iPod--full review
So yesterday I got the newly-updated 5th generation 80 GB black iPod, and so far I really like it.
First of all, it looks amazing. The black iPod is one of the coolest-looking things ever. Apple really takes the cake on this one. The white iPod is good-looking, but the black (in my opinion) is beyond words. The screen is dazzling. It comes automatically set to halfway brightness, and you can raise and lower it as you please. It hurts my eyes when the brighness is all the way up, so I keep it halfway. I'm sure the brightness will come in handy in situations with more light.
The feel is nice. The thickness of the 80 GB is a good, solid thickness. I love the classic, flat front surface. The headphone jack is in an odd position (over to the right), and I don't really know if I like it there. It certainly looks cool, but I have to actually hold the iPod a bit more firmly when inserting my headphones, unlike before when I could just stick them in. The clickwheel is also a little bit awkward, since it's slightly smaller than previous clickwheels, and the center button is flat instead of raised. I can't really feel my way around it as easily, and it really made me see how much I used that raised center button as a reference point. I'm sure I'll get used to it though. The clicking response is good, though the forward skip button's click is duller and softer than the other four controls. Not a major setback though.
The song transfer rate is significantly slower than my previous iPods. It took almost all night for my iPod to transfer my 3607-song library (and a few short videos) onto itself. I haven't put any pictures on there, as I don't see any point in doing so (I never really utilized that feature on my old one). So that's a bit of a pain.
The new software is pretty cool. I like the letter scrolling feature, though it's a bit jumpy. The iPod is generally slower than the previous generations. The stopwatch works well, and the world clocks are pretty cool too. The search is pretty effective, though it may not be all that useful, as it takes a little while to punch it in. The screen lock feature is great, and will probably actually come in handy for me in my effort to keep my pesky siblings from using it when I'm not around.
The video playback is, of course, spectacular. Again, the screen is what makes it. It's really clear, crisp, and very comfortable to stare at for long periods of time. The battery life is really great, and is hardly effected playing music with no backlight (my backlight timer is set to 2 seconds). The video tends to suck it up a bit, although playing video on this iPod takes about the same amount of charge as music did in my previous iPod. So it's all good.
Finally, and most importantly, the sound quality is better than ever. My last iPod had a problem with music that had deep, resounding bass (usually classical pieces), causing a weird, annoying, cloudy buzz. It's hard to describe. But it was annoying. This one, however, plays these same songs beautifully and clearly. The gapless playback is truly gapless, might I add. This is especially convenient for classical pieces and recordings of live performances. It's come a long way from the tinny, shallow sound of the 3rd Generation iPod.
I'm happy with my purchase. I think I'll be sticking this one for a few years, just as long as it sticks with me. You'll all get acquainted with it on Monday, I'm sure:).
First of all, it looks amazing. The black iPod is one of the coolest-looking things ever. Apple really takes the cake on this one. The white iPod is good-looking, but the black (in my opinion) is beyond words. The screen is dazzling. It comes automatically set to halfway brightness, and you can raise and lower it as you please. It hurts my eyes when the brighness is all the way up, so I keep it halfway. I'm sure the brightness will come in handy in situations with more light.
The feel is nice. The thickness of the 80 GB is a good, solid thickness. I love the classic, flat front surface. The headphone jack is in an odd position (over to the right), and I don't really know if I like it there. It certainly looks cool, but I have to actually hold the iPod a bit more firmly when inserting my headphones, unlike before when I could just stick them in. The clickwheel is also a little bit awkward, since it's slightly smaller than previous clickwheels, and the center button is flat instead of raised. I can't really feel my way around it as easily, and it really made me see how much I used that raised center button as a reference point. I'm sure I'll get used to it though. The clicking response is good, though the forward skip button's click is duller and softer than the other four controls. Not a major setback though.
The song transfer rate is significantly slower than my previous iPods. It took almost all night for my iPod to transfer my 3607-song library (and a few short videos) onto itself. I haven't put any pictures on there, as I don't see any point in doing so (I never really utilized that feature on my old one). So that's a bit of a pain.
The new software is pretty cool. I like the letter scrolling feature, though it's a bit jumpy. The iPod is generally slower than the previous generations. The stopwatch works well, and the world clocks are pretty cool too. The search is pretty effective, though it may not be all that useful, as it takes a little while to punch it in. The screen lock feature is great, and will probably actually come in handy for me in my effort to keep my pesky siblings from using it when I'm not around.
The video playback is, of course, spectacular. Again, the screen is what makes it. It's really clear, crisp, and very comfortable to stare at for long periods of time. The battery life is really great, and is hardly effected playing music with no backlight (my backlight timer is set to 2 seconds). The video tends to suck it up a bit, although playing video on this iPod takes about the same amount of charge as music did in my previous iPod. So it's all good.
Finally, and most importantly, the sound quality is better than ever. My last iPod had a problem with music that had deep, resounding bass (usually classical pieces), causing a weird, annoying, cloudy buzz. It's hard to describe. But it was annoying. This one, however, plays these same songs beautifully and clearly. The gapless playback is truly gapless, might I add. This is especially convenient for classical pieces and recordings of live performances. It's come a long way from the tinny, shallow sound of the 3rd Generation iPod.
I'm happy with my purchase. I think I'll be sticking this one for a few years, just as long as it sticks with me. You'll all get acquainted with it on Monday, I'm sure:).
posted by John Mark at 9:37 PM
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