Done gone n’ done it
I have finally purchased my Video iPod. Back in October, when it was first released, I meant to buy one pretty much immediately. That didn’t happen. I sold one of my old iPods, but only received about a hundred dollars for it on eBay. I saved the money for awhile, but eventually frittered it away on stuff I can’t even remember at this point.
Occasionally, I thought about buying a new iPod, but I never did. Until yesterday.
A co-worker of mine received one for Christmas, and for the past several weeks he has been showing it off and asking me questions about it. He’s an iPod novice who is now thinking about making his next computer purchase a Mac.
When I saw the iPod in action, actually touched it and watched a video on it, I knew that resistance any longer was purely an exercise in futility. Yesterday, with three hundred dollars burning a hole in my pocket, I bought one at Wal-Mart.
I bought the 30 GB Black iPod, same as my co-worker’s. Originally, I thought I would buy the 60 GB because video takes up so much more space on an iPod. But in the end, I bought the 30 GB because it was both convenient (Wal-Mart typically only sells the lower-end iPods) and because my old iPod is a thirty gigger, and I’ve never come to close to filling it.
After plugging it in and filling it with over 2600 songs, over 1500 photos, and three videos, I still have 17 GB of space left. Back in October, I purchased a couple of the Pixar short films via the iTunes music store, and recently I had downloaded a free episode of the TV show “Monk,” also available via iTunes, so those were the three videos I loaded on the iPod. I’ve watched all three of them already.
The screen on the iPod is small, which I always thought would be a major drawback to watching video, but it is wider than previous iPods. Also, I haven’t a clue how Apple has done it, but the picture is so remarkably, impressively crisp and clear that I can read the credits and any text that appears in the video. The iPod does not have to be held close to the face or at a particular angle. You can rest it in your lap and watch it just fine. With a good set of earphones, the experience is like watching a DVD on a high quality portable DVD player (with a small screen).
With the added benefit that all my photos are backed up to the iPod, and are viewable on the iPod itself; add to that a game of solitaire in crisp color; add to that thousands of songs for days and days of music, and there is hardly any reason to get off the couch now.
This iPod is the coolest gadget Apple has yet come out with. It’s only drawback is that Apple has started skimping on the included accessories. My original 30GB iPod came with a dock, AC adapter, firewire cable, remote control, heavy-duty cloth carrying case, and earbuds. My new 30 GB iPod came with earbuds, a USB 2 cable, a flimsy, suede leather case that looks like it will rip apart under the least duress, and an adapter to insert into an iPod dock to make it fit the new iPod. No AC adapter! No dock! No remote!
On the other hand, I already have all those items from my previous iPod. And maybe that’s what Apple is counting on. But new adopters, like my friend at work, are feeling a bit ripped off when they learn about all the stuff the iPod used to come with. An AC adapter, at the very least, seems de rigeur. However, I’m not arguing with Apple about it. Steve Jobs seems to know exactly what he’s doing.
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Congrats. The only thing that surprises me is that you did not buy it sooner
After losing most of our music when our iMac’s HD crashed, I am pround to say that our iPod shuffle is doing us great service as a backup for most of the aongs we lost. I’m about to copy the songs over to the new drive.
Comment by Todd — Saturday, 28 January 2006 @ 1:39 pm
I cannot praise these devices enough for their multiplicity of functions. If you buy one with greater capacity, you can use it to back up everything of importance on your HD: photos, music, videos, documents. Everything. I backup mine every week.
Incidentally, what application are you using to extract the songs from your iPod? Apple doesn’t make it easy. Ollie’s iPod Extractor is probably the app you want to download.
Comment by Matthew — Saturday, 28 January 2006 @ 7:08 pm
I’m surprised you showed so much self-restraint.
I’m still dying for an iPod, but I keep thinking about how they’re constantly becoming obsolete. I’d be pissed off that they’re getting chintzier on the accessories. Mind you, there’s now entire aisles devoted to the iPod at your average electronic store.
I meandered in two of them yesterday, and spent half the amount of money an iPod would’ve cost me on a new TV for my bedroom.
I then immediately regretted spending that money because I could’ve put it toward a camera lens. I needed the TV, but I could’ve survived much longer without it.
What bothers me is that there’s always some gadgety thing that I really want to buy, and how I get sidetracked.
I don’t have money burning a hole in my pocket; I got a profit-sharing bonus at work, and had thought perhaps I could’ve spent that money on a camera lens. Instead, a portion went to a new car battery and the rest to the damned credit card company.
Damned consumerism. I want, I want, I want.
Comment by Mel B. — Monday, 30 January 2006 @ 1:45 am
When I want something new, I try to ease my guilt by selling stuff on ebay to raise money for it. I figure if I’m giving stuff up, I can feel good about buying more. It doesn’t always work–the money from selling my old iPod did not go towards my new one, as planned. But it helps sometimes.
The iPod does not become obsolete. It just gets better. The original 5GB iPod from 2001, like the one I just sold, is still a perfectly functional music player. It also has more hard drive space than many of the iPod models currently on the market. It looks clunky now, like something designed by Rio or RCA, with these odd buttons around the click wheel and a thick, block-ish form. But it isn’t obsolete. It just doesn’t do all the things that the new one can do, like play video.
I am really, really impressed by this video iPod. Occasionally this weekend, I actually found myself watching some TV programs I downloaded via iTunes, even when I could’ve been watching ‘regular’ TV.
Comment by Matthew — Monday, 30 January 2006 @ 7:48 am
Ah, the thrill of a new gadget! Sounds positively delightful, and especially so, I would imagine for a person who is on the go as much as you. I’m still infatuated with podcasts of my favorite NPR programs, though I’m too cheap to buy This American Life episodes off of Audible.com. Knowing that I can, though…that’s what matter! I think I may actually do that before driving to my parents this weekend while Todd’s off in Florida.
Comment by Dawn — Monday, 30 January 2006 @ 1:52 pm
I’m just getting into Podcasts. I like the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer podcasts, and there are some amateur podcasts I like as well. Previously on Alias has a kind of quirky, homemade quality to it that draws me back even though the content is mostly a summary of the most recent episode.
Supposedly now that I have a video iPod, I can watch video Podcasts, but I have yet to find any I want to watch. Most seem to involve so-called Extreme Sports (so-called because the Extreme Athletes are extremely dumb). Who wants to watch shaky, amateur video made by snowboarders with digital video cameras strapped to their heads?
Comment by Matthew — Monday, 30 January 2006 @ 2:16 pm
Oh, but the fact that you CAN watch Extreme Athletes is exciting, whether or not you would ever want to. In fact, you could probably do your own Podcast (maybe of scanning in historical material at the LOC)and make it available for the masses. What a world to live in!
Comment by Dawn — Monday, 30 January 2006 @ 2:37 pm
I’ve thought of doing an audio podcast for my blog, just once for a lark. Maybe a gross parody of the Rush Limbaugh program. Audio and video production really isn’t my speciality, however. I’ll stick with stitching words together.
Comment by Matthew — Monday, 30 January 2006 @ 2:46 pm
Well, if you do it, I’ll download it
Comment by Dawn — Monday, 30 January 2006 @ 3:08 pm
Aw, what a faithful friend!
Comment by Matthew — Monday, 30 January 2006 @ 3:18 pm