[austonia]

OK, Finally got an iPod 30gb today from Dell after 2 months of waiting. I guess they are in high demand? For $100 off retail, I was willing to wait. I forgot how small they after playing only with the chunky NJB3 for the last month. Not much bigger than most flash-based players.

When I first connected it to my PC I had to quick-format it to FAT32 before I could copy files onto it. Strange, as this step was nowhere in the small manual. I downloaded the updated version of Ephpod and it works great. No need to ever use that horrible MusicMatch thing.

On the new iPod, I like the configurable menu a lot. Everything else is fluff for me. AAC isn't useful for PC users. The new playlist feature I won't use much, my NJB3 allready has that. Usually, I like to play one artist or one album at a time instead of queing up. The new touch-sensitive buttons and layout are OK, though I wonder about the purpose of the change from the old layout. The new games are a small improvement (over Pong) from the old one, but big deal, i just want it to play music.

Which I think, is still the iPod's appeal over all the newer DAPs. We know iRiver, Phillips, RCA, Samsung, Rio, etc are coming out with a new players over the next few months, mostly focusing on added features to draw attention away from iPod. Major new features will include Radio, FM Transmit, onboard File Management, & Recording/Encoding. And, some will just look cool, like that new Phillips HDD100, yahhhh. But realistically, I and many other people probably won't use the extra features much. I have an MP3 player so I don't have to listen to radio. FM Transmitters sound like crap in your car stereo, not much you can do about that. Encoding is better done on the PC with EAC/LAME. Recording live events (like concerts) is an interesting possibility, but considering all the bouncing around I usually do, a flash-based player (like the Ripflash or iRiver "Craft" series) would be a better choice. iPod is simple, efficient. It just plays music.

iPod 30gb will remain the highest-capacity ultra-portable for the time being. The other upcoming players of this size max out at 10gb or 15gb. Players using 2.5" laptop drives can store more, but have greater power requirements and need larger housing. The size difference doesn't seem like much at first, you can still fit an Odyssey or Zen in your pocket, but they feel very chunky in comparison. iPod feels like a small cell phone in the pocket, no problem.

It's not all good, of course. The bad thing about new iPod is battery life. I will have to test it but 7 hours is what I'm expecting. If I want to travel with it, I'll have to buy that Belkin battery back that uses 4 AA's to power it an additional 15-20 hours. This is actually an excellent solution for traveling since you could keep feeding it AA's instead of waiting by an AC outlet for hours during recharge. The other players may go 10-15 hours, but then what? The other nasty thing about iPod is the stainless steel backside, which gets scratched if you just look at it the wrong way. It looks great out of the box, but not for long...

I havn't even had a chance to test its power output yet, but as long as its equivalent to the old iPod, it should be fine. My old iPod 10gb can drive Koss KSC-35 and Ety ER4P, easy.

Anyway, that's enough, just sharing some thoughts...

 

[andrzejpw]

Very interesting thoughts about the player austonia, thanks! I'm hoping to get a 10 gig ipod in the next few weeks. The nature of the case has me worried a bit. I want all of my gear to be in top shape. I'm looking at cases right now. . .

 

[Murasame]

thx austonia, but how about the sound quality comparing with the NJB3?

well, for me "playing just music" isn't enough,
one or two years ago yes, but not now anymore.

 

[austonia]

Quote:

Originally posted by Omega thx austonia, but how about the sound quality comparing with the NJB3?

good idea. I'll try to do a head-to-head test and see if either one has sonic superiority.

Quote:

well, for me "playing just music" isn't enough, one or two years ago yes, but not now anymore.

many people feel the same way. iRiver, Samsung, Rio, Phillips, RCA, and Archos are all banking on the same principle.

These other companies will try to beat iPod on both features and price. For instance, the new Phillips HDD100 is a 15gb player about the same size as iPod, and the same price as iPod 15gb ($400), BUT inlcuding radio, recording/encoding functions (in addition to all the things iPod can do), and improved battey life. Still, even in this case, iPod has a few advantages - a dock with Line-Out, accessories, more codecs supported (AAC), free 3rd party software (EphPod), and if you want to spend more - larger capacities like the 30gb model.

Not to mention, Apple is 2 years into this technology and iPod is a well established piece of engineering. Bugs have allready been ironed out for the most part. These new players have yet to be proven.

Don't get me wrong, I think the new iRiver IHP100 and the upcoming Phillips HDD100 are very cool and worthy of the same consideration. But iPod continues to be a good choice if you just want to play music and not muck about with the device too much.

 

[torchedlh]

i can't wait to get my 10gb with dock. i should get it today. i'll be sure to add my mini review here.

 

[Rumz]

Austonia, how hard is it to unhide the iPod's music folder(s), and if you do so can you drag and drop music files onto the iPod? I'm really weary of having to use ephpod or musicmatch (or even iTunes) to transfer music to a portable device, simply because I use multiple machines (for example, I might rip a CD to mp3 at work and want to just drop it onto the iPod while I’m here, while other CDs will be ripped on my PC at home or on my laptop). I’d rather just use it like a hard drive… if I understand correctly this may be enabled on the iRiver (drag and drop music copying). Just curious about how hard it is on the iPod…

 

[usc goose]

it's easy. just set explorer to show hidden files. but the interface programs work is they condense the filenames for faster access since iPod reads the ID3 tags for display anyways. you can just use windows explorer to music manage if you want to, but i like ephpod just fine. (you can also set ephpod to not compact the file names in case you want to transfer files between computers more easily or whatever)

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Originally posted by usc goose it's easy. just set explorer to show hidden files. but the interface programs work is they condense the filenames for faster access since iPod reads the ID3 tags for display anyways. you can just use windows explorer to music manage if you want to, but i like ephpod just fine. (you can also set ephpod to not compact the file names in case you want to transfer files between computers more easily or whatever)

My iPod has a few problems and has gone back to Apple for repair so I can't try it, but how much slower does this make the catalogue browsing?

 

[austonia]

Quote:

Originally posted by usc goose it's easy. just set explorer to show hidden files. but the interface programs work is they condense the filenames for faster access since iPod reads the ID3 tags for display anyways. you can just use windows explorer to music manage if you want to, but i like ephpod just fine. (you can also set ephpod to not compact the file names in case you want to transfer files between computers more easily or whatever)

woh. I never heard of this. I thought you HAD to use Ephpod because it builds the player database. hmm, i'll check it out

 

[Rumz]

usc goose-- thanks for the info. So basically you could use ephpod for your primary computer (the one that would host most your mp3s) and use drag and drop for other locations for convenience? Not a bad way to go...

 

[austonia]

As you may notice, the Apple 30gb is actually 27gb of usuable storage... 10% difference, not honest advertising.

27gb holds about 3500-4000 tracks using MP3's that are built with EAC/LAME -APS or -APX.

 

[fractus2]

Quote:

Originally posted by austonia If I want to travel with it, I'll have to buy that Belkin battery back that uses 4 AA's to power it an additional 15-20 hours. This is actually an excellent solution for traveling since you could keep feeding it AA's instead of waiting by an AC outlet for hours during recharge.

Will this Belkin battery pack work with an earlier 10g iPod and if so where can you get one?

 

[fractus2]

Quote:

Originally posted by fractus2 Will this Belkin battery pack work with an earlier 10g iPod and if so where can you get one?

I guess not...

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProdu...duct_Id=148969

 

[torchedlh]

Quote:

Originally posted by austonia ...had a pretty significant problem today. after loading it up with 27gb of music, i took it off the base and tried to use it but it gave a file system error every time. wouldn't even boot up. Remember I had originally formatted iPod using Windows Explorer so that Ephpod could "see" it. I was suspecting that must not have been the right way to do it since it doesn't mention that step in the book. I used the Apple Updater and tried to update or restore but it said it would have to reformat the iPod. Losing all the mp3's. UGG. So, trying everything else, i eventually had to do that. Works OK now after using the Apple Updater to restore. Now the task of loading 27gb again.. yay As you may notice, the Apple 30gb is actually 27gb of usuable storage... 10% difference, not honest advertising. 27gb holds about 3500-4000 tracks using MP3's that are built with EAC/LAME -APS or -APX.

why didnt' you format it using the included software?

anyway, the rated 30gb is before formatting. and as you know, all hard drives are never the what they're spec'ed to be anyway.

 

[Suedama]

I've had the 30G model for a while now. I think that the only issue I have with it is the battery life. It's one of those devices that you will just have to tether to the recharger routinely every night. Make sure you use the hold button when you are listening to things. Otherwise, every time you brush against one of those very sensitive buttons you will cause some disc activity, i.e., battery drainage, to take place.

The earplugs supplied are not a type that I am comfortable with. (These are the type that kinda go in your ear sideways.) What is the design attraction of these?