Fun with the iPod Photo

Recently i started a thread on the ipod photo at the popular singapore site spug.net. This review is taken from my posts in this thread for easy reading, but if you prefer all the sights and sounds of a forum discussion, just click on the above link.

A: Hardware



hardwarewise, the ipod photo is an elegant work of art - cleverly, creatively and finely designed with great simplicity.
the packaging comes apart in two little boxes with everything you need to get going - wires for connection to pc, stereo and tv including clip belt pouches, earphones and a nice cradle (for 60 gig models).

the ipod photo breaks 3 records/inroads for the ipod:
1. largest capacity of any current mp3 player
2. first ipod to sport colour (easy on the eyes)
3. first ipod to display photos (no big deal, really)

The screen and size is just right although the device is a tad on the heavy side.
All in all, a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

B: software review

While the ipod photo really looks smart and wonderful, in reality it is really a dumb device - without add-on acessories, all it can do is to run the files you have loaded.
it would be great, like the archos 420 to be able to record, add text or at least delete files on the go.

1. basically, it is an mp3 player though it can run other formats mp3 is still the best format to get ok quality music in a small amount of space - try converting a song into wav it is 10 times the mp3 size, for same quality music.

2. if you are into audible books, the ipod photo is great - a good feature to have indeed.



The above image is taken from ipodlounge - a great place to learn and discuss all things ipod.

3. the last useful feature is the text reader. it is great to carry all your notes, directory even bible books and access them or read it on the go - this is the reason i choose the ipod photo as the colour screen will translate in a clearer readout.

other not really useful features in the ipod photo:

4. photo viewer and displayer - the low resolution and small screen makes this feature so-so that it is hardly worth the effort - but good to have if you want to show off family snaps or have a 'show and tell' on tv to do.

btw if only loading mp3 using itunes were as seamless and painless as uploading graphics - just select a directory on your pc whatever is in, it will be sync to the ipod even resized to ipod required size and resolution - alas, it does not support sub-directories.

compared to the archos 420, the photos on the ipod photo looks rather bad. my reasons for buying the ipod photo is mainly to read and hear the bible at the same time using bible player deluxe which i will mention later.

5. contacts - without the ability to add on the go not very useful except for reference but all these info are already got on the hand phone.

6. games - you got to be kidding! on the scroll wheel? only the bricks game is playable but already a few games are floating around ... will it take off like mobile phone games that has grown from the simple snake game to monopoly on my razr v3?

7. clock, calendar etc - dont see myself using any of these but no harm having 'em.

C: using the ipod photo

ipod photo works great ie the photo part of it however the mp3 part is really frustrating on a windows pc. on the web, forum after forum, ipod owners cry in despair of their frustrating experience with itunes.

my personal experience with itunes on the first 2 days confirm this - each time i uploaded mp3 files with itunes i either lost my lost my old files or cant find my recent ones. it has become so frightening that unless i can find alternative software to itunes i was thinking of giving my ipod away



help came when i was scanning through the web and came across a windows ipod utility, xplay - a drag and drop mp3 installer that even works with win98. i d/l the trial version which works like a dream, so i registered and got the full version at mediafour.

so life with ipod becomes bearable again until one day while i was adding my 1,000th mp3 file my trusty win98 hung and there was no way i could eject my ipod except through a reset.

sure enough, my worst fears came true and on reboot, all my albums and playlists were gone! i kind of suspect that the data base was still around but because of the way apple hid all the files and all the hidden partitions in ipod... i was left in the dark.

it was a good thing i backed up all the mp3 files that i ripped from my cds - so here i go again, dragging, dropping, created new playlists all over again.

a few days later, it happened again - at my 2,000th or so mp3 file - my pc hung again and on rebooting, no more albums, playlists... (strange, my txt files and photos were all intact, both times).

this time, i had a little more experience with the ipod ie 4-day experience compared to 2-day experience and have been fooling around with a few ipod windows utilities. one of which is the super freeware, ephpod.

it is more speedy than xplay and if you are dumping lots of albums this is certainly the way to go... but i dont like donationware. i rather pay the price the author wants and get it off my conscience forever ...besides i have already purchased xplay and imho the xplay interface is a tad better, so havent been using it much.

so i thought that since i am in deep trouble to the point of restoring my ipod, i decided to give ephpod a run through even though podutil couldnt even read my ipod.

lo and behold, what do you know... ephpod not only read my dead mp3-less ipod but all my albums and playlists - 2,000 songs (6 gig) were all there in their pristine glory!!!

then i fired up xplay and everything was back, even the files i lost at the first hung-up so i have duplicates of many songs on my ipod but i dont really care since i have 60 gig, and only 6 gig is used so far.

btw, i know there are many cd to mp3 converters around. i search the web, d/l the first freeware i come across freerip. its not full featured, but does the job pretty speedily. with my 2 pcs at home and 2 notebooks, i was able to do short work of my library of some 500cds by going round robin on these 4 computers - ie by the time the 4th cd is loaded, the first pc is done. it kept me busy, but there was no time lag; now all my cds are backed up good and proper.

nb. on an average, i need to burn one cd to back up 12 cds converted into mp3 files.

D: The real reason i got this device

i was given 2 creative mp3 players in the past but passed them to others because i'm not really a music-all-day-long person and could not dream of keeping those ear phones wired to my ears. what changed my mind was the bibleplayer.

as a preacher, i am always interested in any kind of bible software. every since my franklin organizer, i was carrying a portable bible with me. today, all pda sports one or more bible text programs and all mp3 players run the mp3 bible. but this is the first time that it is possible to read and hear the bible at the same time! besides, i dont need much persuading to get such a delightful device like the ipod.



when i first come across this software, i emailed the author, pablo for more info. this guy is superfast in responding to emails and after a few exchanges, i ordered the bible player deluxe, using paypal.

while waiting for the cds to arrive, i surfed the bibleplayer site and it was then i had second thoughts about the whole deal. installation looks complicated - what with temporary playlist, rearrangement for each book, bugs in itunes and the limitation of ipod to read just 1000 files.

however, when the cd arrived yesterday; just 7 days after the order on the web, using the xplay utility, it was as simple as dragging and dropping the nt folder into the playlist section and the bible into notes. that's it - a no-brainer.

i cannot tell you how pleased i am with the bible player - now my spare moments will be enriched with both the reading and listening of God's eternal word!

btw there are several wonderful modules that comes with the bible player deluxe. i liked having a year's devotional thoughts that i can carry around. The bible stories are great as demo to people who may be interested in my ipod. Of all the modules, i like promises best.



Summary

if you are on the go alot, having an ipod for company is really wonderful. time flies quickly either being engrossed in bible reading, listening or songs and books. i recommend getting an ipod specific speakers like the sonic gear 2go i-2000 - a 2.1 channel subwoofer for $149, just the thing i need in the office. just drop the ipod, it charges as it plays and has a line-in for other portable devices other than the ipod. great stuff.