iPod classic, 3rd Gen iPod nano Review Roundup

[MacRumors]

Reviews are emerging for Apple's newly released 3rd generation iPod nano and iPod classic.

iPod nano
Reviewers seem to be generally impressed with Apple's new nano. The update provided popular features such as video and games to the nano but keeps reasonable price points. Playlist and CNet didn't seem to mind the smallish 2" screen for watching video, however iLounge notes that the even the largest capacity offered (8 GB) doesn't do much for video storage. All 3 reviews were once again impressed that Apple is under-estimating battery life.

For more, read the sites' in-depth reviews:
- iLounge Review
- CNet Review
- Playlist Review

iPod classic
Reviews for the latest revision in the standard iPod line, now "iPod classic", were mixed. Perhaps the most critical review was that of Playlist, which noted a "sluggish interface" and "unresponsive controls" when album artwork was synched. All 3 reviews noted that previous 5th generation iPod games are incompatible with the iPod classic as are some iPod accessories, namely video-out accessories. While Apple has chosen to provide higher-resolution component video out, it has rendered previous video output accessories useless with this iPod.

This is not to say that all is dim with the classic. iLounge notes that the games offered for the classic are of better quality, and the increased storage sizes are industry-leading. Also, Apple is once again conservative on its battery life numbers (Playlist got 11 more hours of audio playback than Apple had promised).

For more, read the sites' in-depth reviews:
- iLounge Review
- CNet Review
- Playlist Review


Article Link

[twoodcc]

well i ended up getting a black nano last night, even though i really didn't need it. i used my $100 iphone credit.

so far so good. i think both the classic and nano are a good step forward for the ipods....apple has done it again

[F.D.]

Originally Posted by twoodcc

well i ended up getting a black nano last night, even though i really didn't need it. i used my $100 iphone credit.

so far so good. i think both the classic and nano are a good step forward for the ipods....apple has done it again

Is it as ugly in the flesh as it looks in the pics?

[twoodcc]

Originally Posted by F.D.

Is it as ugly in the flesh as it looks in the pics?

no it's not. you gotta see one in person, they look great.

but i did name mine "fatty"

[CalBoy]

Originally Posted by twoodcc

no it's not. you gotta see one in person, they look great.

but i did name mine "fatty"

Well this is good to hear. I keep looking at Apple's site, hoping for the Nano to look better, but no matter what, it doesn't look good on a screen. I'm hoping I'll have time to pop by an Apple Store in the next few days to check one out myself. I'm glad this review noted good battery life, always a good sign. Now, if only I could justify buying another one, seeing as how I bought my Nano just three months ago

[JonMan]

Originally Posted by CalBoy

Well this is good to hear. I keep looking at Apple's site, hoping for the Nano to look better, but no matter what, it doesn't look good on a screen. I'm hoping I'll have time to pop by an Apple Store in the next few days to check one out myself. I'm glad this review noted good battery life, always a good sign. Now, if only I could justify buying another one, seeing as how I bought my Nano just three months ago

The new Nano looks amazing in person. The pictures don't capture how tiny this thing actually is. Once you see it in person, you will be sold.

[Sayer]

There is already an update for the iPod Classic to address the sluggishness of the UI/Coverflow.

Another case of ship now, fix later.

[TheSpecialist]

Originally Posted by Sayer

There is already an update for the iPod Classic to address the sluggishness of the UI/Coverflow.

Another case of ship now, fix later.

It's just a case where a product has to go retailer at a time. If there is another problem aftherwards they can fix that later. Time is time when it has to hit stores.

[Stridder44]

Originally Posted by Sayer

There is already an update for the iPod Classic to address the sluggishness of the UI/Coverflow.

Another case of ship now, fix later.

Thank God. My biggest beef was the sluggishness of the UI with the previous gen. iPods. It was really disappointing to read the same problem was carried over to this gen., but I'm glad to see Apple fixed this issue.

[vwcruisn]

Just got the ipod touch, and the video does NOT work on my Pioneer Avic D3 in dash navigation unit, where previous ipod video did. I'm a little pissed off...

[sikkinixx]

I saw a Nano at Bestbuy yesterday and was very impressed. The slimness is amazing. Perfect little thing, I would love to have one if I didn't already own an older Nano

Still contemplating that touch though....

[Teifion]

I'm torn between a touch and a classic so having the above article replace "iPod nano" with "iPod touch" would be really handy.

[DaveTheGrey]

After reading the review I'm really interested in one of the 160GB classics.
I got one question left:
Is it possible to sync music with iTunes and ad films without? (e.g. with copy / paste)
All my famlily fims are located on an external drive, because I don't have enough space on my mbp.
I really hope there is a way, otherwise it would be a dealbraker for me.

Dave

[chriswheat]

Originally Posted by Dave187

After reading the review I'm really interested in one of the 160GB classics.
I got one question left:
Is it possible to sync music with iTunes and ad films without? (e.g. with copy / paste)
All my famlily fims are located on an external drive, because I don't have enough space on my mbp.
I really hope there is a way, otherwise it would be a dealbraker for me.

Dave

Dave -

I'm not sure I get what you're asking 100%. An easy solution to this (assuming I understand) is to add all of your films to iTunes on your MBP, but don't copy them over from your external drive, just add the file to the library's database. To do this, just hold down the key while you drag the file(s) into iTunes.

There's a thread on this here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=300826

The thing that I did next was to tell my iPod to only sync "checked" videos, and I check and uncheck videos in the Movies folder as I want them to be synced to my iPod.

Now all of my movies stay on my external drive, not taking up space on my MBP, but I use iTunes on my MBP to manage which movies get copied to my iPod.

Hope this helps.

[DaveTheGrey]

Originally Posted by chriswheat

Dave -

I'm not sure I get what you're asking 100%. An easy solution to this (assuming I understand) is to add all of your films to iTunes on your MBP, but don't copy them over from your external drive, just add the file to the library's database. To do this, just hold down the key while you drag the file(s) into iTunes.

There's a thread on this here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=300826

The thing that I did next was to tell my iPod to only sync "checked" videos, and I check and uncheck videos in the Movies folder as I want them to be synced to my iPod.

Now all of my movies stay on my external drive, not taking up space on my MBP, but I use iTunes on my MBP to manage which movies get copied to my iPod.

Hope this helps.

Excellent!
I didn't knew this -key trick!
You made my day

Thanks a lot chriswheat!

[abrooks]

Originally Posted by chriswheat

Dave -

I'm not sure I get what you're asking 100%. An easy solution to this (assuming I understand) is to add all of your films to iTunes on your MBP, but don't copy them over from your external drive, just add the file to the library's database. To do this, just hold down the key while you drag the file(s) into iTunes.

There's a thread on this here: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=300826

The thing that I did next was to tell my iPod to only sync "checked" videos, and I check and uncheck videos in the Movies folder as I want them to be synced to my iPod.

Now all of my movies stay on my external drive, not taking up space on my MBP, but I use iTunes on my MBP to manage which movies get copied to my iPod.

Hope this helps.

According to the thread you linked to it's the Option key no the Apple key.

[Stampyhead]

Originally Posted by Dave187

Is it possible to sync music with iTunes and ad films without? (e.g. with copy / paste)
All my famlily fims are located on an external drive, because I don't have enough space on my mbp.
I really hope there is a way, otherwise it would be a dealbraker for me.

Dave

No, music and video all have to go through iTunes in order to be useable on the iPod. I have the same issue you have, though. When I want to add a video to my iPod I just copy it over to iTunes from the external drive and then delete it from iTunes after it is done synching.

[DaveTheGrey]

Originally Posted by Stampyhead

No, music and video all have to go through iTunes in order to be useable on the iPod. I have the same issue you have, though. When I want to add a video to my iPod I just copy it over to iTunes from the external drive and then delete it from iTunes after it is done synching.

Just read post #14

[Multimedia]

Originally Posted by Stampyhead

No, music and video all have to go through iTunes in order to be useable on the iPod. I have the same issue you have, though. When I want to add a video to my iPod I just copy it over to iTunes from the external drive and then delete it from iTunes after it is done synching.

Not true. You can copy video and audio files directly into the iPod from anywhere on your hard drive if they are iPod compatible. I do it all the time. Going through iTunes is optional.

I mean you use the iTunes interface to see where you are copying to in the iPod - what play list(s). But you don't have to copy to iTunes on your Mac first.

[syklee26]

i dont know why nobody is talking about Classic's superb audio quality. this is the best sounding iPod I have ever listened to and I have had every generation of iPod so far.

i do hate the new clickwheel on Classic though. it's borderline unusable.

[KittyToy]

i spent my 100 store credit on the product red nano.....cant wait till i get it.. i have no use for it seeing i have an iphone but i had to buy something with the credit and i couldn't justify buying the classic, they dont come in color so that was the deciding factor.

[Multimedia]

All 3 reviews noted that previous 5th generation iPod games are incompatible with the iPod classic as are some iPod accessories, namely video-out accessories. While Apple has chosen to provide higher-resolution component video out, it has rendered previous video output accessories useless with this iPod.

I find this hard to believe. Can anyone confirm the Apple composite video cable does NOT work out of a Classic and the last Dock?

They might have forgotten to turn on the external video out setting.

[abrooks]

Originally Posted by Multimedia

I find this hard to believe. Can anyone confirm the Apple composite video cable does NOT work out of a Classic and the last Dock?

They might have forgotten to turn on the external video out setting.

Here.

[Multimedia]

Originally Posted by abrooks

Apple locks TV Out in new iPods, breaks video add-ons By Jeremy Horwitz at iLounge

Wow! That's pretty harsh. Anyone have the "old" Apple brand composite cable who can confirm the Classic won't play out of it to a video screen with a composite input? I bought the Apple Connection kit for $99 when I got my 5G 60GB original Video iPod. It's already obsolete? That's less than two years ago. I wonder if an engineer made a mistake and they had to produce all these hardware fixes. Or is this Apple's way of shutting out all the old Sony 3 pin composite cable connections?

[sikkinixx]

the review for the touch will be up on iLounge soon but they said this on their site

Originally Posted by iLounge

As a brief note to readers: our iPod touch review could have been online already, but we’re holding it back.

We consider timeliness of our coverage to be imporant, but we consider accuracy to be even more important. It goes without saying that haste is the enemy of certainty.

After years of iPod releases passed without massive media attention, it seems like everyone’s now rushing to be “first” with a “review,” terms which have accordingly all but lost their meaning. What is a “review” if it’s based upon glib comments or little analysis? What does it mean to be “first” if you achieve nothing more than planting a timestamped flag in the ground with little perspective attached? That’s not our style.

So we’re choosing to wait—a little. Our review of iPod touch will likely be one of the most controversial we’ve published, so we’re re-running some tests to make sure we’re being fair. You’ll see the results very soon, and we hope they’ll help you make a more informed decision about whether to buy into this particular iPod, or hold off for next year’s replacement. Stay tuned.

sounds to me like it's gonna get slammed.