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iPod 5G Different clickwheel?

siPod

siPod

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 20, 2006
10
0
London
Yay! I just had a 60GB black ipod delivered from the online apple store! However, I have noticed something different than iPods I have seen in the shops. My iPod has a matt black click wheel like the image pictured (not my actual one) and not the gloss colour of the rest of the fascia. Is it me being silly or have I got a different iPod than I have seen others?

Please help!

siPod
:confused:
 

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I'm not sure about variation between the 5G iPods, but I have a 4G and my buddy got a 5G, and his scroll wheel is definatlely different than mine. His even seems to wiggle around a little. On the whole it feels cheaper than the 4G one -- and especially crappier than the beautiful inset one in the 3G.
 
i just checked..

..the ipods in the regent street apple store in london have gloss/shiny clickwheels yet my one definitely doesn't!
 
wasn't their a thread about apple out-sourceing their click wheel to a different manufacture because they couldn't keep up with the demands or something.....
 
I knew it!

puckhead193 said:
wasn't their a thread about apple out-sourceing their click wheel to a different manufacture because they couldn't keep up with the demands or something.....
Click to expand...



damn you apple! I love you but hate you sometimes! why didn't you tell me about this! hey maybe i could sue.

Growing to love it though.
 
He's not asking about whether it's different to old iPods, it's about whether it's different to other black 5G ones.

The answer to that is no. Of all the black 5G iPods and iPod Nanos I've seen, they've all had matt clickwheels like the one in the picture. The "gloss" you see on the Apple website is just there to make it look sexier.

There are several differences between the 5G wheel and 4G: When Apple made the Nano they made the clickwheel in-house in an attempt to save money, but when they produced the 5G I think they went back to outsourcing it. It's also a few mm smaller than the 4G wheel.
 
siPod said:
damn you apple! I love you but hate you sometimes! why didn't you tell me about this! hey maybe i could sue.

Growing to love it though.
Click to expand...
i should have added in my original post that i think is the same design/colors...
my brothers black 5g ipod is like the one in the picture...
(whats wrong with plan white...;) )
 
maybe...

SpookTheHamster said:
He's not asking about whether it's different to old iPods, it's about whether it's different to other black 5G ones.

The answer to that is no. Of all the black 5G iPods and iPod Nanos I've seen, they've all had matt clickwheels like the one in the picture. The "gloss" you see on the Apple website is just there to make it look sexier.

There are several differences between the 5G wheel and 4G: When Apple made the Nano they made the clickwheel in-house in an attempt to save money, but when they produced the 5G I think they went back to outsourcing it. It's also a few mm smaller than the 4G wheel.
Click to expand...


That's right, sorry I didn't really explain it. The iPods in shops/apple stores all have shiny black (on a black iPod) clickwheels made from the same shiny polymer as the rest of the plastic fascia. My iPod ordered online from Apple and just like the one in the picture has a matt black clickwheel that is different to the rest of the ipod colouring. Annoying as this will get grease marks on it and scratched more, but Im kinda getting used to it. Has anyone else come across this?
 
ALL 5G ipod have a matt clickwheel. This is so you can move your finger smoothly round it. If it was shiny you finger would stick to it.
 
codepoet80 said:
On the whole it feels cheaper than the 4G one -- and especially crappier than the beautiful inset one in the 3G.
Click to expand...

I must say that I had a 3rd Gen iPod before my recent purchase of a 5th Gen. (Black) and I like the scroll wheel of the 3rd Gen. much better than the click wheel. For one, the scroll wheel was 100% touch pad. However, the click-wheel has depressable buttons. It seems Apple took a step backwards with the introduction of the click wheel. And the 5th Gen wheel can seem crapply built/put together sometimes. That along with no transfer via firewire is my only complaint about the 5th Gen iPod.
 
Jedi128 said:
I must say that I had a 3rd Gen iPod before my recent purchase of a 5th Gen. (Black) and I like the scroll wheel of the 3rd Gen. much better than the click wheel. For one, the scroll wheel was 100% touch pad. However, the click-wheel has depressable buttons. It seems Apple took a step backwards with the introduction of the click wheel. And the 5th Gen wheel can seem crapply built/put together sometimes. That along with no transfer via firewire is my only complaint about the 5th Gen iPod.
Click to expand...

I have a 3G, and lord, do I hate the touch-buttons. I can't just put my hand in my pocket to change songs or pause/stop the music...if I run my fingers over the buttons to find the right one, they all do their thing as soon as I touch them. I have to grab the iPod by the sides, pull it out of my jacket pocket, look at it, then choose the right action. I just leave the hold switch active whenever it's in my pocket so I don't accidentally activate a button when I take it out. It's a tremendous pain. I had a mini for a while, and found the clickwheel MUCH more intuitive. I can just feel for the wheel, and the buttons won't activate until I actually press them.

--DT
 
hmmm

zooniverse said:
ALL 5G ipod have a matt clickwheel. This is so you can move your finger smoothly round it. If it was shiny you finger would stick to it.
Click to expand...


Thats what i thought, and i thought i was being silly in thinking mine was diferent, but the 5th generation video 60GB black ipods on display in the apple store are completely gloss and have no matt clickwheel. think U2 ipod but instead of red its shiny black. if mine is the same as the rest of the world, i'll just get on and start to use it. after of course slipping it into the agent 18 case i just bought! thanks all. keep comments coming if there are some. maybe others have been worrying over this design issue too!! i'll live with it!!

laters.
 
siPod said:
think U2 ipod but instead of red its shiny black.
Click to expand...

From what I remember of the U2 (bleurgh) iPod it had a matt finish as well. As far as iPods 5G's - They've always been matt. Perhaps the ones in the Apple Store have seen so many sticky/greasy fingers they're actually 100% saturated with BigMac juice, hence the shiny appearance.
 
TMA said:
From what I remember of the U2 (bleurgh) iPod it had a matt finish as well. As far as iPods 5G's - They've always been matt. Perhaps the ones in the Apple Store have seen so many sticky/greasy fingers they're actually 100% saturated with BigMac juice, hence the shiny appearance.
Click to expand...


No seriously. My ipod and now others I have seen has a matt finish to the clickwheel. it therefore is a charcoal/black colour and the ipod looks two-tone. Other ipod clickwheels for example shop display ones are shiny and made from the same plastic as the rest of the fascia therefore looking as though there are no controls ans looking one-piece. Not making it up!
 
I'm sure you have seen a difference. All the click wheel iPods have had textured wheels to make them easier to find, but the texture hasn't been exactly the same over time. With two completely different makers, a bit of variation even in the same iPod model is very likely.
 
This keeps on going... I have been told on other forums that the black 5G ipods have matt black wheels. I went back to the store and asked a supposedly helpful employee, who said that he'd never come across this and as far as he was concerned, the iPods are all like the display ones in the fact that the clickwheels are the same colour and shiny texture as the whole fascia.

urgh!
 
Yea i notice the difference between my nano and 4Gen. they are different. The nano seem to have a smoother surface than the 4Gen. i wish they would bring back the 3Gen wheel with the same function as the 4G.


Bless
 
Perhaps the ones in the shop still have the protective film on? It's very thin, just a glance may not pick up the fact.
 
After checking out the store model at CompUSA twice, I can definitely notice the difference between it and my 30GB 5G. The store model has a glossy feel that collects oils and is almost indistinguishable from the rest of the surface. And there definitely wasn't a protective film covering it. The nano's had the exact same wheel, too.
 
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