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Last fall, I was attracted to the color screen of
Apple’s new iPod photo models. Although the screen seemed too small to
do photos justice, I liked the clearer display and the ability to
display album cover art while a song was playing. At the initial prices
($499 for 40 GB and $599 for 60 GB) these were not going to be impulse
purchases, so I was in no rush to buy one. Then in February Apple came
out with cheaper iPod photo models ($349 for 30 GB and $449 for 60 GB)
by omitting some of the extras (dock, FireWire cable, and case) that
came with the original models. The first weekend after Apple’s announcements I happened to be looking at the MP3 player section in Circuit City. I saw the previous 40 GB iPod photo model marked with a price of $379, seemingly a $120 price cut. I grabbed a salesman who verified that this was indeed the correct price. That was enough to push me over the edge and make the purchase. I wanted to be able to play back my music in the car, so I also bought a bundle of Belkin accessories that included a car power adapter and cassette adapter. When I got home the instructions indicated that the iPod photo would need to be charged for a few hours before syncing with iTunes. I connected the iPod photo dock with the FireWire cable to the power adapter and set the iPod into the dock. Later I would use the same cable to connect to my Mac or PC. There was also a USB 2.0 cable included, in case your PC doesn’t have a FireWire port. (In fact the new models only include the USB cable.) While waiting for the iPod to complete its initial charging, I checked the schedule of the Danbury Apple Store and noticed they had an iTunes and iPod Workshop scheduled for early that evening. This was a great way to learn some things I didn’t already know about iTunes and ask some question as a brand new iPod owner. I had already been using iTunes to import a number of my CDs to MP3 files. I recommend changing the iTunes default Importing encoder from AAC to MP3. This will make your music files compatible with other devices and music player programs. For instance I can stream my MP3 files across my wireless home network through my TiVo to my stereo. This wouldn’t work with the less compatible AAC files. I generally choose a higher quality 192 kbps setting (which resuls in a larger file) for encoding the MP3 files, since there’s plenty of room on the iPod photo. The iPod photo is also able to store and display photos. You configure this in iTunes, choosing to sync with either iPhoto 4 albums (on a Mac), the latest version of Adobe Photoshop Album or Photoshop Elements (on Windows), or any folder containing photos. It took a couple of hours to sync my music and photos the first time, but it has been quick every time since. I only had a fraction of my music collection imported by that point, so I had some work to do to get it all imported to my computer and from there to my iPod. I did eventually complete that task and I now have all my music conveniently at hand. I went to the trouble of downloading the album art to add to the music files, usually from the All Music Guide site (http://www. allmusic.com). On the few occasions where my music was obscure enough not to have its album art on line, I even used my $49 scanner to scan the CD cover. The music sounds great on my iPod, by the way, just using the included earbuds. I read that it could sound even better if I get a different set of headphones. At first I wasn’t as impressed with the sound when played through my car stereo. The Belkin cassette adapter I first tried plugged into the iPod’s headphone jack, while the Belkin charger connected to the dock connector. I did some further research at http://www.ipodlounge.com and found out that I might have better luck with a Sony cassette adapter combined with a Belkin auto kit that, like the Belkin charger I first bought, plugged into the cigarette lighter and connected to the dock connector, but also had an audio out jack for the cassette adapter to plug into in. I had read that the best sound output comes through the dock connector as compared to the iPod’s headphone jack. I was able to make the exchange at Circuit City and sure enough my music was sounding great in the car. It sounds as good as my in-dash CD player. In the past I had tried listening to Internet radio at work but found it a bit too distracting. By contrast I found listening to the iPod compatible with concentrating at work. Putting the iPod on shuffle was like having a custom radio station where they only play songs you like! Here’s a tip I probably learned in the workshop I attended: In iTunes if you uncheck the songs you don’t really like in your collection, and choose “Only update checked songs” on the iPod page of iTunes preferences, you can avoid transferring songs you don’t really like. You get 16 free songs that you download from the iTunes Music Store as a thank you for purchasing the iPod. I did also purchase a couple of songs from the store which they make very convenient, but I don’t anticipate I’ll be doing much of that. It might make sense when you’re interested in a particular song but not the whole album. Otherwise I think I’ll stick with the unrestricted use and full sound quality that you get from a traditional CD. The iPod photo 40 GB and 60 GB models are a bit thicker and heavier than other iPods, but light enough to go walking with. I also tried using mine once on a treadmill, but decided that’s where a different set of headphones that block out ambient noise would come in handy. With the standard earbuds I really had to turn up the volume to compete with the background noise in the gym. If I were a regular jogger outdoors I would probably go with one of the smaller models, the iPod mini or new iPod shuffle. Since I’m not a jogger, I’m happy with the iPod photo which has enough capacity to hold all my music and photos with room to spare. One of the touted features of the iPod photo is the ability to run slide shows when connected to a TV and stereo. My 40 GB model included a set of audio/video cables that connect to the headphone jack, but are an extra-cost accessory for the new 30 GB and 60 GB models. The slide show does look great on the TV and you can accompany it with music from your iPod. The slide show does noticeably drain the battery, which is otherwise long lasting when just listening to music. I’ve just started getting into another capability which the iPod shares with other MP3 players, the ability to listen to podcasts. You can use a program such as iPodder to choose and download podcasts which show up as playlists the next time you sync with your iPod. One interesting site (recommended by a past DACS president) is http://www. itconversations.com. I have to say I’m an iPod convert and very happy with my purchase.
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Richard Corzo is a DACS board member and leader of the Mac SIG. A computer programmer, he has written frequently on new operating systems. |
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