iPod Grows, Adds Color
Apple iPod Photo - 60 gigabyte
During Christmas 2003, I was given a 20 gigabyte iPod that quickly became a constant companion. I bought accessories, made playlists, downloaded music from the iTunes store. In short, I became an iPod addict.
Then disaster struck.
One might think that 20 gigabytes of music storage is enough, but I wasn't even halfway through digitizing my music collection when I reached the dreaded memory full error. I got by for a few weeks, deleting some songs, adding others, but it was a tedious process.
Then came the 2004 holiday season and an incredible gift of an iPod Photo. I'm an unrestrained addict again. I now have 60 gig of memory - 3 times my starting point - and the ability to display photos as a well as any PDA or good cellphone.
The iPod Craze
An iPod is essentially a portable disc drive with some neat features built in. There is a clock, an address book and a couple of silly games. What really makes this machine worth an investment for someone serious about portable music is the large memory capacity, the solid music player inside and an intuitive interface that anyone can learn in minutes.
The iPod Photo not only plays music that you can select by playlist, artist, album or other methods, but includes the ability to display photos on its 220x176 pixel screen. If that is not big enough for you, the iPod Photo easily connects to a television to display photos or even a slideshow. Firmware inside the unit automatically scales the photos for a regular or widescreen television.
The battery charges automatically when connected to your computer and resting in its dock, which is also how it synchronizes photo and music files.
All of this functionality, along with Apple's free iTunes music software and a 99 cent per song online store, have led to an iPod craze. I recently reviewed the iTunes store and noted that it had sold more than 200 million digital songs - all completely legal. Apple has since upped that figure to 250 million songs since the program launched.
But I Use Windows and This Is Apple!
Therein lies the genius of the iPod product launch. Windows users are very welcome. iTunes and the iPod work extremely well with Windows XP. The company claims that it works with earlier versions as well, but all my machines are on XP now so I can't test that claim.
What I can tell you is that you must have USB 2.0 or a FireWire port on your computer to enjoy the iPod experience. The older machine the iPod is currently using has an earlier USB port and Apple will not support the iPod on anything less than USB 2.0.
I have confirmed that through practice, on their web site and by calling technical support. Luckily for me, my computer recognizes the iPod. I can't plug in both at once and synchronization is very slow, but I can use the iPod on this machine. Because of the high price point, it may not be worth the gamble, though, if you do not have the proper USB port. Better to upgrade first and then go for the iPod.
Other than that requirement, the iPod Photo works just fine under Windows.
What's Different Between The Two iPods
Size is the biggest difference. The iPod Photo feels like it's half again as big as the 20 gig iPod. It is still small enough, however, to fit in my old iPod carrying case and other accessories.
The other big difference (besides the fact that I can now easily carry pictures of my family with me when I travel) is the "click wheel". Earlier iPods had an array of four buttons underneath the black and white display screen and a scrolling wheel underneath those. The new design - which is much more convenient - places those four buttons on the scroll wheel. Thus, the menu button is at the 12 o'clock position while the pause/play toggle switch is at the 6'oclock position.
The little earbuds remain the same, however, and I urge you to upgrade to better headphones to truly enjoy your music. I use noise canceling headphones when I travel and smaller, over-the-ear phones when I'm exercising or moving around the house. The great Apple interface falls apart on the included headphones - mine always fall out. But that is still a cheap price to pay for the other benefits you receive.
The Bottom Line, Chips and All
The new iPod Photo is expensive, but well worth the cost of the upgrade if you are planning to use this as one of your main musical devices. The size alone - 15,000 songs sampled at a "normal" rate means that you can easily fit 1,000 CDs into a 6 ounce gadget the size of a deck of playing cards. Invest in a carrying case to protect the finish and cushion your machine from any jarring, buy new headphones and get ready to enjoy.
Five Things To Remember From This Review
1. The iPod Photo displays pictures on its bright color screen, or you can connect the unit to a television for even bigger displays.
2. Toggling between thumbnails, scrolling through photos and even running a slideshow are all easy.
3. You must, repeat MUST, have a USB 2.0 port or there is no guarantee that your computer will recognize the unit.
4. The new "click wheel" is an improvement over an already highly functional and sleek design.
5. C'mon - it's more than a thousand CDs in the palm of your hand. How can you resist?