iPod MP3 Music Player Mac + PC - Apple Manual Support Features Review Guide

iPod MP3 Music Player Mac + PC - Apple Manual Support

Features:

You just know a hit when you hear one. Catchy, familiar, yet full of little surprises. Sounds a lot like iPod. Carry your music collection anywhere, listen for up to 12 hours straight, even store files and play games. At $299, the original iPod plays a tune — up to 5,000, in fact — worth learning by heart.

Instant Access

First in a family of musical prodigies, the original iPod remains the archetypical digital music player for Mac and PC. Now hear this: 5,000 songs⁽¹⁾ at your fingertips, everywhere you go. In the car. On the treadmill. At the office. Around the house.

A Click in the Right Direction

Though ease of use has always been the hallmark of iPod, we believe in constantly moving perfection forward. That’s why iPod incorporates the same touch-sensitive Apple Click Wheel that debuted on iPod mini. Without lifting that trusty thumb of yours from the wheel, you can easily select playlists, scroll through thousands of songs and start the music playing. Want that song to play from the beginning again? A single click will do the trick.

Do the Shuffle

Put the Apple Click Wheel to use the next time you want to set your music to shuffle. Right there on the main menu — where it’s very easy to find — you’ll spot the Shuffle Songs option. Everyone’s favorite choice for mixing things up, Shuffle Songs randomly plays the songs in your music library. You’ll never guess what’s coming up next, so you’re always surprised by startling juxtapositions — like a melodic Coldplay song hot on the heels of a Caballé aria.

All-Day Hit Parade

And you can shuffle your way through a lot of songs now that iPod lets you play your music for up to 12 hours on a single battery charge.⁽²⁾ Imagine: you could fly from New York to Paris and still have hours of listening time left over as you stroll the Champs Elysées. While you’re on the move, iPod keeps you aware of its charge level and when it’s time, iPod’s quick to recharge. Plug it into your computer or a handy wall socket (via the included power adapter) and you can fast-charge iPod in as little as 2 hours.

Songs for a Song

The perfect companion to iPod, iTunes lets you easily build and manage your digital music collection. Since the iTunes Music Store is built right in, you can browse through more than 1 million songs and 9,000 audiobooks until you find just what you’re looking for. Jazz, Reggae, Pop, Electronica, Hip Hop — the iTunes Music Store has it all. And it’s open 24/7. All year long. In the US and most European countries. And on both the Mac and Windows PCs.

As for all of those CDs you already own, iTunes makes it easy to quickly transfer your favorite songs and albums. Just pop a CD into your Mac or PC and click the Import button. You can import music in a variety of formats, such as MP3 or AAC, and at whatever quality level you’d prefer. You can even choose the new Apple Lossless encoder. Music encoded with that option offers sound quality indistinguishable from the original CDs at about half the file size of the original. And with FireWire and USB 2.0 support, you can transfer the music from an entire CD to iPod in just 5 seconds or less.

1. Based on using 128Kbps AAC format.
2. Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced. Battery life and the number of charge cycles vary by use and settings.

iPod Features

• Keep up to 5,000 songs in your pocket
• Use it with Mac OS X or Windows 2000/XP
• Take it everywhere — it weighs only 5.6 ounces
• Find songs fast with the Apple Click Wheel
• Listen longer with up to 12 hours⁽²⁾ of battery life
• Shuffle songs in the main menu
• Play MP3, AAC and Apple Lossless
• Jog without fear — 25 minutes of skip protection
• Save multiple On-the-Go Playlists
• Adjust speed for Audiobooks
• Enjoy seamless integration with iTunes
• Sync and charge via included FireWire or USB 2.0 cables
• Use as a portable hard drive — take your files with you
• Remind yourself with Text Notes
• Play games on the go
• Keep appointments using the Alarm Clock/Sleep Timer
• Stay organized with contacts, calendars and to-do lists
• Benefit from more language support
• Record voice notes (with accessory)
• Store photos (with accessory)
• Choose from hundreds of cool accessories designed just for iPod

Sure, iPod takes your music places: Cruising in the car, relaxing in the backyard, jogging along the beach. But with up to 20GB of storage, it holds a lot more than songs. Think of iPod as a stylish electronic attaché. Pack it up and carry on.

Easy Listening

iPod includes features that make it even easier to access — and have fun with — your music. Take, for example, the Apple Click Wheel. With the Click Wheel, you can select playlists, scroll through a long list of albums or artists and choose just the song you want to hear without lifting your thumb. Feel like mixing things up? Choose “Shuffle Songs” right from the main iPod menu. You’ll also enjoy iPod’s long battery life — up to 12 hours⁽¹⁾. And with the 25 minutes of skip protection iPod provides, you can jump for joy and the music will keep playing.

But iPod lets you do more than listen to music. Much more. iPod provides you with up to 20GB of storage. True, you’re likely to use a good portion of that capacity for your music and audiobooks, but you’re bound to have a little space left over. You can use the FireWire or USB 2.0 cable that comes with iPod to connect the iPod to your computer and copy files. Word documents. Keynote presentations. Excel spreadsheets. Photoshop files. You name it.

Say “Geez”

Take photos? Now you have two iPod options to consider. The 30GB and 60GB iPod photo models let you carry up to 25,000 digital photos with you. View them on iPod photo’s vibrant color display. Give impromptu slideshows on the road. And tote your music library with you, too.

Thanks to its large 20GB hard drive, the fourth-generation iPod can also serve as an invaluable resource for photographers in the field — especially when paired with the Belkin Media Reader. With the latter attached, shutterbugs can quickly transfer the contents of their bulging memory cards to iPod. And, talk about a lot of memories: A 20GB iPod can hold up to 12,000 photos (captured on a 3 megapixel camera).

Speak Out

If you meet with clients, attend lectures, conduct interviews or just like to capture your own voice memos (“Memo to self: pick up stamps”), iPod does double duty as a voice recorder. Just pull out your ear buds and plug in an optional microphone. Several companies, including Griffin and Belkin, offer devices designed for iPod. The files automatically sync to your iTunes music library when you get back to your Mac, so you can easily listen to them. Here’s a thought: you could use iPod to interview someone and then use the recording as a voiceover in a documentary.

Where Am I at 2 p.m. Tuesday?

If you’ve ever forgotten a dental appointment, you’ll be pleased to hear that iPod also lets you take your calendar with you. Many applications — iCal, Microsoft Entourage and Palm Desktop, to name a few — export calendar files in vCalendar or iCalender formats, both of which iPod supports.

Sorry, Wrong Number

Little black address books are so last millennium. Thanks to its support for industry-standard vCard files, iPod lets you store and access all your important contact information — names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses — with a spin of the Click Wheel.

Play Games

You know what they say about all work and no play. Navigate to Extras and you’ll find Games: Music Quiz, Solitaire, Brick and Parachute — four popular games you can play anywhere, like when you’re waiting for the movie to start at the multiplex.

Store Text Notes

You’ve got playlists. You’ve got To-do Lists. And you can carry both with you on iPod. iPod’s Notes Reader lets you take text-based information such as news downloaded off the web, stock tips, your workout regimen, restaurant reviews, directions, your shopping list with you on your travels. Just transfer it via FireWire or USB 2.0 to iPod from your computer (Mac or PC).

Rise and Shine

Did you know that iPod has a sleep timer that lets you fall asleep to music? It’s true. And if you like to wake up to music or to the sound of an Alarm Clock, iPod is just as accommodating. You’ll find settings for the Alarm Clock and Sleep Timer in the Extras menu. Both features work very well, by the way, when you connect iPod to a pair of portable speakers.

1. Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually need to be replaced. Battery life and the number of charge cycles vary by use and settings.

During Your Commute

• Get ready for the day ahead with some music, played through your car speakers or, if you’re on the bus or train, through a pair of noise-reduction headphones
• Listen to a magazine, audiobook or news program (“Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, for example) purchased from the iTunes Music Store

At Work

• Record a meeting so you can refer back to what was discussed or share it with a colleague who couldn’t attend
• Use iPod as a hard drive to store files you’d like to take home or review with a client
• Stay organized while on the road: keep your calendar, contacts and to-do lists on iPod
• Take a break with iPod: Relax with a tune and a brisk walk around the building

At Home

• Connect iPod to powered speakers or a stereo system
• Purchase music from the iTunes Music Store and use Auto-Sync to transfer it quickly and easily to iPod from your Mac or PC

On Campus

• Leave your bulky stereo system home and save space in your dorm room by connecting iPod to a pair of powered speakers
• Listen to music between classes, while studying or while strolling the quad
• Don’t miss class: Use iPod’s built-in Alarm Clock to get you out the door in time
• Record an interview for the school paper or your next research paper
• Connect iPod to a computer and use it to take files from your dorm to a computer lab — or vice versa

On Vacation

• Hiking the backcountry? Extend battery life with the optional backup battery pack, powered by standard AA batteries.
• Listen to your favorite tunes in the car or at 30,000 feet
• Download guides to restaurants and other attractions
• Free up space on your digital camera memory card by storing photos on iPod
• Connect iPod to portable speakers and use it as a travel alarm

At Play

• Create a variety of playlists that will raise the roof at any party
• Take requests and make up multiple On-the-Go playlists
• Stay motivated at the gym with hours of music

The digital shelves of the iTunes Music Store are stocked with more than 9,000 audiobooks, so you can catch up on your reading wherever iPod takes you. And iPod sets a bookmark for you when you stop “reading,” letting you pick up the book right where you left off.

Plus, the fourth-generation iPod lets you adjust the reading speed. If, for example, you’re learning a new language, you can have iPod read more slowly. Or, if you can’t wait to find out how the book ends…

Technical Specifications: iPod MP3