Home :: Audio :: MP3 & Digital Audio :: MP3 Jukeboxes  

33 to 64 MB MP3 Players
Digital Media Players
MP3 Jukeboxes

Over 65 MB MP3 Players
Up to 32 MB MP3 Players
Apple 15 GB iPod (M8946LL/A, April 2003 Version)

Apple 15 GB iPod (M8946LL/A, April 2003 Version)

List Price:
Your Price:
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 .. 12 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Aside from the headphones, awesome system
Review: I have a massive CD collection. I have stored hundreds of my favorites onto a 6 oz. device. It's like carrying around several hundred CDs. I love it. It deserves 5 stars.
But let me warn you all about the headphones. I am a runner--one of the reasons for me forking over the cash for one of these is so I can take my CD collection with me when I jog. But I swear, I could not get 10-feet w/o the provided earphones flopping out of me ear; in other words, they don't fit very well into my ear cartilage. The designers should have made a better earphone. Now I have to fork over [money amount]to get some new earphones.
But still, the 5-star rating is warranted.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Apple's well-designed marvel
Review: I have had a 15GB iPod for about 3 months now, and it has served me very well. I started out with a SlimX mp3/CD player, but switched because of the fact that as much as I had been changing mp3 CDs on it to listen to different music I may as well have brought my entire CD collection and had better sound quality to boot. The iPod has solved all those problems. I have a PC with Windows XP, and while some complain of problems with Windows, I have yet to experience them. MusicMatch was a little cumbersome, but since I downloaded iTunes the iPod works absolutely seamlessly with my computer. Mac's AAC compression format really does blow MP3 away--important to audiophiles like me, who want portability and sound quality at the same time. iTunes is designed to help you get the most out of your iPod, and it even syncs playlists you make on the iPod with your computer (something MusicMatch didnt' do). The FireWire interface is lightning-quick so I can watch an album load in the space of 15 seconds. The size is nice--I have 80+ albums on my iPod and it's only about 1/3 full. I do use the iPod to manage my calendar and contacts, something few reviewers have mentioned and which comes in very handy. (Syncing this calendar and contact information is a pain on the PC, but it pays off when you need to quickly find a phone number on the road.) I use the dock and a cable to plug the device into my stereo, which saves me the trouble (and expense) of burning CDs I have created or downloaded.

There are, however, some things about this device that I simply don't understand. For example, the chrome that makes up the back of the iPod and the front of the remote is plain silly--just something to get dirtied up and uglied with fingerprints (the chrome on mine looks absolutely hideous at the moment). Much as I like the touch-scroll wheel, I wish the other buttons were conventional: I don't like having to use the Hold switch just to fumble around in the dark to find the Menu button (which controls the backlight). The hard case, while it does a great job of protecting the iPod, prevents you from seeing the screen or using the buttons, requiring you to use the remote which just adds more cord to get tangled up. Before iTunes I had the problem of gaps in between songs on live albums and on my beloved Mahler symphonies: iTunes solves this with the "Join CD Tracks" function, but I wish I could keep the individual tracks and not have to deal with the little hiccup between them.

If you are looking for a way to carry around a variety of music in one small device, and you don't mind shelling out the big bucks for it, then this is for you. The ability to carry around your entire record collection in a thing as big as a deck of cards seems silly, but once you have it, you are spoiled. Apple has created a well-designed, functional product that is sure to please any music-lover.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: good, but there's better out there
Review: I just recently got an ipod with my 2003 Beetle. I must agree with one of my fellow reviewers that it is a bit of a nightmare for windows users. I have to take my ipod to work with me just to put music on the thing. As far as playing music the ipod does an excellent job, everything that the ipod promises it performs. Not to mention how CUTE it is. An ipod is a great investment if you are a music lover.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Insanely great, and works with Window XP and MusicMatch
Review: I got the Apple ipod a few weeks ago and my only regret is that the 15GB has been replaced by the 20GB model. Other than that though, it is an insanely cool device. It doesn't quite hold all of my music collection, but it does contain about 75%. I've been using it with a Dell PC running Windows XP and MusicMatch Plus and I have not had any real problems with the interface. However, I'm looking forward to a PC version of iTunes in the future (I had to cross over to the darkside and abandon the Mac platform several years ago; no flames for that please!). Using MusicMatch is not quite seemless, but it is not the headache that you might think reading the reviews here. I've managed to load, organize and use it without significant problems. I do notice that some punctuation devices are problematic for MusicMatch but not for the ipod. Also I think that a firewire interface is to be recommended. Overall, this is a fantastic device.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: iLove My iPod
Review: Spending [the money] on an iPod was perhaps one of the smartest investments I have ever made. Yes, I've succumbed to buying into the Jobsian music revolution. For those that aren't like me, a veteran member of the Apple cult, the iPod is essentially a digital music player, with serious space for the serious music aficionado.
Getting the device to be recognized by my iBook was a breeze. To do so, I merely had to connect the dock with my laptop, and drop the iPod into its dock. iTunes, Apple's digital jukebox software, immediately took over, and proceeded to transfer my entire library to the iPod - a seamless process.
With 15 gigabytes of hard drive space, the tiny mp3 player managed to hold my 100-album CD collection. I filled the remaining space with my many Dave Matthews Band bootlegs, which calculated at a whopping 700 megabytes apiece.
Like many other Apple products, the iPod is very intuitive, and very user friendly. The face of the device includes a touch sensitive scroll wheel, and four buttons used to maneuver through menus, pause and play music, and switch from one track to the next. In addition, the interface of the iPod is neatly setup in a folder format, sorted by album, artist, genre, and song title. Like navigating through a hard drive on a computer, finding music on the iPod is a simple process.
Many music enthusiasts proclaim that the death of the compact disc is near, and that digital music is the future. If this is the case, I have seen the future, and Steve Jobs has taken me there.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A wonderful experience
Review: Last week I received my new 15Gb iPod (for Windows). It has turned out to be everything I expected. It's wonderful to have all your music in one place and be able to carry it around. The sound quality is great.

My only disappointment was with the Tunecast FM tuner thing that Belkin sells (via Apple). It only broadcasts on 88.1, 88.3, 88.5, and 88.7 and here in SF they are all full. Also, the sound quality was terrible. .... The direct line-out from the dock into my home amplifier also gives very good sound quality.

Like several people here I had some problems with Musicmatch, which is a very un-Apple like piece of bloatware, so I am using ephpod, which is free, looks like Apple software, and works flawlessly (after some tinkering).

I did hit a few snags during the installation, so here are a few tips to get you going once you get your iPod:

1. First install all the software from the CD that comes with the iPod. This also configures the iPod. I used an Orange Micro firewire card for my laptop.
2. Then uninstall Musicmatch, using the Windows Control Panel. Don't forget to uninstall the Musicmatch iPod plug-in as well.
3. Get Ephpod from www.ephpod.com and install it. It's free.
4. Make sure your iPod is fully charged (takes about two hours).
5. Plug your iPod into a firewire port and start ephpod.
6. Go through the wizard and find your iPod (it was drive G: in my case)
7. Use the config button to select which directory holds your music (My Music in most cases).
8. Hit the synch button.

If ephpod crashes halfway through your first synching operation, reboot your computer and change the cache to 512k in the ephpod configuration menu (advanced options). I also clicked the Windows API thing (no idea what that does, but someone recommended it). After that it worked smoothly. Took about 15 minutes to download over 2000 songs.

One thing to remember: when you change tags in ephpod's menu it only changes them on the iPod. Synching afterwards will create duplicates, because the unchanged songs on your hard disk will be loaded onto the iPod in addition to the songs you changed. So you should either make sure all your tags are good before you synch the first time or just download single directories after your first synch. (All of this sounds more complicated than it is in reality).

Don't forget: make sure the iPod is fully charged. Downloading all your music takes a lot of energy and you don't want the iPod to die in the middle of your first synch, which is going to be far longer than any subsequent ones.

Finally, if the iPod does die just uninstall everything and reinstall using the original Apple CD. It only takes 10 minutes or so. Don't forget to uninstall Musicmatch!

Enjoy!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Slick, compact design works seamlessly with Apple computers
Review: Yet another reason why Apple products are man's best friend...they all work seamlessly together. The newest iPod version has been a pleasure to use. In fact, I am probably going to unload my home stereo cd changer and replace it with this iPod (after purchasing the Monster iPod Audio cable).

The one suprise (negative) that I discovered was the actual storage size of 13.9GB. Thus, if you are teetering on the border of 15GB of music now (like me), you will want to get the 30GB model. Otherwise, this device is perfect.

I can't speak for it's performance on a Windows-based machine, but with an iMac, the iPod charges through the stand via the Firewire cable. Pretty nice.

If you are considering just the 10GB model, I highly recommend upgrading to the 15GB, since it includes the docking stand and remote.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not Just a Music Player!!!!
Review: This is my first iPod, even though i have been using mac's for about 4 years now! Now i am a proud owner of this product. I could not be happier. 1st things 1st, i am sure you can read all the other reviews and find out that this product is bar none the best out there. But most importantly this is a multiuse product. I now how a portable 15gb firewire harddrive! and this product is smart enough to know the diff b/w music and my other files. as a student i MUST be able to have my documents on hand at all times, and "my comp crashed" does not work now a days. Along my purchase of my pod i picked up a media card reader, so while i am on the go with my digital camera (d100 nikon) i do not have to worry about carrying so many cards for my camera! and i also picked up a voice recorder, this allows me to record audio, which really helps me with things like test reviews, and meetings. (also helps with soundtrack as well). I know that 15g is not much by todays standards, but you have the ability to add an remove these files with ease. as a side note, i honestly do not see how people could actually use a pod that is larger, i have a hard enough time keeping track of 1990 songs i have on it right not (almost 6days worth)

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Don't Waste Your Money
Review: For the cost it is horrible. If you want a good mp3 play that will hold 5000 mp3s then check out the Rio Karma. It is a much better mp3 company and is a lot more reliable with windows computers. If you own a Mac (i feel sorry for you) then it is a great mp3 player to own. Also I dont really see the point in owning a player that holds 5000 songs unless it is the Phat Noise/Kenwood Music Keg.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: A Windows User nightmare
Review: I was so dissapointed with the way that Apple basically swindled me out my money. They advertise the product as USB 2.0 compatible, but what they don't tell you is that you have to buy YET ANOTHER USB CABLE that only they sell in order for your I-Pod to be recgonzied by XP. When the cable finally came, I tried to install it and the product STILL did not recognize the I-Pod. They told me it would not install unless I reformatted my computer (requiring me to erase everything) to reinstall the drives or buy a Firewire card.

Once I got this cursed piece of metal to finally work, the battery would not hold a charge more than 3 hours, which is FAR less time than I-Pod advertises. When I contacted Apple about the problems, they told me I needed to send it in for repairs. I became so sick of the terrible service and misleading advertisement that I decided to cut my loses and just return the entire unit all together. If you have Windows XP, do not under any circumstances purchase this product. When searching for ways to correct the problems, I discovered that this is a COMMON OCCURENCE AMONGST ME, 2000, and XP users.


<< 1 2 3 4 .. 12 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates