*Official* iPod thread - all iPod discussion in here

[marcus]

Makes sense to put the numerous iPod threads into the one for the time being.

Feel free to post anything and everything to do with Apples little beauty in here.

Additional threads may be removed.

[Square]

I *heart* my iPod. Today I spent 20 minutes cleaning it.

Then my manager came in with his 20GB iPod and demonstrated an iPod amplifier that Apple have just made available. It's like an enlarged dock with speakers, although I have to say, the bass it was producing was as weak as a 2 day old kitten.

Can anyone tell me what I would need to hook up a pod to a regular amp?

[Soi]

I've got back into music since I got one.

You could use the line out socket on the dock. I've used that with a 3.5mm -> two phono cable to connect to my hifi. Or you could do the same thing, but connect the 3.5mm -> two phono cable to the head phone socket of the ipod.

I prefer to have my lap top connected to the hifi instead, and play songs via itunes. Only because creating playlists etc is easier via the lap top.

[Square]

Cheers for that Soi. Any idea where I could get a cable like that on the High Street?

[marcus]

Anywhere like Maplins should sell that for a couple of quid, its a very common lead.

[dataDave]

What's all the fuss about these iPods? Aren't they just Apple MP3 players with tons of space?

Seems everyone on here's got one - am I missing something special?

[nips]

No you're not missing anything. They're just pretty damn good. They've got loads of space, but not as much as the newer MP3 players from Creative for example. But they are really small and light. They look really good and the screen is a really high quality. The Music interfacer type thing iTunes is really good and makes synching or whatever it is called really easy. The scroll wheel and touch sensitive buttons are really good. It makes the machine feel of a higher quality and reduces the chances of it breaking.

On the down side, they are too 'cool' and instantly recognisable (imho). They scratch all the time, everywhere. I use it when I go running or to the gym and it's just got scratched to **** in that time (even in the case). The battery life is awful. 12 hours would be great, but 8 hours just isn't enough. But it's not too bad I suppose. They cost an arm and a leg, but over all, it's worth it.

I could never go back to the clumpy awkwardness of my Creative Zen. But I don't know what the new ones are like.

The Creative MuVo looks good. 4gb of space, really small, and a 14 hour battery life. I may pick one fo those up if I see it cheap. I'd use that for day trips. But for general use, nothing beats the iPod.

MP3 players really got me back into music as well. They make me want to buy more CDs to copy to it. Potentially they could revitalise the Music Market.

[dataDave]

Hmm. I'll suffice by simply keeping a small percentage of my CD collection in my car.

I'd probably want one if I didn't drive however.

[AllYourBase]

What are the thoughts on iPod mini? I have a 256mb memory stick mp3 player for the gym, but I was thinking about getting one of these little iPods after their UK release in April to replace that..... might I be better off waiting until xmas to pick one up a bit cheaper?

Or are you all gonna tell me to forget iPod mini and get a 15GB iPod now?

[Firsty]

Forget iPod mini.
$50 gets you 11 GB extra.
And it looks ****...

[Hodge]

I was all for getting an ipod but with most of the music i listen to consisting of mix cd`s mp3 players are useless at playing these. It`s no fault of the ipod it`s just the way that mp3 are encoded that they leave a slight pause at the end of the track so there will be a slight pause between the mix of tracks which would become highly annoying. There are ways around it but it`s to much hassle to do at the end of the day. Thats why i prefer wma as to mp3 as it eliminates this problem. Shame the ipod doesn`t support wma or i would of gone for one.

[Kirby]

I was all for getting an ipod but with most of the music i listen to consisting of mix cd`s mp3 players are useless at playing these. It`s no fault of the ipod it`s just the way that mp3 are encoded that they leave a slight pause at the end of the track so there will be a slight pause between the mix of tracks which would become highly annoying. There are ways around it but it`s to much hassle to do at the end of the day. Thats why i prefer wma as to mp3 as it eliminates this problem. Shame the ipod doesn`t support wma or i would of gone for one.

Also they cant read cue sheets which is a bit of a pain in the arse.

I've had my iPod for about a month now and it has proven quite useful, but i'm not in love with it like some owners!.

Quite frankly I'm rather dubious as to the spurious claims about brilliant sound quality. With the Apple earphones it sounds pretty ropey, with a pair of Senheiser MX500s it sounds better but the volume is too low. Plus it seems to have really bad bass response on any headphones - quite a flat sound and the EQ is ****.

Personally i dont think it sounds anywhere near as good as my MD player, in fact my MD player sounds better with the standard Sony earphones it came with, however this problem is obviously outweighed by having access to 20Gb of my music at any given time

All my MP3s are encoded with LAME -ape and the less said about the encoder that comes with iTunes the better.

[AllYourBase]

Forget iPod mini.
$50 gets you 11 GB extra.
And it looks ****...

I think it looks better personally? The only thing is the extra storage with the 15GB iPods, which are 40% bigger. Hmmmmm

[Square]

I don't like the design of those mini iPods at all. The whole look of the unit is ruined by adding colour.

[?pint]

But most of all, the iPod makes funky ass clicking sounds whenever you press a button, move the scroll thingy etc .