Rating: 
Summary: iPod still leader of the pack
Review: Many portable MP3 players have hit the market in recent years but few have been so well executed as the Apple iPod. With sleek looks and a huge storage capacity for music files (MP3, AAC), Audible audio books, and other files, this player still beats all the other ones out there.What I really liked:
- huge storage capacity
- nice looks, feels great in my hand or pocket
- absolutely LOVE the scroll pad so I can go through thousands of songs in an instant
- above average battery life (approx. 8 hrs)
- Firewire (a/k/a IEEE 1394, iLink) connectivity is FAST (noticably faster than USB 2.0 when transferring large amounts of data)
- can be used as a removable disk for data backup purposes What I didn't like as much:
- pricey
- no color display, although this would probably come at the expense of battery life
- case and screen scratch easily (make sure to use a case!)
- no USB cord included for those without a Firewire port If you received the MusicMatch software with your iPod, make sure to check out Apple iTunes (both for Windows and Mac), as it integrates much better with the iPod (both made by the same company, makes sense right?). iTunes also includes the iTunes Music Store where you can download songs for less than a buck each. In short, iPod and iTunes is a combination that is truly hard to beat!
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good, but not perfect
Review: I received a new iPod 30GB for Father's day (Thanks Sweetie!). I've used about a dozen or so prior mp3 devices, and I have noted some issues that haven't been represented in any other review, which I wanted to point out to folks considering buying an iPod. First off, it's a great device overall. 30 GB is a lot of space and fits my 500+ CD music collection fine. I think the battery life of 8-10 hours is great (my previous device, the Nomad Jukebox, had 40GB, but got 2 hours battery life if I was lucky!) and I like it's looks and size a lot. There are some mildly annoying UI issues but nothing I can't live with. The case, and most importantly the screen, scratch really easily, so you have to be careful how you handle it (it's small enough to put in your pocket--just don't keep anything else in that pocket!). I'm a Windows user, and I'll add my report that the MusicMatch software that ships with the iPod is disgraceful. I loaded it on three different computers, (moving the firewire card around each time) and it never would transfer music to the device. Finally I downloaded an *older* version of MMJB and got music to transfer. Its own user interface is awful and I really hate that it makes you IMPORT all of your music into ITS library. It's clearly designed for the novice user, with no expert-mode features that accommodate folks like me. But the biggest criticism I have of the iPod is something that Apple just plain got wrong. There is no support for building [persistent] playlists on the device. This really bothers me. It's apparent that iPod's designers had a built-in assumption that people wouldn't mind being tethered to their computers for playlist management and other things, but not everyone works this way. I tend to not hook my device up to a computer unless I have new music to download, which can be weeks. I really want the device to be usable indefinitely without a computer. But there's one important thing you can't do very well on the iPod without a computer: Create playlists. Yes, you can add songs and albums to the "on the go" playlist, but there are some serious flaws with that feature's implementation:
a) there is only one on-the-go playlist
b) this playlist is temporary. It is blown away the instant you dock your device (why, WHY? This is such a brain-dead design choice it boggles the mind.)
c) when adding entire albums to this playlist, the album order is not respected. They seem to go in either alpha or random order, I haven't figured it out yet. This makes it tougher to use the device the way I want. I'd like to be able to string together either a list of individual songs or, more often, entire albums and listen to them. But the albums go into the playlist with the song order wrecked, which is annoying. And having to abandon a list I've already created to be able to create a new one is truly annoying. And it's heartbreaking that, after I've put together a really good mix on the device, it will be summarily discarded the instant I dock. I truly can't understand the rationale behind this one. So on the whole, it's a good device, the best out there for its combination of size, capacity, and battery life. There are some annoying problems that might detract from your enjoyment a bit if you, like me, find album order important and like to create custom playlists anywhere you are. But even with those flaws I'm glad to own mine.
Rating:
Summary: The BEST Thing Since Sliced Bread!!!!!!!
Review: This IS the best thing since sliced bread! No wonder it was rated as last year's Best Invention. If you are like me and have a huge CD collection (literally 1,000's!) and your passengers in the car are sick and tired of carrying all your CD's on road trips, then wait no longer, the iPod is your lifetime solution. Not only is this thing made very durably (it's lasted me over a year now with no problems or repairs - even though it's taken a few drops and other minor beatings). The iPod is also great because it is light in weight, user friendly (so even you technology-illerate people will have an easy time getting started), aesthetically nice looking, and very easy to organize and store your music. I listen to a large variety of music (ex: bossa nova, jazz, classic rock, gospel, blues, classical, r&b, house/dance music, etc....just to name a few) so it was so nice to be able to create as many playlists as I wanted for each genre of music I listen to! Whenever you play your music, there will be a display showing how many minutes have passed in the song and how many remain. Lastly, for those of you who insist on staying in the stone age with your PC's (MAC's truly ARE the new wave of the future!), rest assured, the iPod is compatible with PC's. I can't say enough great things about this thing. Do yourself a favor and buy one for a friend or family member. They will love you eternally for it!
Rating:
Summary: Great interface, good sound
Review: Have had my 30 GB iPod since November 2003, and am still loving it. Very few complaints - the sound quality is excellent, the user interface is easy to use, and the syncing with iTunes works flawlessly. Probably the best feature of the iPod is the easy to use/navigate user interface - it's a snap to find the song you want quickly or build a playlist on the fly. It's also nice how the statistics from your iPod use such as number of times each song is played, date last played, and ratings (0 to 5 stars) carry over to iTunes and vice versa. The smart playlists from iTunes also work, so, for example, I have a playlist on my iPod of all songs rated between 3 and 5 stars which haven't been played in the last month. Pretty nifty. Highly recommended - a little pricey, but you won't regret it - I get way more use out of my iPod than I did from my first MP3 player - a flash memory based one with a mediocre interface and small storage capacity. PS: The iTunes Music Store is cool!
Rating:
Summary: The maximum.
Review: In what has to be the slickest execution of a new piece of hardware yet, this Apple-linked but PC-compatible product will make all portable music players obsolete in no time flat. I have been following trends in this area for a long time, and my last big MP3 player investment was in a SONICblue Jukebox. Wow, how fast things evolve! That machine, cutting edge 2 years ago, had a 6 gig hard drive and allowed only for rather slow uploading of music through its balky software interface via a USB 1.0. In addition, its organizational abilities were limited.
The iPod is about 1/10 the size of the old Jukebox, absolutely ultra high tech looking, with backlighting that awes and controls that work intuitively, and it uploads easily through its firewire cradle or a USB 2.0 (optional) connection.
Music can be categorized and recalled quickly, with the scroll control making it all simple to access.
Sound quality is awesome, its earbuds light years ahead of anything similar. Capacity is incredible (the 15 gig unit will hold 3,700 songs, the 30 gig unit twice that number!) and battery life is just fine. The cradle will recharge and synch the unit to your PC, but I bought the optional car charger for longer road trips. I also bought the FM transmitter that attaches neatly to the unit and allows you to play the iPod through your stereo sans wires, though the cassette adapter works better for that purpose.
A word about Apple's customer service: WOW! I ordered the unit on a Sunday, with the additional $19 for custom engraving on its silver back. In an hour I got an email that my order was being processed, and in 6 hours I got an email that it had shipped! The email included a tracking link, and I watched it move from Taiwan across the world in 2 days. I got it on Tuesday evening (!) and it was factory sealed/shrink wrapped and in fine condition. When I opened it (even the packaging is high tech) and took it out of its protective inner wrapper, I was delighted to find the engraving was there and was done just perfectly.
If delivering a great product and offering perfect service is to be lauded, Apple must be given the highest kudos possible.
Rating:
Summary: iPod, audio books, and driving
Review: I have used mp3 files and mp3 players years before Apple joined the game. (Despite their excellent marketing, they did not invent the genre - they certainly did, however, up the ante.) My primary use is listening to audio books during my 40 minute commute each way to work. I have used the fabulous audible.com service for years now ... and on 3 different players. The iPod is excellent for music, but surprisingly mediocre for audio books while driving. The reason is the very poor ergonomic design of employing "buttons" that cannot be identified by touch alone (while one's eyes are on the road). It is very easy while driving to hit the wrong button (since there is no way of feeling which is the pause or reverse button) and "rewind" the book to the beginning (or even to another book). Hitting the wrong button is a minor annoyance for a 3-minute song. But trying to relocate your place in a 12-hour audio book while dodging tanker trucks is another story. I strongly urge Apple to add back the tactile buttons that were available on the 1st generation models. Fellow commuters who love audio books should consider this when purchasing a player. (BTW, on a separate note, the box and packaging the iPod comes in is an example of design perfection. Congratulations to whoever conceived this!)
Rating:
Summary: iPod, the leading product of the new century!
Review: I find myself writing a review for this product, after a hundred other reviews before me, because of two reasons. First, I like to express my gratitude to Apple Computer, Inc. for once again creating a visionary product that's way beyond anybody's wildest dreams and fantasies. As a designer who works on product concepts and visions, and after using this product regularly for more than 7 months, I can only say this: I respect and admire the industrial designers and engineers behind the iPod, because it is the only real and exciting breakthrough in technology, an incredible leap-forward innovation that I saw in the first few years of the 21st century. This product not only allowed us to finally bring our music (really, most of it!) along with us everywhere we go, but also placed a grumpy and dying-off music industry (and the recording companies lobby) into an entire new track of successful business opportunity. It finally allowed a legal and lucrative, but at the same time, really user friendly and pleasant way to obtain new music online: the Apple Music Store, a service that works seamlessly with the iPod hardware. 30 seconds of stunning high quality hi-fi previews are available for each song and play immediately- unlike the mediocre, monophonic, noisy, slow Real Player previews available from other online stores. Purchasing music from the Apple Store is a breeze! Thank you, Apple Inc., for improving our user experience in this wonderful way. The other reason why I wanted to write an iPod review, is to kindly ask those people who wrote shameless lies and/or tried to discredit the product with untrue statements about its performance and compattibility with the Mac or the PC: please try to have some dignity, show some respect to the leader in MP3 player architecture and technology, and learn from their overwhelming success. I have a very strong intuitive feeling that you may as well be employed with some of the troubled competition. Why no wonder you're so angry and desperate! Most of the competition is still offering products with almost the same cost... but have a ridiculous mere 128 MB (not even 1/8 of a GIG!) of memory for that price... batteries not included. This is insane! How does that 128 MB of memory compare to the 15 GB hard drive of the cheapest iPod, or the 4 GB hard drive of the mini iPod made out of wonderful anodized aluminium...? I have no further comments, Your Honour...
Rating: 
Summary: AAGHHH
Review: Kudos to Ryan C for seemingly being the only other person in the world to have figured that out. Stay away from iPod people! Its overpriced and outmatched. The Nomad rocks the iPod in all its features, and the price is 1/4 of that of the iPod. It even looks a whole lot better.
Rating:
Summary: A Music Lover's Dream
Review: The iPod is quite simply a stunning piece of technology. Its interface is intuitive and easy to use. Its memory is vast enough to hold thousands of songs. With current software (I am an Apple user), you can load your entire CD collection right into the iPod. You can then organize your music to suit your own preferences and tastes. When you're done, you have an entire entertainment system in the palm of your hand. With a few good computer/multimedia speakers, the iPod can work as the main stereo system in an apartment or office. I have mine hooked to a 50 watt subwoofer/computer speaker combo set. I then set up my playlists to match whatever mood I am in (jazzy, funky, etc.). With just the press a button or two, I can fill my entire space with music without the aggravation of clunky stereo components or the need for large shelf space. Sure, it is pricey. But in exchange for the money, you get a device that will make any music lover happy. An indulgence? Maybe. But worthwhile if you have the cash and music is your thing.
Rating:
Summary: BE AWARE,NOT REALY WINDOWS ME COMPATIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Apple must be getting a ton of returns from pissed off windows users,I have windows me(which points out is compatible with)usb port.NOT TRUE!!!First of all it does not come with a usb adapter,second of all if you go to the read me even with a usb adapter it does not work?!so back to the store once again to purchase fireport adapter.
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