Apple iPod Photo (30GB)

May 29, 2005 04:33
Excellent
2.0/5
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!)

- toodvs4ne1

May 10, 2005 08:10

5.0/5
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.

- bluntedboy

April 14, 2005 09:43

3.5/5
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.

- mouseclick

March 7, 2005 10:47

4.0/5
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 amazon.com (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!

- plecky

June 21, 2005 02:48
Spectacular
2.5/5
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.

- DCizzle

June 9, 2005 02:22

4.5/5
I did tons of research on MP3 players - even bought an iRiver H10 20gb player for awhile. I strongly resisted the iPod. I don't like Apple's "closed" platform, and I didn't want to be a lemming buying a fad item. Turns out the iPod actually deserves its reputation. It blows away the iRiver in terms of color and ease of use and just plain look and feel.

The BIGGEST thing is that the iPod has become more than an MP3 player - it is a PLATFORM. This means tons of accessories and hacks and a huge community out there for support. Conside that you can install an iCruze from Monster in your car and have full control of the iPod using your car stereos controls. Try that with ANY other player. There is probably NEVER going to be an "iPod killer" - it's got too much steam. Eventually, maybe some other manufacturer will build a LINE of good players that thrid parties will accept enough to build accessories for. Very hard to imagine right now, but...

The sound is good; it has some good presets for EQ; and I hooked them up to some Logitech Z-2300 2.1 speakers/subwoofer PC speakers and it kicked buns, big time. I really like seeing the album cover art while playing music; the interface is very slick and intuitive and easy on the eyes. I haven't seen any other GUI on an MP3 player that matches the iPod - and how could they? Apple is reknown for their user interface design. This is just an extension of it.

The big problem now is sync'ing it with my Windows Media Player 10, which I use for MCE 2005 PC I have attached to my living room TV...

Just get over your fear and loathing and buy it - you won't be disappointed.

- ezryder2

April 21, 2005 03:04
Good
1.5/5
so the hype about iPods have circulated around the nation but think about it...350 bucks for 30 GBs and color. after a year and a half...another 100 so 450 for about 3 years worth. so unbelievable easy to get dirty that iPod users go nuts over smudges. I love going up to iPod users and saying...hey, can i see that? and they're just like sure...and next thing u kno...their ears are being blasted bcuz of how easy it is to raise the volume. the touchpad needs getting used to because of the sensitivity...no point of playing games or stuff...no way to adjust sensitivity...and just so expensive. what makes an ipod better than the zen micro? a circle? bcuz it'z white? bcuz there might be your favorite fruit on the back? there's not really a good clear reason. of course u can say it'z user opinion...but who has actually tried somthing else FIRST and then go to the iPod and say how awesome the iPod is compared to it. if u haven't...u don't kno better and there's no point in flaunting how awesome it is bcuz u think you kno...but you have no idea

- theabchotdawg

June 5, 2005 05:58
Terrible
0.5/5
i wonder why cnet always insist of having this ipod on the editors choice... if you review this system there a whole lot more to see on its cons which they didnt mention... something thats being said as cons on other player is in IPOD except the sleek design... the scroll wheel looks good yet its kinda annying to move your finger up and down most of the time.. the remote control wont even tell you which number of song you are or any of those in iriver or cowon, yet still it manage to get top reviews.... by the way im not an IPOD hater, i honestly have ipod U2 which is pretty cool but i regret it too much when i saw my friends i audio x5.. anyway i bought my own i audio x5 too... =) but i hope next time cnet would give any mp3 players fair reviews... no FM , no voice recording, and some other format are not available on this file.... this player could be 7 the most..

- dod713

June 21, 2005 05:21
Good
1.5/5
I dont understand how CNET can give this player an Editor's Choice rating. That is such BS! Apple must give CNET kickbacks or funding for such a rating! If this so-called editor knows anything about MP3 players, any audiophile can tell you that the OGG format is better than the MP3 format, yet the iPod fails to support it. This alone should be reason enough to not give the iPod an Editor's Choice rating. Plus, all of the other reasons under the "Cons" that I listed should be reason enough to not give the iPod the rating that CNET gave it.

- rolla88

June 21, 2005 03:13

4.5/5
It's much better than the 20 gb ipod, with a crisp, color display. A cover is needed so it won't scratch, but the sound and everything else is wonderful.

Have wma's? Don't worry! With the new iTunes software you can convert your wma's into mp3's to put them onto the iPod. It's the best player out there... deffinetly!

- digitalman405