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| A device that any true audiophile will covet, the iPod is sure to generate "oohs" and "aahs" from anyone who has the pleasure of laying his eyes on it.
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| With a storage capacity of a whopping 30 GB (yes, you read that right!), this baby confirms to the "fill it, shut it, forget it" funda; as you do not need to worry about updating the stored music once you have filled it to capacity with your favourite ones.
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| Whether you can find enough songs to fill the iPod to capacity is a different story altogether.
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| The Player
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| One of the lightest and smallest hard drive based MP3 players available, the iPod sports a rounded-edge design that is aesthetically pleasing, though some may call it plain at first glance. But this will surely change once the backlight is switched on.
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| Weighing 176 gm, the iPod measures 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.73 inches, and sports a plain white front panel, while the back features a stainless steel finish. The greyscale LCD on the front panel measures 2 inches diagonally and has a resolution of 160x128 pixels with a bluish-white backlight.
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| The front panel also features a rotary wheel (that does not spin) and five buttons for controlling the player. All these controls, including the scrollwheel are touch-sensitive and respond to a light touch of your fingers.
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| In fact, the only moving part on the device is a hold button on the top, which prevents accidental activation of the buttons.
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| The four buttons lined horizontally between the screen and the scrollwheel are used for rewind, menu, play/pause, and forward respectively, while the fifth button is placed in the centre of the scrollwheel and functions as the enter/select key.
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| The menu button also takes moves you one level up while navigating. All buttons and the scrollwheel are designed for one-handed operation and can be reached with the thumb while holding the device in the palm of your hand.
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| Apart from the 30GB model we tested, the Apple iPod is also available in 10GB and 15GB storage capacities. The 15GB and the 30GB models ship with a wired remote control, a docking cradle and a carry case.
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| The remote can be clipped to cloth and incorporates play/pause, previous, next, and volume controls apart from a hold switch that performs the same function as the one on the player. This and the 25-minute skip protection ensure that the iPod can be the perfect jogging companion.
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| As far as connectivity goes, a FireWire (IEEE1394) cable that connects directly to the iPod or to the docking cradle is included. A 6-pin to 4-pin FireWire adaptor is also bundled.
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| If your Windows PC does not have a FireWire port, you need to purchase an optional USB cable or install a compatible FireWire card. USB 2.0 support for the iPod should be available June 2003 onwards.
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| On the software front, iTunes and MusicMatch software is provided on a CD for Mac and Windows users, respectively.
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| The iPod is powered by an internal lithium-ion battery that can be charged using the power adaptor included. The battery also charges when you connect the device to a Mac or Windows PC using the 6-pin FireWire connector, but not if you do so using a USB cable.
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| Features
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| The 30GB hard drive in the iPod can store approximately 7500 songs at 4 minutes per song encoded at 128 Kbps MP3 or AAC formats. That translates into 500 hours or about 3 weeks of continuous playback.
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| All settings are controlled from the main menu, and you can browse by playlist, album, artist, composer, genre or song. The main menu can be customised and so can the backlight time, and the screen contrast.
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| There is support for 15 different languages, and you can choose between 20 equalizer settings to enhance your listening pleasure.
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| While you need to create playlists on your computer before transferring them to the iPod, a feature called "On the Go" playlist allows you to create a playlist of your favourite songs directly on the device.
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| Just press and hold the enter button while browsing and the selected song or album is added to the "On the Go" playlist. A "Smart Playlist" feature allows you to rate songs on a scale of 1 to 5.
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| This can help you create playlists automatically using iTunes and higher rated songs play more frequently when the shuffle mode is on.
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| The software (iTunes on Mac and MusicMatch on Windows) is launched when you connect the iPod to your computer, and the songs and playlists sync automatically.
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| You can also set the software to do so manually. The software lets you convert your CDs to digital format and can also be used to normalise and digitally enhance your music.
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| The iTunes software provides users access to the online iTunes Music Store from where music can be downloaded for 99 cents per tune.
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| You can also use the device as a portable hard drive to transfer any kind of data between different computers. You need to enable the "FireWire disk mode" to do this, after which the iPod shows up as another drive in your computer, and you can transfer data back and forth in the normal way.
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| Not only is this feature useful for transfer of data, you can also play songs directly from the iPod on your computer when it is connected, thus letting you free up precious space on your hard drive.
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| There is a line-out socket on the dock that lets you connect your iPod to a stereo system.
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| The iPod is also packed with some useful extras. You can play one of the three games - Brick, Parachute and Solitaire, and also set an alarm to beep or play the song of your choice.
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| You can also import your contacts, calendar events, to-do lists and view text files on the iPod.
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| As far as formats are concerned, the iPod supports MP3 (up to 320 Kbps), MP3 Variable Bit Rate, AAC, WAV, AA, and AIFF audio file formats. The AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) for Mac is an advanced digital audio format that provides better audio quality in smaller files at higher compression levels than MP3.
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| With AAC, users can fit even more music in the iPod. AA refers to the Audible format for spoken word content and is also supported only on Mac.
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| Using this, you can capture, manage and play content from Audible.com, which provides a subscription-based service in the form of digital spoken versions of over 18000 audiobooks, and radio programs.
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| Performance
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| Starting from the interface, computer connectivity and transferring the music, the iPod is a breeze to use. The accelerated scrolling lets you browse through thousands of songs in a flash.
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| Scrolling through the menu options and music is child's play. The provided earbud-style earphones produce crystal clear music at 30 mW per channel for an immersive experience.
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| You can also use any good stereo headphones for more comfort and better sound output if you are not travelling.
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| Software installation is also fairly simple and the synchronisation is fast. We were able to transfer 1GB worth of songs, using the FireWire cable and a PC running Windows XP and MusicMatch software, in just about 3 minutes.
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| At 5.6 Mbps, this means that if you have enough songs, you can fill your iPod to capacity in about 90 minutes. This is by far the fastest transfer speeds we have seen on a MP3 player yet.
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| The internal battery takes about an hour to charge up to 80 per cent and about 3 to 4 hours to charge fully, and should last you about 6 hours with lots of scrolling and intermittent use of the backlight.
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| Conclusion
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| If you are an audiophile and cannot think of leaving home without music, the Apple iPod is THE portable digital music player to own, no matter if you are a Mac or a Windows user.
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| If you can afford to spend Rs.32,000 that is. The price may seem on the higher side, but when you consider the great music quality, the storage capacity and the extras such as the PIM features and the ability to use it as an external hard drive, the Apple iPod would definitely be worth the price tag.
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| Specifications - 30GB storage capacity, up to 25-minute skip protection; 2-inch (diagonal) greyscale LCD with LED backlight; Dock connector, remote connector, stereo minijack; Audio support for Mac: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 (32 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible(6), AIFF, WAV.
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| Audio support for Windows: MP3 (32 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, WAV. Size: 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.73 inches; Weight: 176 g. Included accessories: Dock, remote, carrying case, earbud headphones, AC adapter, dock connector to FireWire cable and 4-pin-to-6-pin FireWire adapter.
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| Mac requirements: Apple computer with built-in FireWire port; Mac OS X v10.1.5 or later (Mac OS X 10.2 or later recommended); CD includes iTunes(7) for Mac OS X.
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| Windows requirements: PC with built-in FireWire or USB 2.04, or Windows-certified FireWire or USB 2.0 card; Windows Me, Windows 2000 or Windows XP Home or Professional; CD includes MUSICMATCH Jukebox Plus 7.5 software.
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| Performance: 4
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| Build quality: 4.5
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| Value for Money: 3.5
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| Features: 4
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| Overall: 4
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| Grade: A-
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| Price: Rs 32,000/- (10GB & 15GB models are available between Rs 21000 to Rs 26000).
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| Contact: Telecompac Infosys
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| Phone: 011-26688171
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| Fax: 011-26685817
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| In association with ZDNet India |
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