Many thanks for all the reads, rates and comments - all are appreciated. An accountant by day and a ...
Many thanks for all the reads, rates and comments - all are appreciated. An accountant by day and a random reviewer by night I am not a professional writer, nor do I have any ambitions to be I guess I am just opinionated.
Member since:07.03.2007
Reviews:241
Members who trust:65
iPods have come a long way from their humble roots of being a personal music player. With the ability to play music, play videos and be used as a photo viewer I think that Apple have gone too far.
Apple have developed a niche since the iPod is more than an MP3 player but not quite a fully blown multi media player. The iPod has become a bit of a middle-man.
My 20gb iPod was getting a bit tatty and whilst it had served me well it had taken quite a lot of abuse and was getting tired. It was time for an upgrade but I was confused what to buy.
There are so many MP3 players on the market it has become a bit of a mind field. Being a previous iPod owner all my accessories were geared towards the iPod so changing to an alternative MP3 player would not only mean I would have to spend cash on the music player itself but also having to buy the accessories all over again. Whilst I fancied a change I did not want to spend the extra so decided to go for another iPod, which wasn’t such a big deal since I am very familiar with the brand and know the quality of the products.
I wasn’t bothered about a colour screen or the ability to play videos and I would have happily settled for a bog standard iPod. What I wanted was a massive hard drive with the ability to hold all of
my music collection in one place.
****80gb classic****
This iPod is as basic as you can get. It is aluminum, 4.1 inches tall, 2.4 inches wide, and .41 inches deep. It has a 2.5 inch diagonal screen that displays 320×240 pixels.
This iPod holds up to 20,000 songs in 128 Kbps AAC format which equates to 3,000 hours of music, based on 3 minutes per song. This is more than enough for most people. My music collection is killers rather than ‘fillers’ and as such I don’t think that I will ever fill this up. The hard drive is just too big for my need.
The 80gb hard drive will hold up to 100 hours of video and whilst impressive, this is of no use to me since I have purchased an Archos multi media player to watch videos on. The 80gb hard drive will hold up to 25,000 iPod viewable photos. Again, this is impressive but of no use to me in normal circumstances. It may be good in situations whereby I need to transfer photos from my digital camera or HD camcorder in order to free up the space in situations where I can’t get to my computer.
The audio playback time is 36 hours, several times better than the 20gb version it replaces, and a video playback time of 6 hours. The video play back time is irrelevant to me.
****Sound****
The overall sound quality of this iPod is dependent upon the quality of the headphones or speakers used.
The original spec speakers are crap and as soon as the volume starts to increase so does the amount of distortion. There is a lot of crackling and a lot of hissing which really ruins the experience. The iPod is just too powerful for the headphones supplied.
When combined with a set of speakers the iPod can be used as a powerful home audio system. There are loads of different sorts of speakers on the market from loads of different manufacturers including Klipsch, Bosse, Logitech amongst many others. The speakers vary in price, and hence quality, and before purchasing any speakers it is worthwhile spending a bit of time carrying out a bit of research as well as visiting various shops for real life demonstrations.
****Video****
The 80gb iPod can be used to play video material but they have to be in an Avi. Format. It will not support MP4 so a converter is required, some of which are available as a free download from some websites.
The video image is very good, although there is a very small time lag. This does not really affect me as I have an Archos multi media player to wartch videos on the move.
****Price and availability****
Being so popular iPods are available from loads of different places, from online shops to physical shops to auction sites. You will have no problems in sourcing this iPod whatsoever. The price can vary greatly and I have seen them for sale for a s little as £158.97 (from Argos) and as much as £197.84 (from Elite Gadgets Uk).
I would highly recommend searching around to get the best deal, but remember that cheapest isn’t always best. You need to consider the postage and packing charges (if buying online or via post), any ‘free’ accessories, the after sales service (in the unlikely event the item will go wrong or in the case of non-delivery) and the reputation of the seller. Sometimes it does pay to spend that little bit more.
****Accessories*****
As with all iPods there are loads of accessories that you can buy for this iPod. You can buy cases and socks for protection, better quality headphones and speakers enabling the iPod to be used to its full potential, radio tuner/cradles and cassette adaptors for in car solutions, armbands and holders so the iPod can be used for sports and various of other items such as charges, leads and splitters.
The amount of retailers is good for the consumers since it means lower bargains and plenty of offers as all shops are competing against each other to win market share.
A word of warning is that there are some cowboys out there and you shouldn’t always go for the cheapest supplier. Whilst some are a few pounds more expensive you know that you’re getting genuine products (there are a lot of fake items from the far East out there), the goods are going to be delivered within a realistic timescale (some places take orders and then buy from a whole saler and if you’re one of the first to order you could be in for quite a wait), and the after sales teams will help you out should things go wrong or you need to send an item back (the places that buy from whole salers and ship out (effectively acting as an agent) often don’t have an after sales team and any problems are the consumers hard luck).
****Problems****
The early iPods (i.e. the first generation) were riddled with bugs and suffered many problems such as locking up and freezing, automatically turning off and not allowing the user to change track. Being several generations on these problems appear to have been eradicated and, in my experience, are rare on the classic versions.
I have never had problems with my classic whatsoever. The Apple brand is renowned for its quality and I find it spot on.
****Would I recommend it?****
The iPod range consists of so many different types of iPod that there is one that will suit everyone’s needs. Whether a simple one is required for exercising (like the shuffle) or an up to date powerful version with a monster memory used to watch videos (like the touch) and everything in between there is an iPod for everyone.
I would definitely recommend the classic and the shuffle, which I also own, but as for the others I cannot comment. If they are as good as what I have and as easy to use then I would say go for it, but they may have some teething problems (especially the most technically advanced ones – such as the touch).
There are loads of accessories for iPods allowing them to be fully personalised to the user and making them very versatile. As a result of the in-car solutions available there is no longer a need to buy an expensive car radio.
(originally posted on Dooyoo under the name of Yackers1)
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Excellent review, sounds good and lots of information on it too. I hate this new layout - I typed your name to find a review of yours so that I can return rates to you and I typed the name into the comment box on Amy's review instead of the search one. I cant wait until they fix this back to normal because it is doing my head in LOL x
blackmagicstar4 27.02.2009 11:16
Sounds good- i always have to have my Ipod on me be lost without it. great review x
Additional mains charger for your iPod. Perfect for charging your iPod at work, home or as ... more
a replacement for the original mains charger. Simply plug in and charge, Works in conjunction with your iPod battery to automatically stop charging once the batt...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Additional mains charger for your iPod. Perfect for charging your iPod at work, home or as ... more
a replacement for the original mains charger. Simply plug in and charge, Works in conjunction with your iPod battery to automatically stop charging once the batt...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Easy navigation, clear large screen, huge capacity, great looking, excellent value for money Disadvantages: iTunes a little annoying, dodgy earphones
Sonic4290 30.12.2007 (21.09.2009)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Apple iPod classic 80 GB
Advantages: Amazing amount of material that can be carried around in one place, reliable Disadvantages: Desirable to thieves! Wheel can be a bit fiddly initially
Feb 26th, 2009
exceptional by (8%):
very helpful by (92%):
