Electronics : Apple iPod classic 80GB black

Rating: - Excellent with a minor warning
Nothing to fault on the iPod itself, but be ware of purchasing music as you can only listen to music downloaded to a single computer and if you change computers any downloaded purchases can't be listened to on the second computer or synchronised with the iPod via the second computer. I dare say it states it somewhere in the lengthy licence, but as most people don't read every word it isn't obvious until you have made the error. Any CD's that have been loaded on to one computer can be backed up to a disc and transfered over to a new computer, where they will synchronise with the iPod, so the problem is only with purchased music.

---

Rating: - So far, so good...
I have always been a Creative fan until recently, when my Zen Vision started to really irritate with its pathetic battery life. Added to the fact I needed more storage, I have sold my soul to Apple finally and taken the plunge. I had heard bad things about the player, iTunes, the sound quality, but have had no problems at all so far. Itunes is easy as pie to use - compares favourably with WMP. Admittedly all I use my mp3 players for is to burn my CD collection and then synch, but so far (touches wood), my new classic has been working really well

There are a few niggles, but nothing to really complain about: the cover flow does lag, but then again it is just a gimmick and is no big loss. There is also a little bit of delay from time to time loading up albums/info/screens, but I'm in no rush, so that doesn't bother me. One thing that I miss from my Creative is the ability to 'add to selected', i.e cue up loads of albums to play one after the other, but again, no biggie. I know there is the 'on the go' feature, but that isn't quite as intuitive

I have no problems with the volume levels, as mine was bought in Hong Kong so there is no EU limiter in place. Believe me, it is plenty loud, and I don't need it over about 3/4 volume, even in traffic or on public transport. As for sound quality, I am more than happy with the Classic hooked up to Sennheiser PX 100s. Forget the supplied earbuds, they are trash (I can't believe how many people use them!)

I have heard that the latest firmware updates (1.1 especially) have created as many problems as they have fixed, so I think I'll stick with the version the player came with (1.0.3)

So, so far so good. Of course I may regret saying this if my player is as reliable as most ipods I have heard about, so I'm hoping this excellent player continues to perform as flawlessly as it has so far. Thumbs up from me

John

---

Rating: - No video out from classic -
Having waited for a while I finally took the plunge and bought a 80GB ipod classic. I went for the 80GB becuase of the storage knowing I could store my entire music collection and still have lots of room for pictures and movies. Sound is good but the volume is limited. The big hitter for me and what Apple keep quiet about is that you cannot view your pictures or videos from your ipod on your TV unless you buy additional Apple AV cable at a cost of £35. If you have an existing DOC with Svideo out it will not work with the Classic Ipod. Apple have changed it so video is no longer sent through the 3.5m Jack. So in short, if u want to use your Ipod classic to view pictures and movies on your TV you might as well chuck away any non appled branded docks and buy your yourself a new apple cable for £35. Had I known this before I would not have bought a Classic. I think this is the same for all new models but I suggest you check if viewing pictures or movies is a consideration for you.

---

Rating: - GREEAAAT!!!
All those weird problems that other people are experiencing are probably just freak or they're just unlucky (or can't be bothered to search about the problem):
-track skipping ( that's because the original song was deleted from the hardisk and so it can't recover the information... only the songs bought from iTunes and CD's don't have this problem)
-iTunes randomly freezing (just install the latest version...all fixed :))
-sound quality (ok a new pair of bass booster headphones are really helpful but Ipods aren't the best for sound anyway, they're just more reliable and Apple are much more experienced in the field... thats why people buy Ipods)
-Cover flow (drains battery quicker and you don't need to buy the images... just search on google and upload :D)
-No mains charger? (look in the description and guess what?!? It says USB charger... you're fault if you didn't realise.)
-Battery trouble (just watched about three films (kingdom of heaven, bruce almighty and mrbean's holiday) last night on half brightness, which barely used a quarter. You're probably just really unlucky or forgot to charge it if you experienced it 'packing up'.)
-Built to last? (well think about it for a moment. New technology is always coming out and most people just buy the new and ditch the old. I, myself have an Ipod mini which is working fine but i want the NEW technology so I bought the ipod classic (works fine for me, couldnt be better.)
-Back scratch...put a case on. (Leather or skin cases)
-Slow click wheel/navigator (if its a bit laggy then just update it and the problem goes away or just use it for a while and it goes away)
-DVD to ipod... easy just go tyope in videora on google and just follow the instructions.
-Other problems just sound like you forgot to unlock the click wheel lock xD.
I personally haven't had any problems with my classic so far and I would easily recommend it to anyone. The memory size is great (although the true space is only 78.? GB, filled with bits like games etc) and sound quality is excellent with some good earphones.

---

Rating: - Uncompatible with everything except XP + iTunes
Im not a fan of lock-in software, encrypted firmwares and bad file management. So why did I buy an Apple Ipod? The older ones were still compatible with OS's like Win2k and Linux so I thought I would be ok with the newer classics. I was wrong. Heres my complaints:

1. Lock-In Software: I have been able to use the ipod as the worlds largest usb stick but the ipods firmware wont pick up anything if I want to play the music etc. The only way it can see/play music is if synced using iTunes and of course the 7.3 version of iTunes for Win2k no longer supports newer iPods. So the first lock-in is with XP itself and the second is with iTunes. Double-Bad

2. Bad File Management: When I did get onto an XP machine to test the syncing the files arent just copied to the drive as they are. They are copied into random folders and renamed to something similar to TXGZ.mp3. It looks like coded/encrypted names meaning that your further locked-in to iTunes.

Overall Ipods are good players, but don't get a new one unless your a Microsoft XP Lover or a Mac user. My friend has an old iPod video which I could use on Linux/Win2k and was happy with it, hence my buying one of my own. Only to find I should have got the Creative Zen. I used to have a lot of respect for Apple and have an old mac still running but it seems its becoming another Micro$oft Minion in later years. Such a shame to see a good company turn to the dark side.