Apple iPod (30GB, video)

Photo gallery: Apple iPod (30GB, video)

Pay close attention to the new Apple iPod when you get one in your hands. Most of you will notice a design that's thinner, lighter and sexier than its predecessor's, as well as a new screen that dwarfs the Click Wheel. A few of you will notice subtler differences, such as the absence of the smart headphone jack, a smaller Click Wheel and the iPod's superflat face. Experienced iPod users may complain that essentials such as a power adapter and AV cables aren't bundled with the device. But despite the fact that it is an audio player first and foremost--and that the term is overused--all of you will remember the fifth-generation iPod as the video iPod.

Those who follow gadgets know that Apple didn't invent portable digital video; companies such as Archos and Creative have produced good if not stellar products that play back video--and on larger screens with better battery life. But if Apple can do for video what it has done for audio--that is, deliver a hardware/software ecosystem that offers a decent choice of content and makes it easy to get video on to the iPod--then this device, like it or not, will be remembered as the one that started the portable digital video revolution. The 5G iPod, which is available in white or nano black and comes in 30GB and 60GB capacities for AU$449 and AU$598, respectively, is the best one we've used to date. Yet because it has added a major extra feature--video playback--to its solid, audiocentric foundation, there's room for improvement.

Design
In this era of seemingly unstoppable technological progress, the Apple iPod was due for an update both physically and featurewise. And the 5G iPod is much more than a simple update. As with the nano before it, you have to see and touch the iPod in person to appreciate it. The 30GB body, which measures 103.5 x 61.8 x 11mm and weighs only 136g, is baby-soft to the touch, and while design elements such as the Click Wheel and a polished silver backside are familiar, this iPod has an added sexiness, thanks to the larger screen that dominates its upper half.

The 5G iPod next to the 4G iPod (photo).

Apple somehow shrunk the width of the iPod body so drastically that the 30GB version is 31 percent thinner than the 20GB iPod. The 60GB version measures only 14mm, meaning it too is thinner than the 20GB iPod. Personally, we think the older model, with its softer edges and added thickness, is a tad more hand-friendly. The Click Wheel, which utilises in-house technology (Apple abandoned Synaptics tech starting with the Nano), is actually smaller--by about 6mm in diameter--than the 4G iPod, which means you won't get as much scrolling action with each stroke of the thumb. The select button, which was slightly raised before, is now flat. The headphone jack has moved to the far right, and the smart jack, which was used by a host of accessories, such as the Apple in-line remote, has disappeared. The hold switch has moved from right to left, while the dock connector remains bottom centre. Overall, the physical design is simpler and more refined though slightly less ergonomic. Basically, you'll definitely get tired of holding the iPod in the 28th minute of viewing video.

The 5G iPod is available in black or white, and its polished backside gently slopes in from the front of the player, so it glides into pockets. The most noticeable trait of course is the 2.5-inch, 260,000-colour display with a crisp 320 x 240-pixel resolution. The extra half-inch diagonal not only does wonders for photos (now you get a 6-by-5 grid of thumbnails), album art and the interface in general, but it also makes viewing videos a reasonable if not pleasurable experience.

A word of caution to prospective buyers: Scratches and smudges accumulate quickly, and they really show up on the black version. Blemishes are par for the course for all iPods, but they are much more noticeable on this big-screen iPod, especially since the display will be stared at for several minutes at a time.

Viewing angles are decent, but the lack of a built-in speaker, as well as the screen, which is small by portable video player standards (most have 3.5- to 7-inch screens), makes the iPod an intensely personal device. We'd also love to see a user-replaceable battery, along with a quick and dedicated way to control volume. The interface itself hasn't changed too much, though you'll find some new choices when it comes to video: A video option in the customisable main menu, as well as extended options such as Video Playlists, TV Shows and Movies. You can also customise settings such as NTSC/PAL and a wide-screen mode, though there is no option to adjust brightness or contrast. However, the big, bright screen--which looks great outdoors, where a backlight is not necessary--makes for a clean and joyful user experience.

Along with streamlined packaging, the 5G iPod has a trimmed-down bundled-accessories list. Basically, you get earbuds, a USB cable, a semisoft case, and a plastic adapter for use with certain accessories. Glaringly missing is a power adapter--out of the box, your only powering option is via your computer's USB. Also, we'd love to see AV cables and a dock . This is critical for many of us who find the iPod uncomfortable to hold for extended periods of video viewing.

Features
First, the basic stuff: The 5G iPod plays MP3, AAC, protected AAC, Apple Lossless, WAV, AIFF, and Audible audio files. It is at root a music player and includes all the same audio features, plus more, of the previous iPod. The 5G iPod still lacks the coveted FM tuner, and it cannot record audio out of the box. Still, with album art, a plethora of EQ choices, lyrics support, on-the-go playlists, and a dedicated place for audio and video podcasts, as well as audiobooks, the iPod manages to be a complete audio player.

Remaking the wheel... smaller.

The 5G iPod is also a decent photo viewer, and you can listen to music while you browse photos or watch a slide show; the iPod has excellent slide-show options, including a variety of transitions and customisable music. Photos look stupendous on the new screen, and in thumbnail view, you get five extra photos. And thanks to the Click Wheel, you can whiz through thumbs and full-size photos. In addition, you can splurge on the Apple iPod Camera Connector if you'd like to transfer images over from a digital camera.

The 5G iPod also features all the little extras of new to the Nano, including the world clock (you can view four clocks at a time) and the screen lock, plus the tried-and-tested contacts, calendar, games and other ancillary extras.

Now that the trailers are finished, we can get to the main feature. Videos of all types, except for full-length movies, are available in the new iTunes 6, which has been retooled to serve as an iTunes video store. Within the Australian store at launch, there are a thousand music videos, and a handful of Pixar shorts (including Fo the Birds and Gerry's Game). The 5G iPod is able to play video encoded in H.264 (and MPEG-4, M4V, MOV) video up to 768Kbps, 320 x 240 pixels, and 30fps. What differentiates the iPod from video competitors such as Cowon and Creative is that legal video is easily available within a familiar interface, plus the fact that it doesn't take a genius to get them to play on the iPod; incompatible video files won't even get transferred to the device.

Lights...camera...action!

Of course, purchasable video is just half the story. The video universe includes home movies, content picked from P2P networks, ripped DVDs for personal use and video podcasts. All but the last type will probably not play natively on the iPod, which means you'll have to painstakingly convert the video using a utility such as QuickTime Pro 7. The tediousness of this process has been a stumbling block for video players in general; iTunes simply can't rip a DVD like it would an audio CD. Now if iTunes had a built-in video converter, it'd be another story. As for legal full-length movies, they'll come, but only after some serious legal dealings. Don't expect them soon, though that might be a good thing, considering the iPod's poor video battery life (see Performance).

Once there's video on the iPod, you have a full set of entertainment options in your pocket. We love the fact that the iPod will automatically bookmark any number of videos so that you can return to a show on your evening bus commute. We also like that you can assemble video playlists. While you can fast-forward or rewind using buttons or by scrolling, we'd prefer the ability to skip back or forward in 10- or 30-second increments. We've seen more advanced video options on portable video players such as the Archos AV500, which has the special ability to record video, but for an MP3 player, the iPod does a commendable job with the video experience.

Performance
Upon selecting a video to play, you will notice a 3-second delay, and the processor works overtime when you scrub through large chunks of video. But while watching an hour-long show on the 5G iPod's screen can get tiresome for your eyes and hands, we can only praise the screen's performance. It's lively, and it never skips frames. Plus, dark areas of video content (at least in H.264) are a rich black, you get instant playback after a pause, and viewing angles are decent. Basically, watching the "iTube" is the equivalent of watching TV in a typical bedroom--that is, from a 12-inch TV about three meters away. If you decide to pipe out the video to a TV (and you should), know that the 320x240 resolution will look compressed and grainy on a bigger screen.

The 5G iPod's processor performance for audio and photos is solid, with only occasional drive delays; this is typical across the MP3 board. Audio quality is quite good and probably better than the previous iPod's, with reasonable bass, distinguishable mids and shiny highs. We do wish that the equalisers had more extreme sound-shaping qualities or even offered a preview before selection. Audio, particularly bass, is especially noticeable while watching video. They say if you have good audio, it doesn't really matter how small the screen is.

Transfer time for audio files is never an issue with the 5G iPod. Our transfers over USB 2.0 on a Windows computer was good enough at 3.52MB per second but not as fast as those of some iPods of past. Video, because of its sheer size, will take much longer than you're used to. Simply downloading a 43-minute TV show (193MB) from iTunes took more than 2 minutes on a corporate broadband connection.

For audio, Apple rates the 30GB and 60GB iPods for 14 and 20 hours per charge, respectively. This is a decent number that is usually conservative; we'll fill in the audio drain results as they come in. We did get to test video on a 30GB model, and we were pretty disappointed with the 2 hours and 11 minutes we got playing back an iTunes TV show. However, battery life will always be an issue with a video device. Plus, DRM prevents us from copying the show to a watchable DVD. You'll barely get a movie in, and your audio battery life will sink if you watch just one music video. Battery life will no doubt be improved in subsequent versions, so if you're eyeing the iPod as a video device, either wait or get an Archos or a Creative player with a bigger screen and better battery life.