Rating: Summary: A review in spanish... (with english resume for americans) Review: FOR ENGLISH SPEAKERS: IN SHORT, WHY COMPLAIN ABOUT WMA SUPPORT LACK? IT SUCKS BESIDES AAC ANYWAY, I OWN A DELL PC WITH WINDOWS XP AND I HAVEN'T EXPERIENCE ABSOLUTELY ANY PROBLEMS WITH IT AND THE BATTERY ISSUES, WELL, I GUESS IT'S JUST EXTREMELY BAD LUCK, CAUSE I HAVE NOT ANY PROBLEMS OF THIS KIND NEITHER, REGARDING THE MONEY ISSUE, WELL... IT'S UP TO YOUR POCKET, BUT BELIEVE ME, THE DESIGN, SOUND QUALITY, FEATURES AND INNOVATION, MAKES IT WORTH EACH PESO, OR PENNY IN YOUR CASE. I AM A PC USER, BUT A ABSOLUTELY RECOGNIZE THAT APPLE IS ONLY IN FIRST PLACE, OTHERS ARE JUST COPPIES WITH THE USSUAL AMERICAN THINKING: "THE MORE... THE BEST", AND THAT'S NOT TRUE IN ALL CASES, MINIMALISM IS IN BOGA, THIS PLAYER IS THE BEST, ACCEPT IT OR NOT... BUT IT IS TRUE. GREETINGS FROM MEXICO.No entiendo las quejas de tantas personas, contaré mi experiencia a continuación: Un amigo compró un iPod, el modelo de 15 Gb, y como no tiene computadora me pidió que le bajara canciones, para este efecto tuve que bajar el iTunes, programa que nunca antes había usado, y fué una sorpresa darme cuenta lo intuitivo y fácil que es de usar, de inmediato pasé mi librería y por suerte todas mis canciones están en formato mp3, las pocas que tenía en formato WMA las comvertí a MP3 y listo. Al conectar el iPod a mi computadora (para lo cual tuve que comprar el cable USB por separado... mi única queja talvéz)solo tardó unos segundos en ser reconocido y en unos minutos toda mi librería de 600 canciones estaba en el disco duro del pequeño aparato. Soy un poco metódico y meticuloso, por eso es que me puse detenidamente y con diferentes sistemas de audio a comparar los formatos WMA, MP3 y AAC, y es una sorpresa notar que el formato AAC es increíblemente superior a los otros, por lo que pienso codificar todas mis canciones a formato AAC, me tomará un poco de tiempo pero vale la pena, la calidad es insuperable, y el sonido del iPod, combinado con sus pequeños pero poderosos audífonos, hace una experiencia única el escuchar música con el nuevo juguete de Apple. Obviamente después de solo una semana de poseer el iPod de mi amigo, no dudé y compré el mío propio. No he tenido absolutamente ningún problema de compatibilidad, los accesorios son fantásticos. QUIEN QUIERE FORMATO WMA??? Créanme, lo he comparado detenidamente y no tiene nada que hacer al lado de AAC, y la diferencia con MP3 es casi imperceptible; los extras son maravillosos, la función de disco duro, las notas y la sincronización de contactos y el calendario... por lo tanto, adopten las nuevas tecnologías, no hagan caso de las malas reseñas, pues son problemas que ya han sido resueltos por Apple, o personas con muy muy muy mala suerte. En cuanto al costo, pues depende de su bolsillo, pero créanme, el diseño, la calidad del sonido, los extras y la inovación, justifican cada peso gastado.
Rating: Summary: Warning: This is a rich person's disposable status symbol ! Review: The battery replacement is $99 plus shipping. Apple essentially designed this to be a rich person's disposable mp3 player. The batteries have a very short life and cannot survive recharging for very long and don't hold much of a charge. The Apple site is full of advice on how to prolong the life of the battery. To purchase the ipod is to purchase a very fragile pet with a very short lifespan that is very tempermental. Warning: This is a rich person's disposable status symbol and little more. 2nd Problem: I played with an ipod and became so frustrated with selecting the correct song that I gave up on it. There are constant complaints about how easy it is to hit the buttons and to affect the ipod accidently. There are warnings at the Apple site that it is easily turned on with incidental touching and that is one of the reasons that the battery wears out too soon. Hopefully competition will force Apple to improve this device. It is the highest priced disposable music device that I have ever seen.
Rating: Summary: A work of art that works perfectly Review: I chose the 20 gig model because the ipod mini is just too small ( for my collection and my hands). Although the price is on the the steep side for my budget I went for the 20 over the 15 simply because the extra space and accessories seemed worth it. This is my first Hard Drive player and after looking around for a year I decided that style means a lot if you have to carry something around all the time..so Apple was the only choice. I am famous for post purchase guilt but this thing was worth every penny. The box it comes in is beautiful and the ipod itself really is something to behold. It is much smaller than you might think from all the pictures and it feels solid. And the looks....well small wonder it is included in the Architectural Digest list of great designs. The interface is really simple..it took maybe 5 minutes to get the hang of it. I have 1400 songs on it ( most in AAC format) and it has tons of room left. It sounds great but if you are just starting to build an iTunes collection I would recommend ripping all your songs in AAC since when I play an AAC song next to an MP3 song the quality difference is noticeable ( this is the format's fault ..not the ipods). I was also happy that this sucker can crank out quite a respectable volume level which surprised me too. If you have been thinking of getting a player don't worry too much about the money... the joy you will get out of an iPod make it worth the cost. If you are trying to choose between the 15gig and the 20gig ..the carrying case, dock and remote control that come with the 20gig make the $100 price difference meaningless ( you will end up buying them separately anyhow..trust me).
Rating: Summary: Not a review, but a request... Review: With Apple hard at work on the next-Gen iPod, now may not be the best time to buy. Here's what I'm hoping we'll see when the new Pods show up late this summer, in order of request: 1) High-quality line-in for recording. Current solutions are awkward. What we need is line-in for recording lectures; reporter interviews; concerts; and for Garage Band musicians to record jam sessions on the fly. This one feature would demolish the entire Minidisc market in one fell swoop, but Apple is probably worried about the additional complexity and the certain complaints about bootleggers from the recording industry, who they need to support iTunes. 2) A better camera dock solution. The current Belkin kit ($99) is awkward and slow. An on-iPod solution (such as an SD card slot or mini-USB2-in jack) would greatly enhance the iPod's use as a digital wallet. Just think: Professional Camera geeks are shelling out $1,000 to $2,000 for measly 1GB-4GB flash cards, when they could have 40 GB for $499. 3) An optional color-screen model. Viewing pictures, downloaded home movies et al on the fly; album art; games. To be useful, the screen would have to be somewhat larger than the current screen, and possibly require and entirely new form factor. But surely apple can do a much better job than the laughably awful $699 XPods that Microsoft will be pitching... 4) If we're really dreaming, how about giving the high-end iPod a TiVo-like option? Have a TV dock that includes video and audio in-out and records shows, etc. onto the iPod. How cool would that be to record & carry 30 hours or so of your favorite video whereever you want? Sony already has a clumsy attempt at this with its GigaPocket technology; surely Apple could do it one better.
Rating: Summary: Not worth the price premium anymore Review: Bought one of these to replace my first generation iPod with a dead battery instead of coughing up the $99 apple wanted to replace the battery. Theres really not a whole lot in the way of improvements in my eyes between this and the earlier iPods. I ended up returning it after a week, mostly because I was also in the market for an external HD, and this player doesn't support that. This unit is still the leader in terms of size, but it is lagging pretty far behind the competition in terms of battery life, features, sound quality, and value. I'm sure Apple can just float by for another year or two in this manner, as this unit was at one point the best personal MP3 player, period. This is obviously not the case anymore, but, like other Apple products, people will be willing to buy nearly anything with the Apple logo regardless of the competition. Still a solid contender, but by no means the undisputed champion anymore. If size and style aren't your only considerations there are better products elsewhere.
Rating: Summary: Once again, Apple is in the lead. Review: The 20GB iPod which I just got recently is the first mp3 player i've ever owned, and I think it is a masterpiece in electronics. I've never even considered getting any other player because in the past, any of apple's products are far better than anything like it made by another company. And once again is has proven to be so. This little device is amazing. Here is what I think about all the accessories and features of the iPod. iPod Dock: I find that it is uncomfortable using the iPod when it is sitting in the dock, so usually I just lay it down on the desk inside my iSkin exo2. Note: It does look a lot cooler in the dock. Wired Remote: The remote is a nice invention because as long as you stay in one playlist you can move back and forth between songs using the remote, change the volume, or fast-forward/rewind a track. Carrying case/belt clip: This case I think is actually quite high quality. If you need to lay the iPod down on a scratchy surface or carry it in a backpack, this case protects it quite nicely. The belt clip is very strong. I usually need two hands to unclip it from my waist. Earbuds: These are the best earphones I have ever used. The foam coverings are very comfortable, and they are easy to put in your ears and they don't fall out very easily. AC adapter/Firewire cable: There isn't much to say about these. Both work exactly like they are supposed to. Games: Out of the four games included, Brick and Parachute are my favorites. The music quiz puts a list of five of your songs on the screen, and plays a sample of one of them, and you have to select the correct one. The longer you wait the less points you gain. In Parachute, you have to shoot down helicopters with your tank before they drop parachutists. Once they drop parachutists you can still shoot them for two points each. In Brick, you have to keep this little stick bouncing up and knocking out bricks by moving this board around. Then later in the game two sticks start bouncing around and it gets tricky. And Solitaire is obvious. Overall I think the games are a good addition to the iPod. Notes: This is a really cool feature. You can put on as many text notes as you want, up to 700k each. Just drag text files into the notes folder after enabling disk use. Contacts: I don't use this feature but it looks pretty cool. Clock: The clock is a good thing because then you don't need to carry a watch around. And you can set an alarm, and if you make the sound a beep, instead of one of your playlists, it makes the noise without speakers/earphones hooked up. Calendar: This is very cool. You can see an entire calendar for 100 years on your iPod. Battery: I know this is what most people want to know about. Well, this is how it goes with me. After a charge, I unplug it, and the battery icon stays full for about half an hour. Then it goes bellow full and back up to full, back and forth for about fifteen minutes, until it finally stays bellow full. Then, at about 21/2 hours, the battery icon just went down to above half, meaning it will stay there for another thirty to forty minutes at least. Then the second half goes down much faster than the first half, making the total time about 5 hours. And that's about it. The iPod definitely deserves a five star rating, and I hope apple keeps coming out with these amazing inventions. Two thumbs up to Apple Computer.
Rating: Summary: ...And it plays mp3's too! Review: Wow. And I was expecting a regular mp3 player with a lot of space. This thing is absolutely amazing. To be able to navigate through thousands of songs by name, album, or artist is so convenient. Not to mention the games, the planner, and the ability to use the hard drive as computer storage. The ipod has completely revolutionized the way i listen to music. No more messing with cd's or only choosing a certain selection of songs for a portable device. The 20 Gb ipod has enough space to suit a DJ. I have put all of my cd's on there, so when i want to listen to one, i just grab my ipod. The sound quality is amazing. Don't let that "near CD quality" statement on the box fool you into thinking it has that 128 kps raunchiness as most mp3 players. The quality of sounds, especially when you use the ipod headphones, is better than any conventional cd player. Bottom line: if you're thinking about gettin an ipod, go for it. I recommend going for this one; the 20 Gb model, because it comes with all the necessary accessories (with the exception of a adapter. If you don't have firewire, make sure you get one of those) If you get the 15, you'll end up spending the $400 this one costs after buying all of the accessories, and the 40 is just overkill. I can't see myself ever using more than 10 Gb. If you are thinking of getting a mini, don't. People are supposedly having problems with them. Wait until Apple has worked all of the kinks out. Plain and simple; the ipod is the mp3 player to get and the 20 Gb is the ipod to get. I just got mine after breaking my minidisk player (what a pain that was!) and i'm glad i did.
Rating: Summary: iPod Pro's/Con's Review: The iPod is an excellent technoligical advance in the field of portable digital music. The iPod started the revolutionary idea of portable jukeboxes made by other companies. So, why not go with the original? Features: Portability; lightweight, sleek design attractive Storage; depending upon which model you chose, you will have more than plenty room for your music collection. Clarity; Sound is crisp and clear Menus; Easy user interface to navigate to artists/songs/albums Disadvantages: Battery Life; Up to 8 hours if your lucky. Backlight drains much of it. It is able to be turned off to conserve battery life. iTunes; Terrible operating system for managing your music. The iPod works on an "Update every time you connect it" basis. The iPod is updated with the songs in your iTunes library. I was hoping I could add music to the iPod and delete the songs from my hard drive afterward. If the song isn't in your library when its connected, the song will be removed from the iPod. Although the iPod has a few flaws, it is definitely a good idea for any previous CD player user. Wrap up: Good Mp3 player, crisp clear sound. Sleek looking design with backlight and buttonless interface. Bad battery life, bad software.
Rating: Summary: iPod: What else could you want in life? Review: I got my 20GB iPod yesterday, and everything works perfectly. My 855 song library downloaded in about 3 minutes. This device is amazing. The dock is okay cause it makes it stand up and not get scratched on the desk but it's hard to use while it's it at that angle. I don't use the remote very much because you can't change from playlist to playlist with it. By the way I do use a mac, so if some of you windows users are wondering how everything went so flawless with mine, there's the answer. Do not buy one if you have a PC. iPod's are made by apple and they don't let PC users get away with staying with a bad computer and using apple's amazing creations. Get a mac, get iTunes, and then get an iPod, and you will not be sorry. I mean it.
Rating: Summary: Perfect Digital Music Player Review: Simply the best MP3 player made in yet. Beats anything by IRiver, Creative, Dell or any company. Apple has created the sleekest product in electronics history. Its a sweet shiny white and chrome machine that fits in the palm in your hand. There are absolutely no buttons to press on an iPod, everything is touch-enabled which is much much better and easier to navigate. You won't have to worry about buttons wearing away over time. Plus, its design is so damn cool its not funny. The 20GB model is not a great as a deal as the 40 but its still better than the 15GB because it comes with an inline remote control and an iPod dock (very necessary). You must install iTunes in order to use iPod. Nevertheless, iTunes is the best music player for the PC yet. 100x better than Windows Media Player, and nearly 1000x times better than the old school WinAmp. iTunes has better playlists, better methods of organizing music, and a much much more simpler design than anything out. iTunes is as a sleek program as the iPod is an MP3 player. Why is iPod so expensive? Its because of its near CD sound quality. All the non Apple MP3 players tend to distort music quality to a VERY noticeable level. Do not choose to buy one of those 60GB MP3 players for like $200, they have horrible sound quality and klunky design. Why did I give this product 4 stars? Its only because Apple's iPods cannot hold a charge after near 18 months of use. Meaning you need to get the ENTIRE IPOD replaced by apple, for $100. However, you can get the extended warranty from the AppleCare Protection Plan and it'll cover you for 24 months, which is a good deal. Don't hold out because of this tho, because if you're buying such a product, you should take care of it. Hail to the iPod and a new generation of portable music!
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