Customer Reviews

Apple iPod 4th Gen. 20GB MP3 Player

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is my first IPod. It was always the device people talked about so I decided to take the plunge. I have had it a week now and it is very easy to use and has great sound. There are lots of very positive reveiws of the Ipod out there and my only comment is belive them.

One thing that I did not see mentioned anywhere until I got it was the firewire connrection is 6 pin. If you have a 4 pin connection (commen to laptops) and don't have USB 2 you will need to get an 6 to 4 pin adapter ($2-$3) to synch your Ipod. It would be nice if Apple just threw this in.

**UPDATE** - You can't use the Calendar, Notes, or many of the other functions like email, weather, or news story downloads without the software called "ipodsync". It's about $15 from www.ipodlounge.com or www.shareware.com, and works like a charm. (PC users) ipodsync auto-connects to Microsoft Outlook. Very cool and extremely easy to use. Wish it came with the ipod though. I'd recommend looking at it. - **UPDATE**

I recently upgraded my Mp3 player from a 3+ year old Intel to this new 4G ipod. And all I can say is WOW!!!

But, all the other reviews just RAVE about the good points, so I'll focus more on what I don't like about it - and a few things I love.

First of all, there are no cases for it. No jogging clip, no nothing. So, until something comes out that can accommodate the wheel, you have to carry it. (Something will probably come out within a few months)

The fancy, shiny aluminum back is pretty, but I had mine for a grand total of about thirty minutes before it was COVERED in fingerprints. Not a huge deal, but the ipod starts to look shabby fast.

Also, the "hold" button that prevents you from pressing buttons when you don't mean to is REALLY hard to use. It's flush with the surface and it takes a fingernail to move. I've also found that with the ipod stuck in your pocket, the hold button sometimes moves back! Then your songs switch without warning.

Don't buy this thing for the games or the "notes". Those are silly add-ons that a $50 pda can do MUCH MUCH better. But, the games are a great diversion.

One last thing - lose the earphones. Something of such poor quality as those should not be in this box. Spend $10 at Walmart and get a better pair.

Some good points, though - first and foremost is that wheel. When I read "click wheel" I thought you actually had to press buttons. NO! You just run your finger along it. Very, VERY cool, if just for that.

The box is just fun to open. When you receive yours, take a moment to enjoy.

The battery also works well. I've had mine on for eight-nine hours with perfect sound the entire time.

Included USB2 and FireWire cables are VERY nice. The fact it holds 5,000+ songs, cool. The fact that I uploaded my 800+ songs into the ipod in the time it took me to fill my old 128mb Mp3 player with the included USB2 cable? PERFECTION!

4/5 stars for the few bad points listed above, as well as for the fact that the ipod dock isn't included (like it is in all 3G and the 40GB 4G ipod also available - but GET ONE. It's worth every penny) I DEFINATELY RECOMMEND THIS IPOD!

As for the 40GB vs the 20GB option? I'd say don't spend the extra $100 if you don't need it. 5,000 songs is a LOT. I'm a music-aholic and I own only about 800.

Although I tend to purchase electronic fads quite quickly, the iPod was something I didn't jump into immediately. For two reasons, the complaints of previous versions (battery life) and the second, being the price. Many of you who are probably reading this have probably perused ipodlounge and the reviews on Amazon.com to get an idea of which to purchase among the variety of music players out there. I'm not going to give a review because as you can see, there are quite a number of good reviews to read out there but perhaps the reason why I finally gave in, may change your mind into purchasing the 4th generation iPod.

* Longer battery life - This is definitely important for me. I read about tests going as far as 13 hours. That's just great! I need something that can last 6-8 hours a day.

* 3rd Party Support - Although the third party support is expensive, I'm not really sweating much because if you own a Mac and are used to buying software and hardware, you know how things are already. But there is very good 3rd party support with the iPod which you don't really see for the other top high-end digital music players. I was just stoked that I no longer have to deal with having an MP3 player and those cassette players to listen to in my car and get all tangled and stuff. To have a recharger allow you to listen to your iTune via radio without that cassette adapter....cool!

* Reputation of the company - Yeah, I'm into trendy things and the fact that people are willing to spend the extra money for convenience is great. For me, it's not much more of the fad or the advertising campaign but the fact that I need something that integrates well with my choice of music store and music software which is iTunes. Also, reading about the crowds in Tokyo and a major magazine coverage over this device is really cool!

* Bells and Whistles - I like the fact that you can use the iPod as a storage device and 20 GB or 40 GB is great! There are games but I'm not used to playing solitaire with the click wheel. If I wanted games on a portable system...that's why I have my Power PC or GBA SP for. But the fact is...the extras of having to read text books, storage for files and also those games are pretty nifty.

Anyway, considering an iPod is a hard thing for people because of the cost issue. It was nagging me yesterday when I bought one. 20GB and accessories or 40 GB with dock and no accessories...either way, I was going to spend $400+. Can you justify spending $400 on a music player? I realize that for the convenience, I could and it's been more than a day of owning a 4th Gen and I'm happy.

Just a word to the wise that many stores are offering specials of trying to rid all of their older iPods and third gen's for the same price but with Applecare support or with more accessories. Don't do it. The new technology with the battery life of the 4th Gen is more than worth it and it's the same price for what they are selling the older versions for sans the Applecare but I highly recommend purchasing the 4th Gen [note for newbies, 4th gens do not have the vertical buttons under the screen /Also refer to this page if you need the model number of the 4th gen iPods: http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html]

All in all, I'm happy with this purchase and if you are a considering buying the 20 GB or 40 GB 4th gen IPOD, I really do believe it's a great choice.

Its still the smallest, and it still has the best interface (scroll+click wheel). The sound quality is great, and apple has paid great attention to detail.
The competition is catching up though. Creative's latest, the zen touch has its own touch pad, and although heavier by 1.5 oz and slightly bigger, has a 24 hr battery life and offers FM tuning and recording capabilities (through its remote).
I spent a lot of time deciding between the iPod and the zen touch, and went for the iPod. I've had it for a day now, and am not at all dissapointed. It rocks! (The zen touch also has reportedly a "freezing" problem.)

Unless you need more battery life or FM capability, this is the player of choice. Look no further.

A word of caution: ipodlounge.com reports many users having audio problems with the 4G ipod (static through the headphones), so be informed. Mine does not have any issues and functions perfectly.

I held out for the 4th generation 20GB iPod when I heard that it was coming equiped with the 'click wheel', that had previously only been available for the iPod 'mini'. I found that to be the most impressive thing about the iPod 'mini' - basically for ease of use, and the feel it gives. It was worth the wait.

The 'click wheel' is much easier to use, compared to the previous generation's models with the touch screen. It takes seconds to work the menus and go from song to song.

This unit comes with the USB/firewire cable as a standard item now. Does not come with the dock, remote control, or carrying case like the 3rd generation units - but you get $100 off the price, so you can still end up with the same accessories, and a new generation iPod for the same money.

I have transferred in about 2,400 tracks so far - very easy to use both the Ipod and iTunes. Both are EXTREMELY user friendly and take minutes to get used to.

Backing up your iTunes library takes a short amount of time. Two DVDs to capture all 2,400 tracks. Burning CDs from iTunes is much easier than the Windows Media Player, which I was previously using.

The first battery charge lasted only about six hours. That may be due to the fact that I used the menus a lot, and had it hooked up to the Griffin iTrip (The iTrip works great) for most of that time. I have read that the first charge is usually a short charge, and after that the battery takes a longer charge. It is advertised to be a 12 hour battery.

I was worried about what the sound quality would be like, but that seems to be just as good as the actual CD sound. I bought the JBL Creature speakers for home use, and they work great with the iPod. Match them pretty well to boot.

The only area I wish Apple had improved upon would be the screen. It is sharper on the 'mini' units. This is only a problem at night, during the day the screen is very easy to see. The backlight helps out at night, but can be a drain on the battery. You can adjust the time the backlight stays on (or turn it off completely), so it's only a minor issue.

The first time I took it in the car, and was able to chose from hundreds of CD titles, thousands of songs, to have all of that at my fingertips was a great experience. Talk about convenience. I would strongly recommend you get one !!

First of all, for purposes of disclosure, I'm still learning all of the myriad ins and outs of my 4g 20gb Ipod received just last week.

That said, I guess I'm one of the more fortunate purchasers who didn't receive a less than perfect unit - no scratches or blemishes, no non working parts, in fact, everything works right out of the box - fancy that !

I'm having a ball transferring all of my various audio media to this compact little unit. With a little due diligence, and with the help of various tutorials such as can be found at the ipodlounge.com, I'm getting everything moved over. Btw, the included manual leaves much to the imagination so don't for a minute try to use it as a definitive 'how-to'. Poke around the internet for websites and usenet groups where there's a vast community of experienced ipod geeks willing to help.

The learning curve for most of the newly discovered features is quick. Ya gotta love the touch sensitive navigation wheel. Somehow the engineers at Apple have once again put their intuitive minds to great use in providing the ultimate in a user friendly media tool. In fact, the case/unit is not just physically attractive but it looks like it's built like a rock (and it IS!) while still both ergonomically correct and even hand friendly in terms of overall tactile feedback.

I could go on and on but perhaps you'd rather take one out for a test spin yourself. If you decide it's not the right item for you, there's plenty of others out there who'd gladly take it off your hands for a premium resale price. Then again, once you've added this little gem to your electronic gear collection, I can almost guarantee you'll like it.

Now if only I could find a set of headphones that feel as comfortable as the Ipod itself ..... :-)

I had the opportunity to own the 2 ends of the espectrum in the world of HD-based MP3 players... One end is the SAMSUNG-NAPSTER Y90 MP3 player, which I had to exchange twice thinking there was something wrong with the unit and ended up returning for refund on the 3rd time. (This player appears to be designed to feel cheap, to have cumbersome controls, to freeze-up constantly, lowsy software, terrible sound, etc, etc.). I know it sounds cliche, but DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY on this player.

The OTHER end of the spectrum is the NEW IPOD 20GB. NOW I realize why the ipod is in a class by itself. It is one of those devices that borderline in magical in the way the software / controls / performance is integrated - apple's stronghold. The moment you hold it you can tell the design is a masterpiece, the finishes are like the ones on a Cartier watch.

The software (itunes) is EXCELLENT, and lets you migrate your entire MP3 library with no intervention (in fact, just by pluggin it it, 10 minutes later, the entire 500 plus song library was transferred!. When you add more songs, it syncs up again just by plugging it in.

Yep. I'm in love with the ipod... Highly recommendable, make sure you buy the new version.

Cheers.

The new iPod with Click Wheel is a great player. If you want testimony of that, read the other reviews.

Now, though, I am here to tell you that you should wait a couple of weeks untill the rest of the iPod mini-industry catches up. The iPod's back gets smudged and scratched very easily and it is very noticeable. Wait untill cases for the new iPods come out in late August or September, unless you like Apple's case, which is a basic case with a belt clip that requires you to take the iPod out of the case to reach the controls and therefore smudge up the back. Now if the case were $10, OK. But the case is $40.

Save your money and wait untill decent 4G iPod cases come out. Then buy your 4G iPod.

If you need a case suggestion, look at www.marware.com, whose cases offer the most bang for the buck.

The news of the release of the 4th-gen iPods prompted me to visit the local Apple store. After waiting for three other guys I got a chance to play with the new iPod. I'd say the styling is slightly sharper than previous models. The overall physical dimension does feel a bit smaller, and this is a boon to all those who were salivating after the Mini's small form factor. The front of the iPod only has the click wheel. While I appreciate the simplicity, my playing with it revealed that it's still a little confusing to use, and I had trouble controlling the speed, sometimes frustratingly overshoot or undershoot in my selection. Also, the metal on the sides will catch lots of finger prints.

Still, for someone who doesn't own an iPod yet, the new models are the most tempting so far.

Easy to use, can carry all of your favorite songs, can play music for up to 12 hours (I have tried the battery life and it's true), plus the shuffle feature makes it fun and uncertain at parties...You should get this if you're serious about great quality and finding an MP3 player that's worth the cost. It's latest competitor (Creative Zen Touch) can't get close as Creative's design is thicker and with a software does not allow you to do what iTunes does...