Come Together
Ever since Steve Jobs first unveiled the iPod, I thought that I had found the MP3 player I had been searching for. Unfortunately at the time, it was only a Mac compatible product, and at the time, I didn’t own a Mac. Recently Apple released the next generation of iPods, which now work on either platform. Praise Jobs!
This compact system fits in the palm of your hand, or can attach to your belt or backpack with the included carrying case. With the optional dock (included with 30GB model), you can charge the battery to near capacity in about an hour. When fully charged the iPod runs for about 8 hours nonstop. This makes it perfect for those long flights, drives, or citywide blackouts.
In order to conserve battery power, when the iPod doesn’t detect sound for 60 seconds it powers down. On other portable music systems, this is a real pain in that in order to resume play, you will either have to start over from the beginning of your selection, or fast forward to the point you left off. Not so with the iPod. If you put it in pause to answer the phone, run inside the store, or do other tasks, the iPod will shut down after the appropriate amount of time. When you return, press the Play button and the iPod picks up where you left off. This is great for those books on tape you may have been listening too.
While the iPod is advertised as a great MP3 player, it can also play WAV, Variable Bit Rate MP3, AAC, AIFF, and Audible formats. I like to listen to talk radio and usually end up with a RealAudio file. A simple conversion to MP3 and a quick transfer to the iPod, and I can listen to the show without being near my computer.
| iPOD Trick |
| It isn’t talked about in the manual or on the Apple site, but if you want to shuttle through your selections instead of fast skipping, press the center button on the touch wheel while your song/selection is playing. The play bar in the display will have a black diamond above it. When you see this, use the touch wheel to shuttle through your selection. |
Most other MP3 players on the market use non-moving elements (Compact Flash, ROM, or Smart Media) to store their music. I was rather surprised to discover (and hear) the internal drive of the iPod revving up to speed. If this is a true moving drive, I find it amazing that they can get so much in such a little space. Then again, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise since the latest version of the PowerBook is about the same thickness of an iPod and they contain a drive of around 60GB. The potential drawback to having a “regular” drive in an iPod is in drive failure due to shock. While I haven’t been throwing my iPod around, or dropping it from a car at 40 miles per hour, I have used it when riding my bike to and from work, slid it around my desk, and even had a cat knock it off the desk without repercussions. I think the design of the iPod may make you treat it with more care than the technology within.
With the sleek design and large disk size, I find it amazing that other MP3 players haven’t followed suite. Instead many/most (which are PC only) are large bulky units that only run for a few hours before needing a recharge or battery replacement. If you are looking for a way to easily transport and listen to your music collection, then the iPod is the best choice on the market.
| FACT OR FICTION? |
| My students have told me the story of a guy who walked into a local computer store, hooked his iPod up to a Mac and mirrored the entire hard drives contents (including the most recent OS X) and walked out of the store before employees realized what he was doing. |
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