Take A Bite Outta This Apple!

Apple has been the clear leader in everything MP3 related for a while now. In fact, Apple has pretty much been the MP3 leader since the inception of the MP3 player. So it’s no surprise that they should release the sexiest MP3 player currently in existence. The storage on this thing is amazing; it can hold any audiophile’s music collection (up to 20,000 songs). Not only can it hold your entire music collection, but it can also hold most of your DVD collection. Not at the same time mind you, but separately

Besides shelling out the $315 clams, buying an iPod is a very cool experience. Apple does a great job of packaging their items. Instead of the player coming in one of those plastic packages that requires a chainsaw to open, it comes in a sleek black box. Before I opened the box to see my treasure for the first time, I held it in my hands and marveled at its beauty. “This is the most beautiful box I’ve ever seen,” I said to myself. I lifted it up to my nose to see if it smelled as good as looked, and much to my surprise it was the most wonderfully intoxicating scent my nostrils have ever experienced. “This box is amazing,” I said to myself. “I’m going to save it.”

Then I regained my senses and ripped the box to shreds so I could play with my new iPod.

The first thing I pulled out of the box were the directions. I briefly glanced through them and noticed lots of pictures and very few words. Then I tossed them into the garbage. If you aren’t tech savvy, the easy-to-read directions should help you use your iPod with ease.

At first glance the iPod scores tons of points in the eye candy department. With a glossy black finish on the front and a metallic mirror finish on the back, it truly is a work of art. The only real problem is that it loves fingerprints. Within the first few seconds of looking at it, I noticed that it was covered with my greasy fingerprints. It’s also very prone to scratches, but I haven’t gotten any war-wounds yet. Luckily Apple includes a micro-fiber cloth/cover (which I lost in a couple of days) to help keep the iPod clean, but I’d recommend buying a heavy-duty case.

Along with the iPod came a pair of white headphones and a USB cable. Although the headphones are stock, they have absolutely outstanding sound quality. I have an expensive pair of ear-hugger headphones and I’ve found that the stock Apple headphones have nearly identical sound quality. Plus if you wear them in public you look really trendy!

Along with the headphones was a white USB cable. At first I pondered over how to charge the iPod (guess I should have read the directions), but then I realized that the USB cable could both charge the iPod and transfer data.

Connecting my iPod to the computer for the first time I was immediately prompted to download iTunes. I was irked that I would have to download iTunes to use the iPod, but with extended use I’ve come to love iTunes. The first charge took around 3 hours, but it probably could’ve charged a little bit longer (I was excited, what can I say). Once fully charged, the battery usually lasts about 20 hours with music playback, 6 hours viewing pictures, or 6.5 hours if you’re watching videos. Of course, battery life also depends on screen brightness and volume settings.

When turned on the iPod for the first time I was surprised at how fast it came to life. I immediately came to the realization that my old MP3 player, a 2Gb Rio, was absolutely archaic in comparison to this one. With the push of a button, the iPod turns on nearly instantaneously. It doesn’t have to boot up or warm up; it’s ready to go when you are.

The screen on the iPod is fantastic. It’s ultra-bright and vibrant, so you can see it if you’re out in the sun or in a dark room. The screen has a 65,000-color liquid crystal display (LCD) with a white LED backlight. So if you’re watching videos, looking at pictures, or just choosing the next song you want to listen to, looking at the screen is pretty much the same as watching a really small high-end television.

Anyone familiar with the iPod controls should feel right at home. The iPod still has the phenomenally easy-to-use turn wheel. With only five buttons, it would be very hard for anyone not to be able to figure out how to use it. To go up and down the menu all you have to do is scroll your thumb around the turn wheel, and then once you get to the item you want to select, you push the SELECT button, which is in the center if the ‘wheel’. Traveling around the iPod is extremely easy, so even if you aren’t the most technologically advanced human being, you should be able to use the iPod efficiently.

As I said before, loading music onto the iPod is extremely easy. If you already have music on your computer, all you have to do is download iTunes and sync your music. Then the music will be automatically loaded onto your iPod. You can also set up iTunes to automatically upload any new music you may have put onto your computer since the last time you plugged in the iPod. It’s also really easy to upload your CD collection onto the iPod. All you have to do is pop in a CD and iTunes will upload onto your hard drive. If you have an Internet connection, iTunes will also find the song names and album art. Then, then next to you plug in your iPod you’ll automatically have all recently uploaded music uploaded onto your iPod. This feature also works the same for pictures, videos, and any games you may have downloaded off of iTunes.

Putting videos onto your iPod can be a bit tricky, though. If you don’t download your desired video off of iTunes, you’ll have to go through the hassle of formatting the video and compressing the picture so it will look decent when viewed on the iPod. If you are interested in putting DVD’s or videos you’ve downloaded off the Internet onto the iPod, there’s a really good tutorial for PC users here:
(http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/video-to-ipod-conversion-for-windows-pcs-part-1/).

Although it may be difficult to get a video onto the iPod, once you do it you’ll be surprised at how crisp and clean the picture is. In fact, as I said before, it’s pretty much the same as watching a really small LCD television.

Although some may be worried that the screen is too small to watch videos on, I’d recommend putting those worries to rest. When I watch the occasional video on my iPod, I can usually hold it between one and a half to two feet from my face and still be able to see the picture just fine.

By now, you may be wondering what exactly this iPod can’t do. Well, unfortunately, it can’t play games. It can, in a sense, play games… just not very well. I only played the stock games (Brick, Parachute, and Solitaire), but have come to the conclusion that playing games with the turn wheel is way to hard. Some may find the games fun or easy to play, but I wasn’t to thrilled with this aspect of the iPod.

The only other quirk I had with the iPod is its size. If you’re a gym bunny or if you like to jog while listening to music, this iPod may not be for you. Certainly few people want to traipse around the gym with an iPod of this size strapped to their arm, because you’d have to constantly worry about it falling off your arm or getting crushed by a dumbbell. If you do, however, decide to workout with this iPod, there are a plethora of cases and armbands you can buy.

In all, this is a fantastic product. This iPod is perfect for the person with tons of music or the people like myself who don’t have a lot of music, but just want the best MP3 player on the market.