iPod... I use mine for music. *UPDATED*

I've had my new iPod for a few weeks now, so I can finally give it an honest review. I'll be giving this review from the perspective of a Mac user. A lot of the functions I'll be speaking of just aren't available to Windows users yet (you poor babies). By the way, I'll be referring to the iPod as just "iPod," without the "the" in front. It's kinda kooky, but that's how Apple does it. And I'll blindly follow their example to the ends of the Earth like the lost sheep that I am.

It's so small (that's what she said!).

This thing is small! I've only seen the original, bulkier iPod in person once. So this new design was a mind-boggling experience for me. As soon as I saw how compact and sleek it was I fell in love. About the size of a deck of cards, but slightly thinner, it fits ever so comfortably in the palm of your hand, or pants/shirt pocket. One-handed operation is a snap if you hold iPod with your palm up. When lying, say, on your back, it becomes difficult to control while holding the unit upright. But its touch-sensitive buttons are a dream to use. With its circular scroll wheel, zooming through long lists of artists and albums has never been smoother or more fun.

The Dock.

New to this generation of iPods is the iPod Dock (included with 15GB and 30GB models). Basically, it's just a weighted piece of plastic for holding iPod vertically that acts as an extension for the Firewire connector. Too bad the Firewire cable features a proprietary connector - getting a spare or replacement cable is available from Apple only, and for around $20.

While in the Dock, iPod charges from the computer via the Firewire cable. Charging this way is a bit slow. Using the Firewire cable and the included AC power adapter, iPod will get a quicker charge.

Assault on the battery.

I've read that a few people are having problems with battery life. So far, my iPod has managed to squeak past the eight-hour mark during standard use. There are a few ways to drain iPod's battery prematurely: using the backlight too much, using shuffle play, changing tracks too often, and having the EQ turned on. Now I know what you're thinking... what's a music player without EQ? It's a drag that equalization drains the battery so much, but like I said, I've made it to eight-plus hours with EQ on. So, let's skip it. The backlight is addictive to look at, but it will shorten your music enjoyment. Use it only when absolutely necessary (it can be turned on manually, or set to turn on whenever a button is pressed; and will turn off after a specified time).

As for shuffle play and changing tracks often, here's the reason: when you hit play, iPod fills its 32MB of memory with the next 20 minutes of music in the playlist so it doesn't need to access the hard drive as often. But when you shuffle or change tracks, iPod has to empty the memory and load up all over again. Do this over and over and you'll see where your battery level goes. So how the heck did I get my 'Pod to play for eight hours?? I turned it on, hit play and LEFT IT ALONE! Big secret, huh? Not much fun for you armchair DJs out there, but that's life. This memory feature also gives iPod 20 minutes of skip protection. Not too shabby!

My only power management complaint is the battery level display. Sometimes it's full, then empty, then full again. It could be indicating how you're using iPod at the time you read the display. Obviously, if you're jumping through playlists with the backlight on, the battery level will go down. But after you finish scrubbing through tracks and leave the thing alone, the battery level will go up again to reflect its current state of usage.

iPod, iTunes and Mac.

Sure, iPod is Mac- and Windows-ready right out of the box. But let's face it, this thing was made for use with Macs (duh!). Apple's iTunes music software manages iPod flawlessly. You can set iTunes to update songs and playlists automatically (including updating only certain playlists and songs), or use manual song management with drag and drop ease. Me, I prefer the automatic method. Any music added to my iTunes library will be automatically transferred to iPod the next time I connect. To delete songs, iTunes must be in manual mode (switching between the two modes is only two clicks away in iPod Options preferences). Also, if you have songs on your iPod that aren't in your iTunes music library, they will not transfer to your computer (iPod is designed that way for copy-protection purposes). Don't sweat it, though, there are a few shareware and freeware applications out there that will get songs off iPod manually. iTunes also provides you with a progress bar indicating used and free space on iPod's hard drive.

It's not just a music player (but that's what it does best).

Okay, it's not a full-blown PDA. It never claimed to be one. But it does offer a few extra niceties. First, an alarm (wake to music or beeps) and sleep functions. I have yet to hear the alarm's beeping, but maybe I did something wrong (God forbid I actually read the manual!). The sleep function is nice if, like me, you enjoy drifting to sleep to the relaxing sounds of John Tesh. Just kidding, I don't listen to John Tesh..... that much. ;-)

For those of you with incredibly short attention spans, there are three games to satisfy your need for distraction when music fails. Brick, Parachute, and Solitaire offer monochrome madness that only the truly bored would bother trying to beat. A nice touch, but hardly worth the effort to play.

There's a calendar and contact list at your disposal as well. If you use Apple's iSync while iPod is connected, your iCal calendars and Address Book contacts will be automatically transferred to iPod. You can add notes by dragging text files into the "Notes" folder when iPod is connected as a hard drive. Keep in mind, none of this data is editable on iPod itself, but like I said, it's not a PDA.

There's a hard drive in there, so use it!

When fiddling with iPod Options, you can choose to utilize your fabulous music player as a hard drive. Not only does that mean using iPod to transport documents, movies, applications, etc, but it also means you can install system software on it. That's right, you can boot from iPod if that's how you like to get your kicks. I'm not sure if there are any disk utilities available for iPod's hard drive yet. I'd imagine after adding and subtracting songs that the disk in that thing would get pretty fragmented. Cross that bridge when I get to it, I guess. And when connected as a hard drive, you won't see your tunes. The song files are kept hidden from your prying eyes. Only iTunes and shareware/freeware applications will give you direct access to the goods.

The glitches.

Occasionally, iPod doesn't want to turn on. This is fixed by holding the Menu and Play buttons simultaneously for about 5 seconds. iPod will reset itself as indicated by an Apple logo at startup. Not to worry, no songs or playlists will be lost. But unfortunately, the reset process will force iPod to "forget" your position in audiobook files.

As with the annoyance of not starting up, I find the space between tracks with a slight click to be a major drawback. Forget about enjoying songs that blend into one another (like Pink Floyd, or live songs). There will always be a short pause, accompanied by a click. Hopefully, future software/firmware updates will fix the clicking. As for the pause, I wish iPod had the crossfade function that iTunes sports so well. Again, a future update maybe?

What's left?

Also included is a wired remote and carrying case. The remote is sleek and attractive, even if it is very basic. My problem with it is that when its length is added to the length of the headphones cable, the resulting cord is very long. And that's okay if you keep your iPod tucked away in a coat pocket. But for me, the remote isn't functional enough to use it much. You can only set volume, track forward/backward, play/pause, and hold. There's no way to browse through iPod's contents using only the remote. Then again, if your iPod's tucked away, how would you see the screen to browse?

As for the carrying case, it could've been better. It's attractive and features a nice belt clip. But there are no openings to access iPod's controls. Sliding it in and out of the case gets old rather quickly. It's become quite obvious so far that Apple wants you to just hit play and listen.

And what about the earbuds? They're functional, and they match the white finish of iPod. But for around $15, you could pick up a pair of earbuds at your local audio/video superstore that sound much better.

Finally, what's a $400 music player without some freebies? For starters, you get a complimentary six-month subscription to MacWorld. I know.... *yawn*. More useful is the offer for new iPod owners from Audible.com. Sign up with them and get two free audiobook downloads for the first month, with the option to cancel at anytime. I looked for Green Eggs and Ham, but they didn't have it. Shucks.

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UPDATE: Since writing this review, Apple has released iPod Software 2.0.1. This updated has fixed the click between tracks and the lockup problem.
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