Work of Art You Will Love (and overlook functional weaknesses)
Written: Mar 21 '04 (Updated May 25 '04)
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Pros: Amazing accessories. Beauty and ease of use.
Cons: Takes awhile to figure out. USB cord should be standard. Screen easily scratched.
The Bottom Line: It's gorgeous with nothing that comes close to it. I strongly recommend, but I'd really like to see some additional features added.
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| stlpowerpopper's Full Review: Apple iPod 40 GB White MP3 Player |
I love the iPod. There are no other mp3 players that come close in terms of beauty and design innovation. That said, you get the feeling that it wasn't test driven enough by the designers, or perhaps their non-techno-geek staff who make up most of the oxygen breathing planet. You will open it up and spend an exasperating 20 minutes trying to figure out how this gorgeous thing actually works, only to then realize you darn well better have a firewire card on your pc or you are screw##, er, I mean, going to be really unhappy. Yes, you have to find a CompUSA or other Apple retailer who'll carry that extra USB cord that DOESN'T COME STANDARD (yes, it should) before you can use your $$$$ dollar purchase. I know, I know, all of you MAC users have these standard, and they're standard on alot of new pcs, but what about using the little white metal box of music nirvana at work??? I know my business has never heard of firewire. And that gets me to the second rub....it ain't really made to be used on two computers...a huge oversight or design flaw. Of course a lot of us would like to have all of it's awesome features at both work and at home. Scenario: Someone with a cool cd lends it to you....you simply slip it into your office computer and BOOM you rip it to your iPod right?? Not so fast buster..this requires that you first install the iTunes software at work (which software asks you to re-register your already registered iTunes software, etc, ie, it doesn't ask if you've already done a home install). And then, you learn the hardway, that you can't just rip those mp3 files and have it auto-update your iPod, you have to set up your iPod for manual file transfers. All of this is cumbersome-bottom line, and really stupid. I hope it's me that's stupid, but this gets me to rub #3 - the iPod and iTunes websites are NOT HELPFUL. All of the obvious issues are missing from the FAQs. Again, what is the problem here - why aren't the simple things addressed saving us time-hungry people from having to spend hours sweating over how to perform the most simple (and critical) features of this device? Anyway, after you get your extra USB cord, get hooked up at work, and realize you have to do a manual file transfer for every mp3 file you want to transfer to iPod from a second computer, you are in business. Rub #4 - You might be thinking, I'd like to downlode (uplode?) all of those nifty iPod mp3 files to my office hardrive (ie, 2nd computer hardrive), or maybe sync with a friend's Creative MP3 player (or another iPod). This too, is either not possible or NOT easy. First, my manual says I CANNOT move my mp3 files to another computer (ie, do a data dump). Why NOT? That seems like an obviously BASIC reason to own an iPod, ie, to move your mp3 files easily from one place to the next. I'm very confused why I am not allowed to move my mp3 files from home, to iPod, to work. Now - how about to a friend's mp3 player? My friend, with a Creative, and I tried to work this out and all we could figure out to do is use his laptop to store the files and to complete the transfer. That said, you have to load the Creative player and the iTunes players onto a single computer to allow the transfer to take place, and again, BEWARE..you have to have a Windows 2000 or XP operating system - iPod turns up its nose to Windows 98 or earlier operating systems. This prevented our transfer, as his laptop was running Windows 98. Aarrghhh.
All of these problems may not be applicable to you and your needs, especially if you are a MAC user (I am writing for all of us pc based folk who are in love with the superior Apple technology and design - again there is NO compare on that count). Can't say that enough, I love the beauty, handfeel, ease of reading and use of the iPod. There are no others that come into the City, let alone the ballpark, to be compared to iPod. Despite my gripes, I love this little device which goes with me now everywhere. And I bought and strongly recommend the Extreme carrying case. Haven't dropped iPod yet, but I think I could and it'd survive in one of those cases. It's easy to use and fits my iPod like a glove. Hope to soon see a wireless internet connection feature to allow it to act as a streaming audio player. Given what's out there and the company behind iPod, I think the iPod is a great choice for future options/upgrades. Bottom line: Buy it, you'll love it.
ps. iTunes comment: Why aren't whole albums cheaper? Song prices of $.99 make sense, but wouldn't you sell a lot more albums for say $6.99? More of that music industry marketing stuff that just makes no sense to me the plebian.
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UPDATE - May 2004 - I've now owned this puppy for a few months now and I can add a few things to this review:
1) You CAN, with effort, offload files from your iPod to another computer. The only way I've found to do this is to first downlode the iPod agent software program (it's free), you can find this at the iPod help website by searching the bulletin board for posts on this topic. I've used the program successfully. A HUGE relief.
2) A big NEGATIVE: My Extreme carrying case has scratched up the plastic viewing surface of my iPod horribly. I cannot figure out how this happened. It defeats the purpose to a great degree of why I shelled out the bucks for the Extreme case to begin with, ie, to keep my iPod pristine in whatever abusive conditions I'd take it. So, AVOID the Extreme case, and second, be forewarned that the plastic viewing screen is made of VERY SOFT plastic. I'm angry enough to call this a design flaw, as I've had cheap watches with plastic "crystals" that held up much better. I've added this comment to my 'Cons'.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 500.00
Recommended for: Music Lovers - High Capacity Storage for an Entire Album Collection
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Epinions.com ID:
stlpowerpopper
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 1 member
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