Apple 30gb Video iPod - A Teen's Dream Come True

My daughter recently turned “sweet” 16 (still waiting for the sweet part to show up, but whatever). For that birthday since we got out of spending the bucks on a huge party like what was typically thrown back down on Long Island, we decided to purchase her the Apple 30gb Video iPod. She had been fond of my iPod when I received it, and had been going through CD players like they were toilet paper.

The Apple 30gb Video iPod model we bought for her came in white with a 2 1/2 – inch color LCD display with 320x240 resolution for playback. This not only will play videos, but is also great for displaying pictures. The package also contained the cable to connect the iPod with the computer, a stand to place the iPod in while recharging, along with the traditional Apple earbuds.

Setting it up was simple. Together I showed her where the included USB cable plugged into the computer and we set it to charge for 24 hours. She installed the software on her computer, except for the iTunes as she already had a more current version on her computer.

TECH SPECS

The Apple 30gb Video iPod will play back MPEG-4 Playback, QuickTime Playback, and Motion JPEG (MOV) formats for video. In audio playback, it supports the following formats: MP3 Playback, AAC, WAV Playback, Audible) Playback, Apple Lossless Playback, and AIFF Playback. It supports JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PNG, and PSD formats for still pictures.

The 30gb storage capacity is a great size. This would be about 25,000 photos, 1,000 videos, or 7,500 songs. It will take her a long time to fill all that up! There’s also a voice recorder allowing her to record important events and notes while she’s thinking of it although for now she’s kept it at home or in the car.

The dimensions are small, coming in at just about 4 inches tall by 2 1/2 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick, weighing 4.8 ounces. It’s definitely not going to be something you’ll tire out carrying around.

USING IT

Setting it up was a breeze, especially since she’s used iTunes in the past. We registered the iPod and linked the two together. All of the songs previously in her library were automatically copied over to the iPod and she began the search for more items to view to test out her new toy.

The screen is small for viewing videos. I’ve watched television episodes on my notebook computer through iTunes and complained about the size. I have a new appreciation as it’s worse with the iPod. Still, for something this small that you can carry around with you, it’s pretty decent. The picture is good. The colors are crisp and accurate. I really was expecting much poorer quality and problems with viewing, but it wasn’t that bad. The music videos my daughter downloaded probably came out the best. She’s happy to use this and as been looking at the selection of videos from all over the ‘Net to add to her collection.

I tried my hand at a few of the television shows I watch (Ghost Hunters has a free “best of” episode available) and was happy with the picture although I can’t quite pick up the same details that I do when watching it on my big-screen. For me personally for my television viewing and movie viewing, I’ll stick with my computer. If I hold the Apple 30gb Video iPod about 8 – 12 inches from my face I get the best picture. There are outputs to playback to a television, but I haven’t tried it and honestly I can’t imagine the picture from this being good on my 53-inch HDTV. Yes, I am spoiled.

Downloading the videos from iTunes is a breeze, and even if they haven’t been purchased through iTunes if she adds them to her library and they are a supported format it’s been no problem. I worked through a lot of the technical issues with her and showed her how to make sure things are saved to the correct library for iTunes to pick up on it.

Music playback is great. I am no fan of the earbuds – I find them uncomfortable after a short time. My daughter had no complaints so I guess she got the shape of her ears from her father. Like my older iPod, the Apple 30gb Video iPod has great sound quality. With the earbuds in, it’s like listening to a CD and being immersed where there are no other outside sounds except for that CD. The baselines are good, something I Notice even more now when I listen to her rap and hip-hop on the iPod.

We downloaded a couple of podcasts to try it out as well and the quality was similarly great. I could hear no background hissing but just crisp digital sound in between conversations that people were having.

The one feature I really thought I would get the most out of with the Apple 30gb Video iPod that isn’t on my iPod is the ability to display photos. It’s one thing to carry a bunch of photos in an envelope when you go somewhere and have to worry about them getting damaged. Now they can be loaded into the iPod and create a slide show. This is great for showing pictures to friends and relatives, although my mother (about to turn 80) doesn’t like the size of the screen so be prepared with the actual photographs if you’re going to grandma’s house.

The battery life has been good. So far she hasn’t run it completely down and it takes a fairly short time to recharge when plugged into the computer. Apple states battery life will be 14 hours playback time for music, 4 hours for photos, and 3 1/2 hours for videos. Realistically I wouldn’t expect to be able to watch more than one movie on the Apple 30gb Video iPod without recharging it as I have found that they are typically overly optimistic with their battery life expectations. She’s taken it to her dishwashing job with her and it’s lasted fine throughout her shift for music, even with the pausing

There are a few other neat features to the Apple 30gb Video iPod. There’s a clock and calendar in the utilities, so it can be used as an organizer of sorts. For a high school student, it’s enough. There is a stopwatch feature as well. The couple of games included aren’t going to make her give up her Gameboy. All of this can be scrolled through using the click-wheel which seemed to be a little smaller than the one which is on my older model iPod. I had to show her how to use it, but unlike her dingbat mother, she caught on in about two minutes.

Considering the cost of the Apple 30gb Video iPod is now less than what I paid for my older model, I wouldn’t mind having it although I don’t know that I would use it for videos. Maybe I am just getting old. I do like the prospect of being able to connect it to my digital camera while on the road and having a second place to store photos and display them so soon after taking them. I haven’t tried that but considering that both my camera and this iPod use serial cables, I think it’s doable.

I found the color display to be more user-friendly in terms of being able to find items in the library to listen to or view. The two-tone menu of my older model just doesn’t hold up at all in the face of this technology.

The white casing is sleek and nice looking. It cleans up from smudges easily. The chrome backing can get scratched as can the video screen, so having a case with a clear plastic covering for the screen probably is a good idea. The sound level is great and the video quality is good, if small. I don’t feel the cost is prohibitive, especially in light of what iPods have gone for in the past. It’s a great investment for the future and I’m sure barring any major accidents (such as being dropped in the snow or left where a wet bathing suit can drip on it) she’ll have it for years to come.



© 2006 Patti Aliventi