An essential companion for long trips
Written: Jan 15 '03 (Updated Jan 17 '03)
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Pros: 20 gig of very compact, portable storage.
Very easy to use interface
Cons: Pricey.
Case clip a bit weak
The Bottom Line: An essential companion for long trips. I love my iPod. Definitely worth the price.
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| pyleman's Full Review: Apple iPod 2nd Generation 20 GB (MAC) MP3 Player |
When the 5 gig iPod was first released, I knew I wanted one -- as soon as the storage capacity increased. I wanted at least 10 gig of storage, since I have a lot of CDs I have ripped to mp3 format, and also needed to have a buffer of space for file transfer. Since the 20 gig iPod lists for $100 more than the 10 gig model, I decided it was worth "just" $100 to double the storage space. I definitely do not regret this purchase, and absolutely love my 20 gig iPod.
Twenty gig of storage space is enough for quite a lot of music, perhaps more than a casual music listener will need. But remember that the iPod is also a fully functional firewire hard drive, and can be used for file storage and transfer. I generally keep 15-18 gigbytes of music on my iPod (approximately 3,000 songs). I keep a wide range of mp3s on my iPod, from audio books, to bird songs (a great learning aid for birdwatchers), to popular music.
My iPod is constantly with me, and I primarily use it in the car while driving. If you spend much time in a car, you will definitely appreciate the iPod. It was a great asset on a recent 40 hour round-trip drive that I made alone. In fact, even in my truck, which has a CD player capable of reading discs containing mp3s, I use the iPod. Instead of burning CDs and bringing a binder full of discs with me, I simply toss the iPod into my pocket.
Adding music to the iPod is very easy, using the iTunes interface. There is a lot of flexibility in choosing what music to listen to on the iPod. Specific playlists can be created and exported to the iPod, or you can browse your music library by artist, genre, album, etc. I have particularly enjoyed listening to audio books with the iPod, since once the book is loaded, you don't have to worry about changing tapes or CDs as you listen.
You may find that using iTunes and an iPod encourages you to become very picky about the ID3 tags of your mp3 collection, to make managing your music library and playlists easier. ID3 tags store information about individual mp3 files, including things like artist, album, genre, etc. Taking some time when you rip CDs to mp3 format to make sure the tags are to your liking will save lots of time later.
For instance, I like to have all my Beatles mp3s listed as "Beatles, the" for the artist, instead of having some under "The Beatles" and some under "Beatles", so that all Beatles songs are together when I sort by artist. I use Chaotic Software's shareware program MP3 Rage to modify and edit ID3 tags in my collection, and have found it well worth the $25 shareware fee.
I have found the following items to be essential for my style of iPod use, allowing me to use it wherever I am, with whatever equipment is available.
1) A lighter adapter to keep the battery charged on long trips. I use the Griffin Technology PowerPod ($20).
2) A headphone out to dual stereo RCA cable to connect to a home stereo system (pick one up at Radio Shack for $6-10)
3) A cassette adapter to allow you to connect the iPod to a car stereo cassette player ($20 at Radio Shack). Tip: turn the volume up high on the iPod and keep the car stereo volume lower to reduce the amount of hiss from the adapter.
4) A 6' headphone to headphone cable if you have a car stereo which accepts this type of input ($6-10 at Radio shack)
I personally find the iPod earbuds to be fine for casual use. You might want to look into other options if you wear them for extended periods (more than 4 or so hours.) There are a wide range of headphone and earbud styles available from a variety of manufacturers.
I did manage to break the clip on the bundled iPod case after just a few weeks of use. But this hasn't been a major issue for me, as the iPod is generally sitting on my car seat when I'm using it, or in a pocket when I'm not. There are a wide variety of 3rd party case options available, and it shouldn't be difficult to find a case that fits your needs and style of use.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 490
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Epinions.com ID:
pyleman
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Reviews written: 14
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