Reviews Written by stevel024

Apple comes with another good player!

Pros: It’s popular, longer battery life, the click wheel makes it even easier to use the iPod, both USB 2.0 and Firewire cables are now included

Cons: The battery is still non-user replaceable, battery life while good can be better, the carrying case, remote, and the dock does not come with the 20gb iPod anymore

I ordered this new iPod about 2 weeks ago off apple.com and I can say that it’s a pretty good player. This is my first ever mp3 player and I think it’s pretty good. At first I was thinking about getting the Dell DJ, before this new iPod came out. However, I saw the new iPod on Cnet.com and suddenly changed my mind because of its great review. iPods aren't exactly budget friendly, but if you have the money, this can be an excellent buy. The new 4th gen. iPod now lasts up to 12 hours compared to the 3rd gen's 8 hour. Also, the 4th gen. iPod has the new click wheel found also on the iPod mini where the menu, forward, rewind, play/pause buttons are now on the wheel and can be clicked in to activate their functions. This new iPod also ships with a USB 2.0 cable along with the Firewire cable, which is less of a hassle for people who do not have Firewire, as they do not have to buy a USB cable. Also, if you buy a 20 GB or 40 GB 4th gen. iPod off apple.com between June 27, 2004 through September 25, 2004, you can get the back of your iPod custom laser engraved for free. This usually costs 20 dollars, which is a pretty nice deal.

Now to the cons:
The Dock, Remote, or Carrying Case is now part of the apple accessories and do not ship with the 20 GB 4th gen. iPod. They each cost 39 dollars, which if you ask me is a rip-off but I guess that’s how apple does business… also the battery will eventually die off or may not last long enough and since it is non-user replaceable, you must send it to apple itself to replace the battery which costs 99 dollars, another rip-off if you ask me...

Another thing about the iPod is getting the (expensive) accessories... one thing that you CANNOT live without if you own an iPod is some kind of protection... this thing scratches really easily, and you really don't want to put it in your pocket unless you have some kind of protection for the aluminum back and the screen... If you ask me the only accessory you need is the carrying case, its really handy if you don't have any pockets and you can't hold it in your hand and at the same time, protects it from scratching; I think you can live without the dock and the remote control but then again that’s just me...

Overall, I think that apple has another winner with this new iPod. iPods are the hot thing around America, and I think apple has done enough to attract more customers to their iPods. I think what really won me over to the iPod instead of the Dell DJ is their design, the longer battery life (although their battery life is still shorter than most of its competitors), and the fact that its popular around America. I'm not saying Dell has a bad mp3 player, in fact, I believe its a good alternative to the iPod if you don't want to spend that much money, but if you ever wondered what its like to have an iPod or always wanted one, I think now is the time to buy it. And I'm glad I waited for this new iPod to come out, because I would have bought the Dell DJ instead of this, and although I would have been happy just getting an mp3 player, I might have regretted not getting this fabulous mp3 player. ...