Apple iPod 30 GB Photo White M9829LL/A (4th Generation) OLD MODEL

30gig color VS. 20gig B&W SCOPE: Because of the price drop on the color models, this review will be targeted to those struggling over a 20gig b&w screen vs. the 30gig color iPod decision. ACKGROUND: I own both the 40gig iPod Photo and the new 30gig iPod Photo, and have ...

Publisher : Apple Computer
Company : Apple
List Price: ~~$329.99~~
Used Price : $150.00

Features

30 GB model holds up to 7,500 songs; supports AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 (32 to 320 Kbps)
Holds 25,000 photos and displays them on a 2-inch diagonal 65,536-color LCD screen with LED backlight
Up to 15 hours battery life when fully charged (which typically takes 5 hours)
Compatible with Mac OS X v10.2.8 or v10.3.4 or later; or Windows 2000
Comes with earbud headphones, AC adapter, and USB 2.0 cable

Product Description

Includes: earbud headphones, AC adapter, & USB 2.0 cable. Apple 30GB iPod Photo - The iPod Photo combines the amazing digital audio features you've come to love, with new photo options that make your multimedia experience that much better! Enjoy thousands of photos on the new 2 inch, 220x176-pixel resolution display; that features backlighting and the new, clear, Myriad typeface. Play slideshows made in iPhoto, Adobe Photoshop Album 2.0, or Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0. You can even output audio at the same time for a more enjoyable presentation! When outputing to a TV, the iPod Photo automatically optimizes your photos for 4 - 3 and 16 - 9 televisions Up to 15 hours of battery life (for audio only) Up to 17 minutes of skip protection Create & save multiple on-the-go playlists Adjust audiobooks read speed Synch and charge the iPod Photo through a (optional) FireWire or (included) USB 2.0 cable Alarm Clock/Sleep Timer Organizer Functions - Contacts, Calendar, & To-Do Lists Ports - dock connector, remote connector, stereo headphone jack, composite video & audio through headphone jack, FireWire 400 & USB 2.0 Audio Support - AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 (32 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Apple Lossless, WAV, AIFF, & Audible Photo Support - JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, & PNG Unit Dimensions - 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.63' Unit Weight - 6.4 oz.

SimilarProduct

Customer reviews

30gig color VS. 20gig B&W by .. Kensimons (Seattle, WA)
SCOPE: Because of the price drop on the color models, this review will be targeted to those struggling over a 20gig b&w screen vs. the 30gig color iPod decision.

BACKGROUND: I own both the 40gig iPod Photo and the new 30gig iPod Photo, and have owned a 15gig regular 4G iPod in the past and I also own a 512mb Shuffle. I use both PC and Mac formats. Note, I am not recommending the 60gig variety.

1) BOTTOM LINE: The new 30gig iPod Photo @ $349 is, in my opinion, the *perfect* iPod. My main complaint with the 40gig iPod photo was its price and size/weight (i gave it 4 stars). The new 30gig is roughly the same size/weight as the b&w 20gig and has all the features of the Photo family --> and for just $50 more, you get another 10 gigs, 3 more hours of battery time and a color screen!!! This price/feature tradeoff is one of the best you'll find anywhere in the Apple product suite. Frankly, the 20gig b&w is currently mis-priced @ $299, i would expect this price to drop very soon.

NOTE:
30gig iPod Photo = $11.63 /per gig -- $23.26 /per hour battery time
20gig iPod b&w = $14.95 /per gig -- $24.91 /per hour battery time

2) PHOTO QUALITY: Good to "pretty good".. but not excellent (no improvement since the first iPod Photos were released in 10/04)... I do realize the size of the screen is only 2 inches, but photos tend to be slightly pixilated, even the full resolution ones that are over 2mb (though you stop noticing after a minute) and color reproduction is not all that great on skin tones and deep reds, but very good w/ greens&blues... which make pics of landscapes quite nice!

3) PHOTOS ON MY TV: Now this is where this thing shines... this is a really cool feature... however you MUST BUY the mini-plug-to-RCA-out (headphone to 3 pronged yellow/white/red) for another $20, which in my opinion is worth it.. you can scroll through your photos on your big (or at least bigger than your computer screen) TV screen.

4) MUSIC: Biggest change here is you can now see the album art... sounds like a tiny feature, but after you get tired of showing off your photo albums, this is probably the single most useful feature. When before you had no incentive to look down at your ipod screen, now you'll find yourself looking at it all the time... In terms of music playback, it's the same as any click-wheel, 4G iPod.

5) SIZE/WEIGHT: Its great!, I cannot physically tell the difference in size and weight between the 20gig b&w and the 30gig iPod Photo... this was my #1 complaint about the iPod Photo 40gig -> it was simply too big and heavy to be practical... that's why I was forced to buy the Shuffle!

6) COSMETIC CHANGES: None on the outside, still scratches as easily as the rest, but has a color screen w/ a new font and screen looks very dark w/out the backlight.

7) BATTERY LIFE: Conditional based on the user... However, so far it seems to run above spec during mixed use = 16hours.

8) STORAGE: Disk access time for photos do have a lag (on both my 40gig and 30gig), and the unit tends to freeze from time to time, but I would consider the severity and frequency of this event to be insignificant to the overall functionality. In terms of size -> i think audio books, photos, and Podcast Radio programs have made -for the first time- the ridiculous size of the hard drives actually justifiable... in my 40gig photo, i used 15gigs due to my podcasts and audio books and would expect to reach 30gigs in 3-4 years of use... I still feel the 60gig to be not very practical... i suggest you stick with the smaller size.

== SURPRISES OUT OF THE BOX==

A) NEED TO BUY SOFTWARE: In order to enable the cooler features - like syncing albums automatically, etc..., you need to purchase or own iLife (iPhoto specifically) 4.03 or better (if you are the rare few that bought your computer in the last few months w/ 4.0, you still have to download an upgrade to 4.03) ... Now I bought my iMac from the Apple website last Christmas and it still shipped w/ iLife 2.0... so I had to purchase iLife 4.0 (according to several company reps, there is no free upgrade from the jump from 2.0 to 4.0)...which took me an additional day to figure out... Yes, you can assign folders and such to sync to your photos to your iPod, BUT having an album editor enables full control of changes and what changes I'm making, to the entire process. Oh Yeah, you need a high version of iTunes as well; my pod came w/ ver. 4.7... IMHO, you \need\ the iPhoto upgrade to enjoy this purchase. If you have PC, you have to buy Adobe Photoshop Elements.

B) TRANSITIONS: Only the "wipe" from right-to-left is included, however, I heard a firmware upgrade with more transitions would be out later this year.

C) SLIDESHOWS: You cannot assign multiple music lists in iTunes to specific albums in iPhoto... as of 03/05, you can only assign a SINGLE music list to ALL photo albums when you enable the slideshow feature. Yes, you can change this music list, but need to go back to the menu to do so.

D) COLOR SCREEN: When not backlit, the screen during regular music playback turns \VERY\ dark, much more so than regular B&W iPods... you need a light source reflecting off of the screen in order to see the letters... typeface has changed too, more like "Arial" and slightly smaller. Oh yeah, with the backlight off, the screen still displays in color.

TECHNICAL DETAILS:

A) You cannot adjust the color quality, size, cropping or transitions of the photos when detached from your computer, so don't waste your 1 customer service call credit on it.

B) The 30gig package does not come with the TV-out cable, you have to buy it ($20), and it comes w/ a USB 2.0 based charger, not firewire.

C) If you never upgrade your iTunes due to the hacks you can employ on earlier versions, then you cannot use the photo feature (yes I tried).

D) ALBUM ART: For those of you who haven't figured it out yet, you don't have to purchase a song from iTunes to get album art... just drag and drop an image of the album cover into the window where iTunes usually shows the album art.... plus there are programs out there that auto-download the album art into iTunes if you have the name of the album and the name of the artist...

iPod Photo: near perfect by .. H. Cassell (Portland, OR)
I have used three different iPod models since they were released a few years ago. They keep improving with age and iPod Photo is almost flawless. What's great about this model:
1. previously, I had problems with battery life dissipating after a month or so of use (and I use mine hard; it's on at least six hours a day), but that hasn't happened with this one. I find that I get right around 18--eighteen!--hours of battery life on a charge. However, if I go two or more days between use, the battery runs itself down to almost nothing;
2. the vibrant colors are a wonderful change. Compared to the iPod Photo, the old black-and-white models look positively antiquated. The font on the Photo is updated as well;
3. to my untuned ear, I cannot tell the difference between what I hear on my earbuds and the CD the music came from. Sound quality is, as always, excellent;
4. the price drop. I paid $399 for my last 40g model and $349 for this 30g iPod Photo, a superior product; and
5. picture quality on the iPod is quite (surprisingly) good. It's like carrying an entire photo album with me. I have over 2,200 songs and 1,300 photos stored on my machine and it's still more than half empty.

What I'm not crazy about:
1. I'm not sure how the album art is stored; namely, why some have it and others don't. Anything downloaded from iTunes will have it, and some stuff from my own music collection does, too, but I can't figure out a pattern and have been too lazy to research it. Less than half of my music has album art to display;
2. I know that the "random" feature is the result of a complex algorithm and has, in fact, been proven to be truly random, but my iPod has a propensity for picking certain tracks while never playing others;
3. to lower the price, Apple's skimped on the accessories that come included with the iPods. In this model, no dock or case as were provided as when I bought my 40g b-&-w model;
4. the display on iPods scratch ridiculously easily. I recommend picking up an iSkin which is a colorful jacket that fits over the iPod and comes with a screen protector that works really well. Apple sells these for about $30 but they can be had on eBay for a third of the cost; and
5. no way to delete songs directly from the iPod and no way to load photos onto the machine. Both of these things must be done from a computer.

A quick word on Apple's customer service: if you register your iPod with them, you can request repairs or replacement parts for accessories at (usually) no charge within a year of purchase. So when your earbuds begin to fray (and they will), you can get a new pair simply for asking. I've done this four times with no problems, free of charge. They even ship new parts for free via FedEx. Whoa.

I love my iPod Photo and am seldom without it.

PERFECTION! by .. M. Goldman (Tampa, FL)
As I recieved the 30GB Apple iPod for a gift I was thrilled. I had been wanting to get one for a long time and finally had one in my hands. Man, was I excited. There are many things that make the iPod Photo VERY different from the 20GB iPod and the 60GB iPod Photo.

I will compare the Apple iPod 30GB to each of it's competitors that most buy may buy instead.

Apple iPod Photo 30GB vs. Apple iPod Photo 60GB

You may think: "Wow, 60GB is a lot of memory and it can't be much more bigger than the 30GB, right?" Wrong. You will NEVER use all of the 60GB unless you have the enourmously large music collection of somewhere in the neighborhood of 15,000 songs. If you just so happen to have 15,000 songs waiting to be put in an iPod, knock yourself out and go for the 60GB. 7,500 songs is still a great deal of songs, and if each album has 20 songs, then it would fit 375 Albums. The main thing that comes to mind is that the 30GB is WAY lighter than the 60GB model. I messed around with my Uncle's 60GB and it was very heavy. It was also very thick, also. When I opened the 30GB, it was as light as a feather, and extremely thin compared to the 60GB. Also, my Uncle was having all sorts of problems with his 60GB iPod, and I have yet to have one single problem with mine.

Apple iPod Photo 30GB vs. Apple iPod 20GB

There really isnt any contest here. The overly priced 20GB comes in black and white while the 30GB comes in color. Also, you can see the album cover on the 30GB and nothing on the 20GB. You may not really need the Photo feature, but if you do, the 30GB holds a ton of photos, where the 20GB does not have the capability to store photos. Basically for only $50 more, you get many excellent features that make the iPod much more fun. The color screen, photo storing, album cover viewing, 10 more gigs(2,500 more songs), AND more battery life. The 30GB has a 15 hour battery life while the 20GB only has 12 hours. If you ask me, that's well worth a 50 Bucks.

Overall, I Highly reccomend the Apple 30GB iPod Photo. I love it and wouldn't change anything about it!

Undeniably great, MP3s and a photo album too. by .. Christopher Wanko (Nutley, NJ USA)
I must preface this review with a confession. I am *NOT* an Apple fan, but I'm slowing beginning to see the merit in many of the Apple products today. My first computer was an Apple //e, and then I just moved on...

...Twenty years later, I found myself looking for a birthday gift for The Wife. I decided to get her something she could use to store the hundreds of pictures we have taken of our son. I'm a believer of convergence, so I wanted to also put her music collection in the same device. I immediately looked at Archos, iRiver, and Creative for their solutions. Each one in turn was compared to the Apple iPod Photo. Each one fell short. Some had more storage but less battery life. Some had difficult UI issues, others had navigation that was less than intuitive. If the thing was for me, I'd have gone with the Archos for the storage size. But The Wife doesn't need to be confused or annoyed with UI choices and over-capability. Simple, direct, useful.

It doesn't hurt that the iPod is stylish, either. I ordered one, and the optional dock, and the Griffin iTrip. Took delivery quickly, opened up the well-designed packing, and was suprised at how small the iPod was. Also, Apple will engrave a few sentences for free if you order directly. Since this was a gift, that was the route I took.

Some things I didn't like? Price. The dock being made optional in this iteration of the iPod. The lack of a Firewire cable, or AV cables. Apple should be bundling these items with the iPod; breaking them out to soak customers will likely hurt them later.

If you accept the pricing and grab the optional items, you're in for a treat. It worked perfectly out of the box. Install the software, install the dock, dock the iPod. I had her songs transferred over in less than an hour, her photos of our boy in less than ten minutes. All 30 gigabytes were filled, too. Now she has Axe from Brazil, Depeche Mode, and Metallica to get her to work and back; and now she can show off all 600 pictures of The Boy wherever she goes.

And she can finally stop asking me where all the pictures of The Boy are, because they will always be synchronized to the iPod. And when she wants to hear her music, the iTrip will transmit on any free FM frequency to her car radio, or the kitchen radio, or wherever... and hopefully, she likes her birthday present.

Fred

Incredible, Simply Incredible by .. Andrew ()
I do not own a 30 gig model. I actually was able to get a 40 gig on closeout. Although the 30 gig is a little smaller and lighter, it has the same features as the 40. I have never been so impressed with a product before. I have it to where when a song begins to play, it also shows the album cover. When friends view my iPod this helps them discern which cd to buy. It is also just cool. Another benefit would be the photo's features. My family and friends are photo fanatics and this product allows me to carry around all of my favorite pictures and produce them for friends immediately. The small two inch screen does and incredible job with the photos when viewing. Now the 40 gig came with a docking station, fire wire cable, USB 2.0 cable, adaptor, carrying case, and cords that allow you to plug the photo into a television. I do highly suggest the purchase of these accessories. They simply make life much easier. Battery life on the iPod photo is not dazzling but not bad. The weight of this player, although heavier than most, is still not really an issue. The sound quality is remarkable. Whether I am playing music through a television, the ear buds, or in the car, the sound is just as good as if it was from a perfect cd. The only gripe that I have is that it is terribly easy to scratch which really does not affect the performance of the player. As I have said from the beginning, for the price and the features, you simply cannot go wrong. I have muddled with other mp3 players, but iPod is simply the best and this is the premier of their line. With many other products you feel as if you are settling for the product. You will never have this feeling with the iPod photo, it knows it is the best and illustrates that to you every time you turn it on. It is incredible, simply incredible.