Apple iPod Video 5G

Reviews: Multimedia

Apple iPod Video 5G

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Bradford Day
Kurtis
TheTechLounge
Apr. 17, 2007

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Testing: Daily Usage

After using the iPod Video for a couple weeks at work the one thing I'm most struck by is the size and weight of the player. For a 30GB player, the 5th iteration of the iPod is relatively svelte and lithe. And in comparison to the Zune feels absolutely wafer thin and light despite only being 0.17" thinner and 0.6 ounces lighter.

Secondly I was amazed at how much I learned to despise the scroll wheel. I respect the technology and what Apple has done for small format interface technology but I just couldn't get used to the touch sensitive pad. I constantly found myself overshooting my intended menu target. Searching long lists of music is a Nintendo-esque exercise in thumb punishment. I still find clicking systems, like the Zune push button D-pad or the SanDisk Sansa e260 mechanical wheel, to be more precise for choosing individual menus. Occasionally I found the hard drive based player lagging just a bit as the platter spun up. But this is an issue common to most hard drive based hardware and it was a negligible quirk.

I will come down off my high horse and admit that the iPod is a great music player. Musical quality is good and the album art is pleasing to the eye and the lithe player wasn't too heavy or bulky. I often used the included protective case when transporting my iPod and had no issues with the screen scratching. Although from what I've read it's just a matter of time until the unprotected screen starts developing some surface abrasions. But over the course of a couple weeks I had no problems. Battery life was on par with the Microsoft player at about 12 hours at a charge while listening to music. Adding heavy video duty will diminish the battery life at a quicker rate. A nearly dead battery took 1-2 hours to recharge fully when connected to my desktop machine.

As far as videos are concerned, I rarely found myself watching them on the iPod. The screen is crisp, bright and quite capable for a 2.5" viewing area. But therein lies the problem. 2.5" TV sets are frustrating. I never felt the need to download a TV show or movie. That isn't to say that I would refuse to watch a movie on an iPod. In an airplane or on a road trip the iPod is well suited to a quick peek at my favorite episodes of MythBusters. I just have a problem paying $1.99 to watch a show I already pay Comcast to see in the first place. Replace "Comcast" with "Netflix" and "$1.99" with "$9.99" in that last sentence and I see no reason to buy movies from iTunes either. Obviously many people out there love the idea of watching movies and TV on their iPod, I'm just not one of them.

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Page 1: Introduction & First Impressions
Page 2: Testing: Software
Page 3: Testing: Hardware
Page 4: Testing: Daily Usage
Page 5: Conclusion

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7 User Comments

1 - Posted by socokid on April 18, 2007 - 6:15 pm

There is, however, one big difference between the 30 and the 80 GB iPods. The 80 gets 6 more hours of music playback (20 hours as opposed to 14 on the 30 GB). Just had to point that out...

2 - Posted by Kurtis on April 18, 2007 - 6:36 pm

Good point on the battery life of the iPod variants, socokid.

3 - Posted by handrail on April 19, 2007 - 7:52 am

indeed. obviously the 80GB is the sensible way to go if you can afford the extra dough. but since we wanted to compare apples to apples, zunes to ipods, as best we could...we got a 30gigger.

good to know that 80GB has better battery life too. thanks for the info!

brad.

4 - Posted by some guy on April 19, 2007 - 8:06 am

The often cited lack of FM support in iPods is not entirely true.

A prospective buyer (just) needs to shell out additional $49 for the Apple branded "iPod Radio Remote" which acts as iPod FM antenna and cable remote control.

5 - Posted by Kurtis on April 19, 2007 - 9:43 am

lol, i don't think anyone would argue you can't buy an accessory for that functionality. heck, you can buy an accessory for the iPod for anything. you can probably get a toothbrush attachment for the thing.

the problem people have is that as expensive as the iPod already is it is not as feature-rich as some other players out there which tout those features from the box.

6 - Posted by handrail on April 19, 2007 - 3:35 pm

i guess then one could also say that the iPod comes with a car as long as you shell out $20k for it, right? :)

kurtis has already pointed out...well, my point. doesn't come with it out of the box like the zune and so many other players. not that it appears to matter. i'm probably the last person on earth who gives a crap about the iPod not having native FM functionality.

7 - Posted by Rich on April 20, 2007 - 9:55 pm

I guess hell really did freeze over! Brad with an iPod. hah!

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