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Photograph: Rick Rizner
Apple iPod - 3rd Gen. 20 GB MP3 Player (Apple-M9244LLA)
| Features | Very good |
| Ease of Use | Outstanding |
| Capacity | 20GB hard drive |
| Memory card slot | None |
| Formats supported | MP3 VBR, AAC, .wav |
| Voice recording | No |
| Battery | Fixed rechargeable lithium ion |
| Software | ITunes software |
| Other features | Docking station |
| Policies | One-year warranty; 8-hour toll-call support on weekdays and weekends |
Apple IPod 20GB
iPod - 3rd Gen. 20 GB MP3 Player (Apple-M9244LLA) Review, by Alexandra Krasne October 31, 2003
The latest generation of Apple's sleek, white IPod has a slimmer body and a brighter display than the previous iteration. The $400 ($20 per gigabyte) 20GB version I tested is considerably pricier than the other hard-drive players I reviewed. For example, the Nomad Jukebox Zen N holds 30GB and costs $300, which is $100 less than the IPod--and at $10, half the cost per gigabyte. (Apple also makes a $500 40GB model, which drops the per-gigabyte cost down to a more-reasonable $12.50.) In the end, you pay a premium for Apple's cool interface and streamlined controls.
On-the-run types will love the IPod's simple one-handed operation. In fact, the controls are so easy to use once you're familiar with them that you'll be able to simultaneously walk and change songs or albums. Like the original IPods, this model features a touch-sensitive scroll wheel for navigating your song library or zooming through menu items. On-the-Go playlists let you select tracks and cue them up on the player in any order (older IPods required you to first save songs in a playlist on your PC and then transfer the playlist to the device). You can also use the IPod as a storage device for data and notes.
All sorts of music, from jazz to rap to classical, sounds clear on the player. The IPod supports MP3, Audible, and .wav formats; it doesn't support WMA. Swapping out Apple's earpieces for a better-quality set of headphones alleviated almost all of the distortion I encountered at high volumes. The 20GB player fits about 5000 average (4-minute) songs ripped at 128 kilobits per second.
Inside the box, in addition to the earphones, Apple supplies an AC adapter, a FireWire cable, a PC FireWire adapter, a wired remote (so you can stow the device and still stop playback, rewind tracks, and adjust the volume), a carrying case with belt clip, and an IPod dock. If your PC has a USB 2.0 port and no FireWire connection, you can buy the USB 2.0 dock for an additional $19.
Setting up the player is simple: You just install MusicMatch and the driver software, and then plug the IPod into your PC's FireWire port. The installation went smoothly for me, but Apple's registration routine requires quite a bit of personal information, including how you plan to use your device (at home, school, or business), and what your occupation is.
I tested the Windows version, which includes Musicmatch PC software for organizing your music and loading it onto the player; you can also use Musicmatch to rip songs from CDs. Musicmatch is easy to install, but it adds icons to your taskbar, desktop, system tray, and anywhere else an icon can go. Once I deleted the many icons scattered all over my screen, I simply imported music from my PC into Musicmatch and synced with the IPod. Music transfers quickly, thanks to the FireWire connector.
Recently Apple announced ITunes software for Windows, which includes Apple's ITunes Music Store online service. Previously only Mac users could run ITunes (in conjunction with the Music Store).
Upshot: The IPod's streamlined design makes it one of the best MP3 players, yet it's also one of the most expensive.
Alexandra Krasne
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User Reviews
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User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: MisterRenda
Strengths: perfect
Weaknesses: nothing
Overall: excellent design and works perfect, makes no problems,i bought now two more ipods, the shuffle and the photo,and ipod photo is excellent for presentation on tv, and withitrip great listening music in the car,great work,forget all the other boaring machines
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Reviewed by: Richman8982
Strengths: The appearance is a definite plus and being able to use iTunes is nice as well. The amount of products such as the speakers, cases, and FM tuner is also very helpful.
Weaknesses: The battery life is horrible, the structure can get scratched very easily but other than that there is no other negative things to say about it.
Overall: The iPod is no doubt an awesome product but it is over rated to much extent. The battery life was a real deficet to me becuase i because of charging it mid charge early on got down to only 4 hours of charge now. This means that the Lithium Ion battery has a memory of each time you charge and unless you wait to charge the iPod at no battery life, the battery depleads its life over time. The speed at which it connects the songs to the iPod through iTunes is amazing though. The appearance is a definite plus over all other mp3 players on the market. I like this machine i just wish that they could fix the battery memory B.S. with the 3rd Gen iPods.
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Reviewed by: JJGambino
Strengths: Easy Controls, the touchwheel sensor is awesome. Highly compact, beautiful display screen with adjustable backlight timer. Great accessories!
Weaknesses: Battery life...even just a couple more hours on the charge would be great.
Overall: I've had the IPod for about 3 weeks now, and have had no problems so far...just have high praises for the ease of use and capacity of the unit. I bought the FM tranceiver to play the IPod in the vehicle, and it sounds great. I have loaded about 110 CD's so far and still have over 12.5 GB's to go...not bad at all! To be honest, when I was on the market to get an MP3 player, I came to PriceGrabber.com to check out the reviews...and it was unanimous...with all the great reviews, I would've been a fool to go with something else. You won't be disappointed.
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Reviewed by: coolcee
Strengths: Ease of Use. Functionality
Weaknesses: Battery Life
Overall: I have had my Ipod over 3 months now and enjoy it. The speed at which I can transfer music files is great. Hoever I am extremely disappointed to learn that the bATTERY LASTS ONLY 12-13 MONTHS AND BE REPLACED since it will no longer hold a charge. Mind you the pirce of a new battery is a whopping $106.00. This might change my mind in buying another Ipod ever again.
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Reviewed by: WhyWouldIStop
Strengths: Has a large amout of storage. Light and easy to carry. Has games.
Weaknesses: Need to reboot sometimes but this does not erase any songs
Overall: The iPod is great for everybody. You can store up to about 5,000 songs. It's a great buy. If you are thinking "I should buy the iPod mini because it's $60 cheaper and it stores up to 1,000 songs (because I don't need 5,000 songs)" I totaly disagree. The iPod mini is only $60 cheaper and it has less than half the songs a regular iPod has. And those songs fill up your iPod faster than you think.
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