| Product: |
Apple iPod (5G) 80 GB |
| Date: |
22/02/07 (842 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Incredible capacity, easy to use, looks and sounds great
Disadvantages: Still some features missing, accessories are expensive on top of purchase price
Purchasing my brand spanking new, sexy, black, 80G ipod is my first venture into the booming ipod market. Prior to getting my ipod I was using a completely obsolete Sony mini-disc player (why the mini disc players never caught on is a whole new subject), which I bought before the current obsession with MP3 players. Of course, having made such a sudden jump up the portable music food chain I have been really happy with the performance of the ipod so far. Apple have undoubtedly led the market into a whole new ballpark in terms of design, packaging, and branding.
Consider something as simple as the fact that before ipods emerged on the market basically all headphones and cords were black; these days you can spot an ipod user from 100 paces by the white wires protruding from their ears. Such a simple idea that makes such a difference to the branding and style icon status that ipods now enjoy. When you buy your new ipod you are given a small, sleek box that folds out in similar to a CD case and contains the ipod, headphones, USB connector, pseudo-suede ipod cover, and various documents / instructions. Although I am generally against companies making sales on the basis of gimmicks and/or ‘sex appeal’ I have to admire what Apple have achieved here.
Luckily the ipod is not just the figurative pretty face. It is incredibly easy to use, with clear, intuitive menus and excellent user support through iTunes and the Mac website. I personally have a Macintosh computer and therefore didn’t have to go through any of the iTunes set up processes that give PC users additional hassles. Another benefit of using the two Mac products together is that all the photos that I have stored in my iPhoto directory are automatically synched to my ipod (you can choose to synch photos manually if preferred). If you have a large music library, it is really helpful to be able to choose to access music by artist, album, genre, specific songs, or your own pre-selected playlists. The sound quality I find very adequate even at louder volumes. Plus the simplified, elegant design means that you basically use the same buttons for a whole range of purposes rather than having to figure out what a huge number of buttons and knobs do. The synching time is fantastic too.
The battery life of the ipod is quite impressive, particularly when you follow the instructions to save power. Recharging the unit is easy using the USB charger, although if you didn’t have access to a laptop and you aren’t willing to fork out the additional cash for a power outlet charger it reduces the actual portability of the ipod. Whilst this isn’t a problem for me, it is a bit of a beef that I have about the ipod – a unit as expensive as this should, I think, be fully equipped in terms of charging options.
The screen is remarkable for its size; I think most people would agree. I haven’t had much experience with the earlier generation ipods but I understand that the new screens are significantly brighter and clearer. I still don’t think the screen is ideal for watching feature length films, purely because of the size, but for shorter programs or for video podcasts it’s brilliant. Photos also look amazing on the screen and can be viewed either in thumbnail or full screen modes; you use the control wheel to scroll through photos at your own speed.
In terms of features I would say the ipod is keeping abreast, if not slightly ahead, of its competitors but there is still room for improvement. There are some useful features that you wouldn’t necessarily expect, such as the ability to store clocks from numerous time zones that are easy to choose from the list of cities available. However, there are other seemingly obvious features that are not offered. For example, you can choose the ‘Shuffle Songs’ function to hear a random selection from your whole music library, or you can (somewhat laboriously if you’re making selections on the ipod rather than through iTunes on your computer) make your own playlist, but it isn’t possible to listen to a single album in random / shuffled track order.
The capacity of the latest ipod is quite incredible. I have synched my entire, quite extensive music library as well as over 700 photos, a rotating selection of podcasts and am also using the memory as back up storage for some files on my laptop and am still nowhere near filling a quarter of the space. My question is though, unless you’re planning to store a whole collection of movies on your ipod (which as I’ve said I wouldn’t really recommend as a satisfying viewing experience – the screen is great but it’s still only 2.5 inches) what are you going to use all that space for? I decided to go for the 80G rather than a model with less capacity because it was the newest, and thus I figured was likely to have a few less of the inevitable bugs, and for the relatively small difference in price between an ipod nano or the 60G & 30G ipods and the 80G I thought I might as well get the extra capacity. It is definitely something to consider though if you don’t anticipate using your ipod heavily for video or data storage.
Overall, I still believe that the ipod is streaks ahead of its competitors, and if you own a Mac computer there’s really no going past it. The 80G version is the latest iteration of the simple and satisfyingly effective ipod formula and the huge capacity does not come at ridiculously inflated price. However buyers should still consider what they will actually use their ipod for and therefore how much capacity they require. You also need to consider whether you will need to purchase extras such as an AC power charger or a case (the protective sleeve that comes with the ipod is fine but you do need to slide the unit in and out to use the controls) as these can be very pricey. The 80G ipod is an expensive purchase but I doubt that you’ll be disappointed.
Summary: A great product but buyers should think carefully about which ipod suits them best
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