Everything I expected

I finally took the plunge to purchase an iPod Classic 160GB model after years of putting it off. I've had a good deal of mp3 players (especially grey market or international models) so there were features I had grown accustomed to that had me hesitating. I wanted large capacity. I like to have all my music (or most of it) wherever I go. I wanted a simple interface. Decent sound is important but the music I listen to isn't "designed" for the most pleasant of auditory experiences. The iPod has all of these features. It's exactly what I need. Not exactly what I want but that's life. What could make it better? For one, it should act exactly like a hard drive. 160GB in my pocket should be more useful than just a music player which also digresses into another possible feature: the ability to upgrade the drive itself. I knew this ahead of time when I purchased the player but it's a point that needs to be made. Proprietary formats/designs only hinder customers. Apple, for all that it has done to make computing 'easier' for mass market consumers, continues to try and control the way they use their products. Another point on that, music organization on the iPod and in iTunes is definitely not as flexible as I'd like. I'm a nerd when it comes to my mp3s. I want them organized in such a manner that there is a minimal amount of folders with the maximum amount of organization. Creating a folder for every single artist (regardless of how many songs of theirs I have) only makes for lengthy searches through the menu. I'm happy with the way the iPod performs according to Apple's design. There's nothing here that says poor manufacturing or hurried design. I just know that it could be better.

Short IPod Review

I love that the 120GB iPod can fit oodles of songs. I have a large CD collection and thought that I'd have to select which songs to download onto the iPod. Not so. This particular model with 120GB can probably store up to 2000 CDs worth of songs. That's HUGE! The iPod is easy to use and the more I use it the more adept I become at operating it. I get frustrated at times trying to dial in a specific artist from the long list of artists I have uploaded, but with such a simple operating wheel, it is a minor drawback compared to the simplicity of the user interface. The iPod has good quality of sound. I hook it up to my home stereo and as long as the volume is not 100%, I cannot detect any distortion. The distortion comes from any sub par recordings.

Downfalls: the only way to charge the battery is to be connected to the computer. This is irritating having to use an active computer to charge it, though the battery is good for maybe 20+ hours of life. Maybe other sold-separately devices like iHome can charge the battery--dunno, I don't have one. Next, the owner is tied to iTunes and Apple software. The operator will have to download 100 megs worth of iPod operating system in order to even activate the iPod for the first time. The good thing is you do not have to pay for iTunes unless you wish to buy music off of them. Any music works--I use Rhapsody and Wal-Mart downloaded music (mpeg) and these songs work perfectly on it.

As long as you have a computer and love music, this device is worth having. I use it for home use as well as in my car and at work. It only needs a cable to connect to other devices (Radio Shack can help--or an eBay auction for a iPod cable). I never thought about owning one of these gadgets but with the reasonable price offered by eBay, I thought, "what the hey." Now I'm addicted. It just will take days to load all of my CDs onto this handy little device. Needless to say this takes a lot of time to do. But once the music is on the iPod, you're set.

Great capacity, but sound quality is flat

I've had this for a couple weeks now and I really do love it. The Genius feature is fantastic and fun and gives me new stuff to listen to from my library just by picking a song I'm in the mood to listen to. Just make sure you connect your ipod to your computer because you have to turn Genius on through iTunes for your ipod before you can use it.

The only downside to this ipod is the sound quality is noticeably flatter than any other mp3 player I have ever had. I'm not saying the sound quality is bad, it's just as full and rich as my old Zune or Zen were. It's a little disappointing and I'm hoping they do something to fix it. I've tried using the equalizer but it doesn't really help much. This heard both through my headphones and my car stereo so I know it's not just a problem with my listening device.

Overall it's a great player and the storage capacity alone is a great reason to buy it. Just be forewarned that the music quality may not be up to par.

Doesnt Do Large Sync

I love my ipod, but can only sync a few GB at a time. Apple tells me it is because I use a pc and the usb port cannot handle the large data transfers. If I had a mac this would not be a problem. I took the ipod to the apple store, they tested it and said it was fine and must be my computer. We have 3 ipods in our family and all sync well accept for this one. My other ipod is a 30GB and can sync around 25GB at one time no problem. On the 120GB I can only sync about 3GB at a time. Very Annoying!

iPod Classic 6th Gen Black

One word - Capacity! If you have a lot of songs/videos/movies from iTunes, you won't be dissatisfied. Has the "classic" click wheel. I love it. Screen has good resolution and size for movies, and videos. I listen to music mostly, but long travel distances, allow to me watch and listen. I placed it in a switcheasy case immediately. This is also a very good case for looks, style and use.
There are also games and audio books that can be added for your pleasure. I have one book downloaded. No problems reading from the screen, for me. Other apps included are: calendar, contact list, alarms, clock, stop watch and 3 games.

One down side for me. It is heavy. You will feel it in your jacket or pants pockets.

Obviously there is no touch screen, so if this is your need, you'll want to get an iPod touch. It will NOT have the capacity though! Your choice...