So I finally got my 60GB iPod photo yesterday. Was it worth it? In a word: OH HELL YAH. OK so that's three words. 
I had a few snags along the way which were mainly due to the way I have my puter configured. Yes it's a Windows XP box. Stop hissing damn it! When Apple comes out with a newer line of PowerBooks then we will talk. But I digress.
Up til now I've never owned an iPod. Heck, I've never owned a digital music player other then a CD player and maybe my PDA. So all of this is generally new to me.
Packaging
Opening up the shipping box we find the typical iPod box that any other iPod ships in with the exception that it says iPod Photo 60GB. The innards are really no different then previous iPods from what I've read. What's to say other then the iPod box is beautiful. YMMV on the opinion but I think it is overly beautiful. It looks like Apple spent some extra cash in the box and all I have to ask is why? Its prob just me but once I get the contents unpacked the box goes in the attic just in case I want to sell it later. I'm not going to admire it for more then 10 seconds. *shrugs* Not a big deal. Just me nitpicking.
Initial impression of the iPod
So one of the first thing, the obvious thing, I fondled the iPod itself. The shell as you are all aware is identical to other iPods just thicker. I can't really tell the diff since I was in an Apple store the other day to look at iPod accessories and really the size is pretty much the same. At any rate it doesn't in any way shape or form feel brickish.
After removing the wrapper around it I powered it up. Apple went through the trouble of charging to around 70%. This IMHO is one of the first little touches I noticed. It's probably just as much for Apple's benefit as much as its for the user. Its enough of a charge to get through the initial setup of the device without it going dead in the middle of setup possibly resulting is a call to Apple support. But from my point of view it's nice because I can start playing with the device right then and there. I can't tell you how annoying it is to get a new PDA and have to wait for it to charge up a bit before I can start using it. Again a nice touch.
Setup
After playing with the device a few minutes I went to set it up. Since this is macrumors after all I won't go into the specifics of a setting up the iPod on Windows. I did have some problems initially. After popping in the CD and starting up the wizard it prompted to format the iPod. Clicked format and just sat there with the progress bar that just kept looping all night.
This morning I noticed that it was still looping after 10+ hours. Even a 60GB drive doesn't take that long. So I called up Apple support. We did some initial troubleshooting. Most of which I had done that morning before calling them. For a lark I told him I was going to reboot after deleting the iPOd from the device manager. I also changed the drive letters to leave E: open. After a reboot all was good. The only thing I can think of is that the iPod was looking to mount on one of the initial drive letters that are typically only for local hardware. When it couldn't find and open drive letter it went into a loop. I'm somewhat different in that I have my own home server so drive letters A: - G: were taken up. *shrugs* At any rate after rebooting I opened iTunes and away we went. It detected the iPod and all was good.
Side note. The initial name of the device was "uberdrive"
Music Syncing
I was surprised at how slow iTunes got while syncing. It wasn't unusable but it could have been better. The process itself was relatively fast. I copied just under 42GB of tracks in under an hour and a half. (Or there abouts since I wasn't really watching the clock.) Also I'm not overly impressed with the syncing process. I drop the iPod into the cradle. I wait. The "Do not Disconnect symbol" appears. I wait. I wait. Eventually the computer freezes for a good 5-10 seconds until iTunes realizes that "oh yah. You want me to sync." Once syncing starts the system is fine again. I don't know if having a dedicated 6-pin FireWire card would help or if there are issues with the port that is built into my sound card.
Photo Syncing
Once my music was finished copying it was onto the photos. Obviously it's going to be a different on a Mac. By default it goes into My Documents\My Pictures. Which is logical since iTunes puts its tracks in My Documents\My Music (Eugh. I still hate the "My xxxx" What am I? A ten year old who needs to know that this is MY documents?) The pathing isn't hard encoded so I could specify another directory path if I wanted to. Anyways if you aren't using Adobe's wares or iPhoto its almost as simple. Just drag and drop the pictures and folders you want into My Picts and sync. Syncing is obviously no different then music with the same features: Copy everything or copy specific folders. Unlike music, as you guys have probably already read, iTunes converts the files into a compatible format for the iPod. I can see pros and cons with this method. One of the cons being you don't have access to the original pictures. Fortunately Apple took this into consideration with the option to copy the original full resolution pictures. I didn't do this because this obviously takes up more space and it isn't really all that important for me. I did want to try it out though. I'm not overly happy how Apple organizes the pictures. It's organized by date not by the folder name I created.
So lets see I have:
\My Documents\My Pictures\MN Zoo Picts
\My Documents\My Pictures\Maine Pictures
\My Documents\My Pictures\Boston Pictures
It dumps them on the iPod into
\Photos\Full Resolution\[year]\[month]\[date]
Consequently it would be a royal PITA to find those pictures again now that the organized file structure has been thrown out. But again not a major issues with me since I don't want the full blow pictures with me. But for those who want to take their pictures from computer A to B it could be an issues. Again YMMV.
The Screen
Words don't do it justice. Even a picture doesn't. You simply are going to have to go into an Apple store or someone who will carry the iPod Photo to get an idea of what this does for the iPod. Yes it allows you to view your photos but IMHO the addition of color to the screen makes it feel like a more complete system. B&W is OK but frankly the iPod looks like it should be in color out of the box. The thing is sexy and beautiful. Not having a color screen is like throwing a super model in a burlap potato bag. Just wrong.
When I read that the screen was going to be trans reflective I was a tad hesitant. I've seen way too many PDA makers blow it on their screens. With everything from uneven lighting to dust (Because its sidelit instead of backlit any particles show up like a flair in the night sky.) Thankfully I can say Apple has the screen quality nailed. In fact you can't even tell where the backlight is coming from it's so even. (This could also be due the size of the screen.) The angle of viewing for the screen is solid. Well into the 70*-80* angle range before it starts getting difficult to read. (With backlight on.) So how is the screen with the backlight off? Obviously not nearly as colorful however the navigation screens are easily readable with the black fonts on the white (Or in the case of with the backlight off muted gray.) background. I was reading that Apple changed the fonts on the iPod Photo. I don't know what it originally was but I LOVE this font. Any idea if this is available as a downloadable font somewhere? Prob Mac only. The font is very clean and vibrant. And its prob just me but I'd swear that they are using sub-pixel rendering for the fonts. Maybe not. In any case I'm hooked. Here on out B&W is NOT an option for me.
Coverart
One of the first things I had to check once I got everything loaded was whether or not the iPod would display MP3 cover art. Everything I read since Tuesday said tracks off of iTMS was supported which equaled that AAC embedded cover art works but no mention of MP3 cover art. Since the cover isn't physically embedded into the track I had some concerns. Fortunately Apple once again took this into consideration and yes. MP3 cover art is copied over to the iPod. Beyond that you've all seen the screenshots of how the cover art is displayed: mini-picture to the left with title, artist, and album to the right and a bright blue (God I love that screen.) progress bar down below. To access a larger version of the cover art simply press the select button and cover art will be full screened for about 7 seconds then return to the main screen. If you hit the select button twice it shows your rating where the progress bar normally is. After a couple of seconds the progress bar slides back into place. Slick.
Continue to part II...
I had a few snags along the way which were mainly due to the way I have my puter configured. Yes it's a Windows XP box. Stop hissing damn it! When Apple comes out with a newer line of PowerBooks then we will talk. But I digress.Up til now I've never owned an iPod. Heck, I've never owned a digital music player other then a CD player and maybe my PDA. So all of this is generally new to me.
Packaging
Opening up the shipping box we find the typical iPod box that any other iPod ships in with the exception that it says iPod Photo 60GB. The innards are really no different then previous iPods from what I've read. What's to say other then the iPod box is beautiful. YMMV on the opinion but I think it is overly beautiful. It looks like Apple spent some extra cash in the box and all I have to ask is why? Its prob just me but once I get the contents unpacked the box goes in the attic just in case I want to sell it later. I'm not going to admire it for more then 10 seconds. *shrugs* Not a big deal. Just me nitpicking.
Initial impression of the iPod
So one of the first thing, the obvious thing, I fondled the iPod itself. The shell as you are all aware is identical to other iPods just thicker. I can't really tell the diff since I was in an Apple store the other day to look at iPod accessories and really the size is pretty much the same. At any rate it doesn't in any way shape or form feel brickish.
After removing the wrapper around it I powered it up. Apple went through the trouble of charging to around 70%. This IMHO is one of the first little touches I noticed. It's probably just as much for Apple's benefit as much as its for the user. Its enough of a charge to get through the initial setup of the device without it going dead in the middle of setup possibly resulting is a call to Apple support. But from my point of view it's nice because I can start playing with the device right then and there. I can't tell you how annoying it is to get a new PDA and have to wait for it to charge up a bit before I can start using it. Again a nice touch.
Setup
After playing with the device a few minutes I went to set it up. Since this is macrumors after all I won't go into the specifics of a setting up the iPod on Windows. I did have some problems initially. After popping in the CD and starting up the wizard it prompted to format the iPod. Clicked format and just sat there with the progress bar that just kept looping all night.
This morning I noticed that it was still looping after 10+ hours. Even a 60GB drive doesn't take that long. So I called up Apple support. We did some initial troubleshooting. Most of which I had done that morning before calling them. For a lark I told him I was going to reboot after deleting the iPOd from the device manager. I also changed the drive letters to leave E: open. After a reboot all was good. The only thing I can think of is that the iPod was looking to mount on one of the initial drive letters that are typically only for local hardware. When it couldn't find and open drive letter it went into a loop. I'm somewhat different in that I have my own home server so drive letters A: - G: were taken up. *shrugs* At any rate after rebooting I opened iTunes and away we went. It detected the iPod and all was good.
Side note. The initial name of the device was "uberdrive"
Music Syncing
I was surprised at how slow iTunes got while syncing. It wasn't unusable but it could have been better. The process itself was relatively fast. I copied just under 42GB of tracks in under an hour and a half. (Or there abouts since I wasn't really watching the clock.) Also I'm not overly impressed with the syncing process. I drop the iPod into the cradle. I wait. The "Do not Disconnect symbol" appears. I wait. I wait. Eventually the computer freezes for a good 5-10 seconds until iTunes realizes that "oh yah. You want me to sync." Once syncing starts the system is fine again. I don't know if having a dedicated 6-pin FireWire card would help or if there are issues with the port that is built into my sound card.
Photo Syncing
Once my music was finished copying it was onto the photos. Obviously it's going to be a different on a Mac. By default it goes into My Documents\My Pictures. Which is logical since iTunes puts its tracks in My Documents\My Music (Eugh. I still hate the "My xxxx" What am I? A ten year old who needs to know that this is MY documents?) The pathing isn't hard encoded so I could specify another directory path if I wanted to. Anyways if you aren't using Adobe's wares or iPhoto its almost as simple. Just drag and drop the pictures and folders you want into My Picts and sync. Syncing is obviously no different then music with the same features: Copy everything or copy specific folders. Unlike music, as you guys have probably already read, iTunes converts the files into a compatible format for the iPod. I can see pros and cons with this method. One of the cons being you don't have access to the original pictures. Fortunately Apple took this into consideration with the option to copy the original full resolution pictures. I didn't do this because this obviously takes up more space and it isn't really all that important for me. I did want to try it out though. I'm not overly happy how Apple organizes the pictures. It's organized by date not by the folder name I created.
So lets see I have:
\My Documents\My Pictures\MN Zoo Picts
\My Documents\My Pictures\Maine Pictures
\My Documents\My Pictures\Boston Pictures
It dumps them on the iPod into
\Photos\Full Resolution\[year]\[month]\[date]
Consequently it would be a royal PITA to find those pictures again now that the organized file structure has been thrown out. But again not a major issues with me since I don't want the full blow pictures with me. But for those who want to take their pictures from computer A to B it could be an issues. Again YMMV.
The Screen
Words don't do it justice. Even a picture doesn't. You simply are going to have to go into an Apple store or someone who will carry the iPod Photo to get an idea of what this does for the iPod. Yes it allows you to view your photos but IMHO the addition of color to the screen makes it feel like a more complete system. B&W is OK but frankly the iPod looks like it should be in color out of the box. The thing is sexy and beautiful. Not having a color screen is like throwing a super model in a burlap potato bag. Just wrong.
When I read that the screen was going to be trans reflective I was a tad hesitant. I've seen way too many PDA makers blow it on their screens. With everything from uneven lighting to dust (Because its sidelit instead of backlit any particles show up like a flair in the night sky.) Thankfully I can say Apple has the screen quality nailed. In fact you can't even tell where the backlight is coming from it's so even. (This could also be due the size of the screen.) The angle of viewing for the screen is solid. Well into the 70*-80* angle range before it starts getting difficult to read. (With backlight on.) So how is the screen with the backlight off? Obviously not nearly as colorful however the navigation screens are easily readable with the black fonts on the white (Or in the case of with the backlight off muted gray.) background. I was reading that Apple changed the fonts on the iPod Photo. I don't know what it originally was but I LOVE this font. Any idea if this is available as a downloadable font somewhere? Prob Mac only.
The font is very clean and vibrant. And its prob just me but I'd swear that they are using sub-pixel rendering for the fonts. Maybe not. In any case I'm hooked. Here on out B&W is NOT an option for me.Coverart
One of the first things I had to check once I got everything loaded was whether or not the iPod would display MP3 cover art. Everything I read since Tuesday said tracks off of iTMS was supported which equaled that AAC embedded cover art works but no mention of MP3 cover art. Since the cover isn't physically embedded into the track I had some concerns. Fortunately Apple once again took this into consideration and yes. MP3 cover art is copied over to the iPod. Beyond that you've all seen the screenshots of how the cover art is displayed: mini-picture to the left with title, artist, and album to the right and a bright blue (God I love that screen.) progress bar down below. To access a larger version of the cover art simply press the select button and cover art will be full screened for about 7 seconds then return to the main screen. If you hit the select button twice it shows your rating where the progress bar normally is. After a couple of seconds the progress bar slides back into place. Slick.
Continue to part II...
