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I saw the iPod (Slashdot)
the other day at Fry's and then again at CompUSA. I've got to say, Apple is
on top of design. At CompUSA I was able to compare the iPod to other hard drive
based MP3 players like the Archos, the Creative Nomad Jukebox and Intel models
too-awful-to-remember. The iPod is
the most expensive of the bunch but it's by far the coolest. It's small, like
a pack of cigarettes, and light, like a Nokia cell phone, and has a simple,
intuitive UI and a backlight. It's actually not completely white, the back and
sides are a silvery finish and the white faceplate is actually transparent plastic
with a white backing. The jog dial works smoothly to perform menu selections
and adjust the volume. The iPod is kept simple; there is one firewire port,
a headphone jack and a hold button on top. It's chic.
The other players, on the other hand, were designed by adolescents living in
the 1950s who dream about the future. They're clunky and heavy and cheap. The
Archos looks like
a Star Trek prop reject. The Nomad
looks like an oversized CD player for kids. There's also an Archos
Mediabox that's just been announced but it wasn't at CompUSA.
Of course, I don't have a Mac.
This poses several problems. One, how do I get songs on to the iPod? Two, how
do I charge the damn thing?
Well, there's a company called MediaFour
that has announced Windows
software that will communicate with the iPod. A preliminary version is expected
on Christmas Eve. All I need, in addition to the software, is a firewire card
for my PC. The charging is taken care of through firewire.
The more adventurous among you might be interested in this Slashdot
article about someone who took apart his iPod. It turns out the hard drive
used in it is not a 2.5" laptop drive (which is how the Archos and
the Nomad are able to beat Apple on price), but a 1.8" drive designed for
PCMCIA cards (which is how Apple is able to keep the iPod so sleek). The PCMCIA
version of the drive used in the iPod retails for $399, the same price as the
iPod itself.
Is $400 too much for an MP3 player with "only" 5 Gigs of storage?
I personally think an iPod is infinitely more useful than a PDA. Everyone I
know who owns a PDA, owns a PDA which is gathering dust. People seem to have
less of a problem justifying $300-400 for a PDA.
Hell, I listen to music constantly. I'll be watching MediaFour and their
XPlay Windows software closely... The iPod goes on my Christmas 2001 Wishlist.
One caveat: the sound was a bit tinny, but I'm hoping it's the earphones' fault
and not the D/A converter in the iPod.
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