Mainyehc
macrumors 6502a
Warbrain said:i don't like how it has a music menu instead of playlists and browse. i like being able to choose between the two instead of just having music. and having shuffle songs right on the main menu is stupid since you can just go to settings and set that yourself.
I'm sorry but I totally disagree with you... I have a 3G 20GB iPod and, apart from the clickwheel, one of the main improvements in the software that I'd love to see was the ability of quickly turning on-off the Shuffle from the main menu, as the iPod doesn't have physical buttons to toggle that kind of features (and I don't want it to have any, so the main menu should replace them)... And besides, the main menu is customisable, so I guess you'll be able to remove the "Shuffle Songs" item, and put back the "Playlists" menu... I myself removed the "Backlight" item from my iPod's menu to save space, after all, you can toggle the backlight just by touching and holding the "menu" button 😉
Now this "Shuffle Songs" item thing is really useful... It would be even better if the iPod had memory as far as the relation between shuffle and playlists is concerned, just like in iTunes. Playlist A plays in shuffle by default (e. g. a +4* rated songs playlist), Playlist B plays in regular order by default (e. g. a compilation)... That'd be sweet, but this is good enough. Now if only Apple released a software update for 3G iPods that enabled that "Shuffle Songs" option... But I know it's not gonna happen 🙁
A few more words on other features...
Battery life: kudos for Apple for fixing this... I love my iPod, it's battery is still alive and kickin' (I don't use it too much anyway, I'm a commuter but I don't want to risk getting my shiny iPod stolen... in Lisbon the iPod isn't all over the place yet, and besides, the underground isn't THAT safe 😱 ), but... I still miss my Sony MD Walkman rechargeable AA batteries, they lasted forever! As the iPod's battery isn't user replaceable (and thus, not easily interchangeable, for that matter), at least I wanted to recharge it the less often possible. So, Apple made a great job there!
Pricing: woooohooooo! Anyway, I'll try not to feel angry when I start seeing 4G iPods around, cheaper and better than mine... Perhaps I'll sell mine in the near future and get my hands on one of those if I just can't cope with it 😛
The clickwheel: ABOUT TIME!! Enough said.
The lack of colours: Want some colour? Have your iPod painted, or buy a mini... White is just... Gorgeous! I love my 3G iPod, I love my iMac 17'', they just seem to have been made for each other... And I'm sure there are many out there who think the same way 😉 (yes, I'm hoping that Apple will also retain some white stuff in the upcoming iMac G5, if not most of its enclosure) By the way, is it just me, or this new clickwheel seems to have an aluminium finish? (perhaps the back of the iPod is made of anodized aluminum too? That would be nice, at least it wouldn't be a "scratch magnet" 🙄 ) For those who want colour and a bigger HD, let's hope that Apple puts some bigger HDs in the minis, that'd be sweet too!
The lack of a colour screen/etc: Until Apple releases a true iPod AV, AS A SEPARATE PRODUCT (some sort of "Newton revisited", a PowerPod, who knows!), they better leave the iPod's underlying design alone... For music/style lovers, the iPod is just great as it is. Refinements throughout the years WILL keep the iPod alive, mark my words. Think of Sony's Walkman: how much has it evolved since it was invented, anyway? The media went from tape -> CD -> MD -> HiMD, HD, and it kept being shrunk, apart from being restyled every now and then, and suffering a lot of (mediocre, by Apple's standards) interface experiments. The iPod? Maybe one day we'll see flash-based iPods, maybe we'll even see a new kind of glove interface, with a 3D "virtual-scroll-wheel-gesture-operation", à la "Minority Report"... But then, we'd keep our 'Pods in our pockets, and we don't want that, do we? 😀 . Anyway, good, useful, music-related features are ALWAYS welcome. Yes, Line/Mic in would be great, as a "AM/FM/digital-radio/whatever" tuner would be nice too. Wireless streaming, to stereos, between iPods, all that stuff, bring it on! Playing photos/videos in a TV set through a video out? Maaaaybe... Colour screens? yes, please, but only after a quantum leap takes place in battery technology... Only after it's safe to make a hybrid between that "2hr battery life newton/swiss-army-knife-like thing" and the ubiquitous "great for music as well as a fashion accessory" iPod, get my point? Just my 0,02 😛