Rating: 
Summary: works perfectly with PC
Review: I bought the 30GB iPod and I don't know how I lived without it. I found no problems interfacing with a PC (Toshiba) using an i-Link connection. The MusicMatch software is not the most elegant of programmes but it works fine: it takes 5-6 minutes to rip a 70 minute CD and synchronisation with the iPod is extremely fast. I found initially that MusicMatch was arranging my tracks alphabetically (a major problem when listening to classical music) but to prevent this, go to Options/Music Library/Settings and add Track number to one of the column options displayed. You can then have the library arrange your albums according to track number.
Rating: 
Summary: did not work with Windows
Review: I had a very hard time getting the iPod to work with Windows XP even with the USB wire they recommended I bought with it. After trying for 6 hours to get it to play or download or anything I gave up, boxed it up and will be returning it. Thats too bad because I was really looking forward to owning one. Do I need to buy a Mac for the iPod to actually work??
Rating: 
Summary: Some advice for Windows users
Review: The new iPods are the first generation to "support" Windows PCs. And wow, do I use that term loosely... It's taken me a month to get the ... iPod working well with my PC.But, I haven't given up. This is still a terrific mp3 player, absolutely the best on the market. I wish I had known a few things before I had tried setting up my new iPod: 1) iPod supports Windows ME, 2000, and XP. Don't bother if you have Windows 98. (I've got it working with XP, don't know about ME or 2000.) 2) After you run the installer, make sure to get the latest iPod software updater from the Apple website. Connect iPod to your computer and run the updater. 3) I like MusicMatch Jukebox for ripping, organizing, and tagging mp3's, but it's lousy for transferring files to the iPod. Check out EphPod - it's a free program and works well for me. Read the documentation on the website to set it up. Again, this is a great mp3 player and I think it's well worth the effort and patience to configure an iPod for Windows. If you aren't game for this sort of thing, wait until Apple gets it together, but if you are.. good luck!
Rating: 
Summary: Problems.....Problems......and more problems!
Review: I foolishly traded in my old 20GB ipod in anticipation of the larger capacity for songs and the 'on-the-fly' playlist feature of the new 30 gig ipod. FOOLISHLY. After waiting over 2 months, the new ipod arrived...along with its problems. I'm using a brand new Gateway pc, which others have seemed to have a problem with as well. I won't catalog all of the problems I've had. I'll simply say that I'm down to my last resort (i'm going to try using the ephpod software to sync my ipod with my musicmatch library, as suggested by another amazon review) before I return this [expensive] alarm clock and seek out an old 20 gig.
Rating:
Summary: beautiful piece of technology
Review: As a PC owner i was a little wary after reading some of the horror stories of iPod/PC compatibility issues but I got mine out of the box and loaded with 4000 songs (onto my Dell PC) in about 3 hours. I used the infamous MusicMatch Jukebox software (I was going to use ephPod but it kept freezing up on my computer)and haven't had any major issues. The one minor issue I have with Jukebox is that it's terribly slow for ripping CDs so I use a different program (Windows Media Player with a ... MP3 plug-in) From the packaging to the unit itself you quickly realize Apple is all about making a good first impression, this is a very impressive and stylish piece of equipment. The touch-controls are wild (have no idea how the technology behind them works)and are great for scrolling through large songlists quickly though sometimes they are a little too sensitive when you are trying to land on your song exactly but that's a very minor annoyance. The backlight is great and again, looks too cool. Mosts importantly sound quality is excellent, has a built in equalizer with several choices for different genres of music though i find the only one i use is the bass boost feature. I had to install a firewire card and that was no big deal. If you've never done it before it shouldn't take you more than 5 or 10 minutes and this is coming from me, I know nothing about computers. It just plugs right in and you're good to go. I can't tell how great it is to have your entire CD collection in the palm of your hand. No more juggling CDs or forgetting your favorite ones at home. You always have them with you. It comes with a good case so it's perfect for the gym also. So small it doesn't get in the way. I'd rate it 5 stars but it still is a bit pricey (the only reason i could afford it was because i had 200 bucks in gift certificates). If you have a smaller CD collection by all means get the 20 GB version.
Rating:
Summary: Why?
Review: Overly hyped, overpriced, and has sync problems. For almost half the price, you can get a Creative Labs Zen that has far fewer problems. It is about the same size and even looks better.
Rating:
Summary: THE mp3 player
Review: As you open the box of the new iPod, you have to remove a sealing sticker that carries the words 'Designed by Apple in California'. Of course the iPod is manufactured in the Far East, but the over-riding impression is of West Coast cool. Although the iPod is essentially an MP3 player, as it has a hard drive you can also use it as a storage device. While that is true of many MP3 players, including the devices based on flash memory, you'll find your iPod has plenty of storage capacity. The original iPod came in 5GB, 10GB and 15GB versions, but it's been revised to 10GB, 15GB and 30GB. Our 15GB unit had 13.8GB available for use which is good for some 2,200 songs recorded at a high-quality setting of 192KB/sec. You'll get more at lower sampling rates, with Apple reckoning on 7,500 songs for the top-capacity version. Despite the hard drive technology the iPod is a tiny unit, about the size of a pack of playing cards but half as thick. This is thanks to the low profile, 1.8-inch Toshiba hard drive, and it is genuinely pocket-sized. It also looks very stylish, with the front half moulded in pearl white and the back formed from stainless steel. While it would be foolish to abuse the hardware it certainly feels well made and robust. The monochrome LCD display is a decent size and shows details of the current track with a progress bar showing both elapsed time and time remaining, as well as a battery indicator and the option of a clock. You control the iPod with four buttons that have a gorgeous luminous pink backlight, but the really neat part is menu navigation. A circular track uses the same touchpad technology that you find in notebooks and in the centre is a button that works in the same way. Scrolling and selecting could hardly be easier or more intuitive, and there are no moving parts to go wrong either. On the other hand the controls are hopeless for the three games that Apple includes, and they are best ignored. In addition to the main unit there's a charging cable, the all-important white earphones, an in-line remote control so you can tuck the iPod away in an inside pocket or your bag, a carrying case and a docking station. Naturally iPod uses a Firewire connection but a big selling point of the new iPod is that it also has a USB interface, with a USB 2.0 software update due soon. This is a little disingenuous as the USB cable is an optional extra. Apple includes an adapter so you can also use the smaller four-pin Firewire port. When the iPod is placed in the dock it fires up the included MusicMatch software with an iPod plug-in that searches your PC for music and creates an index. Synchronising the iPod transfers music at a respectable speed, and the files are logically arranged by artist and album, assuming you used CDDB when you first ripped them. Annoyingly the tracks are arranged in alphabetical order rather than as per the original running order, but that seems to be the case with most MP3 equipment. What does it sound like? It's one of the best MP3 players we've ever heard. It's not quite up to Minidisc standards, but as a mobile music player with an enormous capacity it's beyond reproach. Apple - iPod features - Verdict
On the face of it an iPod is an expensive luxury, but that's crazy talk. This new version, compatible with both Mac and PC, offers excellent value for money and it is a pleasure to use. And, for the style-conscious, the white earphones mark you down as an iPod owner and therefore someone to be envied.
Rating:
Summary: Don't listen to some of the PC nonsense being put out
Review: I read one review that said Music Match Plus would only work with a Dell etc. This is complete nonsense. I use it on a Gateway, my buddy uses it on an eMachines. I have a new 30 GB iPod, he has an older 20 GB. I have Win 2K, he has XP Home. It works fine. As far as the synching, I read one review that said it didn't work etc. Also bogus. The synching works fine. I transferred 15 GB's over night and it went well. Maybe I'll find some bugs down the road but so far so good. Don't let bad info scare you off. I sent an e-mail to MusicMatch tech support and got a response the next day. I followed up with a clarification and got a response from the same tech a day later. Believe me, that beats the heck of HP tech support. So enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Wow! The real deal
Review: Got my 30 GB iPod and it's exactly what I hoped it would be, my dream replacement for my RioVolt 250. I'm using Win 2K and Music Match Plus and the sync worked like a charm. Even with a Fireward card, transferring 20 GB of MP3's takes a while so let it go overnight. Also, take Apple's advice and charge the unit for an hour before you start working with it. You'll need to do the 2.01 updater but the interface will basically do it for you. You may need to reboot a time or two till iPod Manager sees the iPod but after that, all is swell. Take some time and build your playlists first. MusicMatch tech support confirmed that no matter how many times a tune shows up in a playlist, it's onlybeing written once to the iPod HD so be sure to create playlists based on artist, or album or genre or mix etc. That way, you'll have planty of different ways to access your tunes. I didn't want to go thru 5000 tunes one by one, till I found what I was looking for. Get the car charger and you're ready to go. ... I'll [get] the Belkin AA Battery external charger for trips longer than 10 hours. It's only been two days but so far so good. Quality is great, it's light and easy to carry at the gym. I love it. iTunes may be cooler and Apple may do something for us Windows users soon but Music Match Plus (comes with the iPod ) will do till then. BTW, make use of the "tagging" features to get your tunes properly named and identified, especially if they came from you know where. It'll make bulding playlists easier. Once you import the MP3's into "My library", highlight the MP3 or MP3's, right mouse click and choose "edit track tags". Then in the dialogue box that opens, pick "lookup tag". It'll go find all the albums that track appeared on along with the album art. Pick the one you want and it'll name it correctly. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Great Product..so so battery life...horrible software
Review: The iPod is great at carrying music everywhere, I've loaded 3300 songs and it's not even half full yet. On the other hand it took me about 4 hours just loading the software as MUSICMATCH kept crashing my computer. Now keep in mind that it is a brand new SONY Vaio computer ao it was definitely the software's fault. You need to download an IPOD patch from Musicmatch because it is not included in the software package. Now, Musicmatch only has an old IPOD patch and they haven't come up with a patch for the new Ipod yet. After tagging all my music without problems, it took me 2 days trying to transfer music into the Ipod....not happening, at least not with MUSICMATCH, the thing kept using up all of my virtual memory an the computer would just crash on me, now keep in mind , I have a 80G hard drive so it was definitely the software's fault. Finally got smart and downloaded Ephpod. It recognized the new Ipod immediately and after a pretty easy installation it downloaded all of my music (3300 songs) in 15 minutes. I definitelly reccomend gettin an Ipod, but don't even bother trying to transfer songs with Musicmatch, instead rip them and tag them with it, but transfer them with Ephpod. Finally, battery life is still an issue withe new Ipods, it says they give you 8hr battery life, but in reality it's more like 5 1/2 or 6 hrs.
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