View Full Version : iPod
Little Matt
31-10-2001, 02:39 PM
Check out the latest gizmo from Apple. This is a fantastic MP3 player - 5Gig hard drive, storing 1000 - 1300 songs. No need for memory cards, downoad time is 10secs for a whole album. I must get one
http://www.apple.com/uk/ipod/
arussell
31-10-2001, 02:42 PM
Saw an article on this the other day and was impressed - I'd like one too, so can you get me one while you're there please Matt ;)
Wonder if Paf has one yet ..... :D
Originally posted by arussell
Wonder if Paf has one yet ..... :D
no, I have an MP3 enabled CD walkman and a tiny samsung mp3 player.
I'm tempted though.................. however, the Creative Nomad Jukebox was plagued with problems, so I'm going to wait and see on this.
Men At Work
31-10-2001, 03:24 PM
The integration with iTunes is very cool - which leaves all you Windows users out in the cold for now. The really nice feature is that it can be used as a normal Firewire (IEEE 1394 to the rest of you) drive - who needs floppies? :) I think I know what I'm buying myself for Xmas this year.
Little Matt
31-10-2001, 04:04 PM
Not bad for £350 is it, and expect the price to come down in the new year...
Men At Work
31-10-2001, 08:37 PM
Review from MacWorld (U.S.)
First Look: iPod
Compact Digital Audio Player Provides Great Mix of Features and Performance
By Jonathan Seff
Apple's iPod, a 6.5-ounce MP3 player the size of a deck of cards, is one of the most exciting products to come from Apple in years. Powered by FireWire, the iPod can hold as much as 5GB of data, providing a compelling balance of size and capacity. However, this combination of features comes at a relatively high price: $399.
But How Does It Work?
Sandwiched between the iPod's stainless-steel back and Lucite front is a hard drive large enough to hold roughly 1,000 songs encoded in MP3 format at 160 Kbps.
The drive's enormous cache--32MB of solid-state RAM--virtually eliminates skipping; shaking the iPod vigorously and even banging it against things didn't interrupt smooth play. (However, we don't recommend this--shaking and banging can damage the hard disk.) The large cache also allows the hard disk to spin down, extending battery life.
Accessing your music files via the iPod is easy. The 1.5-by-1.5-inch screen has very crisp text, and a bright backlight makes the display easy to see in the dark. The controls are designed for one-handed use. To make selections, you use a single middle button below the screen; a rotating jog wheel around that button controls volume during playback and lets you scroll through hierarchical menus of playlists, artists, and songs. Four buttons located on the jog wheel's perimeter control track playback, as well as backlight and sleep modes. Using the controls can be awkward at first, but once we became accustomed to them, the interface's ingenuity was apparent.
It's unfortunate that Apple didn't include a belt clip, case, or arm band like those that come with other music players. And although the included white ear-bud headphones are stylish and, as Apple claims, provide good-quality sound, we found them too large to wear comfortably for long periods of time.
Made for Macs
There are other MP3 players that work with the Mac, but none has been integrated with Apple's iTunes. In fact, the iPod's release coincides with that program's first major upgrade: iTunes 2.
The iPod can synchronize its contents with your iTunes 2 music library, automatically updating itself with the latest changes to your library and playlists. You can also switch to a manual mode and pick the songs and playlists you want to transfer.
iPod attempts to safeguard intellectual property by allowing you to sync with only one copy of iTunes at a time. Trying to sync with a friend's iTunes music library (or even another of yours) will overwrite all the music on your iPod with the new library. But even iPod's copyright-protection features have their limits--by switching to manual mode, you can transfer MP3 files to and from iTunes.
The iPod has a smaller hard drive than the 20GB, USB-based Nomad Jukebox, but its FireWire interface makes the USB connections on other MP3 players seem slower than molasses. It takes hours to transfer 5GB of music files to a music player that connects via USB; the iPod can transfer that amount in as little as 12 minutes.
We tested the iPod by copying 333 songs (1.35GB) to it, and the results were quite impressive. Using a Power Mac G4/450, it took 4 minutes and 58 seconds in Mac OS 9.2.1 and just 3 minutes and 5 seconds in Mac OS X 10.1. You can even use the iPod's hard drive to transfer other types of files, since the iPod appears on your desktop as a regular portable FireWire hard drive.
The FireWire port on the iPod does more than just allow you to download music from your Mac. Connecting an iPod to your Mac also charges the iPod's internal lithium polymer battery. If you're on the road, you can connect the FireWire cable to the iPod's included AC adapter for a quick charge.
The Last Word
The Apple iPod sounds like a dream come true--and for anyone with a love of music and a Mac that has a FireWire port, it is one. Although $399 places the iPod at the high end of the portable music player market, it buys you a stylish, high-capacity audio player with Mac connectivity that is second to none.
Looks great, but a little too pricey compared to the competition and it will need compatibility with PCs to suceed. So far I have not been impressed with the MP3 players I have tried (including the Nomad) so I have yet to buy one - the specs on this machine look pretty damn good though!
Little Matt
31-10-2001, 08:47 PM
a24
Good review MAW. I even reckon the colour scheme would co-ordinate with your beige suit!
:D
Seriously though, I'm going to wait until new year when my insider at Apple should be able to get me one at a good discount.
Little Matt
31-10-2001, 08:49 PM
Originally posted by 2can
Looks great, but a little too pricey compared to the competition and it will need compatibility with PCs to suceed. So far I have not been impressed with the MP3 players I have tried (including the Nomad) so I have yet to buy one - the specs on this machine look pretty damn good though!
I think the price will fall dramatically - look at how cheaply you can get an iMac these days. As for compatibility, well that's the age old Mac/PC debate innit?
Men At Work
31-10-2001, 08:53 PM
Originally posted by Little Matt
I even reckon the clour scheme would co-ordinate with your beige suit!
I'm thinking of changing it to a translucent Bondi Blue one :eek: And I won't be anywhere near as sartorially resplendent tonight.
Little Matt
31-10-2001, 08:54 PM
Can't make it tonight - working late :(
But I've got spies looking out for anything glowing in the dark...
Originally posted by Little Matt
As for compatibility, well that's the age old Mac/PC debate innit?
Oh no! expect Jaffa and co to be here any minute...:rolleyes:
Daniel_Nash
01-11-2001, 01:04 AM
I've been a good boy, kinda, can you buy me one for Christmas pleeeease???
firesign
01-11-2001, 02:11 AM
Macs rule, yeah baby!!!!!
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