Ipod Classic 80gb Review after 1 years ownership (Apple iPod classic 80 GB)

Member Name: Paul-Teixeira

Product:	Apple iPod classic 80 GB
Date:	17/05/09 (14 review reads)
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Advantages: Sound quality, battery life, wide range of accessories

Disadvantages: Have to buy videos from the itunes store

Having previously owned a Sony NWA1000 6gb walkman (a very aesthetically pleasing purple number), I finally sold my soul and purchased an ipod about a year ago. With horror stories about non existent customer support and poor battery life ringing in my ears, I purchased from the apple online shop, complete with name engraving (a very cool touch).

Sound quality is everything you could hope for AS LONG AS you ditch the standard headphones. I bought a sennheiser pair that do the trick. Despite a year's constant use, the battery life is still excellent and comfortably lasts over and above say 20 hours. Thanks to a cheap sock I bought, the surface and screen have remained relatively scratch free, although this is a flaw I guess in that it does scratch incredibly easily!

Itunes software is easy to navigate and getting songs from cd to ipod shouldn't be beyond even the least computer literate. The big hook up I guess will be in the use of the video playback facilities. Whilst, the screen is small, it does give good quality for video playback and 80gb gives plenty of room for content. However, Apple's exploitation of the market by not allowing any format other than their own cannot be overlooked. Put simply, if you want to play videos on your ipod, you have to download them from the itunes store, therefore if you already own the video you want to upload, you would have to purchase the item again in the correct format to play it on your ipod. There are software packages out there that can convert video files to the correct format but beware downloads which contain malicious software and adware. My advice would be to purchase such software from a shop and not to download it.

It seems like I'm being very negative here but actually despite its flaws, for its price, the ipod is still probably the best mobile music device on the market. The sheer range of accessories available, from covers, to speakers, to chargers, make it a very versatile tool (something which was certainly lacking in my previous sony model).

So to conclude, despite the upgrade now to the ipod touch, if you want to rely on simple user interface to give you simple music and video playback on the move, you can't go too far wrong with an ipod classic. Its solid, reliable and good value for money and I would highly recommend it.

Summary: Still worth a punt if you dont want to spend £300+ on an ipod touch

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