Rating: 
Summary: Amazon and iPod fail the test for this PC user.
Review: I am very discouraged and dissapointed.
I did not get everything I needed to make this device work, and after 3 trips to the store and an additional $350 I'm not sure I will ever be able to use the iPod.
Seems like a great little device but maybe it will only satisfy an Apple owner. I am simply not able to make it work.
If you are considering this item, BE CAREFUL.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing Technology, Practical Utility
Review: I never bought any Apple hardware products before so I was a bit apprehensive about getting this iPod. The reason I finally made the jump was the groundswell of good opinions from people I trust that were giving rave reviews about iPod, and the fact that I have an explosions of CDs that needed some semblance of order and organization.Well, I have been using the iPod 30GB for 2 weeks now and bottom line is: get it. I am not going to rehash all the common positive things you'll hear in most reviews but the highlights for me for my iPod 30GB were (a) nth degree cool factor; (b) solidly built; (c) great user interface esp. with no visible mechanical moving parts; (d) sheer capacity; (e) optimum size to capacity to weight to price ratio (you'll be hard pressed to find anything close to this at this time); and (f) great charge window per use and battery life per charge. Any downsides? Of course - confusing setup for Windows as I had to go through rounds and rounds of experimentation to get the software to work. There were weird errors all over the place. I also had the latest MusicMatch on my PC so the install croaked big time. I am running Windows 2000 and MusicMatch 8.1. So lessons learned for Windows users: (1) definitely get and use a Firewire card (these are dirt cheap at around $15); (2) download the latest iPod software from apple.com from the outset, forget the CD; (3) use software to restore and reformat the whole iPod; (4)when you already have MusicMatch just have the Apple software attempt the install anyway, it will fail but just ignore it; (5) make sure you are running the latest MusicMatch version and then download the iPod2 plug-in off the MM site. That's it. (Suggestion to Apple - make the install clearer by providing option to break the install process to explicit smaller steps and components). It's not as bad as what it sounds like here. Once you go past the first hurdle, you're all set. I spent a big sum of money on this and it does take some effort to get just right. But what's a few hours of "install pain investment" worth considering that in return, it offers you a lifetime of enjoyment and convenience. Still giving it a 5 despite some cursing on my part during the install. But an hour or two of hassles is still worth it. I love this thing!
Rating:
Summary: Home Stereo system just got even better with iPod 30GB
Review: iPod 30GB just replaced my cd player and is now part of my home stereo system. I used a monster cable to connect the iPod via the dock connector which has an audio-out to the receivers L-R audio-in. Even got a wireless remote control for this baby. Excellent! iPod is very flexible. You could easily copy the songs to another computer without restrictions. I transferred both mp3 and wav songs without problems. Sound quality is superb comparable to creative jukebox. I dumped more than 22GB of songs into iPod to see how well iPod will react to the load. There was a noticeable performace penalty. I noticed a short delay while browsing through the menu and songs. But I only plan to keep the songs that I really like. So I'm finally letting go most of the 80s oldies and no more CD collection. All my mp3 files are saved in 3 different backup drives in case one or 2 fails on me.
Rating: 
Summary: The IPOD does work fine with MusicMatch
Review: I read all the reviews about the IPOD and how it doesn't work well with Musicmatch, so I was a bit apprehensive about trying it, especially for the price of an IPOD. I also am a MusicMatch user, and have a subscription to their service, which I think has been very good. So, before I did anything with the IPOD,I emailed MusicMatch support, and asked them to send me explicit directions about how to uninstall my current MusicMatch software, and then install the new MusicMatch 7.5 that works with the IPOD. I can only say that their support was fabulous, they emailed me step by step directions, clarified a few points that were unclear to me with a subsequent email within 24 hours. They actually pointed me to a link to download the latest MusicMatch software with IPOD support, so I didn't even have to use the software that came on the IPOD CD. I did exactly what they told me to do, then plugged my IPOD into my USB 2.0 (I did get the $19 extra cable for this, so I didn't open my computer to put in a firewire card.) After a few hairy moments when the computer told me I had to reformat the IPOD so that my computer could recognize it, then seemingly saying it didn't recognize my usb device (which it first recognized when I plugged it in!!). Then I just rebooted, and fortunately everything worked fine. I synched about 1000 mp3 in about 20 minutes through my USB 2.0. So, basically, I think people would have much less problems with Musicmatch if you would just let them point you to the correct software and give you exact instructions on installing it. The IPOD itself is great, but there are a few negatives, 1) if you don't have Firewire, you have to either add a firewire card or buy another cable from Apple for USB 2.0. For the price, I think they should throw the cable in for that price. Also, it looks like it is extremely easy to scratch the finish on these things, looks like I will probably shell out another 15-20 bucks for a cover.
Rating:
Summary: Best available, but far from perfect
Review: You've heard all the hype, and most of it is true (and I'm not aware of a jukebox that's better), and I can't say much in 1000 words, so I won't waste your time repeating the hype. I'll just explain why I didn't rate the iPod 5 stars. First, those touch-sensitive buttons are sexy. But, the emphasis should be on SENSITIVE. You touch it, you pushed it. This can be as annoying as hell. You ain't going to use this thing without looking at it. I make a lot of use of the "Hold" switch to keep from pressing something by accident. The little remote is handy if I don't want to look. Next, it does look great with the backlight on, but Apple put a very cheap LCD in it. You have to tweak the contrast carefully or the image looks washed-out or dirty. My first cell phone had a screen like that... About that backlight. You can choose how long it should stay on. To me, that means it goes off N seconds AFTER I STOP PUSHING BUTTONS. But no! You said 20 seconds, that's when the light goes off regardless of what you're doing. Another problem with the LCD is that you can't scroll left and right. When a song is playing, the title scrolls, but not when you're just browsing. If you have multiple names which differ only at the end, you're scrod. I use my iPod with Windows XP. Mac users have it easier. If you're a Windows user and don't have 6 pin FireWire, you'll have to disconnect the iPod cable from the PC to charge it (or you'll have to buy another cable). For USB 2.0, there's an optional cable that'll let you connect to your computer and charge at the same time. I already had a 6 pin FireWire card in my system, so I haven't had to worry about it. In any event, if you travel you'll need to either disconnect your FireWire cable from your computer and take it with you or buy an extra one. The iPod charges through the FireWire cable. I'm not too impressed with the Windows software. My iPod hangs fairly often, and I have to reboot my computer (and sometimes reset the iPod) to fix the problem. I'm hoping iTunes for Windows arrives soon. If you get an iPod, I highly recommend also getting "iPod, the missing manual". It is far more useful than the included documentation, and worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: iPod "its a no brainer" . . . .
Review: Initially I hesitated on purchasing the iPod due to its price. After rationalizing the value of music and the convenience of having my entire CD collection in my pocket price became no object. After the process of purchasing the iPod and taking it home my entire CD collection, which equated to 12G (over 2500 songs) was now in the palm of my hand in a matter of minutes. Since purchasing the iPod it hasn't left my side. Habitually I grab it when leaving for the day, the same as I would my cell phone. Like all Apple products the iPod is simply ingenious. In conjunction with iTunes and my iMac transferring new music to the iPod is a breeze. The ability to save text files is also a plus when viewing study notes or extracting files. Definitely a good purchase, my only regret is not purchasing one sooner or maybe later. . . Apple always finds a way to introduce a bigger, better product after you've purchased the lastest and greatest. Shortly after purchasing the 30G, the 40G hit the market.
Rating:
Summary: WOW....
Review: The iPod is absolutely amazing. I can bring all of my cd's (which I previously had to lug around with me if I wanted to listen to them) in this one small, simple machine. It really looks awesome too, with it's touch-sensitive buttons and no moving parts (except for the hold button). It can do about everything-from contacts, a calendar, to-do list, and, my favorite, games. When I'm somewhere waiting for something or someone my favorite thing to do is play games and listen to music. Only one complaint though...the screen can get really scratched up if you don't keep it in the case...but, in all, this iPod can let me everything.
Rating:
Summary: iPod is good, but there's a few things to think about...
Review: The iPod is great. This is the 3rd and best hard-drive based player I've had, useablility-wise.
*DO* buy this (and all HD players) from a store with 1 or 2 year replacement insurance available (my plan was $65 for 2 years from compUSA)- I got it with the first player and used it within 11 months (HD died), got another with replacement insurance which died within about 14 months (stopped charging), then got the iPod... again with insurance... much cheaper than buying a new one!
*DO* (for PC users) skip the Music Match software - it is terrible. The ephpod software is so much better.
*DO* keep in mind you can mount this as a hard drive to carry data around!
*DO* buy a new case. Everyone I know had their clip break within a few weeks and if you don't keep it in a case it gets badly scratched up.
*DO* understand that for PC USB usage you must buy a separate cable ($19) and you cannot charge the iPOD through this cable unless you plug the original cable into a power charger and use a wall outlet (see Apple.com's store for details).
Also, don't hesitate to haggle in the store. My last player was worth $399 and when it died and I invoked the insurance plan, they said I had $399 to put towards a new player... this new iPod was $450 - we agreed that they'd drop the price to $399 as long as I got the 2 year insurance for it... which I planned on getting anyway, so the haggling almost payed for the plan!
Rating:
Summary: The product that put apple back on the map...
Review: Lookit. I'm hardly impartial, since I "switched" from PC earlier this year and bought an iMac. But really, this is the coolest little device. I'm a music fanatic with hundreds of LP's and CD's. If PC users want to complain about how difficult it is to get it to work with their PC's, so be it! What's new? With PC's you have to bust your, er... (work hard) to get ANYTHING to work, and if you're tired of that, get a Mac! Let me tell you; I bought a car stereo with an aux input and when I plug this little baby in I can listen to any one of thousands of songs in my collection, no matter what my mood is when I get out of work! I copied my language tapes to practice my Russian and German when I'm on lunch or working out. Yes, it's expensive. Good things usually are. This one lives up to the hype. Apple did right on this one. Buy it.
Rating:
Summary: ipod realy rocks my world
Review: i just got my 30 GB ipod a month ago. Works well you dont get lost in 1000 s of mp3 s navigation is easy and fast i saw a lot of windows user complain about its bugs but i use it on Linux without probles it just works(it is not supported under Linux) with a third party software it is fast i can send a cd in 10 sec s i even deleted the mp3 player on my computer and i am using ipod since then all the time i had the 15 GB model (then i upgrade it 2 nd day i bought it) 30 Gb s battery life is a little short but still long. i have not seen a bad thing yet apple realy made a good job.
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