iPod is crap

[fjdouse]

I took it to a fellow iPod users house last night, it was also the first proper test of it I'd made, it seems the battery is great for playing music, I went out at 2pm and came home at 10pm with the battery hardly dented. So I guess it's ok.

The clickwheel is correct, it's just me, I think it's fiddly but I've been assured it's because it's new to me and it may take a little getting used to.

As for the power-off thing, google is thy friend, I'm not the only one, it appears to be an 'issue' for some.

Also, I appreciate all the comments but when giving your account of battery life, I am talking about video on a 5G not an older device playing just music.

I have now fixed the iCal thing, the fix was SO simple. I just had to delete EVERYTHING and then enter the whole friggin lot all over again, but now it works. Not good, especially if I'd had hundreds of entries.

Battery life for VIDEO playback though is unacceptable, a little googling shows there are some concerns with other users that the 2 hr claim (which I DIDN'T know) is a bit of a stretch, some aren't getting much more than an hour. Even so, 2hrs is unacceptable and I'm going to challenge some points raised by a previous poster though..

but no device will play high quality video for long on a battery, not at that quailty anyway

That's just bull. I've been using a cheap Acer PDA for watching DivX's on the train/coach from York to London with heaps of power left. I've also got a cheapo Chinese-import camera/mp3/video recorder/video player thingy which runs off semi-standard NP60s, you can watch a WHOLE movie with no problem. Don't get me wrong, I've had a few lame machines like the Goodmans/Mustek PVR doodah, which was even more useless than video on this iPod.

it's decoding perfect quality (ie no visible compression) 30fps video.

That's purely a bitrate issue, mate. Both devices I just referred to had erm.. 'perfect' decoding quality.

it's not a Video iPod, it's a normal regular ipod that also plays video, to silence their critics who said they were behind the times.

No, Apple are actively marketing this as a video device. You may see it like that, but I can tell you that people who don't have one and are looking at the iPod for the first time see it as a VIDEO IPOD.

technology isn't good enough just yet for that type of device to be any good.

That's just codswallop, the technology has been there for years, I was watching the whole of Star Wars on a Sony Clie years ago off a battery, also done the same with the two devices I've previously mentioned as well as on a Sharp Zaurus. The battery technology exists, Apple have just COMPROMISED PERFORMANCE to make the thing smaller. I'd settle for the thing being an inch thick, if the battery was up to standard.

I'm not picking an arguement with you, you raised valid points and I'll concede those but on video, you're just wrong.


As for things like charger, dock etc. Well, I told this to a friend last night who owns a previous model and they too were disgusted that they weren't included, don't insult my intelligence by coming up with excuses for them, a AC adaptor would cost them less than $1. They just wanted to make a small and trendy box and to make more money at the till by FORCING people to buy the items NEEDED.. I cannot use this device to watch a movie while travelling long-distance, I would have to book a seat with an AC outlet and BUY a charger to run it off. It's a bit of a rip-off.


The comments about the headphones are funny, really funny. But after having a shuffle, I'd come to the conclusion they (headphones) were crap and the first thing I did was swap them for some Sony ones.

[Porce]

I have an iPod mini, 4 GB, (first generation of iPod minis).

The battery is crap, always was, and getting worse, but keep in mind that it's over a year old now. I think the advertised length at the time I bought it was 6 hours, but now it's capable of an amazing 3.5 hours. Fortunately I got one before they removed the AC charger from the package, as I have to take the AC charger with me if I'm going anywhere overnight. USB charge is slow and inconvenient.

I don't mind the lack of color, photos, videos. It does what it's supposed to (for a ridiculously short time) - play music. If I get a new one I'll definitely go for the 60 GB hard drive, though. When I got this iPod I never dreamed I could fill up that little 4 GB of space. Now I have about 30 GB of audio (partially because I now use Lossless, but also my music collection grew like crazy), and God knows how much video.

The earphones went bad after three months or so, and they kindly gave me a replacement. They went bad after another five months, when I gave up and got a pair from Sony.

[fjdouse]

Yeah, I don't rate Sony anymore - stung too many times, but they can make a decent pair of earphones. The Apple headphones are just a throw-away item for me, as I say, I had a shuffle for a while and I went through THREE pairs of Apple headphones, all developed a 'pop' then failed. The cable isn't secured inside the earphone, it's just hanging off the solder point - weak. Plus I don't like walking down the road like an iPod conformist. ;-)


Having said that, I've been told and seen a demo video of replacing the battery in older models, really not sure about iPod minis though, seems trivial and the new batteries produced today are supposed to be better than their older counterparts. So I'm not worried about the battery long term, I'll replace it myself, even the hard disk if possible.

[Lt Major Burns]

actually, you're right, the video playback is shite on it. never mind, eh?

also, those flimsy little earphones are the most laughable thing about iPods. i've been through 4 sets of them, the bass always goes out on them until it sounds like a whoopee cushion. i currently use an old pair of sony Groove earpbuds, with the additional rubbery bit on it. good for bass, good for not getting mugged...

I want a new ipod at some point, and i'm glad they are making them smaller. my ipod is thick enough, too thick, even. the 4G 60GB ipods were getting that way (they were nearly an inch thick) and they were far too bulky. if music playback is good, then i'll get one. if the video playback is acceptable enough to put my showreel on, then that's perfect. full movies i'm guessing are slow and clunky anyway on an ipod, they definately are on itunes or quicktime...

i just need one that has more than 100gb, or i won't buy one

[fryke]

I agree that the video playback time for the 5G iPod is not really that good. I wonder if it's rather the constant harddrive spinning or the actual decoding or the constant screen-light. Ah. All of them, probably. ... I know it's no excuse, but I truly think that the 5G iPod is an evolved music player, not a video player, really. Their energy management is based on playing music, screen off most of the time etc. The battery also isn't very _large_. I mean: They _could_ make the "big" iPods thicker with 2x or 3x the battery life.

[Lt Major Burns]

isn't the music playback something like 18 hours, and the video playback something like 2 hours?

how come a little clie can play a star wars movie quite happily, but the ipod can't?

[fjdouse]

Actually Major, sir, you'll find video is good, I've got 1264 photos, 1269 music tracks and 19 videos totalling 20.4 hours, most are full movies in excess of 1:30 and access time is fast, I'd heard there was upto a 10 second delay, 1-3 secs is the reality. It seems able to handle whatever I chuck at it.

Fryke, I think you're right, unfortunately, Apple haven't enabled the backlight to be switched off during video playback, this can be corrected via an update and WILL extend battery performance. I realise video without a backlight seems unappealing but in good light it could be an option.

Also, I mentioned I've seen a video of replacing a battery, so here's an idea, why doesn't a third party make a NEW back cover, a bit thicker and capable of supporting a more powerful battery? I'd buy one.

Someone is going to make SOME kind of extender for the power. It will probably be vile to look at and totally ruin the aesthetic beauty of the device though.

I'm gonna stick with it, yeah I am let down by the battery when it comes to video, but I will be making use of it by taking movies with me to play on a TV set, so I'll be investing in the dock, remote, AV cabling etc. I tested mine on a TV and was very happy with it, it just needs a mains adaptor.

You never know, there could be further optimisations via firmware which will extend video performance further.

[fjdouse]

Originally Posted by Lt Major Burns

isn't the music playback something like 18 hours, and the video playback something like 2 hours?

how come a little clie can play a star wars movie quite happily, but the ipod can't?

Good point. Having adjustable brightness and using something with a bit more 'punch' than a paper thin battery probably helped. :-)

I've got an old beaten up Zaurus 5500 (the Zaurus I mentioned before was a C860), it's battery is totally shagged and even IT can do a good hour of QVGA video at 25-30fps.