The 4th Generation Ipod: The Old King is Dead. Long live the New.

Hundreds and thousands of 3rd generation Ipod orders are being cancelled as I type. For behold, the mighty and iron-fist ruler that has been known to many as the Ipod has now been improved beyond your wildest dreams. I just returned my 3rd generation for this new upgraded version, and although I was sad to see my old Ipod go, I am very happy with the improved version. It is really the best Mp3 player out there! Don't believe me? Read this review!

Good things:

Included Stuff
Opening up the multicolored box, already an improvement from the completely black box from the 3rd Generation, I was pleased to see my Ipod sitting in the box, brand spanking new. For all you environmental freaks out there as well, the Ipod case has biodegradable cardboard, unlike the Styrofoam insides of the 3rd Generation box. Already pluses in the pro column.

Inside the box is the nice Ipod of course. You've also got not just a firewire cable to hook up to your computer, but you also receive a USB 2.0 cable as well for all of the people out there who don't want to buy a firewire card to download music! Great touch, but it would've been great it you included that in the 3rd generation, since I had to forgo Chinese water torture from my dad when I said, "My Ipod doesn't hook up to my computer." The firewire port seems to be faster when putting music on the Ipod though, and is the only cable that plugs into the included battery charger. Still, the USB cable means that Apple is starting to think about us Windows users.

Also in the box are those trendy Ipod ear buds that everyone seems to use and want these days, but I don't really use them, because of their alright sound quality when compared to other headphones. Then again, I'm about as picky as picky comes when it comes to listening to my music. However, they are probably the best quality ear buds you can find, and not to mention they are extremely compact. They should fit most people's needs, but for audio freaks such as myself, I'd rather use a pair of normal headphones.

Also included is a small manual that should cover most of your needs and troubleshooting if you need to, and then there's the Ipod configuration CD. This configures your Ipod in a matter of minutes, and installs Itunes if you don't already have it. Then after you restart your computer, you're ready to start downloading! The firewire cable rips songs quick as well; it took about 5 minutes to download 565 songs off of my hardrive, which is very good to see.

Itunes in itself is probably the best music program out there. The appearance is very clean and easy to use. You can search through your whole entire collection of songs in seconds. Everything is organized by album, song, length, bit rate, even the ratings you can give your songs. There's also instant access to the Itunes store, which is alright if you're buying music, especially current songs. However, their store needs some fixing. A lot of songs that I've tried to search turned up absolutely nothing. The most disturbing search is when I typed in "Red Hot Chili Peppers" for artist, it came up with just their Greatest Hits CD! That hurts where it counts, but I usually just rip songs off my CDs and burn them onto my Ipod instead of buying songs, so I don’t really care.

Looks are everything…
Okay, enough jibber jabber about the stuff that comes with the Ipod; let's get into the actual Ipod itself. Physically, the biggest change with the Ipod from 3rd generation to 4th is the Click Wheel. About the size of the touch wheel from the 3rd Generation Ipod, the Click Wheel is a technological feat in itself. Instead of the buttons on top of the wheel, they're under the wheel. People complaining and moaning about all the buttons being overly touch sensitive from the 3G (I'll be calling the 3rd Generation Ipod "3G" from now on) will have their prayers fulfilled to see that the only thing touch sensitive is the wheel for scrolling and such. The buttons underneath require you to press on them to work, along with that all-too-important middle button.

What does this all mean? The Ipod is even easier to use. You can really search through everything on your Ipod without lifting a single finger. The buttons underneath the wheel prevent the occurrence of buttons being pressed accidentally, which I hate to admit was a problem with the 3G Ipod. However, Apple even threw in the Hold button still, which should mean that accidental button pressing should become a thing of the past. Anyways, the Click Wheel rocks. There's no unnecessary buttons, no wasted space, just the Click Wheel. Those brain heads over Apple sure know how to reinvent, and their latest work is a marvel in its own respect.

Realizing that I just spent two paragraphs talking on just the Click Wheel, let's get on the rest of the Ipod's appearance. Aside from the Click Wheel, the Ipod has not really changed appearance wise. It still has that sterile, hospital white front panel, and the mirror reflective back coating. Overall, the Ipod looks just as trendy, if not trendier than the other models, and I really dig it. The Ipod just looks cooler than any other MP3 player out there, and no one can really contest against that statement. When it comes to looks, the Ipod is second to none.

And what about the size of the might fisted Ipod? One would imagine that due to the recent battery upgrade, the Ipod would be bigger. But as a matter of fact, the thing has even gotten smaller! How do they do that? Well, actually, it’s just a tad thinner than the 3G, and weighs pretty much the same as the 3G, but for Apple to increase battery life and decrease size means they’re headed on their way to perfecting MP3 players as we speak. The small size of the Ipod is great, since I can just throw it into my pocket, and walk around listening to my tunes. It’s extremely light, and sometimes it barely feels like there’s an actual MP3 player in my pocket, but there is. If you’re a person that would constantly keep their MP3 player in their pocket, without it being too bulky or heavy, then the Ipod is for you.

But it’s on the inside that counts…
The biggest problem of the previous Ipods was always the battery. The first and second generations had alright battery life for the time, but when the 3G Ipod slimmed down, battery life was attacked. I could get a little more than 7 hours of total use, but it varied. Sometimes the battery would just “evaporate” if you use it one day, turn if off, then use it another day. The battery gauge wasn’t that much help either; it said I had absolutely no battery life left once, and yet I still managed to get another hour of music out of it. Undeniably, the battery was the Ipod’s Achilles heel.

So now this forth generation comes around, and things are looking better. For starters, there’s a 12 hour battery life instead of an eight hour one, which is fantastic. Though it’s no where near as robust as the Dell Jukebox’s battery of 20 hours, the Ipod weighs 2oz. less than the Jukebox. The 12 hour battery is really worth upgrading to, since it does help out a lot, and now people who do a lot of traveling, such as myself, will have more battery life to listen to their tunes. Also, the battery gauge seems to be working better than the 3G Ipod. Although it’s not perfect, it’s progressing.

The Ipod’s menus are still incredibly easy to use, if not easier. You can fly to any single song in seconds. Now, for a nice touch, on the main screen there’s an option for “Shuffle Songs” which is a better upgrade than you think, since it saves you the hassle of going to settings, putting on shuffle songs, then going back to songs, and selecting a song to listen to. Here it’s just a push of a button. Great for parties! Also new on the main screen is the “Music” category, which when clicked on, brings you to all the song selections via playlists, albums, artists, etc. You can also customize your own playlists and the main screen as well through settings.

Also, instead of getting 10 or 15 gigs of hardrive, you’re getting 20 gigs for the original price of a standard 3G 15 gig Ipod, which is great for people with a junk load of songs. Remember when a 5 gig Ipod was $299? Would you still pay that much money today? Ha! And as always, you can store stuff on the hardrive such as word documents, games, or other things, and then carry it around and download the stuff at your friend’s houses. Anyway, the fact that you get more for your money is yet another plus.

The sound of the Ipod is still incredible. The acoustics sound great, and the range of sounds from high to low pitches sound really well also. The bass doesn’t really disappoint, but don’t expect to be getting a lot of bass out of the Ipod. However, that’s not the Ipod’s fault. It’s just the fact that MP3’s aren’t up the quality of CDs. If you choose a high bit rate for your songs, then the sound will be fuller, but it takes up more space. Personally, I think it’s the best sounding MP3 player out there, and I’ve heard several (Dell Jukebox, Rio, Creative Labs, and older Ipods) but I know there will be arguments about that. Whatever. The sound is still fantastic for an MP3 player. There are also equalizers that can be set in order to make your music sound better; I usually keep mine set to Electronic, for it seems to have the right blend in all departments. For casual music listeners, the 4G Ipod could easily replace a CD player.

Finally, the Ipod is cool. Between its looks, sounds, and ease of use, the Ipod has become the envy of many. This is coming from a guy that has a biased hatred towards Apples, for making computers without fans in them (in school we’d always joke, “What doesn’t have a fan and freezes all the time?”), and for having computers that have absolutely no compatibility with any major computer games. I mean sure, you’ve got like 20 titles, but that’s it. So for me to be admitting that the Ipod, made by Apple, is the coolest of cool, is a feat. Trust me.

Not so Good things:
As many of ya’ll know, the Ipod is a bit pricey. Even for $299 dollars, with all the stuff that you get listed in the “Good things” category, some people are still thinking that the price is too high, and I couldn’t disagree. Luckily, the woman at Best Buy was nice, and gave me a straight exchange for my old one, and I paid $250 for it. Lucky me.

But you know what? It’s expensive because it’s the best of the best. And in order to get into that class, you’re going to have to spend a dollar here or there. I wouldn’t have spent $299 for a 5 gig Ipod back in the day, but now that the Ipod has a pretty good battery, 20 gigs of hardrive, and great sound, I’m happy with my purchase. There are alternatives to the Ipod if you don’t want to spend so much money, but just remember; no matter how hard the other MP3 players try, it’s no Ipod.

However, paying $299 dollars, I expect to get a friggin’ case, but still no case is included. Another problem is that the whole Ipod scratches fairly easily, and I’m afraid to even put it in my pocket without something protecting it, because no one wants an ugly, scratched up Ipod. Can’t Apple at least include a case, even a low budget one to protect my precious…I mean, my Ipod until I upgrade to a better one? Oh yeah, you have to convert your WMA files to MP3 if you want to put WMA’s on, but I don’t have any, so it doesn’t matter to me. I’m sure it will matter to others, but personally, I care more about the Ipod not coming with a case.

But that’s pretty much it in the grudge department. The only other grudge that’s not directly associated with the Ipod is the knowing that they’re going to build a better Ipod in less than a year. And there are people out there (including me) that just need to have the newest of the newest. Still, I feel that I won’t be upgrading for a long time, given all the new stuff Apple has given me to salivate over. Still, a case would’ve been nice…

The Verdict:
Whether you hate the Ipod or not, it’s everywhere. As it stands currently, the Ipod controls over 49% of the entire MP3 industry. That’s a little scary, but then again, I believe that Apple deserves it, since the forth generation Ipod is simply the best Ipod ever made to this date, and I’ll go even further by saying it’s the best MP3 player out there. The only bad things are the price, and the fact that it didn’t come with a stinking case. But those things don’t effect the overall quality of sound, appearance, size, or ease of use that this iron gripped MP3 player has. And it has it all. Face the facts. The 4th Generation Ipod: The Old King is dead. Long live the New.

Additional sites
http://www.apple.com/ipod/
http://www.theistore.com/evo2/evo2colors.html (for some really good cases)