iPod classic, iPod nano, and iPod touch
Hey everyone, I’m going to have a rave about each new iPod that Apple released on the fifth. The first, apparently, is going to be the new iPod classic.
iPod classic
The new flagship iPod features a striking new full-metal design and boasts massive hard drives: 80 GB and 160 GB, more than any iPod ever has held before. Of course, the classic plays music, video, games, et cetera, but the most obvious addition to the general user experience is the completely redesigned user interface. The menu now only takes up the left half of the screen, while the right is occupied by drifting album artwork from your library. The new design is worlds apart from what they’ve had on their touch products or on any other iPod menu before, and—while I’m not crazy in love with the setup—I do think it’s better.
The hard drive space is the most impressive quality in my opinion. The ability to save 160 GB of media to a device that small is astounding, and I think many people will use their classic as more of an external hard drive for the price ($249 for 80 GB and $349 for 160). Now for the ratings, ladies and gentlemen:
Ratings
| Overall | 4.5 |
|---|---|
| External design | 4 |
| Interface facelift | 4.5 |
| Hard drive sizes | 5 |
iPod nano, third-generation
The new nano, dubbed “phatty” by some in the Mac community for its wider casing, is sending ripples through the gadget world. The nano has always been purely an audio and photo device, and this new generation opens it up to video, games, and everything the classic has for half the price (and a fraction of the hard drive space). Also, along with the classic, Cover Flow has been added, which is hella cool.
The new casing is ultrathin and has a 2” screen—half an inch smaller than the classic but with the same pixels-per-inch (which, for those of you who have better things to worry about than PPI, means it has a crazy good screen resolution). The prices are also very appealing, with the 4 GB model at $149 and the 8 GB at $199. And onto the ratings…
Ratings
| Overall | 4.5 |
|---|---|
| External casing | 3 |
| Interface facelift | 4.5 |
| New features | 5 |
| Hard drive sizes | 3 |
iPod touch
With the exciting new release of Apple’s iPod touch, which can be simply described as iPhone minus the phone, the iPod line has welcomed a brand new product that is sure to send ripples through the electronic world. To show you how much I love this new iPod, I’ll tell you this: I’m buying one. Soon.
Making use of iPhone’s revolutionary multi-touch user interface, the iPod touch features many of the cool user interface aspects as the iPhone does. Included is the Cover Flow, the finger-flick menus, and the squarish bubble-buttons on the home screen. What really sets the touch apart from the other iPods is its WiFi capabilities.
That’s right. iPod touch does internet. But instead of iPhone’s 3G network, which can prove weak and unreliable in some areas, the touch uses WiFi wireless internet that millions have in their homes and can be found at various HotSpots throughout the nation. This allows the iPod touch to use Safari for browsing the “real internet,” and for the YouTube application used on the iPhone.
I’m pumped, but I’m disappointed about the hard drive sizes and the price: 8 GB for $299 and 16 GB for $399. Even so, I’m saving up what little money I have to buy the 16 GB model sometime in the near future.
Ratings
| Overall | 5 |
|---|---|
| Case design | 5 |
| User interface | 5 |
| WiFi features | 5 |
| Hard drive sizes | 2 |
| Price | 3 |