Apple iPod Photo (30GB)
-
"One adults opinion..." on by toodvs4ne1
Pros: Fast Processor;great photo features;fantastic screen
Cons: sound quality not up to par w/ other 4g ipods
Summary: I had just recently bought a 30gb photo at Best Buy and returned it almost immediately. The sound quality was horrible. Attributing this to a possible defective unit, I went back and payed the extra 100 buckes angd tried the 60gb. The sound was not much better; distortion with lows at just about any volume level. I did a little research and discovered a few message boards packed with similar stories re: the PHOTO series Ipod.(BTW,I tested both units with different headphones and song files) I went back to the store for a third time, and this time tried a 20gb (NON PHOTO) 4 gen ipod. The difference in sound quality was immediately noticable.This model sounds FANTASTIC as you would expect.Appearently, the Photo units share the headphone jack with an A/V OUT feature and this degrades sound quality. Its worth mentioning that I am not an extreme audiophile or anything, But I do expect my $450.00 top of the line MP3 player to sound better than a no name $75 flea market special. In closing, it is my persnal experience that the review of this unit is slightly off by stating that the sound quality is the same as the standard ipod. IT DEFINITELY IS NOT.If your main priority in buying an Ipod is music, you are much better off sticking to the 20GB (and saving a few bucks to boot!)
-
"Well worth every penny, phenomenal!" on by bluntedboy
Pros: Color Screen, Long Battery Life, Decent Capacity, Price Drop.
Cons: Haven't found any.
Summary: Full user opinion
I made the huge mistake of playing with a 1st Gen iPod Photo when they were released. Once I saw the clarity and features provided by the color screen, simply put, nothing else would do. I had to have the best. The original asking price of $399 for the 40GB Photo model was a little steep, so I just kept watching the prices. The very day the 30GB with the $349 price tag was released I put my order in. I got free laser engraving from Apple and the hardest thing about the purchase was deciding what to have engraved on the back (it's permanent). Apple shipped to me direct from the manufacturer in China, so a big fun factor was tracking the package as it made a cross country trek to arrive in my eager hands.
I've heard rumors from Mac users regarding the exquisite detail Apple packs their products but didn't expect anything special from an iPod. I will say, buying an iPod and opening it for the first time is an experience that reaffirms why you spent the money in the first place. The packaging whispers "you wanted the best, here it is".
I had two problems which were quickly solved. One of my ear buds had poor sound quality, I called Apple and they quickly overnighted me a new pair. My iPod went to sleep and I couldn't "wake it". I thought it was dead, but after calling Apple they explained the procedure for "waking up" an iPod that went into hibernation.
I bought this for the screen. Had to have the color screen. I could care less about putting photos on my iPod, I'm a music freak. I want to see my album art as I play music. I want the envy factor of having other people look over and seeing the color screen.
In my humble opinion, there is no reason to spend $299 for a 20GB iPod when you can have more storage and the better screen for $50 more. If you think this is too expensive, it's not for you. Go buy the $99 Shuffle or a portable CD Player.
Music freaks understand the iPod, others do not. -
"iPod is So-So Gotta Have" on by mouseclick
Pros: Cult status player with good storage. Sleek
Cons: Despite Apple's claim to easiest user interfaces, not so on iPod
Summary: There are some obvious nice things to the iPod. It is sleek. It has massive storage and it is the "gotta have" item of this decade so far. Despite these positives, iPod has lots of negatives. Mostly, Apple has really dropped the ball on usability and interface here. While initially it seems neat to have a toggle wheel with integrated buttons, it actually makes the iPod more difficult to use, which is not typical of Apple's reputation. They probably did short-term usability focus-groups which would result in good ratings. But after you own it for a month or two... You'll notice that hitting the FWD button sometimes also turns the volume up/down since the button is on the same wheel to change the volume. Also, and often, turning off the iPod takes several attempts, probably because the same button to turn off the player is the same one to play and pause music. You may have to click and hold the button several times to get it to work. The interface also makes it too easy to accidentally hit buttons and change songs, settings, etc. They have a "hold" switch to prevent this by locking the player, but then each time you want to change songs, etc., you have to switch the "hold" feature to off. Really could be better designed. However, despite the fact that iPod is not as good as it should be, it is still the "gotta have" item, and combining iTune's music store makes this the obvious choice in players, even if it really is only so-so.
-
"Looks Good, but get the 40 GB with a marked-down price from online stores like amazon or buy.com!" on by plecky
Pros: nice color screen (not monochrome anymore!), 15-hr battery life, nice large HD, everything already said about ipods before it time and time again, lowered prices on the old 40/60 gig versions!
Cons: no video playback, drains battery quick if color screen is constantly being used w/backlight, no removable battery, lack of bundled accessories!
Summary: Unlike most of my reviews, I will keep this one shorter then usual. I think this is a solid product and i could go on about why that is, although this review is more just a suggestion to any potential buyers who will no-doubt be purchasing this (not a review for the person debating on a color-HD-mp3-player, or the person still researching their purchase). Although if you know you're going to pick up one of these now with the huge price drops recently introduced, let me offer a word to the wise. If you check out other online merchants like buy.com, and ********** (I think) - they are selling the old 40-gig version for roughly the same price and sometimes even less then this 30-gig new player is currently selling for. Same goes with the old 60 gig compared to the newer-released 60 gigs found at mac's online store. The difference between maybe saving a few bucks buying the older models goes far beyond that though! Not only could you save a few bucks purchasing the older models, but you'd also be making a better overall purchase. Let me explain why and reason it out. First the older models from experience and reviews are pretty much similar to these ones (especially the 60 gig with identitcal HD-size). Although the 40 gig gives you 10 more gigs of hard drive for the same price as mac's site is charging for this new 30 gig! Seems obvious just for the extra-10 gigs alone. But that's not all, these new released ones dropped so drastically in price due to lack of bundled accessories that include a tv-cable so you can watch your user-created photo slideshows with music on a full-size TV! A few other cables and programs such as iphoto are also sorely missed in these new cheaper versions. Although the older versions come with more in the box, so you are getting more for your money there (whether you buy the 40 gig or 60 gig older versions). Sure you may not get a couple things, like the free-custom engraving you can get online, or the feeling of buying the newest top-brand iPod (which really is no different then their previous photo ones player-wise). Personally I reccomend going for the old-40-gig ipod photo over the 30 gig for the same price and get the included accessories just incase you use them (you probably will is my guess whether you think so or not right now). That also goes for getting the older 60-gig then the newer ones without the accessories/software bundled in the box. Although I guess if you must have the newest version, custom-engraving, getting it strait from apple's website then you'll ignore this. But if those few things don't matter to you like they wouldn't matter to me, i'd check into what i said and then make your final decision of purchasing. Either way, you'll be pioneers in a new line of ipod and mp3 players that are going the next step to color screens and photo-viewing (and more probably) capibilities. Say goodbye to monochrome because I have a feeling that color is what we can expect over the rest of 2005 leading into 2006. Just a guess, but either way hope this review helps some of you to whom it applies, and to everyone out there - hoping you a sucessful shopping experience!
-
"Cnet did a blind studyfor BEST sounding Mp3 Player... Who came in LAST??" on by DCizzle
Pros: pro would be that I didnt buy it.
Cons: con would be me feeling bad for the people who did buy it.
Summary: Ultimately, MP3 players are about the music--so which one sounds the best? Determining the best-sounding player is a tricky task since many of the top devices utilize the same sound chips. In fact, unless you have the golden ears of an audiophile, it's difficult to notice the difference between devices. Still, we, the editors and CNET Labs, put them to the test using a playlist ranging from Air to Bob Dylan, comprising a variety of genres encoded at 320Kbps VBR MP3, setting equal volume levels, and disabling any EQ or sound-effects settings. Using a pair of our trusty Grado headphones, we judged sound quality in a blind sound test and came up with some consistent (and interesting) results. Described as warm and true, the sound quality of Cowon's iAudio X5 fared very well, as did the iRiver H320 right behind it. Toshiba's Gigabeat F20 had mixed reviews ("tinny," "good for techno" and "slightly processed with a hint of hiss") as did Creative's "tight" and "hiss-free" Zen Touch. But it was the brand-new Sony NW-HD5 that consistently ranked number one, delivering MP3s "with a crispy warm seal." Which consistently ranked last? Apple's iPod Photo.
%20-%20MP3%20players%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/mp3-players/apple-ipod-photo-30gb/4852-6490_7-31296983.html&x_breadcrumb=8900:6450:6490&x_arw_bkts=MAD:low_wireless_switcher){kind=small}