Customer Reviews

Apple 20 GB iPod from HP (MP102)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I have seem so many bad reviews for both the 20GB version of +HP Ipods and the 40 GB version of +hp Ipods. The reviewer seems to not understand the whole concept of the technology share venture between HP and Apple. Apple has good design, HP has its manufacturing and Marketing power. Its a natural combination!
I've been wanting to buy an ipod for quite a while now and IT IS very difficult to find an APPLE brand 20 GB 4th Gen Ipod! Apple simply can't keep up with the demand! The +HP brand Ipod is EXACTLY the same as the Apple Brand Ipod. The only few difference are listed here
- HP Logo at the back of ipod player (Nothing serious here)
- HP support (Not bad either, 24/7 with quick pickup)
- Allows HP Ipod custom printable skins (Nice addition, but the skins would probablly work on regular Apple IPods as well).
- PC Softwares (Does this really matter? +HP ipod would also work on Macs if you download itune for macs)

People kept on complaining about no WMA support. Remember Apple IPOD design is a copyrighted design by apple. If apple don't want to offer WMA support, there is nothing HP can do about it! HP simply helps the manufacturing and distribution!!! Nothing else. BTW, Hp invented is simply a catchy marketing phrase. The main core business of HP is printers and computers, did HP invent either one of these??? Don't concentrate too much on their marketing techniques, what really matters is the product.

Everything else is exactly the same! Even the apple logo still exist on the back of this ipod player.

So the only big difference I can see is apple support or HP support. To me, I don't really care. But if you really want Apple support don't get this. Otherwise don't look any further.

I agree with everyone...

1) The IPOD has the BEST user interface I have ever seen (and I researched about half a dozen leading MP3 players)

2) There is zero learning curve. If you can double click a mouse, push a button, and spin a wheel, you're an immediate expert with the IPOD

3) Sound quality is nothing short of awesome

4) HP version supports every conceivable audio format

5) For abt 300 bucks, you can back-up your entire music collection

6) Lots of very cool add-on gadgets

But why the two stars instead if five...

1) Arguabley one of the most grotesque applications of planned obsolesence: when the battery goes, the thing immediatey becomes a $300.00 paper weight (and I have friends who have said their battery deteriorated QUICKLY after six months of use). Yes, you can ship it in to Apple (with insurance about 15 bucks) and then have them install a new one (about 100 bucks) and then four to six weeks later you have your music back (ouch!). Folks, the net/net here is that they expect laziness to prevail, and Apple is hoping you'll just buy a new one. Whoever was the product manager making the decision to not provide a user serviceable battery should be shot.

2) At $300.00, about 40% more than it's closest rival. Steep premium even given the positives listed above (note: most of the cost is advertising)

3) The I-Tunes store has no live reps -- this means that you can only e-mail complaints. Even billing complaints. So, if you have a problem downloading a song or album (and this happens FREQUENTLY -- even on highly reliable broadband connections), you are forced to work issues thru e-mail. I've been thru this process twice now, and I can tell you it is an EXTREMELY time consuming and FRUSTRATING process.

4) A full charge on the battery does not deliver anything near what is advertised (I get about 3 and half hours)

5) Compared to the Real Music Downloads, relatively limited song selection (for non teeny boppers)

Net/net: It feels like Steve Jobs is taking cues from Bill Gates as Apple's general sloppiness, poor decision making, and greed has turned what could have been the product of the year, into a reason to search elsewhere for a mobile music library/player.

If you're looking for a player to put all your music on, the Apple iPod+hp is a good MP3 player for people who are HP customers and want a good player that is compatible for the PC. The Apple iPod is one of the best MP3 players to date. HP and Apple are just trying to get the iPod out to the PC market. I've had no problems so far with this iPod since I purchased it a few weeks ago. It has been working great and the sound is excellent. If you want to get the regular iPod that's fine, but the one from HP is just as good.

The IPod, a major hype in the industry that I will admit lives up to its name.

I'm alright on learning the tricks of an MP3 player but even I needed a lookover of the manual, I suggest you do so to if this is your first IPod.

I have about 900 songs on my computer so the 5,000 song storage was my favored choice, I've only used up 4.5 of a 20GB.

It's pretty much touch and go.
No skipping (which, is a duh, but it's nice to say)
The playlists are easy to access and create.
Transfer time is Such a delight, it takes about no time at all to just customize, hook up, download, and go. It's a great feature for someone who rarely has time to sit around and wait for everything to finish loading.

I even transferred my entire CD collection onto the ITunes software player included. (which took a Lot shorter time then when I do it through Windows Media Player)

Charge time seems to vary between 3-4hrs with me and if I were you, after you first charge your IPod and load some songs, charge it back up with the Firewire/Charger and not through the USB/PC port. It seemed to lower my battery faster when I used my PC as a charger instead of the charger included in the box.

I'm sure to some what I just said was Greek, but if you get one you'll know what I'm talking about. And I do suggest you get one.

The sound compared to anything I've ever had as an MP3 player (including a Sony product) is superb.

I do suggest you buy your own headphones (follow the review below me, the headphones are quite a hassle) I stick with my old ones. They do just fine.

One more thing, the back cover will get dirty Very fast, buy a cover for it as well.

And last but not least, the HP brand on the back does nothing to the IPods quality, don't mind it. It's a wonderful product and I fully support it.

and the free IPod offers never work, just try to buy one.

I purchased my 20 GB iPod+HP approximately 1 month ago. The packaging is very cute and I was very excited to open the box. I immediately ran to my pc to install the necessary software. I then encountered a big problem--I had a Windows error 1406 and 1403. I called Apple thinking that they could help me. They informed me that they could not help me because my serial number indicated that I had an HP iPod so they directed me to HP technical support. HP technical support walked me through several steps on my PC then informed me that they couldn't help me any further because my problem needed to be fixed by a computer tech (which costs money).

I have another computer but since it operates with Windows Me I cannot use it with iTunes. Without the iTunes software the iPod is useless, without Windows 2000 or XP on your pc you can't load iTunes and in my case, without a computer tech who charges $150 per hour to fix my pc so that I can use a device that already set me back $300. See my dilemma?

I didn't want to send the device back so I took it to a friend's house and used their pc to load my music into the iPod. A few things I've noticed since I've been using it:

1. Tags I've edited don't transfer over to iTunes from Windows Media Player or Music Match well. It takes a long time change the tags.
2. It transfers the music into your iPod super fast
3. The On The Go and New Playlists (Saved) created in my iPod don't show up when I plug my iPod back into the PC (even though I have the setting to use my iPod as a hard drive)
4. Sometimes when I transfer a whole group, I later find that some songs are missing from the group.
5. The battery life sucks but it doesn't take long to fully recharge so I've learned to keep a charger with me whenever possible.
6. The battery lasts longer if you charge it thru the AC adapter and not the USB or Firewire cable.
7. Earbud foam slips off and gets lost easily. I'm guessing that's why they included 2 sets in the package.
8. The headphones give great sound and volume but start to crackle a bit with extended max volume use.
9. iPod gets severely scratched up and dirty easily as does the earpiece. White was definitely not the color they should've went with. My iPod is very wounded after a little over a month of use. It should come with at least a little protective cover because I hate all the cases available to purchase for it.
10. Decide if you want to use it in multiple computers before you load your music because you will lose all your music if you load the software into another PC then configure the iPod to that new PC later. I suggest loading the software on all PCs first then setting iTunes to not automatically update the iPod when connected.

I love my iPod. I've always hated carrying around a portable CD player and a bunch of CDs so the iPod is definitely a lot more convenient. Although I am now realizing that I should've gotten the 40GB model because my iPod is now almost half full and I haven't even loaded 25% of my music collection. I'm a songwriter and this is a very usefull tool for me. I almost always have the instrumentals for the songs I'm working on thanks to the iPod so I can write anywhere. I might invest in the recorder soon and a remote control.

My relationship with my iPod is love/hate. Its very easy to use and once you have everything you need to hook it up its a dream gadget. Before purchasing it make sure that you meet all the system requirements otherwise it's a big waste of money. 3 stars for my new toy that I LOVE more than I HATE...

After struggling with several other MP3 players and trying MP3 on my Tungsten, I finally gave in and bought an iPod. I can't believe how great it is:

- Much better battery life than expected. I got very close to the advertised 12 hours after the first charge/discharge cycle. That's more than I'll ever need.

- Outstanding integration with iTunes. All my iTunes autosync with the iPod (you can sync manually too). Ripping my CDs is effortless. After struggling with others' software for years, iTunes is a lifesaver!

- HP actually has a better warranty than the Apple iPod, so you can't go wrong there.

- The interface is intuitive and effortless. I rarely need to look at the player to use it. No other player comes close (yes, I tried the Rio Carbon).

- More add-ons, accessories and software than any other player.

- Great iPod community to get help from and share with. - Lots of freeware too!

- Podcasts, Podcasts, Podcasts.

I could ramble on and on, but you get my point. Use an iPod and you'll never go back.

all the good things to be said about the iPod are pretty much covered below, so i want to adress some concerns about the battery.

1. those who have said their battery life is low, there's a ton of reasons why. if you're a constant song changer, that requres hard drive use, which sucks power big time. make some good playlists, and problem solved.

2. back off on the backlight... again, a big power sucker.

3. my biggest gripe: the battery indicator is not accurate. i thought i was getting only about four hours of battery time too, so i did a test-- made an 8 hr. playlist and just let it run-- would you believe it, the thing ran for four hours on an empty battery indicator! i get about 8 hours total battery life. i've read that i'm not the only person who's had this situation with their iPod.

4. battery life is also effected by the lenghts of tracks-- i'm a jazz listener, so my average track length is about 6 minutes or so. this effects battery life-- the hard drive has to use more power to bring up bigger files. i've learned to live with this... somebody should fill a pod with all ramones and descendents tunes and see how long it runs...

5. don't think of it as disposable-- just use it smartly. you get around 4-5 hundred full charge cycles in a lith ion battery. if you are gonna use it for 8 hours a day, bring a charger with you. partial discharges followed by charging count as only partial cycles, so in theory, if you don't let the battery run down every day, it could last for many years.

at the end of the day, i love my iPod. WAY smaller than my friends Dell Digi Juke box, huge memory capacity, great support online thru apple or hp. i reccommend it, but it'd be awful nice to get that battery meter reading correctly...

I know, I know. It's practically the same as the Apple IPOD but I found the HP to have a Windows XP Setup poster inside and THEY WERE IN STOCK! Plus there are customizable tattoos I can print then stick on my HP IPOD. So if they are the same then why not buy HP?

I got my 20gb iPod + HP for my birthday yesterday and it is AWESOME. Software installed on my computer in less than a minute then it detected and add my 11.9gb of music in 15 minutes!!! I havent had any problems with it and I got about 11.7 hours of playback doing the standar li-ion full charge full discharge cycle once.(Thats all you need to get the activation charge or you will kill battery life.) Definetly get this device from Costco(They sell it for 279.99 vs. the 299.99 from the Apple store you can also take it into Costco if its damaged and they will give you a new one as long as you have reciept and original packaging) all in all this is an awesome device and worth every cent

**** LATEST update to iPod family ****
- iPod & iPod photo lines merged; no more iPod photo 30 GB
- iPod comes in two capacities - 20 GB ($299), 60 GB ($399) with color screen & photo support
- U2 iPod (20 GB) down to $329 from $349 - with color screen & photo support
- iPod shuffle 1 GB down to $129 from $149
- iPod 60 GB down to $399 from $449
- new version of iTunes (4.9) that support podcasts
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This is not a review of iPod 20 GB as such - great reviews are available already. Here is some information that might help in deciding which iPod to go for.

You may want to look at iPod photo 30 GB instead of this product, from now onwards... With just $50 more, you get a iPod photo 30 GB with a color screen!

Today (23 Feb 2005), Apple announced a major change in its iPod lineup and here is how it affects iPod 40 GB and iPod photo models:
> iPod 40 GB is discontinued
> iPod photo 40 GB is discontinued
> iPod photo 30 GB (new product) replaces the 40 GB iPod photo and the regular iPod 40 GB
> iPod photo 60 GB now costs $150 less -- $449 instead of $599
> iPod photo 30 GB costs $349 ($150 less than iPod photo 40 GB and $50 less than regular iPod 40 GB)
> iPod dock ($39), AV cable ($19), carrying case ($29), and firewire cable ($19) do not ship with iPod photo (have to be bought separately if you need)
> So, now we get only three things with the iPod: earphones, AC adapter, USB 2.0 cable
> iPod photo Camera Connector is introduced - this can be used for connecting your digital camera directly to the iPod

Since I have iPod 40 GB as well as iPod photo 60 GB, I strongly recommend iPod photo for those who are looking beyond the iPod 20 GB. The color screen has much better resolution and it also has a scrolling feature for long texts. Of course, the ability to store and view the photos is a great value addition too.