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"No Problems Here" on by HalfWatt
Pros: Vivid screen, battery, storage capacity
Cons: scratches easily, needs a protective case
Summary: I have had two Ipods. The first one lasted for two years(Zero Problems), then I dropped it in the gym, and that was it for that one. That is why you need some kind of protective case, the price of repair on these things is almost as much as a new one. The Ipod I have now is about a year old(Zero Problems). I have read the other negative reviews, and I believe for the most part it is operator error. Yes, you do have to use iTunes to transfer music, videos, etc.. to your Ipod. However you do not have to buy all(or any) of your music through the iTunes Store.
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"A well rounded MP3 player with a video touch" on by Jotas
Pros: Large capacity for the price, Easy to use click wheel/navigation, sharp bright LCD, Tons of accessories!
Cons: Limited to iTunes software/store. Video usage and viewing is over hyped
Summary: Well what can I say. After purchasing a 4GB Nano as a gift, I took the plunge myself and ended up purchasing this 30GB 5th Gen iPod.
Well I'm not disappointed and have been able to import a lot of my music and have only made a slight dent to the hard drive capacity. Since I joined a gym I purchased a carrying case with a belt clip and arm strap. I also ended up purchasing the FM tuner adapter not for the FM tuner itself but for the control features it offers.
I'm used to the PSP controls being accessible via the similar interface that it used to come with. I love the iPod for it's sleek look and of course for the tons of accessories that are available for it.
On the negative side, the video option is over hyped. I am not sure who would like to sit on a plane looking at a wide screen movie on a tiny LCD screen. On a PSP this is doable and not exhausting. On the iPod it's not the best option. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice option to view quick clips like skits, and music videos but that's about it.
Overall you will not go wrong with this latest incarnation of the iPod. For the next gen of the iPod I would like to see illuminated control buttons on the click wheel and also a less scratch resistance but shiny face/screen. In addition a USB power adapter would be nice for the amount your spending. -
"Does What Its Designed To Do - Play Music!" on by ajtrek
Pros: Very Nice Toy - Lots of Available Accessories
Cons: No Built -in FM Radio - Scratches Easily - Poor Documentation
Summary: O.K….I guess I’ll throw in my two cents worth of opinion. My first choice was the Creative Zen Vision 30G. Lot’s of features and good reviews. I bought the iPod Nano for my girlfriend before buying the Creative Zen. Since I’m the techie I learned how to use it so I could pass along the knowledge to her (I’m such a nice guy). By now you know my secret…this was my first MP3 player (kind’ a) I’ll explain later.
As I said…I’d read all the reviews about the Creative Zen and therefore decided to get it for myself. The deal breaker for me was that it scratched just by looking at it (Okay maybe not that easily)…but scratches it took with very little effort. I purchased a DLO case that fit so tight that the function buttons on the Zen were in a constant state of depression which affected its operation. Lastly, the touch pad (as I call it) was jittery and just didn’t have the same precision of the Nano’s click wheel. Bottom-line, I returned the Zen for the iPod Video 30G.
I mentioned that the iPod was my first MP3 player…kind’ a. Truth is I own a Sony PSP that I’ve download music to. However, the PSP is a portable game/video device first and a MP3 player second. The iPod is a MP3 player first and a portable game/video device second. You gotta know (and accept) the limitations of the devices you own. If you want to watch videos and play games get a PSP. If you want to listen to music get an iPod. I recommend the Sony MDR-EX90LP ear buds…about $100 list.
I haven’t owned my iPod for very long so I haven’t experienced the problems listed by other reviewers within two or eight weeks. Although, I wonder if the issues stem from frustration (a lack of knowledge) and/or abuse? I recommend the following book that retails for about $20 and offers a wealth of knowledge about the iPod (including the Nano and the Shuffle) entitled “The iPod Book” by Scott Kelby. Remember, the iPod 30G is not a flash drive like the Nano or Shuffle. It (iPod 30G) operates much in the same way as the hard drive on your computer…so take care not to throw it around like a brick.
Maybe Apple (without jack’n up the price for the next generation iPod) will consider a built-in FM radio, a real equalizer and a cool color screen (with better resolution) for those of you who insist upon using it as a video/game player…much like the Zen. But for now the iPod gets my overall vote. -
"They've had generations to improve, but..." on by fattytca
Pros: Bright, beautiful screen for photos, lots of memory
Cons: Restrictive iTunes, not intuitive, limited instructions on how to operate
Summary: I picked this iPod because I decided that although there are less expensive models from other manufacturers, the iPod is the benchmark and has the best/most plentiful peripherals.
The player is fine - it does what it is supposed to, but the interaction was odd to me, not being a Mac guy.
Examples, I plugged the iPod into my PC and the screen started flashing this ominous circle with a cross through it warning about "Do not disconnect."
So I waited it out, figuring it would stop after it charged fully...?
No, it always says that when it's plugged in.
You also cannot access anything directly FROM the unit while it's plugged in. It just flashes that screen as if it's locked.
But my biggest beef is with the iTunes software
#1 I'm ripping all of my CD's to the harddrive so I can have MP3's... I have hundreds of CD's, and unfortunately, being able to quickly tell which cd's I ripped is tough since iTunes quickly catalogues them - not by time ripped, but by artist, album name, etc... which is fine, but if you are doing many sessions of ripping, keeping track is hard...
#2 There is an area where you drag the songs you ripped to iTunes to your iPod... I guess that's intuitive enough... there is the same thing for video, okay, I get it... but not one for photos? Why not? That's more complicated?
#3 BIGGEST BEEF - You are forced to "Sync" with a folder of your songs... so in other words, if you are ripping cd's, you put them on your harddrive first... then you put them onto the iPod... that's fine - then you must KEEP them on the harddrive or risk having them erased from the iPod the next time you "Sync" to the computer to add more songs.
Sure there's an option to manually push songs over instead of the auto sync, but that's one button push away from wiping out all of the songs you just put on the harddrive... Try cleaning out your harddrive of those 30GB of music and all of a sudden you may have wiped out your songs.
(This is where all of the idiots put their comment in on - "if you're rich enough to buy an iPod, then you're rich enough to buy an external harddrive for your songs.")
Well, I don't want to hold onto those songs on the harddrive! I already have "hard copies" in cd format and a digital copy on my iPod!
It seems to me that removing songs from your iPod should not be the default that Apple forces us into! It should be an exception! So Apple got it wrong there.
But on the whole it's fine: a nice mp3 player with a ton of storage and a brighter screen than I expected that displays gorgeous pictures.
Since it did what I thought it would do: Play music adequately, that gets an average rating of 5/10
Since it impressed me with its screen, I'll give that part an above average of 9/10
Since the software and instructions are so poor, I'll give that a below average of 2/10
That rounds out to about a 5/10. -
"a really nice unit" on by vabucki
Pros: Good display, easy to use
Cons: none that i can think of
Summary: easy to load music, video & pictures. took no time at all to learn the mechanics of the unit. i do miss the FM radio on my old mp3 player but i'm sure i'll get over it.
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