I recently won the iPod 60GB on Epinions. Yes, very cool. Besides making a few cents for writing reviews, that do add up in time, there's also the opportunity to win cool prizes.
When I was notified of my win I quickly became the closest "friend" of my wife and daughters. They all said ol' pops would not have any use for it. I have slowly found out different.
Update November 2007 Now that I have this for a number of years I have gotten quite attached to it. I have 12 movies and scores of cds. I also use the podcasts and I regularly go to iTunes to download music. I even have music videos I watch. This old dog has learned new tricks. The iPod hasn't reached half it's capacity yet.
On the negative side I have pinpoints on the screen that are lighted all the time taking away a perfect picture when watching movies. It's not so bad that it distacts once the movie starts...but still.
end update Four step Set-Up I can own the most up to date technical piece of equipment but if I can't set it up, it's useless. I found some of the set-up for the iPod 60GB VERY EASY and some a bit daunting. Here's my ability chart
Music; Very Easy
Music Video; Very Easy
Podcast; Very Easy
Movies; Huh?!
I happened to love the four step set-up instructions that come with the iPod. It's as easy as 1,2,3...4.
A diagram shows what comes in the box. the iPod, USB 2.0 Cable, iPod adapter, Apple Earphones, and a case. More later.
Getting Started has the new owners getting things together easily.
Step 1: Install the Software. Easy enough just put the CD that comes with the unit into the PC and in it goes. I should mention that we are lead to www.apple.co/iPod for any further help not listed.
Step 2: Put music and video on your computer
Step 3 Download music and Charge battery
Step 4 Play Music and Videos
I liked the simple and easy instruction though I am still lost on some of the video possibilities.
My iPod.
It's much smaller than my high-fi vinyl-record player and black & white TV all set together in my Mediterranean style credenza. I don't have to have it plugged into the wall socket either. It has a battery that is said to last almost twenty hours playing music non-stop.
I recently took this little baby on vacation with me to a warm and sunny location. At the time I only used it for music that I had previously put into into it via the my PC and CDs I owned. It was a very easy process and pretty quick too using the USB cable that came with the unit. I only have about one thousand songs in there now. I understand this baby can hold 15,000 songs. Mmm, at about .99 per song through iTune I have the opportunity to spend another $14,000 to fill this tiny unit up. Man, that unit at
Product Weight 5.5 oz. is worth more with songs in it than if it were a bar of pure gold, five times more the way I figure it.
Battery Life and Death Though I never counted the total hours used when away, I did have it on every day, a few hours each day, of the week while sittin' in the sun collectin' rays with a Bahama Mama tropical drink in one hand and my Bahama Mama wife sittin' next to me. When I got home there was still 25% power left. (The battery not me) I was fully recharged.
This week I tested it again and seemed to get about 19 hours. There's a little battery charge indicator on the top right corner of the LCD screen that lets you know how much power is still in the battery. I found that helpful because I could not charge the battery while I was away so I kept a close eye on it, scattering my listening time to be sure I still had some power at weeks end.
The unit does not come with a battery charger. It can be purchased for about $30. As of now I can only charge it through my home PC. I have been warned not to try and charge it in any other PC because then I will lose most of the CD music I put into it. You computer and music geeks know why. I'll trust your advice. Nowhere did I spot that warning on the little bit of starter instructions that came with the unit.
I also found out that the battery is not easily replaceable. It's kinda built into the unit. I hope the thing lasts a long time without expensive work getting a new one.
A Bright Screen This Apple iPod 60GB has a bright screen (2.5" QVGA (320 x 240) full-color LCD screen with white LED backlight)that stays lighted about 10 seconds factory set. I lowered the setting to 5 seconds. That seemed to be all I needed for going through the thing to find what I want and perhaps will help in battery life too.
I can read the window very well even in pretty bright day light. I don't like the fact that the clear front scratches so easily. I went out and purchased a case for it but I was disheartened when I pulled the unit out of the case a few times to show it around to friends and family I got scratches from the case! You can see the perfectly-straight, vertical lines on the window now. Not cool. Fortunately they are not deep and don't have any real affect on viewing.
Extras Looking down the window I can see a number of listings that I can easily get to using the Touch-sensitive Click Wheel. This was new to me and even with my "bull in a china shop" fat fingers I could still navigate well with this method.
Listed are
Music
Photos
Videos
Podcasts
Extras
Settings
Shuffle songs and
Now Playing The music part I have found easy as I mentioned earlier. The shuffle is a snap. I have yet to put any photos into this iPod and the same can be said about videos. I talked to a friend about doing so, this dinosaur couldn't follow the language well. I was told video can be put in but it's not a simplified process yet. It takes a couple of steps. I'm looking for the ease I found in getting the Podcasts onto the iPod 60GB. That happened to be a snap through iTunes and I have a couple of them I view now. I write in travel often and I now have video Podcast that shows me different shows from Italy's Tuscany area every day.
It's here that I can tell you that the video picture is excellent, even with the ever so slight scratches. I was just using it in daylight and I still had a good bright picture with rich colour.
I also get a couple of other
free podcasts. I'm just listening to
Ebert and Roeper giving their Academy Award picks. I agree with a couple of them. I think this free stuff is pretty cool and it udates every week.
Under extras are a couple of fill-ins like
Clock that was easily set.
Games include
Brick an old favorite of mine. There is also a
Music Quiz using the music you have in the iPod. You listen to the music and pick from five choices that click off one at the time until the correct answer is left. I failed miserably. Most of the music I put in this iPod is from my wife's CDs.
Parachute and Solitaire are also included.
One feature that happens to work out well for me and probably not for many others is the
Stop Watch feature. I host game shows and the like at times and there are many instances when a stop watch is needed. That's great for me and it also keeps record of a number of times.
Using It Through My Stereo System I have the adaptor where I can play any audio in my iPod through my stereo. I was excited about this because there are many times my wife can't find one of her CDs, (Don't ask)and I thought I could just simply play her songs from the iPod. It's true, I can, BUT...the sound was not nearly as good as when coming directly from a CD. Not even close. I played with the setting on both my stereo and the iPod to no avail.
The sound was OK but not really all that great. I wish it could be better.
Final Thoughts When I first won this little baby someone told me I should sell my ipod 60GB on Ebay for the best price I could get. That's something I could never do. This happens to be very special to me and I am proud I won it and happy to own it for many reasons.
The all chrome sides and back has a
"Congratulations from Epinions" Lazer etched and gloss black front make this unit quite attractive and special to me. The weight is just a bit over five ounces but it feels good in the hand. Certainly not like a toy. I happen to love the very sleek lines of the unit.
I should mention that there is an EQ section with, among other setting, a treble booster. That's great for this ol' dude who lost a good amount of hearing in that range. (Too many disco halls with loud music while I was doing the
Hustle )
I found the process to put music on the iPod very easy and quick. I still can add a zillion more songs! I'm still in the dark about how to get video such as movies on it. Music videos are a snap through i-tunes.
I love being able to get free video and audio podcasts. I'll probably get deeper into that end of things in the future. I have found out that I can spend a lot of bucks on accessories for this little baby. I will be getting the battery charger and I also want to be able to broadcast through my cars FM system so that will cost a few bucks more too.
The next time you look at iPod advertising look for pictures on billboards for a silhouette of a big guy dancing with his white ear buds. Man, am I one cool dude with my 60 GB iPod!
30 GB iPod A good value.
Monster Cable iCarPlay cassette to ipod adapter Xtreme Mac Car Charger for Apple iPods Monster Cable iSplitter for Apple iPod 
