted marketing "at no cost here"
Warning: attempting to get an iPod through a "no cost offer" is hazardous to your email inbox!
Think about it for a moment: how can somebody give away a $300+ item? It's obvious that it's impossible.
Anybody familiar with marketing bounties knows that companies like AOL only pay, at most, a few dollars for a new customer. Can you guess how the "free" people make up the difference?
Answer: flooding you with junk email, telemarketing calls, and junk faxes.
I love my 40Gb iPod Photo. Apple, as usual, has designed a great product. Too bad a bunch of bad apples-pun intended-are using iPods as bait.
3 Great item, Good deal
I bought this for $10 more than the new 30gig model, and I'm pleased to say I got my money's worth. It comes with photo dock, firewire cable, and av cable, which are worth more than $10, not to mention the extra 10 gigs(keep in mind these accesories dont come with the the new 30 or 60 gig versions. I broke my old 20gig ipod by dropping it from two feet, i recomend you buy an iskin because the case that comes with this ipod offers zero protection as i found. Despite what other reviews say you do NOT need any other software with this package, you can add photos and album art if you know how to use itunes. The color screen is very nice with good resolution. My only problem with the ipod photo is that it's like a cell phone screen which means you have to be in a well lit place in order to read the screen without the backlight, which wastes battery. The battery really does last longer on these models than on regular ipods. Great product, Good deal.
4 the ipod
The Apple Ipod photo is something that after you use it for a time it becomes something that you cannot leave the house with. As a person who spends about 8 hrs a day with the stereo on this is something that is used a lot during the day, and needs to be of high quality. This product is that high quality needed. The Ipod is something that you can use almost anywhere, the car, the home, and at work.
Currently my Ipod has taken over my CD collection in my car. The pure convenience of having over 5000 songs with me in the car is something that after having the Ipod I could not go back to CD's. Currently I have the Ipod ran in with a Line In cord into the back of my stereo for people who have a line on your stereo this is the way to go. The FM transmitters are something that works, but not well and any audiophile will frown upon. If this is the route your looking into the best way to run this is the 1/8'' to composite cable with the SIK line out adapter. The SIK plugs into the Ipod and then the SIK's 1/8'' runs into the stereo. This provides the best quality connection to the car.
At my house my Ipod has become my new CD changer. Again having over 5000 songs on one stereo component is something that becomes so convenient, you can't go back. The Dock that came with the Ipod is something that is very convenient and provides a great place to place the Ipod to avoid scratches. The dock provides a Line out port so it is easy to hook up to a stereo and provides a great sound quality. Also the dock can be used on the computer to sync the Ipod with your Itunes music library or used just as a charging base.
At work my Ipod is just hooked up to a pair of computer speakers. With all my music right there next to my computer typing all those boring reports and fixing computers (I'm a computer tech. at a hospital) goes a little bit faster. Also sharing music at work becomes a little easier because of the Ipod's easy interface anyone can figure out how to play a song.
Overall the Apple Ipod is a great product that can be used anywhere. Though pricy the quality really makes it worth it. I've had other MP3 players and none of them just feel as good as this one does in the hand. Ipod is a great tool for anyone who loves music or someone just looking for a good way to carry a few tunes around with them.
5 Pros and Cons
Pros:
If you buy the 40 gig right now, you get an AV Cable, a dock and some other stuff that don't come with the new 30 gig or 60 gig, so for just a few bucks more than the 30 gig, you get a bunch of extra pricey stuff.
Great looking screen, easy interface, easy to download and arrange songs.
Cons:
Can't figure out how to get/display album art for the CD's I've been ripping to my ipod. I've got a ton of discs I wanted to consolodate and put away. I'm disappointed that the album art is apparently not displayable.
Software didn't come with necessary version if iphoto, Apple's website helpfully (?) suggests I buy iLife '05, (which is also rather pricey.) I've managed to buy a copy of iLife '04, which I hope will solve my problem, but why not give me all the software I need to run the device as designed?
I'm going to like my iPod, but no one ever likes a "bait and switch."
Addendum:
OK, so I figured out how to get the album art on my iPod, but why doesn't cddb automatically download it? I have to search for it myself on Google and drag and drop it to iTunes. Dumb.
6 The best of the best
if you buy any mp3 player from someone other than apple, ur an idot. period.
w/ the 40 gig ipod photo, you get more for your money than w/ the 30 gig.
I recommend buying the incase ipod leather case. fits like a glove.
7 Perfect---With Minor Flaws
This is an excellent machine. It's compatible with Windows, easy to install, quick to upload, and just generally great. You can check out all the other reviews here for the details on how good it is. The photo screen is nice, but I really didn't find it all that necessary.
There are some minor problems that need to be taken care of when you purchase this:
1) BUY A CASE- The case that comes with this is not very good because the screen can get scratched easily. This is necessary.
2) BUY A WARRANTY- The internal battery will probably die within a year, so it's necessary to get a good warranty.
3) CONVERT YOUR WMA FILES- The most annoying thing about this is that it doesn't take Windows Media files. Convert all of your WMA files to the ipod-compatible format. If you have protected files, re-upload them in the iTunes format.
Enjoy your ipod!
8 Very Dissapointing Amazon
I ordered this iPod Photo 40GB on March 20th. Didn't care about reviewing the order receipt because Amazon has NEVER dissapointed me about their delivery estimates, NEVER, in 5 years I've been a regular customer. 3 or so days later, I go checked my order and realized that the "estimate" shipping date was and still is MAY 24TH!!!!! I wrote and then called customer service, and they confirmed that was correct!!! They said that "sometimes the product information page doesn't get updated" And still, in the product page they keep claiming that it "Usually ships within 2 or 3 days"????? HOW DARE YOU???? This a 2 or 3 MONTHS shipping estimate instead!!!! Or.....
I wonder if it has to do with the fact that I used a $45 gift coupon???? Mmmmhh???
They claim their "distributor" is going to refill their stock on those dates... HOW are they going to accomplish that if the WHOLE WORLD knows this model has been discontinued by Apple more than a month ago??? I'm very mad and dissapointed at Amazon...
9 Buy it now before it's too late
I recently purchased this ipod model based on the soon-to-be released photo / camera connector from Apple. I take a lot of digital pics and the upload functionality would be a great use for me. If you're thinking about an ipod photo this is currently the best one to buy because:
1. It's only $30 more than the 30 GB photo.
2. You get 10 more gigs, dock, av cables, and fire wire.
You would spend way more getting these "accessories" seperately. None of the 4G second version photo comes with the extras. Stop thinking and buy now.
10 Hidden Costs of iPod iPhoto 30GB
Boy! Capitalism rears it's ugly head again! I owned a 40GB iPod last November and returned it because the new iPhoto was coming out. I just bought the iPhoto for 349.00 and realized how much MORE money I have to spend to get the same use/functionality out of the iPhoto version...
1. NO docking station included in this version. (39.99)!!
2. NO firewire cable included (25.00)!!!
3. Power adapter is USB only!!!!
4. Only get USB 2.0 cable!!!!
What bothers me about it is:
1. You can't charge your iPod using the provided 2.0 USB cable when the iPod is connected to the computer. (I have a 15" PowerBook that HAS 2 High-speed USB plugs)
2. You can't use the iPod as a "PDA" to sync dates and address book unless you're using the firewire cable.
3. IF I were to buy the firewire cable...I would THEN need to BUY the power adapter that plugs into the wall....MORE MONEY....
In the end...for this 30GB iPhoto to be as functional as the 40GB iPod would cost 400+ (an extra 40 dollars).
Don't get me wrong the iPod is great, and color makes it better...but c'mon hiding costs is a horrible way to do business.
I hope this enlightens anyone considering dumping the 40gb for the 30gb iPod iPhoto.
11 YES! finally
I bought myself a mini ipod and it didn't hold enough songs for me because i'm 14 and i listen to a lot of music. So i kept that one but bought a 20 GB and i liked this one but then my digital camera that i have broke so i bought the 40 GB photo and i love it. So now i have three different ipods. but i would recommend the 40 Gb photo
12 Get the 40GB iPod Photo while it lasts
This review is based solely on the value of this 40GB iPod Photo that was recently discontinued versus the 2nd generation 30GB iPod Photo.
With the price drop on the 40GB iPod photo to clear out the stock, you get a tremenedous value.
This product comes with
- a carrying case with belt clip
- a connector to connect your iPod to your Television set to play slideshows (with music) on your tv
- Firewire connector in addition to the USB 2.0 connector
- Dock Connector.
The new 30GB and 60GB products do not come with any of these accesories anymore. While it is good that Apple allows the consumer to pick and choose what you want and dramatically drop the starting point cost for the product. Given the reduced price for this 40GB model, you are getting a lot more value for the money not to mention an additional 10GB of memory.
The only drawback to the 40GB iPod Photo versus the 30GB from what I can tell is the 30GB version is a little lighter and thinner.
I have long appreciated the iPod and think the general product is excellent and am very happy with this product. But I will defer to some other excellent reviews here in regards to technical information about this version.
13 What an MP3 should be
If you are looking for the Top Of The Line MP3 player....you have found it. The 40Gig give you the best bang for buck..givens Apple new 30Gig for $50 less. I wouild get the 40Gig while they are still around. iPod the only way to go!!!!
14 Here is the latest news about iPod photo
Today (23 Feb 2005), Apple announced a major change in its iPod lineup and here is how it affects iPod photo models:
> iPod 40 GB is discontinued
> iPod photo 40 GB is discontinued
> iPod photo 30 GB (new product) replaces the 40 GB iPod photo and the regular iPod 40 GB
> iPod photo 60 GB now costs $150 less -- $449 instead of $599
> iPod photo 30 GB costs $349 ($150 less than iPod photo 40 GB and $50 less than regular iPod 40 GB)
> iPod dock ($39), AV cable ($19), carrying case ($29), and firewire cable ($19) do not ship with iPod photo (you may not really need them)
> Now we get three things with iPod photo: earphones, USB (not firewire) based AC adapter, USB 2.0 cable
> In additon to the above, a firewire cable continues to ship with iPod 20 GB & iPod U2 edition
> iPod photo Camera Connector is introduced - this can be used for connecting your digital camera directly to the iPod
As this product has been discontinued, you should be looking at iPod photo 30 GB from now on!
Since I have iPod 40 GB as well as iPod photo 60 GB, I strongly recommend iPod photo for those who are looking beyond the iPod 20 GB. The color screen has much better resolution and it also has a scrolling feature for long texts.
15 To photo or not to photo - worth the extra $100? DEPENDS!
The big question with the 40 gb iPod photo is whether to get it or the regular b&w 40gb iPod. The price difference, around $100, requires justification. Is the color screen and whirligig pizazz worth the cost?
Well, it isn't just the color screen, improved battery life, or ability to view pictures that you're getting with that $100. The iPod photo comes with hardware extras that you don't get with the regular iPod. These include:
- Case with belt clip
- Docking station
- Firewire *AND* USB cables
- Cable to hook up the iPod photo to your TV
When you can spend up to $20 for a USB cable in a store, having one right in the box is convenient. And if you add in the dock and the case, you've already found out where a chunk of that $100 is going. The color screen has nice brightness and the pics add a niftiness factor; the new generations of iPods will all have color screens, so if you get a b&w now you may regret it later when your iPod starts looking "old". "Grandma, why is your iPod gray?"
In the end, I decided the upgrade to the iPod photo was worth the price, considering how much I was already going to pay for a regular iPod. It's like choosing a Lexus over a Camry. If you can afford to splurge, why not go for the better model?
Also, despite what another reviewer said, you don't need a special program like Adobe Elements to import photos. In iTunes you can import them straight from a folder. The programs mentioned in the other reviews make it arguably easier to sync a photo collection or create "albums", but they aren't necessary. My iPod works just fine without them.
16 More applause for Apple's iPod Photo
My wife and I share our MP3 players and this one now brings us up to 4 or 5 we've been through. This one is by far the best, and that includes experience with an iPod Mini just last year (which is still going strong).
Interestingly, we didn't buy it for the photo features. I bought it because we were frustrated waiting for our local dealers to get the 40GB iPod back in stock. We decided to upgrade from the mini back before Christmas because we were tired of swapping music off and on it's puny (ha, can't believe a year ago I thought it was huge) 4GB hard drive. It's a champ and we're still debating if we should actually sell it now....but onto the iPod Photo.
The two negative themes I have read over and over again about this unit is the pricing and the poor integration of the photo capabilities in the iTunes software. Well the integration is poor. You do need another piece of software to organize your photos and then the key piece for loading it is buried as an option in iTunes. Tonight however, I did try loading some of my photos and it worked very smoothly. And despite the potential software integration issues I had a couple hundred photos on it loaded on it withing about 5 minutes. Within the next 5 minutes I had it plugged into my TV dazzling my family with a slideshow and one of my daughters favorite playlists as background music playing through the TV as well. Slick! It will be interesting to see how much I and my family actually use this feature. I have been concerned with what I should do with all of my family's digital pictures, the photo albums seem...well...so yesterday. And have you tried printing a stack of 20 photos on your home printer? I've got better things to do...
As for music, it does that too with typical iPod style and grace, but even better. The click wheel seems to operate even more smoothly and navigating the menus is faster. A big plus is the vibrant and crisp display. The bigger and higher resolution screen is much easier to read (especially for those of us wading into bifocal territory). The battery also gets a boost with a runtime north of 15 hours. Of course the 40GB disk is very nice to have. I look forward to moving even more of my music collection onto it.
For the same money you can also get one of the new Personal Media Centers by Creative Labs or Archos (and I'm sure many others). Those may be highly worthwhile depending on your needs (I would have loved one when I used to commute via train), but you need to factor in the cost of your time to record and load the media. I have spent some time this past year also playing with PC based TV tuners and capturing digital video. It hasn't quite evolved to be the simple and smooth experience the iPod and iTunes have become. My wife and kids aren't as enthusiastic nor as patient as I am. After my experiences with other digital media I was pretty confident a portable media center would collect dust in my house.
To wrap this up, I highly recommend the iPod Photo as an MP3 player--despite the $500 price--and the fact that it displays photos is just icing on the cake.
17 Look at the alternatives
My wife bought me one of these for Christmas. Even though I count two Macs among my computer collection, I had her return it, unopened.
Yes, the iPod has a great UI. Yes, it's cute looking. But it has several flaws that, combined with its premium price, make it unacceptable in my opinion:
1. The battery is not user-replaceable. Li-ion batteries have a notoriously short cycle-life. Why pay for a new unit or an expensive repair when so many other portable digital music players use cheap, generic, user-replaceable AA and AAA batteries?
2. The iPod does not support my preferred audio format: Ogg Vorbis. I consider it unacceptable to lock myself into a proprietary, patent-encumbered format like AAC that no one else but Apple supports when a free and completely open alternative exists that is either just as good or even better.
Sure, a few people have reportedly managed to hack the iPod to handle Ogg Vorbis, but why bother when again there are competitive products on the market that already do what you want? As a consumer, the only way you can possibly influence a company's direction is to take your business elsewhere. Why send Apple the wrong message?
If Apple adds Ogg Vorbis support to the iPod, I might buy one even if the battery still isn't user-replaceable. Until then, I'll continue to use my iRiver IFP-390T flash player. Sure, it can't hold much, but it's much smaller, lighter and cheaper than an iPod, runs on a single AA battery, and I can quickly load it with several hours of Ogg Vorbis-format music from my laptop.
18 Great for audio books too
I listen to digital audio books when I'm traveling and my old Pocket PC was painfully slow to load new book files. The iPod photo USB 2.0 file tranfer rates are fantastic, the sound quality is great and the interface better than my pocket PC. Getting the iPod to work with Audible.com was no problem. Since I have a Windows PC I use iTunes (free) for automatically moving my audio files, copying my CD music collection (fast!) and family photos to the iPod. The color and fonts on the iPod photo are better for my aging eyes. No extra software is needed - read the manual. I love the iPod photo and use it every day.
19 Stop being so bitter people! iPod photo is the KING!!!
The ipod photo is the best mp3 player out there, period. It encompasses everything that's made the ipod great, and adds full color, and photo capability. People hated cellphones that were in color, saying "why does it need to be color?" yet we all have cellphones now with a color display.
Battery life is amazing. Display is beautiful. Great accessories. And best of all, amazing sound quality and ease of use.
Stop being so bitter because you already spent your dough on a boring 4g with no character! Ebay it, and get one of these.
20 Too Expensive for features- Get Archos Gmini 400 instead
I've owned the ipod photo for a month now, and i realized that this unit is too expensive for its features. The only thing this Ipod can do is for viewing photos and listening to music. I am now looking onto the Archos Gmini 400, which has memory card reader, photo, video, music, and gameplay all in one for a little over half the price of this ipod. This Ipod Photo is way too expensive for the petty features. Get the Archos Gmini 400 instead.
21 I never use this thing!
I waited over the last couple years to buy an iPod at all, sure that the capabilities, quality, and power would increase as the price bottomed out...this didn't really happen. Sure the 4G iPod is a great improvement over the first iPod out, but in the end, this is just an expensive jumpdrive with a headphone jack. This new iPod is great technically, but after owning one for more than a month now, I realize that I still listen to CDs when I drive, the lawnmower/snowthrower and powertools are still too noisy (plus the headphones line still gets in the way of movement, just like with a portable CD player), and in the house...well, I'm not a 14 year-old with parents yelling at me to cut my stereo down! Daily exercise is actually a part of my job, so my 10 co-workers and I train from 630-730 daily, but I obviously can't strap my iPod to my arm and head out! The color screen is so small that you can't really see any definition on the photos, and I find that there really aren't that many opportunities for me to whip out the iPod and run through a slideshow! Long story short: In the end, I think this is great for kids and students, but pretty worthless for all the rest of us...as an aside, like most Apple products, the iPod is very user-friendly, and never has issues, like virtually all other products running on non-Apple programming...also, like most Apple products, it looks better on TV than it does on you desk...
22 Horrible
I'm not saying that the iPod sucks but I just hate the photo! I like the 20GB normal version of the iPod. I don't care about the color screen and that you can have a picture slideshow. You can get the same 40GB iPod that stills holds 10,000 songs for much less than this. I hate the expensive versions of the iPod because who the heck would use 10,000-15,000 songs? I might use 2,000 songs but that's it. That's why the iPod mini is horrible also. The 60GB is way out of a person's reach (moneywise)and the 40GB is just a waste of money because Apple makes the same gigabyte space for a cheaper price. We don't need color screens we just need a thing that plays music (nothing high-tech!)
23 Great Product!
I just recieved my 40GB ipod photo and it is amazing. I wasn't sure if the price difference between the photo and regular ipod justified getting the photo, but in my opinion it does for the follwoing reasons:
1) the color screen and new font are much easier to read.
2) if you carefully read the directions - as a Windows user you do NOT need any other software to transfer and view photos on your ipod. itunes 4.7 (which comes with the ipod) works very well and it takes two clicks of the mouse (really!).
3) photos look quite nice on the screen given its size.
In reading lots of reivews on many sites it appears that apple is still the leader in MP3 players and this product appears to be of very high quality and is extremely easy to use.
24 THE BEST BUY!!
My sister just purchsed the ipod photo 40 gb after thinking a lot if it was a good idea, but recently she decided to buy it because she saw me that I had an ipod 40 gb (not ipod photo) and she saw that it was better to carry it than carrying mini discs and of coarse cd's, but she was afraid that it were very difficult to use or something like that, but I explained her that at least mine was very easy and that nowadays the ipod is the thing we all must have and they are releasinf lots of fun accesories for it and now that the screen is with color better!!
so she bought it and started to install the itunes in her laptop and she was excited about it so I taught her how to import her music cd's to her library and to transfer them to the ipod and she was surprised how easy it was and now she can't wait to use it.
She is very happy with it and I am with mine too even though is not the color screen but it works the same way.
Now if you are buying an ipod make sure you buy ipod photo don't worry about the price because is worth it.
25 Perfect trade up!!!
Just bought it! Been living in bliss for 4 days now.
I used to own a 2nd Generation iPod 20 GB (gave it to my sis, who's btw extremely happy right now) and I must say that if you've been holding up for an upgrade that is worth it, THIS is the iPod to get.
There DEFINITELY is wonderful differences in many instances:
1. Better sound. (the BASS! the CLARITY!! All BETTER!!).
2. Faster hard disk access.
3. Did I said the sound is cooler than ever?
4. COLOR IN EVERYTHING!!! (the OS, games, calendars, contacts... SEXY!!).
5. Album art!!
6. All the cool features of the 3rd Generation iPods and iPod mini.
7. Photos.
8. Photo slideshow with soundtrack on the TV!
9. Who are we kidding? Color iPods are the future of this franchise, better get up to speed dontcha think?
10. All of the above!
More reasons?? I bought my 2nd Gen iPod 20 GB for $599. This 40 GB color beauty is $100 dollars cheaper!!
COOOOOOOOOOOOOL !!!!!
26 DISAPPOINTED
This is my second iPod. I had my first iPod for almost two years and loved it. It was definately one of the coolest devices I have ever had. I was really excited about an iPod with a color screen. First of all, I was not sure that I would like the new wheel, but after using it, I am pleased and do think it is an improvement. The real issue for me is that you can not really keep pictures on this device as Apple would have you think UNLESS YOU BUY ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE. For Apple users, you have to have have iPhoto 4.0.3 and for Windows users you have to have Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0 or Elements 3.0. If you don't have these programs, you won't be seeing color pictures on your iPod. iTunes was and is included with an iPod purchase and i assumed that any software needed to view pictures with my iPod would also be included. This being the case, I would suggest you buy the black and white iPod and save $100 unless you already have the software needed.
27 Apple does it best...
It's not just the device you buy with any Apple product. I was one fortunate guy and got a 40Gb iPod for Christmas..and it's really nice. I wouldn't have bought it for myself, I probably only would have gone black and white with my own limited budget. Apple understands interfaces and the whole experience...folks like Disney are at that level. Everything is just integrated, intuitive and easy. 40Gb is a lot of space, photos look good, but not amazing. It's great to have all of my photos and music with me. I had an original 5Gb model before this (I won it in a contest when they came out, pretty charmed iPod life). People bring up the other devices with equal or better specs that cost less, but don't provide the overall experience (ease of use, integration with iTunes/iPhoto) that something like this does. The only reason I knocked a star off is you have to be willing to shell out a little more $$ for the best. It blows my mind that people review these products without actually owning/using one.
28 Great....but why so pricey?
I recently purchased this little beauty. I've been waiting to purchase an iPod for a while because I knew they were coming out with a color screen version this fall. I waited until Christmas when I would have a little extra money to buy it. Now, when I saw it, I immediately loved it, but I was very hesitant to purchase it. 500 DOLLARS??? What?! I could buy an incredible PDA for that price.
Well, I decided to buy this because I had waited so long, plus, this was my Christmas present to myself. I'm glad I bought it in a sense, but my checkbook is screaming at me.
I love the color screen and it's capacity of photos and music. I love how this took a second to set up and about 5 minutes to upload all 600 songs and 2000 pictures. It is very user friendly, lightweight, and very attractive. It's a wonderful addition to any MAC or PC. I plan on getting iTrip soon so that I can listen to all of my songs through my car stereo, but for now, I think I'll let my checkbook breathe.
Now, if you only want to use an ipod for music, get a normal one. You'll save at least $100. But if you're like me and have a ton of pictures, get this. You'll really like it once the reality of how much it cost you sets in,
29 Finally, its working fine
I had some serious difficulties getting the iPOD to collect my photos in the categories that I had designated in my Photoshop Album 2.0. Thanks to 2 kind people on the Adobe Forum web site, they directed me how to solve the synchronization problem. The key is placing all the photos that you want on your iPOD in "COLLECTIONS", the alternative method to "TAGS" for storing photos in categories. Once I moved all my photos from their "tagged" designations to "Collections", everything worked fine and I now love my iPOD Photo. For further help in storing photos in PSA 2.0, go to the Operating Manual for the PSA, pages 50 - 58, at "c:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop Album 2.0\Shared_Assets\Locales\US_EN\Online Help.pdf". Be aware that the iPOD will not synchronize photos from PSA 1.0 or PSA 2.0 SE (Starter Edition). If you have PSA 1.0, the 2.0 edition can be downloaded from the Adobe site for $29.00.
30 Amazing IPOD Craze
YES!!! the rave about IPOD's is true...I bought the 40GB photo IPOD and it is amazing. The color and clarity is truely worth the extra money. Also this has a calendar, alarm and the date time, etc.... This also has games to play and I really love the touch screen - this is the first I have seen any system do something like this. It is worth the money for all these extra's you get.
31 Overpriced, Overhyped
Apple is a terrible company indeed. On one hand, they put on the faŤade of being a grassroots, independent-thinking, and compassionate corporate citizen; and when the public looks away, Job and his cohort engage in predatory business practice that puts big bad M to shame. Take their successful iPod for example. According to Creative, one of the first makers of harddisk-based MP3 players, "Apple bought a ton of the 1.8-inch drives and locked up the supply...the smaller drives gave Apple the advantage of being able to produce its first-generation iPods with a more compact profile than the competition." The iTune's recent dealing with Real has demonstrated Apple's trend of voracious business behavior. For these reasons alone, I would have qualms about pouring my hard earned cash down in to the pipeline of such a ruthless company.
Now let's turn to the actual iPod. I must disclaim that I DO NOT OWN an iPod Photo - I own a 4G 20GB iPod and have played with an iPod Photo. In any case, I feel that iPod really has reached its peak, functionally and aesthetically, at their 4G models. Since the 4G model, Apple has been facing an increasingly creative army of competitions. The latest gimmicks from Apple, namely the iPod Photo in question (or the ridiculously looking iPod U2 model), are indications of Apple's innovations being exhausted. The iPod Photo's slight improvement over its 4G predecessors is not very impressive at all, compared to the recently new players from other companies (Creative, Archos, Rio, JetAudio etc. etc. which, in many cases, offers VIDEO and audio playback capability and open support of codec types for similar, and often lower, prices).
So what's the straight dope on the new PHOTO hoopla? Let's take a look. First thing first, you NEED TO BUY ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE to access some of the photo features(!) You've got to be kidding me! FIVE HUNDREAD BIG ONES (the price of a new desktop system), and I need to shell out more for some crappy photo software?! The color screen is an improvement over the 4G (keep in mind competitors have gone color a long time ago), but unless you have the backlight on all the time, the color screen is dark and fuzzy. Speaking of backlight, the reason Apples recommends a stingy approach to battery use is because there's still no improvement with the battery. In a year or two, battery will be dead and that's another 100 for replacement.
Bottom line, unless you're a follower Mac cult, do consider the options before committing half of your Christmas bonus on this thing. There are many alternatives out there.
p.s. I don't work for any of Mac's competitors.
32 Unbelievable
This is one of the greatest pieces of technology I have ever owned. I am somewhat of an "early adopter", so take this with a grain of salt, but I will try to give a balanced opinion. I should also note that I have a relatively new PowerBook G4, so the integration with my computer is absolutely seamless.
I have had my iPod Photo 40GB for about a week. During that time, the photo options have come in very handy. We just had a Christmas party from work, and I took a bunch of pictures with my digital camera. The next day, I was able to bring those pictures in and show them to anyone who wanted to see them without lugging my laptop around. I also hooked up to the TV in the lounge with the INCLUDED cable, and showed a slide show with music. My coworkers loved every minute of it.
All of the other reviewers' comments are noted, and I believe they have some truth to them. The one feature I would want is the option to zoom in & out, and pan around the pictures to see details a little better on the small screen. It seems this would be relatively easy to implement, since the controls are already in place. I disagree with the reviewer who said the thumbnail view is inadequate. I can see enough detail in them to choose the picture I want without a problem.
As a music player, the iPod can't be beat. I am still loading music on it, and I have plenty of space left. After all, my high-end laptop only has 80 GB of storage, and has to hold a lot more than music and pictures. The on-the-go playlist is great, and the shuffle works very well without duplicates. The click wheel is extremely cool, and makes getting around very easy.
Over all, I would say that the iPod Photo is worth every penny, if you you are going to USE all the features. If not, get a plain iPod, or even an iPod mini if you think it will suit your needs. Or your wants. After all, this is a great toy, not a necessity.
33 Wonderful upgrade path for your current iPod
I recently bought the 40GB iPod Photo. Prior to that I have owned both a 20GB 3G iPod and a 40GB 4G iPod (I use it with a windows XP laptop). I must say that for iPod owners the iPod photo is is very nice upgrade, altough it introduces a $100 premium over similar capacity regular iPods. The $100 can be somehow easily explained by the hi-res color screen and the Picture browsing and display capabilities but for some people might not be worth the premium. I guess it depends on your particular usage models.
Nice attributes of the iPod Photo:
* The hi-res color screen displays song names and the other regular IPod info (battery left, the progression bar, etc.) in a very pleasant a simple, elegant way. The text is easier to read and is definitively far more readable in backlit mode than the regular iPod in backlit.
* The color screen also shows a small window with the artwork of the album which is playing in a given moment.
* The battery lasts 15 hours and it is really a killer feature for people that take long flights regularly (like yours truly).
* The picture browsing mode is nice and intuitive. Even if you don't own the extra software mentioned in other reviews, you can synch your Windows folders straight from your windows folders in to the iPod.
* The picture browsing mode is nice and the iPod interface is pretty intuitive. The screen is a bit small, but again, if you travel a lot, it allows you to look at your loved ones' pictures easily while listening to your music (I don't know why one reviewer said that this was not possible, since its not only possible but also very easy to do).
* The cables to browse on TV are very nice and enable you to do your own slideshows with music for your family or friends. A RCA cable is included. It can get signal out of the headphone jack and provides Video and stereo feed into your TV set. It also has an S-Video output on the cradle. Cool!.
Cons:
* The screen resolution, despite being a big improvement vs the B&W screen is below the resolution available on most cameras. For the premium a higher resultion display should be added.
* Thickness, the iPod Phote is a bit thicker than the regular iPod. This can be an issue for some cases and some docking stations (e.g. JBL onstage speakers).
* Battery charge. Maybe not a big issue if you came from a 3G iPod, but certanly much slower to charge than the regular 4G iPod (5 hrs vs 2 hrs).
NEWS ON IPOD PHOTO (AS OF 3/1/05):
* This week Apple announced the new iPod Photo models and they are reducing significantly the Premium over the regular iPod.
* The IPod photo now comes in two presentations: a 30GB model for $349 and a 60 GB model for $449. This is a great deal vs the former price of $499 for the 40GB and $599 for the 60GB model.
* The new models lack the cradle and the nice three-way cable to get Video and Stereo signal out of the miniplug jack. The cradle and the cable are now optional accessories.
* Overall a great move to make the iPod photo a more accesible player to a broader audience.
In summary a great and very welcome member of the iPod family and specially recommended for roadwarriors, especially those that take long flights. Enjoy.
34 DO NOT BUY
For the love of G_d. DO NOT BUY THIS.
1. You are being Ripped off.
2. For the same amount of money, you can buy an Archos AV340 which...
1.Plays music AND videos/movies
2.works on windows AND mac
3.Can view Hi-rez photos (And there is a Camera attachment that lets you take pictures, and another which lets you load pictures on with your seperate camera)
4.The camera attachment also doubles as a CAMCORDER
3.All the photo iPod does is...
1.play music
2.view phosos
3. guzzle your battery in 4hrs
4. YOU HAVE TO LOAD THE PHOTOS ON YOURSELF, AFTER THEY ARE ON YOUR PC/MAC
So.... the obvious choice is.... Archos. I switched over, and now I can't imagine life w/o it.
(I just lost my charger... *Sob* so i am stuck burning CDs)
35 The iPod actually got better!
I recently caved and forked over $500 for this little number and I can tell you that, provided you can afford the price tag, the iPod photo will not disappoint.
Having migrated from a 15GB 3rd Gen. iPod, I can tell you that 40GB is more than enough for the average music afficionado. I've got just under 3500 songs (a combination of MP3 & AAC files) loaded on it and I still have 20 1/2 GB left to play with. Not bad at all. Being able to see the album art for each song is a nice touch too. The core features that have made the iPod such a big hit haven't changed. Most people know what the iPod does already so I'll focus this review on what makes the iPod photo such a leap from its predecessors.
The interface has been reworked (new Apple font, blue highlight over a white backgound) and it benefits greatly from a color screen. The backlight illuminates the 2" screen nicely and it works great if you're only glancing at it to find what you're looking for (i.e. using it hooked up to your car stereo). The games are now in full color too, making Solitaire actually playable.
Now for the photos.
First, I've heard complaints that photo syncing through iTunes is rather clunky but I've experienced quite the opposite. It's no harder than changing any of iTunes' preferences. What I do is have both iPhoto & iTunes open, start with iPhoto and remember the albums I want to copy over, then Command+Tab to iTunes and check off the albums I want. Simple as that. It takes a bit to sync up (especially if you have over a few hundred photos, I have over a thousand) but luckily it's not processor-intensive so you can surf the net, answer email on your computer while iTunes is working.
As for the photos themselves, sure the quality isn't like looking at an actual photo print but for the screen size the pictures look great, and navigating through them is remarkably easy. You can either go backwards & forwards by pressing Next or Previous on the scroll wheel OR by using the scroll wheel itself to cycle through them. Looking through albums is as easy as picking a playlist and the screen accommodates 25 thumbnails at a time, making finding the photo you want a snap.
Finally, the incidentals. The battery life has been increased substantially to accommodate for the color screen; I have yet to run the battery down completely once. This also adds to the size of the device itself, making it a bit thicker and a tad heavier but it's by no means anything to get worked up over.
So Apple managed to do it. They took a device that was without argument the best in its class and made it better. If you're looking to carry around a lot of photos and your music, look no further. It's worth every penny.
36 I love my new iPod Photo 40GB
This is my first iPod... I had just ordered a 4G 40GB and the next day this was announced so I jumped. I've never been an early adopter before but I am very impressed. I'm a professional musician and I don't actually listen to much music on the go -- too much of a pain to switch CDs for that one song I want to hear over and over again. But the iPod is terrific and I have not been disconnected from it for five days. But the photos... well, I've been able to go to venues and show promotional photos for the bookers on demand so I can get their interest and that's been a big help and time saver. Also, being able to create a slideshow has been terrific. I agree the quality isn't "print" but I do think the photos are beautiful on that sweet screen. I do wish for lots of improvments but I'm still loving it.
37 Too expensive
For $500(or $600 for the 60GB edition) you can get a computer. I think its a little to expensive for what you get. The battery life is better, which is a plus but other than that there is no significant improvement on the 4G iPod, except for the color screen/photo viewing which in my opinion is not worth 100 extra dollars. There are much better color screen and photo viewing mp3 player alternatives out there, at a much lower cost. Check out the Archos Gmini 400(can play videos also and its the same size as the iPod), iRiver iHP-320(bundled with FM Radio, In-line recording, voice recording), or Cowon iAudio M5(same as iRiver IHP-320 only smaller).
[...]
38 you *MIGHT* love this iPod -- guide 2 upgrading to iPod_foto
Yes, unlike other reviewers, I do own a 40gig iPod Photo (as of 10/04)... and yes I do also own a regular 3G 15gig iPod (plus I'm not pushing IP Address harvesting scams like the "free iPod" reviews)... so this was quite an expensive UPGRADE decision for me...so this review is geared towards those struggling with an upgrade decision (for those who own a smaller/lighter 10-20gig music iPod)...I own both PC and Mac formats.
1) BOTTOM LINE: Although \very, very\ cool, I do not believe the trade-offs between the large size/weight and photo capability & extra battery life... are worth the enormous price (which includes a software purchase). Yes my 4 star rating is entirely based on how much incremental "stuff" you get versus what you have to fork over. But if money is not an object and you already own the larger/heavier 40gig variety, this becomes a "NO-BRAINER" upgrade - the `wow' factor is huge. If you travel quite a bit for business like I do, this is also a good addition to keep you company during trips.
2) PHOTO QUALITY: Good to "pretty good".. but not excellent... I do realize the size of the screen is only 2 inches, but photos tend to be slightly pixilated, even the full resolution ones that are over 2mb (though you stop noticing after a minute) and color reproduction is not all that great on skin tones and deep reds, but very good w/ greens&blues... which make pics of landscapes quite nice!
3) PHOTOS ON MY TV: Now this is where this thing shines... this is a really cool feature... the iPod includes a mini-plug-to-RCA-out (headphone to 3 pronged yellow/white/red) that produces cool results when you plug it into your TV.. you can scroll through your photos on your big (or at least bigger than your computer screen) TV screen. However, having only 2800+ photos on my iPod (that's more than avg), I got tired of flipping through & showing off my albums in about 2 days...
4) MUSIC: Besides not being able to see the screen as well w/out the backlight, it's the same as any click-wheel, 4G iPod.
5) SIZE/WEIGHT: If you already own a 40gig variety, you won't have much to complain about... but if you have a 10-20gig iPod, you will add more size and weight to your pocket (or bag). Moving from a 3G 15gig, this difference \to me\ is significant, as my iPod usually resides in my jacket pocket.
6) COSMETIC CHANGES: None on the outside, still scratches as easily as the rest, but has a color screen w/ a new font and screen looks very dark w/out the backlight.
7) BATTERY LIFE: Conditional based on the user... i never trust battery reviews on websites, as they vary DRASTICALLY when I employ my personal uses to the device. However, so far it seems to run near spec during mixed use... and much longer than my 3G iPod.
== SURPRISES OUT OF THE BOX==
A) NEED TO BUY SOFTWARE: In order to enable the cooler features - like syncing albums automatically, etc..., you need to purchase or own iLife (iPhoto specifically) 4.03 or better (if you are the rare few that bought your computer in the last few months w/ 4.0, you still have to download an upgrade to 4.03) ... Now I bought my iMac from the Apple website last Christmas and it still shipped w/ iLife 2.0... so I had to purchase iLife 4.0 (according to several company reps, there is no free upgrade from the jump from 2.0 to 4.0)...which took me an additional day to figure out... Yes, you can assign folders and such to sync to your photos to your iPod, BUT having an album editor enables full control of changes and what changes I'm making, to the entire process. Oh Yeah, you need a high version of iTunes as well; my pod came w/ ver. 4.7... IMHO, you \need\ the iPhoto upgrade to enjoy this purchase.
B) TRANSITIONS: Only the "wipe" from right-to-left is included, maybe more will be avail in the future, but you are not given a choice.
C) SLIDESHOWS: You cannot assign multiple music lists in iTunes to specific albums in iPhoto... as of 10/04, you can only assign a SINGLE music list to ALL photo albums when you enable the slideshow feature. Yes, you can change this music list, but need to go back to the menu to do so. Also, you can only display-to-TV in slideshow mode; you can't just flip through your albums in browse mode through your TV.
D) COLOR SCREEN: When not backlit, the screen during regular music playback turns \VERY\ dark, much more so than regular B&W iPods... you need a light source reflecting off of the screen in order to see the letters... typeface has changed too, more like "Arial" and slightly smaller. Oh yeah, with the backlight off, the screen still displays in color.
TECHNICAL DETAILS:
A) You cannot adjust the color quality, size, cropping or transitions of the photos when detached from your computer, so don't bother asking a apple representative on the phone or at the store- they don't make enough money to actually buy one themselves. I've tried two different stores the NY area.
B) Both the 40/60gig packages come w/ an iPod dock (if you don't have one already), but like the old ones, do not allow for use w/ thick iPod skins and covers.
C) Comes with an iPod dock WITH a S-Video output (new) and a solo USB 2.0 cord (finally!).
D) Yes, this is thicker and heavier than your 10-15gig, traditional music iPod.
E) If you never upgrade your iTunes due to the hacks you can employ on earlier versions, then you cannot use the photo feature (yes I tried).
[...]
39 iPod Photo is a dream come true.
Haven't you alway wanted to show a friend that crazy photo of your boss or teacher that you took? Now you can- anywhere, everywhere! And slideshows! Wow. As a digital photographer (thanks to my buddy Exilim), I have taken over 7,000 photos since Christmas 2003. I can now show slideshows from my cousin's wedding or from my brother's birthday party when I go over to a friend's house by connecting the iPod to a television.
And amazing- 40 or 60GB with 15 hours of battery! This is a dream come true- this is iPod Photo.
