iPod Classic review!
Oct. 25th, 2007 11:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rhienellethAs an early X-mas gift to Mark (and myself) this week, we upgraded our 20 gig 4th gen iPods to new 80 gig iPod Classics. Why? Well, you wouldn't think you'd run out of room with 20 gigs, but Mark was approaching that threshold rapidly, and having to pick and choose what he wanted to add. And I wanted video capabilities, so I can rip some things to it for things like plane trips to Disneyland at the end of November *cough*. I also didn't want to wait until closer to X-mas, because iPods notoriously sell out pre-holiday.
Costco has the new Classic 80g for$240, and their return policy can't be beat. You know, just in case something odd happens, like when you go to update your new iPod to the newest software from Apple after you've synced it, and the software "upgrade" freezes your new iPod and locks it out so nothing and no one can unlock it, and your computer no longer sees it, and not even a hard restart can shock it back to life.
Yes, that happened to us. Twice. We had to return two iPods for new ones because the 1.0.2 official upgrade from Apple f-ed them up. WTH, Apple? From various and sundry forum posts, Apple has not responded to complaints about this, and it doesn't seem to be happening to everyone, just a fairly hefty percentage of new iPod owners. We were just lucky, I guess, to have lightning strike twice. Now whenever iTunes asks if I'd like to upgrade, I click "no".
So, having gotten the bad out of the way, let me get on with the good:
~ I'll try to post pics later, but for now, you'll just have to take my word: the new iPod classic is beautiful. Sexy, sleek, and the new anodized aluminum shell and scratch resistant screen give it a nice heft in addition to a sophisticated look. I have the silver, while Mark went with the black. Both are fabulous.
~ And that's just the outside. I've seen complaint after complaint online about how the Classic's new graphic intensive display choices are cumbersome and useless. I disagree! Strongly! Now you'll actually want to have artwork for all your albums, because the iPod utilizes them brilliantly. When you browse your albums, each title is accompanied by a miniaturized icon of your album cover. The Coverflow feature allows you to flip through them as though going through the albums on your shelf. I've heard it said this is laggy and slow, but it certainly hasn't been on ours! Mark has 14 gigs of music on his, and the covers flow smoothly and quickly. Perhaps libraries of 60 gigs are a bit slower due to the higher graphic content, I don't know. But I certainly find the Coverflow feature pretty and fun. :) In addition to this, on the main menu the Classic randomly displays album covers from your library on half the screen, like a screensaver would do. I rather like this feature, again, for the eye candy factor.
~ Video plays crystal clear and gorgeous. I happened to still have the first episode of Blood Ties saved in iTunes and didn't realize it until I synced. So of course I rewatched it - beautiful, certainly eminently watchable even on a 2.5 inch screen. I'm sure this is very like the previous 80g iPod version 5.5, but having never experienced that model, I can't compare the video quality of the two. I can only assure you that on the classic, video is sharp, crisp, pretty, and will change how I entertain myself whilst flying from here on out. (I can just see putting an entire season of some favorite show on here the next time I'm flying to Florida.)
I am exremely pleased with my sleek little new iPod - other than the idiocy of it locking up via an official Apple update!
Costco has the new Classic 80g for$240, and their return policy can't be beat. You know, just in case something odd happens, like when you go to update your new iPod to the newest software from Apple after you've synced it, and the software "upgrade" freezes your new iPod and locks it out so nothing and no one can unlock it, and your computer no longer sees it, and not even a hard restart can shock it back to life.
Yes, that happened to us. Twice. We had to return two iPods for new ones because the 1.0.2 official upgrade from Apple f-ed them up. WTH, Apple? From various and sundry forum posts, Apple has not responded to complaints about this, and it doesn't seem to be happening to everyone, just a fairly hefty percentage of new iPod owners. We were just lucky, I guess, to have lightning strike twice. Now whenever iTunes asks if I'd like to upgrade, I click "no".
So, having gotten the bad out of the way, let me get on with the good:
~ I'll try to post pics later, but for now, you'll just have to take my word: the new iPod classic is beautiful. Sexy, sleek, and the new anodized aluminum shell and scratch resistant screen give it a nice heft in addition to a sophisticated look. I have the silver, while Mark went with the black. Both are fabulous.
~ And that's just the outside. I've seen complaint after complaint online about how the Classic's new graphic intensive display choices are cumbersome and useless. I disagree! Strongly! Now you'll actually want to have artwork for all your albums, because the iPod utilizes them brilliantly. When you browse your albums, each title is accompanied by a miniaturized icon of your album cover. The Coverflow feature allows you to flip through them as though going through the albums on your shelf. I've heard it said this is laggy and slow, but it certainly hasn't been on ours! Mark has 14 gigs of music on his, and the covers flow smoothly and quickly. Perhaps libraries of 60 gigs are a bit slower due to the higher graphic content, I don't know. But I certainly find the Coverflow feature pretty and fun. :) In addition to this, on the main menu the Classic randomly displays album covers from your library on half the screen, like a screensaver would do. I rather like this feature, again, for the eye candy factor.
~ Video plays crystal clear and gorgeous. I happened to still have the first episode of Blood Ties saved in iTunes and didn't realize it until I synced. So of course I rewatched it - beautiful, certainly eminently watchable even on a 2.5 inch screen. I'm sure this is very like the previous 80g iPod version 5.5, but having never experienced that model, I can't compare the video quality of the two. I can only assure you that on the classic, video is sharp, crisp, pretty, and will change how I entertain myself whilst flying from here on out. (I can just see putting an entire season of some favorite show on here the next time I'm flying to Florida.)
I am exremely pleased with my sleek little new iPod - other than the idiocy of it locking up via an official Apple update!
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no subject
Date: 2007-10-25 06:36 pm (UTC)(Although this might all be moot... he's entranced by my iPhone now, so I suspect that might actually be what he gets when the time comes. Still. Options are good.)
no subject
Date: 2007-10-25 06:39 pm (UTC)Having to choose sucks, because the iTouch screen is more conducive to video watching, while the iPod's harddrive is what actually allows enough room for videos.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-25 06:43 pm (UTC)I actually haven't tried to get video on my iPhone yet. I should rip some for our upcoming car trip.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-25 08:30 pm (UTC)Off the get the monster!