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Apple ipod Nano (7G)
by Jojoborne
Apple ipod Nano 7
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I was given one of these for Christmas this year, or last year, I should say. My MP3 player got smashed to bits after I got attacked by four blokes trying to steal my English Cocker Spaniel 'Jessie'. So I basically wanted a replacement; not Jessie, thankfully, a new MP3 player. I'm not one for ... iPods or iPhones or any super expensive gadget that just does what my laptop does and a lot less. OK so I don't want to take my laptop on a bus or tram but I don't want to be messin about watching videos and browsing the internet while I am travelling either; I mean, just what is the point? I must confess to finding people who are glued to phones and gadgets while they are out or on public transport, really annoying.
Anyway, this 'gadget' is about the size of a cash card and just 5.4mm thick. It is the thinnest iPod on the market, which makes it even easier to carry around and equally as easy to lose. The 2.5-inch Multi-Touch screen is nearly twice as big as the display on the previous iPod Nano, so you can view your photographs and videos on a much better scale. The buttons are easy to use and easy to work out how to use and they let you play, pause, change songs, or adjust the volume. It feels really smooth to the touch and looks good, which also makes it a target for pick-pockets.
There is a genius mode on it which I think is pants. If you're listening to a song you love and you want to hear other songs of the same ilk you can just tap Genius. It is supposed to find other songs on iPod Nano that go great together and then put them into a genius play list. You can also go to iTunes and create a genius mix and transfer it to your Nano. The genius or not so genius lists are ludicrous and are so random and off hat that they are sometimes laughable. So they are really not genius but just randomly chosen tracks.
With it having a sixteen gigabyte memory you can store a hell of a lot of music on it, but again, to me at least, what is the point? People will say but it is great to take on holiday. Why would you want to listen to music on your holiday? OK, in all fairness, it is good to have on the plane if it is a long journey, but if it is a long journey then you usually have on board entertainment anyway and I suppose it is Ok if you want to lie on the beach all day, but you could lie around listening to music at home; get off your backside and enjoy yourself.
The iPod Nano 7th generation machine now has Bluetooth 4.0 built in. You can now use microphones and earphones with Bluetooth capabilities for better sound. It is a good thing to have because it makes it wireless and one thing I hate is wires getting tangled. I can lay a pair of headphones on a table overnight and wake up the next morning to find them as tangled as drunken, blind snake in a pitchfork.
The sound itself is really good and crystal clear. I daresay that this is down to the new and tested earPods but I couldn't comment on what it sounds like with different earphones or speakers. it would probably vary from model and make. You can transfer or upload MP4's and MP3's to your machine and the download speed is quite good although this can vary with internet traffic and the strength of your internet connection.
Should you not be interested in the Bluetooth capability then the iPod comes with new ear-pod earphones that have been specially designed and tested to fit your ears better than ever before. I went along to a university to attend one of the testing sessions. I was sitting waiting at a desk with around two hundred other people and then out of nowhere came this enormous iPod Nano 7th generation phone. It was actually a person dressed in a big rubber suit. Well I say person; it was actually a celebrity that ipod had hired for the day for promotional reasons. I say celebrity but I'd hardly call having appeared in Baywatch, Knight Rider and over a thousand supermarket openings the stuff of legend. He sat down next to me with that slimy grin and it was then I realised I'd rather eat a fistful of wild bees than be sat where I was. The alarm on my girlfriend's iPhone woke me up from my terrible dream and I'm sure it was louder than normal? Maybe it was jealous of me dreaming about the iPod?
The one thing I do like on the machine is the power cord or charger/usb cord. It has a twin end so that you don't spent excruciatingly annoying minutes trying to plug it in at the right end.
I actually found that after about a month I wasn't using it, hardly at all. I can do everything it does and more on my laptop as mentioned earlier and I don't listen to music while out as I think it is both dangerous and ignorant.
I ended up giving it to my girlfriend because she likes to work out as she is trying to lose weight. The iPod Nano 7 is really good when it comes to working out as it has a built in Nike+ support and a pedometer. You don't need to wear any special kit or place any receptor pads on yourself. The Bluetooth capability allows you to link up your heart rate with your headphones or by holding the iPod itself. When you have finished you can go to nikeplus.com to track your daily goals. You can also compare your routine and your efforts with that of your friends and other Nano users. My girlfriend has found it really helpful and gets motivated with her favourite music at hand to work out to.
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Specifications
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2.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display.
240-by-432-pixel resolution at 202 pixels per inch.
3.01 By 1.56 by 0.21 inches (76.5 by 39.6 by 5.4 mm)--the thinnest iPod ever made.
It only weighs 1.1 ounces (31 grams), so it is light to carry.
Product details.
Boxed-product Weight: 454 g.
Bluetooth version 4.2.
16GB storage.
Easy to use control pad for playing music, audio books and podcasts.
Built-in pedometer, Bluetooth, FM radio with Live Pause.
Includes Apple Ear Pods.
Walk, run (spoken feedback included without the need for the Nike+ iPod Sport Kit)
In-built Nike+.
Widescreen video. Standard definition but larger than past models.
Radio.
Accessibility features that help people with disabilities enjoy music and audiobooks
Genius Playlist functionality.
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Final word
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It's a good machine if that's your bag but to me it reeks of manufactured commercialism. It does have its good points and can be a helpful aid in workouts and if you like taking music around with you and are oblivious to big metal things that hurt when they hit you; then it should cover all bases.
I personally wouldn't waste my own money on one but that's not to say it isn't a useful gadget. Before anyone labels me a technophobe, I would like to say in my defence that I own two laptops, five different DVD players and three game consoles, along with my standard mobile phone and a few other machines. So I am all for technology but it has to feel relevant to me. It is a good little machine but I don't need one and I don't think it is an essential buy. Compared to other iPods it is probably at the top of the range.
I think the target market are teenagers or people on the move who don't do things like listen to music and watch videos at home, so for them it is a great gadget. I just feel sorry for the parents having to fork out for one and then having their child tell them it was stolen at school a week later. I say buy them a tub of Lego instead as the bank of Mom and Dad don't do expensive, hyped-up accessories, whether or not Brandy, Mandy and Candy have one.
I give the iPod Nano 7 three out of five stars because it is well made and even though it is all about the money it does do what it says on the tin.
Mork would've probably thought it was Shazbot!
©Lee Billingham
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Apple iPod classic 80 GB
by Chloboshoka
I got this for Christmas many years ago when I was new to the world of iTunes. I was in secondary school at the time and everybody in class seemed to have an MP3 Player but the most popular MP3s out there was this iPod classic. Having an iPod was a fashion statement and Apple products are still popular to this day. You can store plenty ... of songs, videos and photos on this, possibly more than you can imagine. At one point I had over 10,000 songs on my iPod. I also have an iPod touch that I had for my 18th birthday and I think these are big improvement. I've owned my iPod classic for a long time and in it's prime time it's been amazing.
Sadly it is no longer the case. My iTunes keeps saying it is corrupted and gives me an endless list of errors. It also makes my iTunes freeze and become unable to use. I've tried restoring the iPod and trying again but it's a vicious circle. So nowadays it's an 80GB iPod that only a fraction is being used up. It's just so much hassle trying to add and take away music from this device nowadays because of how faulty it's become. I've tried looking it up and pretty much tried as much. I have a feeling the hard-drive might have died on me. iTunes has given me no real issues with my iPod Touch so I feel certain there's a problem with the device. Since it's an older model it doesn't really get any support from Apple anymore.
One of the best things about iPod Classic is it's huge storage of over 80GB. It gives you the opportunity to have control over your music. I like the bulky design to it as well the wheel, although it does take a while to adjust to it it's quite easy once you get the hang of it. Even though syncing no longer workers properly, the songs that do play often have a good quality. At least they did until I started hearing the device having loud and squeaky sounds.
If I were to review this product three years ago, I would have given it five stars easily, but because of the time and trouble I've had nowadays it gives me no choice but to give it a one star because it lacks reliability in it's later years. The iPod classic is starting to become worthless to me and there are no solutions to my hardrive problems.
On the other hand I've had good times with the iPod. It is portable and it's very useful to have so much on one device. It's been great for holidays and add great atmosphere to my trips and leisure time. When you buy an iPod classic you can also engrave a message on it for free and it also comes with headphones. These headphones are mass-produced and are therefore you will be lucky if they last a week.
My iPod has my name engraved on it. In it's prime time I found the iPod useful to have because it was easy to find and listen to songs and albums that I wanted to listen to. I felt as if I was in control but the problems that came up about two years ago have made this product quite frustrating to use. I have an old MP3 that someone bought me for a fiver when I was in Secondary School and it still works perfectly. Sure it's hard to clean and it is a bit dirty but it still works wonderfully. I will probably review my old MP3 player soon.
As you can tell I used to love this device because it was quality but it's sadly lost all of it's great quirks over the years and it's technical problems destroys it's nostalgic values for me. I hope I don't get like that any of my other consoles. My iPod can still charge properly and can still play the songs once it's synced but what used to be an exciting concept for me has now become a drag.
The reason I'm comparing this iPod so much to other products is because some people need to know this. Just because something is so expensive doesn't mean that it's quality is going to last forever. This product is very outdated most of iTunes products are not suitable for this device. And sadly I would no longer recommend it and suggest you have a look at some of the other products out there. You might be able to save more money and also buy a music player that's cheaper and lasts for longer.
Even as an outdated product this is still expensive. I think this was about £199.99 and on Amazon it's slightly over £180. There's no such thing as a cheap iPod. Now this review isn't a dig at Apple. I actually still enjoy my iPod touch and I enjoyed the iPads, but the lack of long-term support shows that this product wasn't really worth it in the long run.
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