IT Blog Today

I have been an iPod owner since the 2nd generation model (a 10 GB in 2002), which I finally gave to a relative a few years ago (still working). Because I am an avid music collector (albums and CDs), and "rip" my own music at high bitrates, I've always needed a high capacity model, which meant having a spinning hard drive. My current iPod, a 5th Gen (80 GB), has always performed reliably and is still working, but leads a rough life. Even though I've thought a flash-based iPod would be better suited for the rough treatment I give it, it took awhile for flash memory to get to the capacity and price that I thought I could accept. The new Nano, with 16 Gigs has finally convinced me it can be a viable "everyday" iPod, while still keeping my larger one for home use.

First, let me state that I'm a Macintosh user, so an iPod with iTunes is a good solution for me. But, I have many friends with Windows PCs that use iPods with the Windows version of iTunes and have no complaints. I find using iTunes to be a no-brainer. CD's are easily "ripped" with iTunes, and even if you have AAC Protected songs from the iTunes Music Store (iTMS), you can "unprotect" them by burning them to a blank CD, then re-ripping them back as MP3s. But with iTMS now selling non-DRM music (to be final in summer of '09), DRM should no longer be an issue. And, you can also purchase songs from Amazon and have them transparently copied to iTunes and your iPod (you don't even need the Amazon "MP3 Downloader" Application).

Be a Smart Consumer!

I always encourage potential PMP (Personal Music Player) buyers to research their options since you're purchasing not just a player, but an ecosystem (music, accessories, etc) that you may have to live with for quite a while. Amazon provides a very good PMP tutorial that walks the user through different decisions on what they need from a PMP. Just search for "ipod" on Amazon, then follow the "Choosing an iPod" link, it goes over not just ipods, but many other brands as well.

Other players have nice features which may be more suitable for your personal tastes, but I think the frequent or serious user will find it more difficult to add, maintain and sync music, videos and podcasts with some other devices. iTunes does a good job of combing everything into one single application that keeps everything organized and sync'ed between your PMP and your computer. The iPod has a long history of sales, support and a very large user-base. With other players, you may find support issues to be much harder to resolve.

Incompatibility with older accessories:

If you are an existing iPod user and have an investment of older iPod hardware (docking stations, players, chargers, etc.), you need to do an inventory of what you have, and visit the manufacture's websites to see if your older devices are compatible with the newer dock standards that the 4th Gen iPod uses. I'm not going to blame one or the other. Apple is known for revising standards and moving on, but even some recent devices were known by hardware manufacturers to be incompatible, but yet, because it was cheaper to keep them as they were, they continued to sell them. It goes back to Apple changing the charging connections from Firewire to USB, and Apple told manufactures some time ago that the change was coming. Many of these products have yet to be labeled correctly, so you may need to contact the company who makes your particular device and ask them directly. Be sure to have the exact model number handy.

For owners who do have problems now, two devices that may help are the Scosche's PassPort and Griffin's Charge Converter that allow newer iPods to be used with older devices. Of course, it all depends on how your iPod mounts to your device. The speaker systems that "cradle" the iPod may not fit these extended connectors.

Personally, I make it habit to not use dedicated devices for this reason. I use a device called a "PocketDock Line-Out USB" by SendStation dot com, that gives me a high-quality "line-out" connection to any stereo or AUX jack (car, home) and that also has a standard USB charging jack. This option gives me a lot of flexibility on how and what devices I choose to use my iPod with. It may not be as pretty, but I can use it on any device that has a line-in or AUX jack with excellent results.

Sound quality:

Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so is sound quality. Because of variations in a person's physical hearing abilities, location acoustics for external speakers, quality of earphones, and even awareness and knowledge of sound quality, many people will have different interpretations of what sound quality is to them. Sometimes, spending a few extra dollars on good earphones will make any player sound 100% better. Even so, you have to remember, you're not spending the * thousands * of dollars for equipment that real audiophiles demand for true sound reproduction. For goodness sakes folks, it's a portable, personal, music player that you're paying, at most, a few hundred dollars for.

I've always found the sound quality from my iPods to be extremely good - for what it is - whether connected to my home stereo or using decent $75.00 earphones. Is it as good as playing a CD or LP from my very expensive Sony receiver and Bose speakers? No, not really, but I don't expect it to be. I'll believe charts and graphs showing frequency response, SNR, dynamic range and other factors... but for someone to tell me Brand X sounds better than Brand Z, on their opinion alone, doesn't mean a thing to me.

Battery Life:

With any device that is produced in the millions of units, you're always going to get some defects. It's very likely that early production models had issues, and those users have my sympathy. Obviously, in relation to the number of units sold, I believe that only very few users were affected, and probably even less now with the improvements in firmware. I can say battery life is not an issue for me, and I use mine for several days without needing a recharge. When it arrived, I needed to break in some new earbuds also, so I turned off the energy saver feature, turned the screen brightness and volume to maximum, turned on the song repeat, and placed in in a drawer until the battery died. I did this twice, and each time, I got about 21-23 hours of constant, high-volume playing time.

Bur recently, I may have found why some users are experiencing poor battery life. A co-worker received a new Nano for Christmas and has been complaining of poor battery life. She also said her battery icon never shows more than about half a charge. In talking to her about how she used it, we discovered that except for a small amount of time connected to her computer for sync'ing music files, she mainly kept it in her ipod-equipped home stereo or her car's docking station. As mentioned before, neither of these accessories were built for charging the new iPod's battery. Once we convinced her to start leaving it attached to her computer overnight for at least one or two nights a week, her battery issues went away, and the battery icon was now showing a full charge. This may be what's happening to other users with poor battery life.

Problems?

While I think most users rarely have problems, naturally, some will. I would suggest, first, spend some time reading the manual. I know, I know... who has time for manuals... but you can really learn a lot. Should you still have problems, go to the Apple support website and follow the links to the iPod support page. There, you'll find a procedure called the "Five R's". It will basically walk you through the most common trouble-shooting procedures, and for many people, that's all they need. If not, visit the iPod Discussion Forums, also on the Support page, and search for the problem you're having to see if others have posted a fix. Also, you can leave a message there with as many details as possible, as there are some really smart people in those forums that are glad to help.

If you have a local Apple store, you can actually take your iPod to them for troubleshooting and warranty issues. But, if not, they do have technical support by phone. Try to be in front of your computer, and jot down all the details of what's happening. Most of all, be nice. You'll get much better support by understanding it's not the technicians fault you're having problems, and they are only trying to help. As someone that works in IT, and has been a long time Apple user, I will say Apple's support is much better than the average PC company, and places like Consumer Reports, year-after-year, give them high marks for just that. If you find you're not happy with your support person, you can, politely, ask to speak to a higher level technician. Be firm, but nice.

Note: One common problem I have found is from attaching iPods to USB hubs. Some have intermittent connections, while others don't charge the battery properly. Many hubs are cheaply made, but even well-made hubs have shown to be a problem. If in doubt, always try connecting your iPod directly to the USB port that is on your computer, not the USB hub.

Conclusion:

I'm very happy with my purchase (Blue - 16GB). Even though my older 80 GIg iPod can hold over two weeks of music and video, with the creative use of playlists, I was pleasantly surprised of how much music and video I can take with me. It's so much nicer having a very, very small and lightweight player, with no moving parts, that can be dropped and abused with little worry. (see my other reviews for a good, protective skin)

The screen is very sharp and bright, and playing videos is a real treat. If you're a little geeky, you can learn to rip your favorite DVD movies to your iPod for watching while on the go, something I've done since owning the 5th Gen model. Most of all, I love the new firmware. It's has a lot of "eye-candy" with a scrolling bottom row, showing cover art, photos, etc. Setup is very configurable, and extras like CoverFlow, the accelerometer and "shake-to-shuffle" can be turned off if it gets in the way. My iPod FM Radio adapter and my SendStation adapter still works, so I can connect it to my larger speakers when indoors, or to my car stereo through the AUX jack, and charge it with a standard 12v auto USB charger. You can also purchase additional games for it at the iTMS App Store, although I have not done so.

For those that are interested, I'm using this with the V-Moda Vibe Earbuds, which to me, sound fine. Speakers and earbuds tend to be very personal, so you're on your own on this issue. I will say I've never used the included earbuds from any iPod I've owned... they're horrible!

The scroll wheel is comfortable for me to use, and has a nice, smooth action. I have large hands, but thin fingers (adult male). But, if you have large hands and large fingers, you may find the scroll wheel harder to use. I personally prefer the feel of my larger 5th Gen model's scroll wheel, but to get a player this small, some compromises must be made. To be sure, you may want to go a local store that sells the iPod and actually try it out yourself. But Amazon has the best price and the best return policy. And, I had mine three days after ordering it, with free shipping and no tax!

If you're in the market for a PMP and the iPod fits your requirements, I can highly recommend the new 4th gen Nano.

When I bought this nano, it is so cool!!!!

Goods
*No hassle syncing to iTunes.
*Cover Flow is great!!
*The battery lasts very long.

Bads
*If you don't put it on hold, and you accidentally turn it left or right, it will automatically turn on and it will show Cover Flow.
*When you put it on hold, and plug in your headphones, it will still turn on.

Overall, this iPod is great!

I recommended checkin' out/buying this nano, if you want a sweet and stylish mp3 player.

I got my pink 8 GB a few weeks ago and I absolutely adore it. I also have a 160GB Ipod which does wonders, but because of the bulk and size of the 160GB I can't put it into my pockets, and when I put it into my purse and absent mindlessly set my purse down my ears buds get yanked out of my ears in a painful way. So I've tried to combat the problem by carrying it in my hand, or using a case with a clip, still uncomfortable and the cases were blocky and unappealing. Unfortunately while waiting for the bus I would get many looks of "I'm going to steal your Ipod." Never fun.

So I decided to pick up this little gem, fits in my pocket, the battery life is wonderful at about 24 hours, the screen is surprisingly clear and bright. It's so slim it can fit anywhere. The features are great, being able to shake your Ipod and have it switch to another song is a quirky fun idea. You have to give it a good shake.

For those who are worried about the cover art kicking in, or while running or jogging it switches to a different track..you really shouldn't worry! I'm trusting that fellow Ipod users know to switch it into hold mode whenever it is in your pocket, (or wherever else) due to the click wheel being able to turn the vol up and down and your battery draining in case a surface, like the inside of your pockets rubs up against it and makes the backlight be on constantly. I use to put any of my older ipods straight into hold mode as soon as I was done picking a song.

It's the same with this little player, put it on hold mode and cover flow will not be turned on when your player rests sideways, as well as the shake and switch feature will not comply, so you can run, jog and do whatever without having to worry.

This is a solid player, portable, with all the great vibrant colours, you can pick your favourite.

It does feel quite fragile however for being so thin, but there are many great case choices online to combat this. Clear plastic cases that don't add so much bulk or block the colour/style of the player will do the trick!