Wednesday, November 19, 2008

The Music Lover's iPod

4.0 out of 5 stars The Music Lover's iPod, November 19, 2008
In a number of circles, the iPod Classic is now considered the "less sexy" iPod. Largely because of the things it appears to lack vis-a-vis the newest "fully-wired" iPods/iPhones: it doesn't have a phone function (d'oh!), it doesn't "do" wide-screen for video and games the way an iPhone/iPod Touch does, and...well, it doesn't seem as much *fun*, darn it! (Memo to the only-two-colors-available fashionistas: silver and [charcoal] black, being *classic* colors, go with everything. When's the last time you saw a pink Audi or Merc? Mary Kay doesn't hand either of those out to its top sales stars, which is just as well.) ;-)

Let's rewind a bit (sorry for the tape-based analogy) to a MacWorld seemingly long, long ago.

At the time, people were clamoring for Apple to include video in their next-generation iPods (they had just announced the iPod Photo, which was the very first iPod I ever owned...sometimes, not being an "early adopter' can pay off). His Steveness replied, more or less, that people value music a lot more than than they value TV/video stuff, so for the time being, no video iPods. While I happened to agree with Jobs' sentiments (I rarely watch the box, so there), I also knew how shrewd a businessman he was, and if the Hoi Polloi wanted video in their iPods, by cracky, he'd make 'em! And while I wouldn't damn him to Hades for such a pragmatic decision (he's doing this stuff to make a buck, okay?), the aesthete in me would be put off just a bit. That was then.

NOW: Through a bit of hard work and happenstance, an iPod Classic (120GB) happened to fall into my lap recently (long story). My beloved 60GB iPod Photo wasn't even half-full, but I welcomed this newest 'Pod with open arms. The reasons?

- Capacity. Let the deniers who bought their iPhones, Touches, and nanos prattle on; if you're a serious music lover, you've got a ton of music on the home front, and, if you're Of A Certain Age, probably in more than one format: CD, LP cassette, and, if you're particularly well-preserved, you might even have a few commercially-produced open-reel tapes lurking about. Paying upwards of $400 or so for the "biggest" iPod Touch might be a bit of a stretch for you...am I right? You might not even give a rat's tuchus (it's okay to say that here, right?) about video and gaming capability, but you'll really care about capacity. Are we grokking here?

Good. Because this iPod, even this late in the game, is aimed toward you and me. Apple, now the 900lb gorilla of the portable digital-media market (how strange that must be to Mssrs Gates & Ballmer) has the market covered: you want a device that's all-singing, all-dancing? You can get an iPhone, or, short of that, an iPod Touch. If it's got to be as tiny as possible (I won't ask why...), there's the nano, or, if it really has to be much smaller, the lovely 2nd-Gen Shuffle (which my Significant Other managed to lose shortly after I presented one to her as a gift; she'll inherit my iPod Photo now).

- True Gapless Playback. The iPod Photo had just one glaring flaw: any album by a group that had a thing for track-into-track segues (say, XTC, the Beatles, Pink Floyd...you get the idea) didn't translate at all with the Photo; you'd get an abrupt track change instead of the smooth, proper transition the band and engineers intended. I know the iPod Generation kicked off the "rip/mix/burn-it-like-you-wanna" thing, but if I want to hear the damn album the way it was released, then I should be able to. In the iPod world, this possibility didn't materialize until the 5th Gen iPod (video). Now that I have the newest Classic, I really, really appreciate this.

- The Sound. Most talk about getting good sound from an iPod is almost entirely focused on headphones, usually fairly pricey ones. But, to use a high-end audio mantra, you only get out what you put in. Sometime around the introduction of the first iPod Classic, Apple quietly made some serious engineering changes in the output section of the iPod, resulting in both a reduced noise floor and improved detail. One online review stated that the new design appeared to be ever-so-slightly less "warm" sounding than the previous design, but between the lowered noise floor and improved musical detail the new design was a solid net gain. I concur: subjectively, the Classic's overall sound might sound a tad less "euphonic" than my iPod Photo, but I also notice better transient detail and handling of low, delicate notes with both my semi-isolating, against-the-ear Sennheiser PMX200 headphones and my Sony MDR-EX85LP in-ear 'phones. Somehow this seems to have at least a slight effect on line output, too: playback through the living-room hi-fi (via a Griffin AirDock, also a screaming bargain at its current price) offers similar, but not quite as obvious improvements over the iPod Photo. This isn't a case of bad versus good: this is good versus Mighty Good.

- The Classic is, as close as can be, a direct descendant of the original iPod that turned the portable digital music-player market on its ear. The enhancements it has picked up since then have made sense insomuch as they haven't gotten much in the way of the Prime Directive, if you will: allowing the user to carry and access her/his music collection about easily, and with reasonable fidelity. No, it was never a direct replacement for a killer home 'fi (which most people don't possess), but more than ear-pleasing in the environs in which these devices are most-often used. (Yes, as a New Yorker, the subway comes to mind most often...particularly the F, A, C, and #2/3 lines.)

- While I do admit that the iPhone/iPod Touch interface is mad-cool and industry-leading, I still believe the Click Wheel more than holds its own in terms of overall ergonomics; as has been pointed out in a few other reviews here, it's still the only interface you can manage one-handed, and which allows you to navigate between music tracks without looking at the unit (why isn't THIS the iPod "Touch?"). Like the 5G iPod, you get video, which for the most part I couldn't care less about (although I can now view the video portion of my iTunes purchase of The Traveling Wilburys Collection, which is sort of nice). The notion of watching music videos, let alone feature-length movies, on a not-even-three-inch screen, when we're being assaulted with the idea that a 32" screen at home is woefully inadequate, 'specially if it ain't high-def, is a bit inconsistent.

But, this is about music, music you can take with you.

By this lone standard, the iPod Classic clearly blows everything else Apple offers into the weeds. Anything not made by Apple, IMO, hasn't even found its way to the starting line. The interface is highly functional and sexy enough, without allowing surface to roll straight over substance.

The happy thing is that Apple offers options to fit just about anyone. If you need a single do-it-all device, and don't care (at least at the moment) about capacity for all your fave tracks, you've got either the iPhone 3G or iPod Touch; if you want your device as tiny and unobtrusive as possible, you've got either the Shuffle or the polychromatic nano. And, finally, if, like me, you want, over all else, as much of your music at hand, wherever you are, as your balm, your salve, your relief from waiting-room Hell or airport Purgatory, the Classic is really it. And, for what it's worth, the current (120GB) Classic wil be able to use the newest Apple earbuds with in-line remote control and microphone (they've got a twin-driver 'phone "coming soon" that promises to be grand-sounding; we'll see). If you haven't checked out any 'Pods since the Photo or before, this is likely the one to finally pop for.

Apple iPod Classic

cover flow IS turn off able

4.0 out of 5 stars cover flow IS turn off able, November 19, 2008
this is my 6th portable digital music device so far, and i tried to avoid ipods because they always got bad reviews for mal functioning and lacking features. this on is a different story. not only is this ipod the thinnest ipod ever made (you can stop here, apple, any further and it will vanish), its made smart, and so far its a very good buy for me. unlike everyone thinks that cover flow cant be turned off, it can. instantly after i connected my ipod to itunes a new firmware offer came up, and one of the updates was an option to turn off cover flow, among other things.

+ pros
-incredibly thin. i cant even tell its in my pocket
-aluminum casing and glass screen offer excellent scratch resistence
-very light
-very competitive pricing - 16 gb for what the nano offers is an excellent deal
- accelerometer - this adds a few fun touches to operate without pressing buttons, is very useful for rotation on the screen when viewing pictures or watching videos. games are now actually very interesting
- screen clarity
-simplicity of use

- cons
ITUNES- aS usual itunes is very frustrating and needs redesigned
- battery life- slightly below average for me so far, no big deal though
-everything is automated - when i put the headphones in the jack, or disactivate the hold button, it shouldn;t automatically turn on.

overall a big improvement compared to other ipods ive seen. the pricing and compactness, features and ease of use stand out. (get the 16 gb if you really want movies, or go for the classic or touch) i give it ****. for now

Apple iPod Nano

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Some nice improvement but incompatible with Bose

3.0 out of 5 stars Some nice improvement but incompatible with Bose..., October 8, 2008
Having 16GB of storage is a huge plus for the new version of the Nano.

The control wheel seems a bit "stiff" and it is not as responsive as past versions but it works fine.

The menus and setup choices have been improved. These are nice but don't make a major difference. "Shake" shuffle is a bit silly (in my opinion it is just as easy to push the advance on the control wheel) but it can easily be turned off.

BIG MINUS - Apple un-necessarily changed the plug on this version of the Nano. The unit will not charge using my older iPod chargers. The bigger issue is that my Bose and other expensive speaker units will play this Nano but they won't charge it.

Apple is beginning to act more and more like Microsoft - forcing its customers to make un-necessary software upgrades and expensive hardware changes in order to use their latest product versions.

Anyway - the Nano is a great product. If you already have a Nano the only justification I can find to upgrade would be the need for more storage or the desire to play video on a very small screen.

If you don't need the video or more music storage you should stick with your older Nano.

Apple iPod Nano

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Great Sound Quality, Limited Functionalty, and Expensive

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Sound Quality, Limited Functionalty, and Expensive, October 4, 2008
By P. Heath (Hurst, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
BACKGROUND: I am an experienced mp3 player user, and my current other unit is a SanDisk Sansa Clip 2 GB MP3 Player (Black). I bought a silver 1 Gb iPod Shuffle primarily to use at the gym; however, I will also comment about general usage as well. This is also the only Apple device that I have owned of any kind.

SETUP: There are two things to note about the setup process for the iPod Shuffle. Neither of them is complicated, but they are annoying. Unlike most other mp3 players that use a mini-USB cable for charging and transferring music, the Shuffle requires the use of a proprietary docking station. As such, I wasn't able to reuse any of the myriad of mini-USB cables that I have from other devices. So you either have to buy a second docking station or take the one that comes with the Shuffle with you for charging away from home.

The other thing about the Shuffle that I found frustrating was that you are limited to using iTunes for music transfer. Further, you can only transfer music from a single computer. This is a very restrictive requirement for such a low end device. Finally, I was surprised by how slow iTunes is. Believe me; the last thing I expected was for iTunes to perform slower (by a significant amount) that Windows Media Player. I am no Microsoft lover or apologist by any means (I actually prefer Linux).

SOUND QUALITY: This is the area where I give the Shuffle its best marks. The sound is great whether I am playing m4p formats from iTunes or mp3s that I have ripped from CDs or purchased elsewhere. It is equal in dynamics and range to my Sansa Clip, and it even sounds good plugged into the AUX jack for my car stereo.

Of note, however, I am not using the headphones that came with the Shuffle. I have never thought of myself as having small ears, but I found that the headphones that come with the Shuffle seem rather large and hurt my ears immediately after putting them on. For my workouts, I am using a pair of Skullcandy Buds Ink'd Earbuds - Dark Gray because they are inexpensive, and the in ear style have a secure fit while active. While these ear buds will not win any awards, the Shuffle still sounds good even using these.

USAGE/NAVIGATION: This is the area where the Shuffle is way behind the competition. Without a display, you essentially have one giant playlist that is in the order that you put songs on the device. You can either play straight through the list, or you can "shuffle" your music. However, I noticed that between 30 and minute minutes into shuffling, the first song gets repeated. This was with over four and a half hours of music on the device. Unlike every other CD or mp3 player that I have ever had, I was surprised to find that the Shuffle repeats songs before going through the entire list.

If you decide that want to find a specific song, best of luck to you. You have skip and reverse navigation, and you'll need a good memory of what order you synced things to your device. Ultimately it is not worth it to try to use the Shuffle this way. It seems that it is really geared toward the gym/active user who doesn't need a lot of control over their music. With this in mind, I can hardly see the point of even having a unit larger than 1 Gb. It would seem to make sense to have a 512k offering to better match the functionality.

In short, it's great for working out, but it would be extremely frustrating to use this as your portable music collection.

OPTIONS: Really, the only option that you have on the device itself is the toggle between continuous or shuffle play. From iTunes, you can update the software for the Shuffle and change a few settings that most people won't alter from their defaults.

COST: You are paying a premium for the Apple name, but you probably already knew that. Creative and SanDisk both have competing offerings with more functionality at a lower price.

CONCLUSION: The iPod Shuffle as an expensive offering that really only makes sense to a specific subset of mp3 player users. While the sound quality is good, it is really only for brand loyalists looking for a player to use at the gym.

Apple iPod Shuffle

Saturday, September 27, 2008

awesome new ipod

5.0 out of 5 stars awesome new ipod, September 27, 2008
By KhyberNY "KhyberNY" (NEW YORK, NY United States) - See all my reviews
the colors and the build quality of the latest ipod is simply amazing. i was at best buy today and compared this to all the other music players they got and it made the others look really cheap and crappy.

Apple iPod Nano

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Apple's iPod Touch 32 GB - Some Great Updates, Some Updates Still Missing

66 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Apple's iPod Touch 32 GB - Some Great Updates, Some Updates Still Missing, September 24, 2008
By Mark "Technology, Music and Movies" (East Coast) - See all my reviews
(#1 REVIEWER)
The new Apple iPod Touch 32 GB (2nd Generation) has a few improvements over the first generation Apple iPod Touch 32 GB. Overall, the improvements make it more attractive to new owners than to existing ones looking to upgrade. I will explain why I chose it, and ultimately whether the changes are enough for you is bound to be subjective.

Apple's 32GB iPod Touch is still the largest you can buy. The Apple iPod Touch 8 GB (2nd Generation) model is priced so low that it is very attractive as an entry level unit. So from that perspective, the 16 GB model is kind of the ugly duckling since it's not much less than the 32 GB model. If you just need the WiFi browsing, the 8 GB model will meet those needs. If you want to put a decent amount of music and video on it, the 32 GB model is the way to go. I would recommend those who are considering the 16 GB model to step up to the 32 GB model if at all possible.

The unit finally has volume controls, and even adds a few features that were surprising such as the small speaker. But adding volume controls without track controls was surprising to me. And while the speaker is nice and the Nike integration is also nice, neither of those are deal breakers for me. The battery life improvement is noticeable. And web browsing is still great, though the wireless range has not been improved. Overall the best improvement is probably the lowered price, which is a bigger deal to those who were holding off. This is my third, and I'm still looking forward to the next version and more capacity.

For me, I found that the first generation player became much more of a multimedia device than my other MP3 players. I could live with some of the weaknesses, but the battery life really became an issue. That was even after disabling most power hogging features. I made sure to test this out for at least two weeks before making a judgement on this particular improvement. On the new one, the battery life is definitely improved though not nearly as much as advertised. The other big improvement is the addition of at least a few buttons for volume control.

Safari browsing still rocks, but the fact that they didn't upgrade the wireless is disappointing. I will hope that the next version will have stronger wireless and more capacity. If they can do that, they will be at a nice starting point for future generations to build on.

There is a widely publicized issue with wireless browsing on certain types of secured networks. You may have to reconfigure security at home or wait for an update. I have not directly experienced this and I only connect to secure WiFi, except for rare cases. I have still experienced a long time polling and connecting to WiFi networks however. Depending on many factors, you may need to wait for the next software update if this is a big issue for you.

Pros
+ 32GB of storage is a decent size for music and video for most users
+ Nice new lowered prices for each capacity level
+ Safari web browsing and easy WiFi hotspot setup still the best feature
+ Great design with a sleek thin body with slightly more curvature
+ Beautiful 320x480 pixel wide-screen provides pleasing video viewing
+ Turn to the side to view video using the full wide screen width
+ Orientation detection changes view to landscape mode automatically when turning iPod!
+ Brighter screen with great contrast and crisp sharp images
+ Wireless access via 802.11 b/g compliant antenna (still waiting for `n')
+ Wireless searching and video on mode can be disabled to extend battery life
+ Headphone jack compatible with standard phones
+ Genius playlist feature works well enough
+ New apps work great and give you stocks, maps, email, notes and weather
+ Supports both NTSC and PAL video out
+ Unlike iPod classic, all flash memory means less failures and breakage
+ Flash memory also awesome for running / working out, though I use my nano for that ;-)
+ Integration of Nike workout features also nice add-on
+ Cover-flow works better on the Touch with the software update
+ Slightly better sound quality than 2nd generation iPods
+ Small speaker is great for playing games or previewing tracks
+ Apple reputation is probably still worth the premium
+ Plenty of free video and audio teaser content available on iTunes
+ Easy access to iTunes right from your device over your local wireless internet!
+ Apple store provides easy access to more and more apps

Cons
- Still not enough capacity to make it a replacement for your disk-based player
- Still no track controls, though the volume controls and hold are nice add-ons
- Accessories such as cases that fit version 1 need to be replaced due to body redesign
- Screen requires "real touch," bad for those of us in cold weather cities
- Data port still seems cramped
- Still not backwards compatible with legacy docks and cables
- Battery life somewhat improved, but not nearly as much as advertised
- Only minimal usage of WiFi and video will allow regular daily usage on one charge
- No expandability or SD card slot like competing players
- Limited native formats (MP3, MPEG4, AAC) and high software overhead (still growing!)
- iTunes attempts to install extra software when updating!!!
- PDA functions such as calendar syncing and contact management still need work
- Still lacking some features such as built-in FM radio & voice recorder
- Missing wireless syncing and song transfer, features already on the Zune
- No Bluetooth for peripherals and accessories (strange considering Nike integration is based on bluetooth)
- No wireless synching or wireless access to iTunes WLAN libraries
- No WiFi viewing of live iTunes PodCasts
- Still no local viewing of PDF or other common document formats
- No mode to use as disk storage?!?!
- Still relatively expensive in GB/ $ terms

Conclusion

Overall this device is enough of an improvement to lure in more converts. Those who own the first generation iPod Touch or want to store their entire music collection will probably want to wait. Except of course, if you must have one or more of those updated features (improved battery life, Nike integration, etc). In that case, you can find comfort in the slightly improved sound.

Enjoy!!!!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Finally a leap in the right direction

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a leap in the right direction, September 20, 2008
I'm not sure where to start exactly, since there seems to be an almost endless amount of good I can say about this little wonder.
Let's start with the first thing I love about it; NO MIRRORED ALUMINUM BACKING. Now now, I know that this is a huge thing for some people since it's sort of Apple's signature and all, but I'm so happy that it's not there since all it does is get scratched up and ugly anyway. Instead it's replaced by a wrap-around brushed aluminum design which doesn't scratch nearly as easy and will stay looking great for years to come (at least my shuffle of the same design has).
Another thing I noticed about the player is an almost silent noise floor. For the not so geeky crowd, the noise floor is the level of audible background noise caused by the unit itself (that hiss you hear when music isn't playing). Although most people never notice it because they use the standard Apple headphones, it becomes more noticeable with higher end headphones that possess a greater frequency range. Again, this may not seem like much, but to an audiophile like me you can't begin to put a price on it.
I'll cut in real quick though with something I'm not too crazy about that Apple is promoting the hell out of right now so I can get it out of the way, and that's the "Genius" feature. The problem is that "Genius" is more "Retarded" than anything else... I wish I could think of a better way to put it but I really can't. You see, when you activate Genius, it's supposed to find similar songs on your iPod or in your library for you to listen to and also recommend other music you might like. The problem is though that there appears to be little to any rhyme or reason to how it selects these songs... For example, activating Genius while listening to Grow Up and Blow Away by Metric (Alt with a soft rock overtone), created a playlist with things like Kill the Poor by The Dead Kennedys (hardcore punk rock). It got it right now and then but was usually the difference between night and day. It's not a feature you're required to use to play your music though so no harm done.
Also new to the nano is the use of accelerometers like those present in the Touch and iPhone, allowing you to tilt it to watch a video or enter cover flow to browse albums quicker. You can also give it a quick shake to enter shuffle mode, but this isn't as useful as the other features I just mentioned... If the games that are already present on the unit are any indication however, Apple looks to be planning to use this feature extensively and to its full potential in the future.
The biggest thing that I feel will draw people in however is how big this player isn't. It's roughly the width and length of two sticks of gum sitting next to each other, and only about as think as if there were two more stacked on top of them. Making it incredibly convenient to carry with you virtually anywhere. And at only $150 for an 8GB and $200 for a 16, it's becoming harder to pass these up even with the stiff competition from other competent companies like Sandisk (Sansa) and Creative (zen).

Don't feel like it's a total overhaul though, features that haven't changed are plenty as well.
The overall interface is the same, and can have a bit of a learning curve if you use the brute force figure it out as you go approach (this was my fist actual iPod myself, since my previous was a menuless shuffle) but can be easily used to it's full potential by logging onto the Apple website for the full manual.
The docking port looks the same as any of the other iPods, but that doesn't always mean it's compatible with various players. I don't own any docks myself, so I can't comment personally. Although I'm taking a wait and see stand on this though, as many docks seem to have compatibility issues as each generation comes and goes.

Overall it's a wonderful little music player that surely wont disappoint, from the casual listener to the hardcore music junkie, it's a must to be considered for anyone in the market.

Update 10/14/08: I've noticed as I use the player more that occasionally the click wheel has a tendency to "lag" a bit behind or is slow to respond. Hopefully this issue will be fixed in a software update though, since from the way it happens I don't think it's a hardware issue. In any case, it isn't a huge deal unless you plan on playing a ton of games. But that doesn't mean that it wouldn't still be nice to have it fixed.

Apple iPod Nano