www.stanc.net/New Apple iPod Review by Stanley Chan 5/04/03

 

Introduction

 Since its introduction in late '01, the Apple iPod has been regarded as one of the best HD-based MP3 players. Not surprisingly, it has outsold all other hd-based MP3 players despite it's higher price tag and limited Windows compatibility. Simple user interface, small footprint and fashionable styling made it what it is. When Apple announced the newest generation iPod, I didn’t think they would drastically move away from the basic design. Many felt the button placement on the old one and ergonomics was unbeatable. I would have to agree on that one, as I found operating the old iPod an easy and intuitive function. When I first got my Generation 1 iPod, I never even looked at the manual. It was just really natural to use and learn. Once I saw the spy photos of the new one, I was shocked to see that the button layout had been changed and in favor of putting the 4 main function buttons on the top of the scroll wheel. I thought this had to be a joke, as the old layout was far superior.. But as always, Apple likes to surprise us with strange designs, but always putting usability at front.

 Enter the new iPod.. The new iPod was officially introduced by Steve Jobs on April 28th. As usual Apple style, the shipment of the product after announcement would be very short.. Just 4 days in fact. The new iPod was officially sold on May 2nd , but many retailers such as CompUSA sold them a day in advance. This is where I bought mine on May 1st ;-) From what I can tell, the Apple stores stocked many iPods, and there was no shortage to report. I actually picked up a second unit for my girlfriend  on May 3rd and my local Apple store had plenty in stock. It really looks like Apple went all out to make this as easily available as possible. Gone are the long delayed shipment and shortages. This is in my opinion is an excellent execution and a great launch by Apple.

 Price wise, Apple actually lowered the MSRP of all the units relative to the older models. The new versions come in 10, 15 and 30GB flavors with $299, $399 and $499 for the later model. The 'base' model 10GB lacks the docking station, case and remote control. By all means, it looks like the 15GB may be the darling of the bunch, offering large storage space, all accessories and a relatively reasonable price tag. I will also note that the 30GB is also a tad heavier and thicker in size compared to the 10 and 15GB offerings. But the size difference will be hard to discern on such a small unit already. I believe Apple has uniquely positioned itself with pricing. The nearest competitor, the creative nomad Zen, comes in 20GB but at $299. People looking for a portable hd-based MP3 player will most likely compare the 20GB Zen with the 10GB iPod based on the same pricing. But if dug deeper, you will find the Zen a much heavier and more difficult device to use. But the fact remains, that Apple and Creative have a product with the same MSRP, and most likely the battle will be fought there. Of course Apple is aware that their competitors are busily readying their 'iPod Killers' But so far, nothing has matched the usability and stylishness that is the Apple iPod. I personally picked up the 15GB version and this review will be based on that version.

This new version of the iPod marks the first signifigant update and design change, since the first generation iPods were introduced. The updated list of features is quite impressive. And updating an award winning innovative design such as the first iPod was not an easy task for Apple. 

 

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Out of the box experience

 I entitled this the, 'out of the box experience' because when you open your first iPod, there is no other sensation quite like it. It was very similar to driving my first hi-powered sports car. From the moment you slip in, you know you're in for a treat. The box is unusually designed, as it is a perfect cube and the cover slips off to reveal the hidden cube that opens up in the middle. You can see great care in designing this box as Apple has always been about details, details and more details. After opening the box, you will begin to 'peel' off layers of products and begin to notice the little details Apple has used to design and engineer each product. The firewire cable is not thick and bulky, but rather thin, light and elegant in design. The dock is very heavy and the whole bottom is made out of non-slipping rubber. The remote looks like a piece of art. Overall, you just get the impression that you get what you paid for. It's the details that count when looking at the big picture. Interestingly enough, the iPod itself is covered in a plastic wrap that says: "don't steal music."

 What’s in the box: (15+30GB versions)

 

Click on picture for a bigger view

 

First impressions and installation

 Since this will be a Windows review, I will focus on using this with my Windows box. I don't have a Mac, but I would be very interested to try out the new iTunes with AAC encoded downloads. Perhaps I will add an addendum to this review later. The word on the street is that Apple is looking to develop iTunes for Windows. Only time will tell if this is a reality or not. I'm betting that we'll see it by the end of this year, as Apple wants the world to start using it's new track buying program that is with the new iTunes 4.

 When you first plug in the iPod, windows will recognize the unit as an 'iPod' but will not be formatted for windows use. To do so, you will need to install the Windows updater software from the CD. For the sake of trying, I actually went through the whole 'recommended' install process. Basically what happens is after plugging in the iPod, the windows installer will load the updater to format the iPod for windows use. At this point, you have to run through a lengthy registration process with no option to skip. I thought this was a very tasteless move by Apple. Forcing someone to register before continuing is very rude-like. At any rate, after the software is done setting the version of your iPod, it will then start installing Music Match software for loading Mp3s. At this point, you can quit the Music Match install process and use your desired MP3 loading software. Music Match was not designed by Apple, rather it was a very universal software that many people used before, and Apple, just 'added' the iPod support to it. To most, Music Match is very bloated and very confusing to use. I didn't like how Music Match took over playing all my mp3 files w/o my consent. When it comes down to it, Music Match will work, but there are far better software for loading MP3 files onto the iPod. Personally, I use Ephod, which is a free download you can get here: (www.ephpod.com) Installation and usage is very easy. Ephpod can be used to transfer files, or it can be quite powerful, as you can edit id3 tags with it as well. In my opinion, Ephpod is worlds better than the included Music Match, and best of all, it’s free! There are of course other options as well, such as Media Center 9, Xplay, etc.. I briefly tried Xplay, and it is very simple to use, and good to use if transferring files to the iPod is all you are interested in. There is an excellent forum at www.ipodlounge.com that you can post questions and tips on each available software package.

 A common misconception about the docking station when the new iPod was first announced, was that you actually *had to* use it in order for the iPod to transfer music or charge. that is simply not the case. For the most part, the only real difference between the older iPod and the new one, is that on one end of the firewire cable, you have the standard 6-pin firewire jack, and on the other end you have a proprietary long slim jack. The proprietary end can be plugged into either directly on the iPod itself or on the dock. the only real feature the docking station offers, is the line out function (more on that later) and the ability to hold the iPod. The drawback to the new cable is that it is of proprietary design, so you can't use any off the shelf firewire cable as in the past. At first I felt, this was a drawback as I had multiple cables for each use. For example, I had a cable plugged into the charger, and one on the back of my computer. If I wanted to transfer music, I just unplugged it from the charger, and plugged it into the cable that’s plugged into my computer. With the new cable, and since I only have one, I had move and unplug the cable whenever I wanted to charge or transfer music. It gets even worse as I occasionally use my iPod to move files from work and home and now, I would have to bring the proprietary cable with me. I'm sure one of the first accessories most will purchase will be extra cables. but at $19 a pop, it's not as reasonably cheap as a standard Firewire cable.

 One of the most asked for options hardware wise, was the addition of a line-out jack. Headphone and audio enthusiasts alike have always wanted a clean , uncluttered output signal so they can connect to their own amps. what a line-out does, is it will completely bypass the onboard headphone jack amp and processing for a much cleaner signal. This in turn will allow you to connect the iPod and use it as a source for a hi-end home amplifier or headphone amplifier. Since i'm actually somewhat of a headphone enthusiast, one of the first tests I did was to test the signal or quality of the line-out using my home-built Meta42 opamp based headphone amplifier and with my pair of Sennheiser HD600 headphones. The HD600s has an impedance of 300ohm, making a headphone amp a much needed tool to drive those headphones. Right out of the headphone jack of the iPod, the HD600s can be driven, but very poorly. The sound is very thin and weak. With the new line out of the iPod + headphone amp, the HD600s sounded very very good. On my 320Kps Lame encoded MP3s, the sound was excellent. At first listen, I swore I could hear the differences between the MP3s and using the original CD as a source, but I think it may be due to the iPod being a tad brighter source and revealed a bit more highs or treble than my CD source (Sony D-25S) Overall, I think the line out is nicely executed and very high quality - sound wise. One thing to note, you do not need the Firewire cable plugged into the dock in order to use it. you can just plug the iPod into the dock and move it around to wherever it is needed. This makes an excellent portable music player that you can carry from room to room.

 Sound wise, I found the iPod to be excellent. The onboard headphone amp is plenty powerful to drive most of today's portable headphones. I tested the iPod with various headphones such as the Etymotic ER4-S and a relatively cheap and in-expensive Koss KSC-35. The Etymotic headphones are very neutral and are somewhat hard to drive for most portable devices. Since I have the 'S' version, it is highly recommended by Etymotic for use with an amp. With my previous iPod's, I had no problem driving the ER4-S headphones with great strength and ear bleeding volumes. The ER4 headphones match up great with the iPod, as the quality is beyond excellent. The bass on the ETY's will take some used to, as you can't really feel it, but you can hear it. It's quite the sensation. You will literally have a symphony in your head, and you will completely be cut off from any outside noise. I found this combo excellent for plane travel and general bedroom listening. With both the iPod and the ER4 headphones, you literally have a world class music system that can fit on the palm of your hands! On the other hand, I also tested the iPod with the highly regarded under $50 headphone that is the Koss KSC-35. I must say, I was completely blown away by this combo. The Koss and iPod seemed to have a special system synergy that just paired up great together. I use this combo everyday at work, and I couldn't be happier. This proves to me, that the iPod is a great unit for driving different headphones at different quality levels and price point. The iPod exhibited absolutely no hiss and is dead silent. For the most part, I am very satisfied with the sound quality of the iPod, and I noticed no difference good or bad between the old units and the new ones. Unfortunately the new iPod carries over the EQ settings from the previous one. I found the EQ to be very badly integrated. Occasionally, when using the EQ, I will notice my MP3s will clip or distort. I never noticed this when the EQ settings are off, and I can only attribute this to the EQ algorithms that Apple has implemented. Rather than having a HW based EQ, they probably used a software based solution that is highly inadequate for most usage.

 I've never been a big fan of the remote, and this new remote is exactly the same as the old one. The only difference is that they connecter to the iPod has 2 extra prongs. I believe Apple stated that this will make the new remote sturdier to connect. There have also been some reports that there will be a new recording mic option that uses those 2 extra prongs as well. In time we'll see what exactly Apple has in store for us. The charger is also exactly the same as the old models and is interchangeable. I used my old charger with the new iPod and it works fine. I'm glad to know that Apple did not change the things that were functuality perfect.

 

iPod with Meta42 headphone amplifier + Sennheiser HD600

 

 UI = User Interface

 One of the best features and selling point of the older iPod was its GUI, or Graphical User Interface. It was very well designed and easily enough to use but powerful enough to satisfy all the techies. It was truly one of those designs that were absolutely easy and intuitive to learn, and doing anything requires very few button presses.. The newest version added to the new iPod is V2.0. Those of us familiar to the old version will be immediately at home with the new version. The first things I’ve noticed is that the menus are now customizable. What that means is that if you don't want a certain option or feature, you can disable it to your liking. For example, don't like the calendar and game functions? just disable it. While this was not really the added feature that everyone asked for, they did listen to the consumers. We now have "on the go" playlists. What it does is now you have the ability to create a playlist within the iPod itself. usage wise, I found it very easy to use. While playing a song, you can browse to whatever song or playlist you wish, and just hold the 'action' button. you'll see a quick flash, and now the song or playlist has been added to your 'on the go' playlist selection. You can access this playlist by browsing playlists again and select the on the go playlist. It is really easy to use and a much needed addition to the iPod. Since this new 'on the go' playlist is not implemented like other vendors, there have been usability reports that it is not as functional as people have wanted. For the most part, I believe it does exactly what it is set out to do, and in an easy functional fashion. Amongst the numerous tweaks, they have also added 2 new games; Solitaire and Parachute. Although the games are a nice addition to the iPod, it was in no way a selling point for me. What I want from an MP3 player is the ability to play MP3s well and with no fuss or hassle. I know Apple tried to be true to this first and foremost, and the additions are a nicely added touch.

Old vs. New

 While the old iPod was in no way outdated, there were little quirks that most didn't like but lived with. When doing a direct comparison between the old and new you can see that Apple addressed some of the quirks and finally fixed or updated them. With the old iPod, when you manually shut down or 'sleep' the unit, the next time you turn it on, it will forget the last song you left off with. With the new iPod, it will return to the exact position in the song that you left with. Although most find the new iPod a nice upgrade, there were things that were not improved. Much has been discussed about the reduced battery life, and although I have not done any long term testing, I don't what the fuss is all about. I've rarely been away from my ac-adapter long enough to completely drain the battery, but I can see why others may have this concern.

 Hardware wise, the new iPod is much thinner and sleeker than the old one. I never thought the old one to be outdated in the looks department, but when doing a direct comparison, the new one looks just that much better. of course this is a subjective opinion, but if you put both side by side i'm sure most will agree. The headphone jack on the top is now actually embedded into the unit as well, so there should be no problems with it breaking as reported by the old units. The back of the unit as far as I can tell, is the same exact polished chrome material as the old iPod, and is very prone to scratches and fingerprints.. I really thought Apple would address this issue as that was a major concern with the old iPod's. But I guess beauty over function prevailed this time as well. The front cover of the unit although made of plastic, looks to be made of a more durable plastic. The all touchpad tactile buttons on the new unit is controversial as well. Although I found it suitable for what it is, there is no replacement for the feel and tactile response of mechanical buttons. Many times have I pressed the button and the unit did not register my press. Only time will tell if this will be cumbersome, but for the most part it has not been that big of a nuisance to me. The main function wheel is a smaller diameter, and is nice and smooth. The four new function buttons are now backlit as well. Apple choose an unusual orange / red hue and is somewhat bright for the size of the buttons. The LCD was touted as, "higher resolution" and indeed it is. From what I can tell when doing a direct comparison, the new LCD offers more pixels so the resolution is a tad higher. The new bluish tint backlight is a welcome addition as well. It looks absolutely mesmerizing when operation the new iPod in complete darkness. Overall, the new iPod offers unparalleled styling that is unique, fun and fully functional at the same time.

Conclusion

 In my opinion, the new iPod is a worthy upgrade to the excellent older iPod. For people new to iPods, I say skip the older one and go straight for the new one. Although you may not notice all the little improvements of the older one, what you will get is a cleverly designed unit that does an excellent job for what it is: An MP3 player like no other.

 

The Good

I firmly believe that this is an excellent upgrade / update to the older version. While Apple did not go out and break new ground with this unit like they did with the first iPod, what they did accomplish is make an excellent portable music player that is easy to use, very stylish and just plain fun. If you are new to iPods, you are in for an absolute treat, as you will quickly fall in love with one and wonder why you never got one in the first place. The iPod is a very well executed product and I give two big thumbs up to Apple for a job well done.

The Bad

The only real negative aspect to this product while looking at it from the big picture, is that it does indeed have little quirks that may be annoying to some. So far, in the few days that i've had the unit, i've had to reset the unit several times as the unit seem to be locked up or unresponsive. I'm not sure if this will be addressed in future software releases, but some of the complaints some have had with the unit were very easy to spot and should have been caught by the Apple Quality Assurance department. Another thing to note - The included Windows software is absolutely a disgrace to the Windows community. The included Music Match software, is horrible and clunky to use. I hope and pray that Apple will release an iTunes alternative for the Windows community in the future.

 

Pros

 

Cons

Battery Tests

I am currently conduction a battery test to the new iPods to see if it does indeed live up to the 8 hour playback time posted by Apple. I have 2 15GB units, so I will post my results each few days of usage. Since there is no way I can judge when the iPod turned off while doing overnight testing, I will let it play until the battery bar has been sitting with no levels left for awhile. If you would like to add your results, please email me here. My testing methodology is setting the iPod to shuffle all songs, with the headphone connected and the volume bar at 75%.

4/05/03

 

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All text and images © Stanley Chan 2003