This is my third iPod. My first iPod was a 4G 40GB, my second was a 5G 60GB.
When I upgraded from the 4G to 5G it was a big improvement. I absolutely loved the new features such as color, photos, video, album art, etc...
Unfortunately my upgrade to the 80GB iPod `Classic' has been nothing but a big disappointment. When I heard Apple was about to release a new line of iPods I sold my 5G and was eagerly awaiting Jobs' keynote. First I must admit I was very disappointed they didn't release a high capacity `Touch'... I mean really disappointed... Although I strongly desire all the amazing features of the `Touch' such as WiFi and the fullscreen touch screen, my first requirement would be enough capacity to hold my entire 63 GB music library. I settled for the 80GB `Classic' since I was iPodless.
My first reaction with the iPod `Classic' was that it looked like a much sexier 5G iPod. This 80GB unit was noticeably thinner. The brushed aluminum front looked really great too. Unfortunately it was all downhill from there:
* The `Classic' does not come with the little sleeve case that 5G's came with.
* The screen is slightly lower than the brushed metal front and I am concerned it will begin to collect dust around the edges.
* The click wheel is HORRIBLE (what the hell happened) it completely lacks response and sensitivity. My 5G 60GB was so easy to navigate and after over a week of using my new `Classic' I find it the biggest pain to navigate. For this reason alone I wish I had my old 60GB 5G back.
* Coverflow... I was really looking forward to this feature. I make a lot of effort to maintain my music library and I'd say 95%+ of my music has cover art. Unfortunately the coverflow is so slow and laggy that it renders the feature completely gimmicky and not functional. When I flow through albums all I see are "question mark albums" and it takes a few seconds for the actual album covers to replace the "question mark albums".
* Another big disappointment is that you are no longer able to view album covers full screen as you are playing a song. (You used to be able to do this by clicking the middle button a few times when playing a song)...
* Also overall I find the GUI pretty slow when browsing my library... Sometimes it takes a few seconds to view the next layer of navigation when you push the button.
* I think Apple added some cool visual aspects to the GUI like animation in between menus etc.... Unfortunately these are sometimes choppy making me wish I just had the simple less-fancy old menus back.
* My iPod has frozen a few times. Sometimes I can scroll through the main menu but when I actually click on something (such as Music, Podcasts, or Extras) nothing actually happens...
So yes I am terribly disappointed with the iPod `Classic'. Keep in mind that this level of disappointment is relative to the high level of quality I expect from Apple on their iPod line. Although I am really disappointed this is probably still the best high capacity music player on the market. (Definitely better than the Zune)... It just isn't much better than (and is actually worse) than the 5G Video iPod. So my advice: if you currently have a 5G or 5.5G and are considering upgrading, don't, wait for Apple to release something better.
UPDATE: (9/18/2007)
I previously mentioned that the Classic doesn't come with the white sleeve/case that 5G's came with. Now I know why. When the 5G iPods are in the sleeve the click wheel is still functional.. if you press your finger against it you can pause, skip the track, adjust the volume, etc... (granted you can't see the screen).. Today I tried this with the Classic (in the old 5G sleeve) I can no longer adjust the volume on the iPod when the sleeve is on. I wonder if this is related to the overall click-wheel problem.
UPDATE: (9/19/2007)
Games purchased from the iTunes store for older iPods ARE NOT compatible with the Classic. This means the $20 I spent on four games for my previous iPod is completely wasted. Apple has said to customers that they must 're-purchase' the games in the new compatible format.
UPDATE: (9/20/2007)
I've added a video demonstration to show how slow and sluggish the cover flow feature is. The demo is using the new firmware update which supposedly addressed the cover flow issue.
UPDATE: (9/25/2007)
Two more issues are really annoying me. If anyone knows a solution/fix for either of them please post it in this review's comment section.
1) If you are playing a song and you don't touch any buttons for a while (after the backlight has already turned off) the clock "screensaver" comes on and you cannot see what is currently being played. This is particularly annoying when I am shuffling through all my songs and I have to touch the clickwheel just to disengage the "screen saver" to see what song is being played.
2) When I charge the iPod via USB (using Vista) the backlight on the iPod is ALWAYS on and there is no way to turn it off. So when I charge the unit overnight the backlight is still on when I wake up in the morning.
Update: (10/1/2007)
see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK-rDeD1Lfk
Update: (11/6/2007)
So my iPod totally died... Or rather the screen died. It was covered under warranty and Apple ultimately sent me a brand new iPod Classic. Apple Support handled the issue very fast and efficiently. The scroll wheel on my 'new' Classic is PERFECT!!! It's just as good as the old iPods, I was truly surprised... Also it generally seems to be running much better. Has Apple modified the hardware since the initial release? Or is this all a matter of a software fix? Either way I am much happier with the Classic. (On another note I recently switched to the iPhone and it is the best thing ever!!! 6 out of 5 stars)
When I upgraded from the 4G to 5G it was a big improvement. I absolutely loved the new features such as color, photos, video, album art, etc...
Unfortunately my upgrade to the 80GB iPod `Classic' has been nothing but a big disappointment. When I heard Apple was about to release a new line of iPods I sold my 5G and was eagerly awaiting Jobs' keynote. First I must admit I was very disappointed they didn't release a high capacity `Touch'... I mean really disappointed... Although I strongly desire all the amazing features of the `Touch' such as WiFi and the fullscreen touch screen, my first requirement would be enough capacity to hold my entire 63 GB music library. I settled for the 80GB `Classic' since I was iPodless.
My first reaction with the iPod `Classic' was that it looked like a much sexier 5G iPod. This 80GB unit was noticeably thinner. The brushed aluminum front looked really great too. Unfortunately it was all downhill from there:
* The `Classic' does not come with the little sleeve case that 5G's came with.
* The screen is slightly lower than the brushed metal front and I am concerned it will begin to collect dust around the edges.
* The click wheel is HORRIBLE (what the hell happened) it completely lacks response and sensitivity. My 5G 60GB was so easy to navigate and after over a week of using my new `Classic' I find it the biggest pain to navigate. For this reason alone I wish I had my old 60GB 5G back.
* Coverflow... I was really looking forward to this feature. I make a lot of effort to maintain my music library and I'd say 95%+ of my music has cover art. Unfortunately the coverflow is so slow and laggy that it renders the feature completely gimmicky and not functional. When I flow through albums all I see are "question mark albums" and it takes a few seconds for the actual album covers to replace the "question mark albums".
* Another big disappointment is that you are no longer able to view album covers full screen as you are playing a song. (You used to be able to do this by clicking the middle button a few times when playing a song)...
* Also overall I find the GUI pretty slow when browsing my library... Sometimes it takes a few seconds to view the next layer of navigation when you push the button.
* I think Apple added some cool visual aspects to the GUI like animation in between menus etc.... Unfortunately these are sometimes choppy making me wish I just had the simple less-fancy old menus back.
* My iPod has frozen a few times. Sometimes I can scroll through the main menu but when I actually click on something (such as Music, Podcasts, or Extras) nothing actually happens...
So yes I am terribly disappointed with the iPod `Classic'. Keep in mind that this level of disappointment is relative to the high level of quality I expect from Apple on their iPod line. Although I am really disappointed this is probably still the best high capacity music player on the market. (Definitely better than the Zune)... It just isn't much better than (and is actually worse) than the 5G Video iPod. So my advice: if you currently have a 5G or 5.5G and are considering upgrading, don't, wait for Apple to release something better.
UPDATE: (9/18/2007)
I previously mentioned that the Classic doesn't come with the white sleeve/case that 5G's came with. Now I know why. When the 5G iPods are in the sleeve the click wheel is still functional.. if you press your finger against it you can pause, skip the track, adjust the volume, etc... (granted you can't see the screen).. Today I tried this with the Classic (in the old 5G sleeve) I can no longer adjust the volume on the iPod when the sleeve is on. I wonder if this is related to the overall click-wheel problem.
UPDATE: (9/19/2007)
Games purchased from the iTunes store for older iPods ARE NOT compatible with the Classic. This means the $20 I spent on four games for my previous iPod is completely wasted. Apple has said to customers that they must 're-purchase' the games in the new compatible format.
UPDATE: (9/20/2007)
I've added a video demonstration to show how slow and sluggish the cover flow feature is. The demo is using the new firmware update which supposedly addressed the cover flow issue.
UPDATE: (9/25/2007)
Two more issues are really annoying me. If anyone knows a solution/fix for either of them please post it in this review's comment section.
1) If you are playing a song and you don't touch any buttons for a while (after the backlight has already turned off) the clock "screensaver" comes on and you cannot see what is currently being played. This is particularly annoying when I am shuffling through all my songs and I have to touch the clickwheel just to disengage the "screen saver" to see what song is being played.
2) When I charge the iPod via USB (using Vista) the backlight on the iPod is ALWAYS on and there is no way to turn it off. So when I charge the unit overnight the backlight is still on when I wake up in the morning.
Update: (10/1/2007)
see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK-rDeD1Lfk
Update: (11/6/2007)
So my iPod totally died... Or rather the screen died. It was covered under warranty and Apple ultimately sent me a brand new iPod Classic. Apple Support handled the issue very fast and efficiently. The scroll wheel on my 'new' Classic is PERFECT!!! It's just as good as the old iPods, I was truly surprised... Also it generally seems to be running much better. Has Apple modified the hardware since the initial release? Or is this all a matter of a software fix? Either way I am much happier with the Classic. (On another note I recently switched to the iPhone and it is the best thing ever!!! 6 out of 5 stars)
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