Home > Consumer Reviews > Apple iPod 20 GB White M9282LL/A (4th Generation) OLD MODEL

First I'll preface this review by saying that I have gone through several MP3 players and CD players, and I have no bias towards specific companies. Next I'll present you with a list of Pros and Cons:

Pros:
- very sexy and clean look.
- incredible sound quality, even mp3's almost sound CD quality, those little earbuds are incredible.
- good battery life, the 12 hours suggested by Apple is a little bit optimistic. I usually get about 11-ish hours after a full recharge and without the backlight on and at medium volume.
- very fast battery recharge.
- seamless and fast transfers, and although Apple says that it won't work with USB 1.0, it does work (albeit at a slower transfer rate).
- comes with everything you need
- the click wheel is very functional and I have yet to have any problems with it.
- very very slim and lite, I keep it in my pocket all day at school and don't notice it being there at all.
- very easy to conceal, watching a boring movie in Biology? Just pull out the 'pod and run the earbuds up the back of your shirt, it works very well actually ;). Yeah that's right Ms. Grotewiel, I don't watch your pathetic films, you dolt.
- easy to navigate menus.
- the games are a nice addition, but I never really play them.
- if you hold the menu button, the backlight will come on. This is an incredibly handy feature.
- if you order online from apple.com you can have 2 lines of text with 27 characters each laser engraved on the back, as well for a limited time their is free/one day shipping.

Cons:
- it scratches pretty easily (I personally don't have a problem with it, but some perfectionists might).
- yes it does have a high price.
- although the internal batteries only last 18 months, you can buy a warrantee from Best Buy and just say that the batteries are not functioning correctly, and they'll give you a new one. As well Apple is in the middle of a lawsuit for it, so you can count on a refund from them pretty soon if your batteries are worn out.
- as the saying goes 'white earbuds = mug me'. I've never heard any stories about having an iPod stolen, but I'm sure they're fairly desirable.
- iTunes is a little bit clumsy, but you don't have to use it to listen to music on your computer, I just use it to transfer music to my iPod. Also you can download a free plug-in for Winamp 5.0 (also free, and a better music playing program) that allows winamp to sync with your iPod. I have yet to use the plug-in for winamp, but I've heard positive things about it.


So when it comes down to it, the Pros far outweigh the Cons (some of the cons aren't cons at all!). Sure it is fairly pricey, but almost all 20gb mp3 players are around this price range, and the extra money is worth all of the advantages. If you're considering buying an iPod Mini, I would recommend the 20gb fourth generation over it any day. 16 more gigabytes for only $50 more is definitely worth it (and the 20gb is a better shape and isn't a lame metallic color). In conclusion, I strongly urge anybody in the market for a good mp3 player to buy a 20gb iPod, you WILL be pleased.

First, let me start off by saying, I know this is a lot of money. But if you've tried the other 20 Gig players, you'll know that none compare to this. I can run with mine on an armband and still screw around with the songs and volume while running.

iTunes kicks major ass over any other download service with free videos, iMixes, and 30 seconds intros to over a million songs. It also has a billboard feature where you can go to any city over about 50,000 and see what songs are on the top playlists for that area. It also shows the top downloaded songs in each genre updated constantly.

But back to the iPod -- I really can't find a bad thing with mine yet. Batteries still going strong...one charge lasts twelve hours. I did get the plan to replace my batteries if they ever die from Best Buy. Recharge takes about 2 hours to 80% then another 2 hours to 100% and then you are good for 12 hours. I just plug in every night. Comes with earbuds, charger, Firewire connector, and USB2 connector. Only thing you really should buy is an armband neoprene protector since back stainless steel can scratch. Have 11 hours on now and only about 695 meg used on the hard drive. I'd tell you more, but just trust me, you'll love it.

We bought this iPod in early December as a holiday gift and loved it dearly. Yet, six short months later, it died and Apple has washed its hands of us. The hard drive went. The Apple employee at the Genuis Bar lectured us that the unit is quite "fragile" and we were foolish not to have laid out the money for a hard protective case. The young man explained to us that the hard drive lies just inside a fairly thin shell and that it doesn't take that much pressure from books in a bag or briefcase to destroy the hard drive. And, that's what has happened.
We had a similar, less disastrous experience with my teenage son's iPod mini. One month after purchase, he apparently dropped it a short distance and, also having no hard cover, the top strip buckled where the earphone plugs in. It still plays but Apple won't fix the outside of the unit for us. Once Apple sees any scratches or dents on the iPod, they refuse to help because they blame all problems on rough use.

So, the iPod is wonderful but it's more expensive than you think because you really need to buy the hard protective case. In the long run it will be worth it. These machines are quite delicate and Apple really should explain these pitfalls up front.

There's no way in the world that any mp3 player compares with the iPod. Just look at how consumers are raving and craving them.
I have to admit that this seemingly delicate device is tough. I've dropped it a few times and absolutely nothing happened to the music or the components.
Also, anyone who is worrying about the fact that the 40 GB and 60 GB (iPod photo) can hold more songs, let me assure you. The cheaper 20 GB is fine. It can store 5,000-7,000 songs on it. I have 460 songs on mine already, but I've only used about 2.34 GB (you do the Math). It's a waste to pay more for 40 GB when you probably won't even use that space.
I have never been a fan of "earbuds" as they're called, meaning the tiny "buds" that go into your ear in replacement of headphones. But the white earbuds that come with the iPod have such good sound quality that even I use them on a regular basis.
iTunes is definately the best mp3 transfer program I have on my PC (meaning the program that helps you to transfer music to an mp3 player). It is easy to use and very fast.
I also give Apple credit for innovating the now envied touch-sensitive wheel. It's big, so there's no way you can accidently hit a wrong button. I often times keep my iPod in my pocket and the wheel is so good that I can hit the buttons by just reaching into my pocket, without even looking at them.
Also. When people say (if you go to a store to buy the iPod) "You should get the iPod dock charger because it protects the iPod from power surges while it's charging," don't fall for it. It's a clever business trick to get you to buy more things. The truth is if you have a surge protector for your computer (if you're so worried about a power surge) just plug it in to that. Plus, cell-phones have the same problem. They can be damaged by a power surge while they're charging. Do you know anyone who's had that happen to them? Huh? Didn't think so. So don't worry about it.
The iPod, however much it costs, is worth every cent and I highly recommend it.

I have very limited experience with MP3 players and this is the first I have ever purchased, but compared with the other players I researched, I think the interactive experience is excellent and intuitive, and designwise I believe that apple always has the rare priveledge of making very few compromises with planning and layout.

The only striking problems I have with the player is from the first charge I can only get at maximum around 8 hours of battery life as opposed to the 12 advertised. Battery life is significantly diminished if you click through songs and playlists often. The plastic casing is also prone to scratch and blemish easily but there are plenty of protective cases for this.

My best experience from the 4G iPod is with the aftermarket iTunes antenna in my car, at home and at parties without wires. I was especially impressed with the quality of this, as I expected NYC and Long Island to have heavy radio interference!

So buy it, ditch the wires and jump on Apple's case if the battery life is unusually short!