Bought iPod as b-day gift for wife; how to prepare for it?

[jsw]

I just bought my wife a new 20GB iPod. I was debating between the 20 and the 40 - double the capacity and a dock vs. slimmer case and $100 less, and the Apple Store made my decision for me: they were out of 40GB ones. She has way less than 5GB of music to put onto it, so the 20 should be fine, and, since she likes the minis a lot, the 20GB's slimmer figure might appeal to her more. Yes, it's just me justifying a purchase I made because the other one was sold out.

Her birthday is Sunday. I would have ordered one online, except that she's home most days, and I'm at work most days, so, odds are that she would have seen the package from Apple and the surprise would have been lost. hence, I had to buy it personally.

Anyway, while I've been a Mac user since way back, I have never used an iPod. Aside from playing with one for a few minutes, I've no idea what to do. I'm aware of the capabilities, but not the details.

What I want to do is to be as ready as possible for when she opens it to get it up and running. Obviously, it'll need to be charged.

Question: Can I charge it while using it the first time? Obviously, I can normally, but how about the first charge?

Also, I know I can sync it with iTunes. Obviously. However, does it sync everything all the time - i.e., if her iTunes is a mess, the iPod is a mess? Or can I sync only certain playlists? i.e.:

Question: Does the iPod exactly mimic the iTunes structure, or can it sync with selected portions of it?

She rarely uses iTunes, so I can configure it any way I like over the next few days and she won't catch on. I'm assuming that I'll need to organize the playlists.

Question: Do smart playlists transfer over as well? i.e., can I keep everything in one large library and then make selected playlists (by artist, mainly) which will show up?

I'd really like to wow her with it, and all I know to do is to copy songs onto it. I'd appreciate any suggestions about usage, accessories to buy, etc. This is a 4G 20GB iPod, and I don't even know of a good case for it. What she'd likely use it for the most is while exercising, and I have no idea what to get her for that. Everything I've seen is for 3G 'pods.

Thanks for any help! I'm a total noob again. I feel so alone and vulnerable...

 

[jsw]

One other question:

Is AppleCare worth it for a 20GB iPod? It's $60 to extend the warranty by just one year. Opinions?

 

[LeeTom]

My suggestion is to un-mess her iTunes songs. The iPod organizes everything by artist/album, or by playlist... in my opinion, keeping the songs well organized is essential. When you plug in the iPod, iTunes pretty much sucks it all into the iPod, how it is organized. Your playlists go too, but I don't think the smart playlists transfer over, just regular ones. I really feel that she should get used to using iTunes to listen, because it works so wonderfully with the iPod.

Personally, I didn't buy AppleCare for my iPod, but others may have different opinions.

Lee Tom

 

[thehuncamunca]

smart playlists transfer over perfectly, most of my playlists on my itunes are smart ones

apple care imho is not worth it

My suggestion is to un-mess her iTunes songs. The iPod organizes everything by artist/album, or by playlist... in my opinion, keeping the songs well organized is essential. When you plug in the iPod, iTunes pretty much sucks it all into the iPod, how it is organized. Your playlists go too, but I don't think the smart playlists transfer over, just regular ones. I really feel that she should get used to using iTunes to listen, because it works so wonderfully with the iPod.

Personally, I didn't buy AppleCare for my iPod, but others may have different opinions.

Lee Tom

 

[smurphur]

I'm pretty sure that you don't have to have iTunes autosync. That way you click and drag songs/albums to the iPod. I have only used the windows iTunes, but I'm sure that the mac version does the same thing.

 

[jsw]

Thanks for all the help!

 

[jcook793]

...she likes the minis a lot...

Uh oh. You realize that the mini is an absolute fashion statement don't you? She's not gonna care about the extra gigabytes. I hope that doesn't mess you up.

Question: Can I charge it while using it the first time? Obviously, I can normally, but how about the first charge?

Hrmm. I'm not sure, but probably. I mean, it's still charging, just a little more slowly. Doesn't sound like any harm can come. IIRC, my 3G iPod came about 70% charged anyway.

Question: Does the iPod exactly mimic the iTunes structure, or can it sync with selected portions of it?

Both are correct.

Question: Do smart playlists transfer over as well? i.e., can I keep everything in one large library and then make selected playlists (by artist, mainly) which will show up?

Yep.

 

[jsw]

Uh oh. You realize that the mini is an absolute fashion statement don't you? She's not gonna care about the extra gigabytes. I hope that doesn't mess you up.

Yes, I know that. I was going to get her a completely different gift, but that fell though. Now, with less than a week left, I've got a snowball's chance in a G5 PowerBook of getting a mini. A pink mini, no less. So I'm going with the next smallest option. I think she'll be fine with it. I hope.

Thanks for your other answers as well!

 

[Abstract]

 

[Abstract]

Shoulda just printed her a picture of a screen capture with the order summary, and possibly a picture of the pink mini, and handed that over to her instead.
I've done something similar before. Actually, my parents once gave my brother $200 and an advertisement from a newspaper for a DVD player. They didn't actually go and buy it because they don't know squat about DVD players, and if this player was lacking in some features, it would have saved everyone a bit of trouble. (this was around christmas, so line-ups for Returns are quite long)