iPod: I Get It Now

Previously, I mentioned that I might be getting a video iPod. Well, I went to the Apple store to pick up the latest copy of iLife (photography manager, movie creator, dvd creator, music creator, and web page creator tools) iWork (better-than-PowerPoint presenter and Page Layout for making books, magazines, news letters, and so on). While there, I broke down and got a Video iPod to see what all the fuss was about.

My initial thought at the store was “my, what small packaging you have.” My initial thought at home was “my, what small software you have.” My initial thought after plugging it into the computer was “my, what amazing features you have!” Why didn’t I make this purchase sooner?

See, I already have an MP3 player. It was one of the very first to come out. It’s the Nomad Jukebox (model DAP6GO1) by Creative. I got it at CES a number of years ago when this was cutting edge technology. It’s got all kinds of whacky sound processing features and exotic menus that eventually were deemed fairly advanced for the average music listener who’s on the go. And, given that I didn’t use it all that much, why get another? Originally, I got it for the PC, but I was surprised to see it’s still supported and apparently integrates with iTunes natively.

One of the fundamental problems I have with Apple is that they don’t flaunt all their features, you get them as surprising extras. This is certainly the case with OS X, where it looks at first glance that they do only 4 major things, though on closer inspection, you see it’s really more like over 200 new features. The iPod did the same thing.

My impression, from just marketing, was that it plays MP3s and videos you download from iTunes on a very small screen, and once stuff is on the iPod, you can’t move it back. Podcasting? That’s just downloading a file. Big whoop. I was wrong – I didn’t get it.

The iPod has an enormous amount of room in it, 60GB, more than enough to hold the majority of most DJ’s music collections, though my own collection pales in comparison. When the iPod was beaming over my music, and quite quickly I might add, it also moved over 6000 photo graphs. It also copied over my contact list from my address book. It captured my calendars. Everything I usually try to keep sychronized with my PDA and Sidekick. Not to mention, it gave me a file system where I could store files and take them with me as easy as a USB flash drive.

The integration with iTunes was beyond seamless, I was even able to take Uncle Danny videos and make them look awesome on the iPod. That screen that I thought was too small turns out to be sharp and very high quality, and looks the perfect size while holding the device. Using HandBrake and iSquint, it’s possible to get anything onto the iPod. Using JHymn, it’s possible to get anything off again.

While listening to some music, which magically used the same organization schemes I use in iTunes, I was pleased to learn I could visit other functions of the iPod without interrupting the music. Walking through those 6000 photos was a snap, they flew by as fast as I could run my finger around the ring. In slideshow mode, the transitions were as professional and as beautiful as those found in KeyNote.

The iPod had a clock that was sychronized to my system, had an area for notes, a stop watch, screen lock, and games. The games were your standard break out, solitare, shoot the falling object, and a music trivia quiz where you had to guess the right song based on selections from your own library.

What I really liked the most, oddly enough, was the pod casting. The very feature I was dismissive about. I found a PhotoshopTV pod cast of tricks and tips and have gotten hooked. It works like this: anyone produces their own radio or television show, informs iTunes about it, then iTunes acts as the distribution media for it. From my perspective, it acts like TiVo for iPods. Things that I like, and therefore subscribe to, are pulled down and stuck in my iPod for me each time I connect it to recharge. Stuff I watch goes away. So, without having to do much of anything, my iPod acts as a portable entertainment center.

And, while I was at the Apple Store in Tysons, I also picked up the iPod AV Cables, which let you use the headphone jack to send stereo audio and video to your television, meaning I don’t even need a computer to watch stuff on the big screen. And, unlike my Nomad which is the size of portable CD player, the Video iPod is exactly 15 credit cards heigh.