Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple iPod - Digital player - HDD 15 GB - AAC, MP3 - display: 2"

I love my iPod. I spent a week and burned my CD collection into iTunes and transferred it to my iPod. My 15 GB iPod is now half full. Sound quality is excellent, and the music is skip free even when jogging (even my clumsy attempt at jogging).

Granted, there are iPod clones on the market that are less expensive, but the lack the add-ons. There are FM transmitters, recorders, tape adapters, and the iPod can also be used as a backup drive, which I also love. Now, my biggest problem is trying to organize the music into the best play lists.

However, everything isn't perfect in iPod-land. As a result, I deducted one star for the following reasons:

With the 15GB model, you do not get the docking stand or a case. When I first saw the case, I thought the back of the case was made of surgical steel. It isn't, and it scratches easily. So do your self a favor and purchase a case as soon as possible. I found the back got scratched up just laying it on a bare desk. A good case will also keep you from accidentally touching the buttons, which are sensitive.

Also, transferring songs from your iPod to another computer is protected. This is something that isn't advertised anywhere. Uploading music purchased through iTunes is restricted. However, if you've purchased and ripped the music from your own CDs, then you can transfer them at will. This is annoying.

Why? Because I wanted to dock my iPod with the computer at work, which is behind a firewall. No deal-- the corporate firewall blocks the authorization. As a result, I cannot authorize the computer, so I cannot transfer a quite a few songs.

Warning to PC Users: You will need a firewire card or a USB cable (not included) in order to attach the iPod to your PC. Save yourself the frustration and order the USB cable when you purchase.

I bought an iPod because -- well, I love mp3s, and I'm a sucker for marketing ploys, I confess. The huge capacity, even in a small model, the nice huge LCD screen (compared to most players), the fun of iTunes (and it is fun) -- I took the plunge, bought, and I'm completely satisfied.

In my humble opinion, there are only two issues to be had with the iPod, and neither worries me:

1) Battery life. Yes, apparently, the battery will run out eventually, at some point in the future, and I will have to shell out $99 for a new battery (I could do it myself for $49 but ARE YOU CRAZY? There's no way I'm risking the life of my prrecioussss...). Huh. Yeah, that's upsetting. Some unknown date in the future, several years from now, I may have to replace a battery for $99. That's horrible. Shocking. Honestly? It's not that big a deal. In three years, you'll probably go through two sets, at least, of rechargeable batteries -- that could run you $30 or so. Plus the charger, another $20, maybe. So that's $50 right there I'd have spent otherwise. Most importantly, the Lithium battery in the iPod could last you for anywhere from 2 to 10 years, depending on how you use it (...).I think that's long enough that everyone should stop worrying about the battery issue.

2) The case. Yes, to be fair, the darn thing scratches if you even look at it funny. I suspect that's the price we pay for it being so pearly-white and purty. Well, there are two solutions. One, buy a case. Simple. Two, buy iCleaner, which works like a charm. Seriously, for all I know, other products (such as Ice Creme) work too, but iCleaner's what I bought and it's flawless. Nor was it that expensive, really, considering how much you get.

Personally,I think it's a great little machine and I've been in love with mine for months now. Enjoy yours!

(This is a review I wrote for the 40GB iPod. Most of it applies to this model as well.)

What I like best about Amazon reviews is that, unlike Consumer Reports or other technical reviewers, they come from people who own the product and use it every day. Hence a disclaimer - I got my iPod a week ago.

That being said - it is awesome. My iPod is connected to my PowerBook, where I have almost 5,000 songs stored in iTunes. All I have to do is put the iPod in the cradle and it automatically syncs. The first time took about 30 minutes or so - after that it hasn't taken more than a minute or so. It's much easier than other MP3 players. (For Christmas last year, I bought my dad a Rio MP3 player. Teaching him how to load songs onto it was a huge pain.)

The sound quality is as good as it gets for an MP3. I bring my iPod everywhere and am listening to songs I forgot I have. It's also forced me to go through my music library and make sure everything is labeled properly (if it's not, it's going to be hard to find on an iPod, as it doesn't have a search function).

The games it comes with are mindless timewasters, which is what they were intended to be. The music quiz is pretty cool though. The address book and calendar functions are useful, although a bit of a pain to update if you don't use Mac's Address Book and iCal, as you can't use iSync.

The only complaints I have are minor:

-When attached to the remote control, the earphone cord is too long. While it can be tucked in a pocket if you are wearing normal clothes, it's a pain when you go to the gym or for a run.
-There's a slight pause between songs, which is annoying when listening to a complete concert.
-Like many newer cars, mine doesn't have a tape deck. Hence, the only way to play my iPod through the car stereo is through an FM transmitter - most of which have lousy reputations.
-The functionality of the calendar and address book could be improved, although I'm sure that will come in time and iPods will be fully functioning PDAs as well.

By now we all know what the iPod is and what it does - but just in case you don't, it's a device similar to what the walkman was 20 years ago that plays music from an internal hard drive instead of a cassette tape. You can currently get an iPod in 3 different sizes, 15, 20, or 40 gigabyte hard drives (not including the new mini iPod which holds 4 gigs). It will play several different file formats, not just mp3s. You can play full quality (16-bit) wav or AIFF files, as well as AAC or Audible files. The unit can also be used as a standalone hard drive.

This is all controlled from a simple touch-sensitive interface that allows you to scroll through your songs in a very organized way - either by song name, artist name, album name, or according to your own playlists. You will control the songs uploaded into the iPod from a computer, either a Mac or a PC, and Apple limits you in your ability to upload a song from an iPod onto someone else's computer (i.e. it knows which computer is yours). This is to prevent illegal file sharing.

It works well in general, and will hold thousands of songs. The exact number it will hold depends upon the quality of the files you import into it. I have the 15 GB model, and I mostly use full quality AIFFs or the highest quality MP3s and I've barely gone over halfway. By the time I fill the thing up, I'm sure they'll have something else for me to buy.

There. Now that's out of the way I can get on with the opinion side of things. It's an overall great product that has helped revolutionize the way we listen to music, some of it good, some bad. Most of my complaints about the iPod center around its lack of features, rather than current features that don't function properly.

The unit seems to offer very little compared with the technology that's available today. Why isn't the screen in color? Why doesn't it offer more PDA-like features? These are incredibly inexpensive features to install and would make it a far more valuable piece of equipment. Why doesn't it communicate wirelessly with Airport systems? Why isn't there an easier way to manage playlists from within the iPod itself, not just from a computer? Why isn't there a touch screen/stylus interface for even easier, less cumbersome usage? With all the technology coming to life today, the iPod seems to be remarkably less than what it could be.

I also find the problem of non-sharing between computers to be annoying. While I appreciate and agree that such elements should be controlled, cars still drive over 70 miles per hour - we leave it to the consumer to decide not to speed and break the law. Apple shouldn't decide for us. I'm a songwriter and I store song ideas in my iPod to take to writing sessions. The problem? When I want to leave a copy with a co-writer for him to work on, I can't because the iPod won't let me transfer a song to a computer that isn't mine. Here is a completely legal transaction being blocked by Apple's stringency. It can be very annoying.

I'm looking forward to what Apple does in the future with this device. Hopefully they'll make it more functional, incorporating the current and inexpensive technology available right now.

I think the iPod is a wonderful device. I loved it.....while it worked.

I carried my iPod from home to work in a padded case. Four months after getting the iPod, the drive started making a strange noise and stopped working. I took it to the Apple store to get repaired under warranty. The technician looked at the iPod and noticed a nearly undetectable blemish in the shiny silver back. He declared that the iPod had been "abused" and thus voided the warranty. It would cost me $300 to repair the unit (when it cost nearly the same new) if I wanted it to work again. I was informed by Apple customer service and the store manager that I had no other option and they would not honor the warranty even though another customer in the store couldn't find the "blemish".

Warning to any potential buyers - The iPod is great but is easily damaged. Since it is a sealed unit, any repair basically necessitates a new unit and if it isn't under warranty, will cost you the same as a new one. Since Apple appears to void their warranties at the drop of a hat, this means that if you want to gamble $300 on a product that could stop working because of normal usage, go for it.

This ranked as the worst customer experience I've ever had. Save yourself the headache and don't buy the beautiful, but hopelessly fragile iPod.