iPod 4th Generation

Gallery can be fount at https://mypersonalgetaway.com/hardware/ipod/index.htm

At first glance I thought this was just a band-aid to another iPod coming out around January. I kept those thoughts up until I used the sucker. The iPod fourth generation is the must-have computer accessory of the summer and that is an understatement. It has a great price range, does everything over USB 2.0 as well as Firewire, has the rebirth of the original wheel and works will all Apple accessories for the third generation iPod (excluding iPod cases). It was very difficult to get the new iPod but we finally got one and here is a break down of its new features and additions.

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The new iPod box is covered in silhouette style characters similar to those on the iPod ads that are on TV, magazines and posters in subways. The packaging is identical to its predecessor but why change a good thing? The iPod now includes Firewire 400 and USB 2.0 cables that work with the included dock. I chose to use USB 2.0 for my connectivity of the iPod all machines introduced after July of 2003 have USB 2.0. It’s bandwidth tops out at 480Mbs (more than Firewire a’s 400 megabit data rate). I know theoretically they area bout the same but USB 2.0 is faster on books so therefore I will use it. I never used it before because you could only sync of USB but not charge, you could not use a dock with the USB cable and other things that made firewire the interface of choice for iPod owners. USB 2.0 option was there merely as a convenience for PC users that had no other way of connecting the handheld jukebox to their computers. Now that you can do everything with USB 2, I have switched to its interface and that leaves my Firewire port open for my Hard drives and iSight camera.
The interface of the new iPod is, for the most part, unchanged but there are some changes that point to the iPod going into more than music. Music on the iPod has its own section. When you click “Music” on the main screen, you are taken to Playlists, Artists, Songs, Genres and a new addition, Audiobooks. This new area is home to. aud formatted books purchased from Audible.com or the iTunes Music Store. The other section is “Extras” (an old feature) and has the same sections, clock, notes, calendar, contacts, games, voice memos, and pictures. The last two are optional memories for the voice recorders and media readers from Belkin and Griffin. The next section is “Settings” then a new option called “Shuffle Songs”. I think this is Apple’s temporary alternative to “Party Shuffle” (a feature of iTunes 4.5) and shuffle songs allow users to find new music by letting the iPod pick your songs for you. You could always turn off Shuffle from the Settings menu but this makes it easier to turn on and off right from the main menu. Of course, like the third generation, you can change what items are on the main menu by going to Settings--- > Main Menu; from there you can pick and choose what you want displayed including turning the “Shuffle Songs” option off. One peeve about the “now playing” section of the iPod is the scrolling text feature that has always been present when a song’s name is larger than the screen will display it will scroll the text. In older iPod models, the scrolling was smooth but with the new iPod it is jagged and not even readable. I hope this is fixed in the next software update.
More additions to the iPod’s Software (now at version 3.01) are the ability to play Audiobooks faster or slower up to 25% depending on your listening habits. You can edit on the go playlists to remove single songs from “On-The-go” while you are away from the computer for long periods of time. The Charging icon on the iPod is now quicker and more fluent and two more audible additions are upon plugging in the cable into the iPod, you hear a new type of beep. And, you can hear the clicker sound in your in the palm of your hands and headphones only as well as hear the clicking in both. I don’t like hearing the clicking in my ears while listening to music so I think I will pass. Another addition I noticed is the iPod will pause itself when you unplug the headphones or sound output source. This may be a small detail but is great to automatically pause itself if you change headphones, or go from your headphones to your car input or just hand the iPod to a friend. It threw me off at first when I was doing a headphone review that the thing kept pausing but now I can see the use fullness of this feature.
Externally the major change is the click-wheel itself. The size is thinner compared to its previous generation but height and width are similar. The difference between a second-generation 20gb, third generation 30gb and a fourth generation 40gb are amazingly different. All three get smaller and smaller as the capacity grows. The metal back, yes it’s still scratch-prone metal, seems more flush with the front making for a more complete design and the hold button is stiffer than the third generations too. The screen is unchanged and backlight is still bright white. Of course the post January 2004 third generation iPods had great screens so if you upgrade to this fourth generation iPod from a 10gb or 15 GB model, you will be very surprised of how clear it is. The battery life is another leap for this model. I was amazed that I bought it at a computer store one and a half hours away and I charged it via my Belkin PowerPod car charger on the ride home. When I got home, the iPod was fully charged. This may be that it was already charged but that is the fastest first charge I have ever done on an iPod out of the box. I have owned 5+ iPods so I was amazed. I have heard users getting 15 or more hours on one charge. This is changing songs a few times and turning the backlight on occasionally to see what they are doing. This is a huge spike from previous models getting 10 hours on the first generation and 8 hours in the second to now a standard 12 hour with users getting 15 or more.
The major change is the click wheel. This is why it is called “iPod w/ Click Wheel” and not fourth generation. This is the best aspect of the new player. There was uproar when Apple went to the button configuration of last year’s iPod but they slowly adopted its ways with much thumb soreness. Apple obviously did not have the click wheel that takes up less space at that time. Like Steve stated at the release of the new iPod, “We created the click wheel out of necessity for the iPod mini but we are able to bring back the ease of use of the jog wheel interface to the new iPod and still keep its body width small.” I was afraid the buttons would be very easy to push if you were just scrolling through music but it takes a little more than a tap to get the buttons to push. I am ecstatic about the old interface of the first and second generation iPods being brought back reinvented. Although, I am a bit saddened that the scroll wheel text does not light up like the iPod mini.
As a whole this is an entirely new iPod. I thought this would be like the old ones with the addition of the classic wheel but instead this is the best iPod to date with flexible playlist creation / deletion, features for Audiobooks, recording your voice, storing pictures, new settings and a cleaner package with great capacities at an amazing price point. I am glad to finally have an iPod that stores all of my music and more. It also records my memos from lectures. Finally its interface is faster easier to use and much more user-centric. If you have waited to buy an iPod, this is the one to get, and if you have been waiting to upgrade, pull out your credit card. The new Apple iPod is going to be the must have gift this Christmas.