An iPod upDate
by the Gadget Gals
Over the last few weeks I've noticed that Apple is running more and more of those clever ads for the iPod - it's digital MP3 player. You know the ads - the ones with the silhouettes dancing on the neon color backgrounds hooked to their tiny music players. Another ad on the morning news for one of the local department stores said an iPod is THE gift for the holidays this year.
I can believe that. I'm very fond of mine. I don't go anywhere without it these days. And I'll let you in a little secret - let's just say I don't mind sitting in the car pool line for a few extra minutes anymore since we did that write-up on Audible.com and the MP3 full length books that can be downloaded to it.
The iPod is also even more Windows friendly these days since the online (and legal) iTunes music store is now available to both Windows and Mac users. And after trying many of the other online music services in preparation for another article I wrote, I think iTunes is one of the most user-friendly.
This morning someone asked me for a recommendation on what the difference is between the three models of iPod besides storage capacity. The iPod now comes in three versions - 10GB (2500 songs), 20GB (5000 songs) and 40 GB (10,000 songs). The only other difference between the three, besides storage capacity, is that Apple treats the 10GB as its economy model. It doesn't come with a carrying case, wired remote or iPod Dock. If price is your most important consideration and you don't expect to be downloading days worth of music and books, I think the 10 GB model is an excellent choice. This is especially true for someone who has never had a player like this before or may not be using it all the time. You can always buy a carrying case or improvise something. All the wired remote lets you do is adjust the sound and turn it off and on from a little clip that sits halfway on the cord between the headphones and the player. It is useful for people who use the iPod when they are exercising. The clip makes it simple to adjust the iPod without taking it out of where it is stored, so that might be a consideration.
The iPod Dock is a little stand that lets you stand your iPod upright while you are charging it or downloading to it through the FireWire connection on your computer. I have to admit that I really like my dock. I leave it hooked up to my computer all the time and making it a no brainer to work with my iPod and add things to it on a daily basis. But do you have to have it? No, you can just lie the iPod next to your computer, connect it by cable to the FireWire port and do the same thing.
Since the iPod was introduced two years ago, it has dominated its portion of the MP3 player market - that is, large amounts of storage available for storing entire CD collections. There are less expensive MP3 players on the market that store an hour or more of music, but if you are looking for something more substantial, you are going to find it does cost more.
There are other recent entries into the same high-end MP market. The Dell DJ is promising to cost less and work with more online music services. Samsung's YP109GS is made to work with the new Napster service. The Rio Nitrus is cheaper and smaller, but it holds fewer songs. These iPod wannabes have pluses, but still can't compete with the ease of use and elegance of the iPod. Down the road even smaller gadgets that use the Cornice1-inch drive (the size of two quarters stacked on top of each other) may be on their way that hold 800 or so songs and cost below $200.
In the meantime, if you want to get thousands of songs (and entire books) into some one's pocket this holiday season, you may want to dance the iPod way.
Product Information
iPod
Apple Computer
http://www.apple.com/ipod/
10GB (holds 2500 songs) - $299
20GB (holds 5000 songs) -$399
40 GB (holds 10,000 songs) - $499
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