Customer Reviews

Apple iPod 5 GB M8697LL/A White (2nd Generation, July 2002 Version)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Do I recommend to iPod, despite the price? The answer is a loud Yes. This product is wonderful. Holds more music then you may ever need. The interface is intuitive and easy to use. If you're the type that needs to read instructions before even attempting to figure things out, well guess what, even you can use this product. The sound quality is great; the size is petite and easy to put anywhere, whether it's your pants pocket or your shirt pocket. The carrying case may seem skimpy but it actually does a good job of protecting the iPod. The case is similar to the hard plastic cases for cell phones where you slide the iPod out to make any adjustments but the case stays strapped to your belt. The remote is great to, again intuitive in use and after only a use or two you'll have no problem hitting those buttons without looking.
When it comes to listening to all those songs on the iPod you have many search options such as search by song, album, and singer. Add all the playlists you want to make listening to what you want even easier. If I have any complaint, it is the shiny chrome surface which is perfect for fingerprints and smudges but after a day or so of use, you will get use to it and no longer notice.
By the way, you want the firewire card the iPod requires and the reason is simple - speed. USB would take 8-10 hours to transfer 10 gigabytes of music, firewire only takes an hour or less.
So you have this wonderful piece of Apple hardware but what about the Windows software - MusicMatch? Well, it stinks. That is putting it mildly. To add songs to your play list you first have to add songs to the MusicMatch library, no big deal there, but no instructions on how to do it either. So you have your songs in the library and you want to change them so after you have the iPod hooked up you click "Sync" and after thirty or so minutes you have 1000 plus songs on your iPod.
So where are the problems? Well after you fire your iPod up you notice some strange things like the same artist listed five times or the same album showing three times. Looking carefully you will notice the difference is only a character or two so Pink would be listed Pink, Pin, and Pi. So you think, aw man, my iPod is defective, but if you check out your MusicMatch library you will notice that it lists the singer the same way. So you correct those entries using the "Tag" option. But guess what, when you look at the album titles, artists, song titles and genre you notice that so many of them have errors, usually the last character missing from each field. Suddenly you don't have to fix dozen or so titles but quite literally your entire library of 1000 plus songs times four fields, using the tag option. On top of that, there is no guarantee that MusicMatch will transfer those changes to your iPod. The fix according to MusicMatch is to add a space at the end of every entry, and this works but again to have to do this to 1000+ songs for four different fields is a time-consuming proposition. Supposedly a fix will be out for this problem but considering what a basic thing it is to read a text field and duplicate that information there is simply no excuse for it.
Also, another problem is that the syncing. By syncing the iPod you would think that meant I added a new album to my collection and after hooking my iPod to the computer, just that album will be added. Nope, MusicMatch deletes your entire library from the iPod and re-adds it, in the process adding the new album. Also, before even doing this you have to tell the library to add this album. It does not automatically add it even though that album is in the same directory that the library is compiled from.
A final problem is there is a feature that allows volume leveling so that all the songs have the same volume when played. Sounds like a cool feature till you realize that for MusicMatch to make the changes to level the volume it actually alters the file on your computer then transfers it. So you can't revert back to the way it previously was and also as a bonus, all that information about album, song title, genre and artist are now gone and the only way you can change them is to use MusicMatch's tag ability because the Windows property section no longer contains those fields.
So to sum up, iPod wonderful mp3 player, quit simply the best on the market. MusicMatch, a joke of software that cannot do something as simple as read text fields properly. My recommendation? By Windows iPod, marvel at it. Take that iPod disc that comes with it and toss it back in the box. Instead, use a search engine to find Ephpod. It is a free program that makes transferring music to the iPod a pleasure. It actually reads the tags right and when it syncs, low and behold, the program only adds the new stuff without deleting everything from the iPod and adding it again like MusicMatch does. Also it supports audible, calender, and contacts easily. Basically, it is everything that MusicMatch should have been. Did I mention it is free? So get your iPod, get Ephpod, and you are ready to go and enjoy this wonderful piece of hardware.

Trust Me-MusicMatch can ruin one's iPod experience (so many glitches, I will not even try to list them). Get XPlay right away. Don't get my review wrong-I like my iPod and use it daily and probably would not buy any other model, but for how expensive it is, I think they need to change a few other things. Please use Apple's iPod feedback website so things that are wrong with the iPod get changed (go to Apple's website and hit iPod and then hit feedback). Some issues may seem picky but if you have an iPod with 1000s of songs by 1000s of artists and use it all the time, they would greatly improve the iPod experience:

1) Apple needs a separate PC website because PC support online is basically non-existent.

2) No audible.com (audible book service) support for Windows-based users. Additionally, it looks like Apple has an updated Mac iPod Updater (1.2.1 recently came out) but not a corresponding new Windows iPod Updater and the website does not tell you that the update is not compatible with Windows. PC iPod's should have the same support and features as Mac-user iPods and it seems like there could be a divergence.

3) "SOUND CHECK" is a volume stabilizing feature on the iPod but it is not compatible with MusicMatch 7.1's "Volume Leveling" and therefore, effectively not compatible with Windows-based iPods. This is a great feature and it is wrong that it is not currently being supported in Windows.

4) Cannot add "Composer" tag (used on the iPod) through MusicMatch and other music management programs.

5) iPod's Internal Software. I have suggested many of these changes to Apple:

A) Long song, artist, and album names get cut off and some songs have the same name (happens when you have 1000s of songs), which can lead to confusion. There is a screen (I believe browse...albums...all songs) where the songs are not in alphabetical order but in album order but the names of the corresponding albums are not on the screen. Apple should add length (time), album, artist name, genre and track number of a song after the song title when the song title is highlighted for a certain amount of time. I think this could be accomplished by automatic scrolling over to the information when the song is highlighted and the longer the song is highlighted the more information is revealed. This could be especially helpful for songs with the same name, which happens when you have lots of songs. Further, this could alleviate the problem with song titles being too long for the browse screen and this happens a lot with different remixes. Also, there are album titles that are too long for the screen, too (for example, "100 Masterpieces of Classical Music (Vol .1)" vs. "100 Masterpieces of Classical Music (Vol .2)" vs. "... (Vol .3)" and so on) and scrolling over to reveal the full title and artist would be excellent (and if there is more than one artist for an album, it could say "Various Artists") because right now if an album title is too long (and the same with artist name), there is no way to see the full title on the iPod even in the "Now Playing" screen (it only scrolls to reveal the full song name).

B) Add day of the week to the clock.

C) Songs that have no album title (missing tag) should be put under a "Miscellaneous" or "No Album Title" when browsing "Artists...Albums". Since these songs are not included in the album listings, they will not play if you were to play from the album screen or when shuffling by albums.

D) Apple should add scan or intro that plays the first 10 seconds or so of songs (and you should be able to do this randomly and within artists, composers, genres, albums, and playlists) until you hit a button and then it will play that song and will resume the scan after the song. This is extremely nice when you have thousands of songs on your iPod and don't want to sit there and hunt for the song.

E) Playlists. Currently, you have to download playlists (not only song order but the actual songs so if you already have the songs in the playlist on your iPod, you will have duplicate songs) from your computer. Therefore, you should be able to create playlists on the fly from the files that are already on the iPod. More importantly and at least, I would like to be able to create a queue list (even just one queue list at a time would be fine) so I can choose a song to play and then choose the next song to play and the next and so on and being able to save it as a playlist would be a great bonus.

F) Add .wma file support.

G) The iPod places the group "Lo Fidelity Allstars" in the "F" section (rather than "L") like it does for the titles that begin with "The" and the same happens with titles that start with "De"). This should not happen in English menus.

H) Add support for second artists and song comments tags.

7) FireWire Issues. As a PC user (especially laptop users and 4-pin FireWire card users), you may have to buy a new FireWire card and an AC adapter if you want to supply power to the iPod while connected to your computer because many PC FireWire cards do not supply power to the peripherals. There is not a separate power source on the iPod other than its FireWire port (which is can be connected to the FireWire card OR to the AC Adapter but not both). Downloading songs can be lengthy and battery intensive so the battery may only last for an hour or two while downloading via a non-powered FireWire card and so you will have to recharge before downloading to the iPod again.

Brilliant. Finally the best Mp3 player in the world is available
for us Windows users out there. The connection is easy and the speed is blinding. I seriously recommend buying the 5Gb model as you will save [money]and there are not that many people out there who would be able to store more then 1000 songs. I am thouroughly pleased with my iPOD and I have not had even one little problem. This is definitely money well spent for all the Windows users out there who have been waiting for a quality Mp3 player. And now those gleaming Apple owners haven't got anything to gleam about anymore. OHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

My poor little iPod is dead. I plugged it into the computer the other day and it just fried. Now it won't respond when it's plugged in and the battery dies within an hour or two.
Let me tell you: the iPod is the greatest mp3 player in the market. Sure, there's a lot of 5 gig+ jukeboxes out there, but most are three or four times the size of an iPod.

However, it does have two drawbacks: it scratches EASILY, so the moment you take it out of the (really cool) box, slide it into a leather case and NEVER take it out, unless you really want to. Secondly, don't drop it, because it isn't especially strong. But drawbacks aside, let me get to the good stuff:
You take your iPod out of its box and it's fully charged, so you can start playing with it right away. You install the iPod software (MusicMatch is [bad], try xPlay, but I'd rather have RealOne)and you can start downloading your music right away. Firewire is so fast you can have about 5 hours of music on it in about a minute and a half; now compare this with the average USB jukebox- it would take about an hour. Then you plug in the earphones (they don't fit some people, but they fit most) and start enjoying your music!

Now, many people say the iPod is underpowered, sure, it's true, but only if you're half-deaf. For me, iPod's amp is more than enough. And about the EQ... well, it doesn't do much- since sound quality is so good. You'll be amazed when you first try it- you'll start hearing stuff on songs you'd never heard before.

But if it breaks... go to the Apple support site and ask for it to be repaired, I've heard the service is good, however, my request hasn't been answered in a week, so I guess I'll just have to take it back to CompUSA.

One more thing- you should get Senheiser headphones if you don't like earphones. Happy iPodding!

This review is mostly in response to a review a few down, in regards to the Firewire ports for PCs. The last two PCs I have purchased have included Firewire ports, as did my last laptop. These were not super high-end machines, either, so it isn't like I had to buy a special machine just to get a firewire card already installed. The firewire connection allows you to make song transfers at a much higher speed than USB - I would *never* want to deal with USB transfer for the volume of songs one would typically keep on an iPod.

As for the iPod itself, I've wanted one for years and was waiting for Apple to offer a Windows version. Therefore, I was already aware of its superior performance compared to other mp3 players I have tried or purchased. It is very intuitive, and you don't need to read anything in order to use it (in fact, the manual that comes with it is quite short, and doesn't cover every topic). Its compact size is very convenient, and the headphones, while small, are of excellent quality.

I use MusicMatch Jukebox with the iPod, though I do not use the install that came with the device as I already had MusicMatch Jukebox Plus on my computer. I have not encountered some of the issues raised by previous reviewers; I do not know if this is the result of a different version provided by Apple or if I've simply been lucky.

My only complaint thus far is the polished steel surface of the back casing. I need to get a case so it doesn't end up scratched.

I've had this for a month or so and love the
well-built design, the ease of use, fast firewire connection, etc.
in most respects this is the best MP3 player out there.
However, the firmware/software for the Windows compatible version is still buggy compared to the Mac version. Once it froze up (nothing on the display when you press the keys) and I had to run Ipod updater to replace the OS, once it froze up and plugging it back into the computer made it work again. An annoyance if you're on the road and lose use of it until you can get back home. An online review at an ipod website also noted these problems. Let's hope the second version of the software fixes these bugs.
Update: I read that Ephpod, a free utility available from the website of that name, is a good replacement for the supplied musicmatch software and resolves some of these problems (see review for 20GB model). I've installed it and so far so good.

I have found, after owning the iPod for about 2 weeks now, that it is the best mp3 player out on the market right now. People complain about MusicMatch, which isn't great, but it works. These people are impatient. You only need to go through your playlist and edit id3 tags, and then everything works. It takes me about 20 mins to download my whole music library (650 songs), which whould take until the next millenium on a USB. Also, Breakout is included for user enjoyment. I love this!!!!

I bought my ipod new 1 year and 1 month ago and it has simply stopped working. After days of trying everything in the knowledge base and being blown off by the 'applecare' staff I went to an authorized apple repair service who told me to just forget about it and buy a new one and save the repair expense. He also said to be sure to get a case for it and handle it very carefully because if you happen to drop it or even lay it down on a hard surface with too much gusto, kiss it goodbye. It was swell while it lasted but I can spend a lot less on a disposable product.

I absolutely love my iPod. I mean LOVE it! I use it everyday approximately 7 - 10 hours a week, and I've had it for months. It sounds great. It's small. It's awsome. Many other good reviews have already been writtien about the iPod's features and supposed bad points. I'd love to refute some complaints I've read, but I'm going to limit my review to whitch amount of GB's is needed for this unit.

I own the 20GB. It was the biggest I was aware of when I decided to buy an iPod. Let me assure you--it's more than enough memory. I have mp3's on the thing that have been on there since the day I bought it. I have yet to exaust its capacity yet. In my mind, the 10GB would have been an adequate amount, while 30GB is excessive and unnecessary. 20GB is plenty, folks. The only way I could see 30GB being absolutely necessary is if you're absolutely sure you need 30GB. I admit, if I were buying my iPod again, I would go for 30GB; that's just my nature. But it's completely unnecessary. 20GB is a dream. 5GB leaves you wanting.

Enjoy!

Cetainly the most clever music gadget ever conceived!
After a decade and a half of using portable cassette players (sony walkmen), the Ipod is just the cat's meow for the portable music afficionado--gym-habitual person!! I love this gizmo--it totally revolutionizes workouts. Of it's 1000-song capacity, I've put 483 songs on it so far, and the random playlist capacity puts songs together that will never cease to haunt me and please my heart and soul. The rechargeable battery is certainly an improvement over paying for duracells. Also available is an adapter for the car (which essentially puts my 400 cd collection in the car on long trips!!) I promise you, you won't be disappointed with the 5 gig Ipod for windows....remarkably engineered portable music heaven! Thank you, Apple!