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In my opinion, in this edition of the full sized iPod, Apple got it almost right. The only reason I couldn't give this iPod all 5 stars, is because the battery doesn't last more than 3-4 hours. This is because every time you touch the buttons, it lights up using up battery power. The usual battery is 790mah. Better batteries are available today rated at 1300mah. This is NOT more power, it is more staying power. The price is right. You can find them on eBay for around 40-50 dollars. The design is great. No moving parts on the wheel. The touch sensitive wheel doesn't turn, but moving your finger around the circle works the same way. A row of touch sensitive button across the bottom of the screen provide control of the iPod music. That's what originally the iPod was all about - portable music. I have bought many of these. They have a great feel to them and they are well built inside. In the 10 years since this model came out, I have only seen one broken LCD and that was because I think it was run over by a car. And although it has a spinning hard drive, it is well protected inside layers of rubber. They last a long time if taken care of. Batteries and hard drives are considered expendable because they have a life span and can be replaced. Because of the hard drive these iPods are NOT meant to be taken jogging, but I have seen disk jockeys use them for weddings, people plug them into their stereo systems at home or in the car with accessories, and carry they in a belt clip while walking or working out in the gym. You will need a (now obsolete) firewire charger to charge them and a split USB/Firewire cable to connect to iTunes and sync your music. This is because the iPod will not charge while syncing like the modern ones do and the battery will quickly expire. These accessories are NOT expensive. These iPods are customizable. Today, with compact flash memory relatively inexpensive, you can install flash memory instead of the spinning hard drive. Your iPod will be lighter and now you can take it jogging without damaging the hard drive. You also will not be limited by 10/15/20 Gigs of memory. The one I use everyday has 64 Gigs of memory. This iPod can be opened fairly easily. If you are not comfortable with electronics, it would be best to leave battery replacement and modifications to a professional. All parts, batteries, mod parts, and firewire accessories can be found on eBay cheaply. All said, it is a great retro looking product with its glowing buttons, non-moving wheel, fairly large capacity hard drive, while being easy to repair and customized.Read full review
Very fun to use this iPod! It is always cool to see someone else look at it. They either have never seen one or it brings back memories for them. I love to use it myself. Old school games and good sound quality. Replace the battery on one and you will bring it back to life. Remember this iPod needs/uses a Larger (Firewire connection on the) Power Block to charge its battery! They are a more rare item then the iPod but a must have to use this iPod. I saw 1 aftermarket option available recently for $4 - worth looking into. Cool Red Buttons and Blue Screen Back light! Awesome touch buttons, Very easy to clean, don't be shy they are pretty much sealed units (the front plate where the buttons are).
Verified purchase: Yes
The Third Generation Apple iPod is my favorite in the line of full-size iPods and the 20GB version is my preferred model because it maintains its small size / frame while still being able to hold a huge library of music. While the 40GB iPod is appealing for the additional storage, I still prefer the 20GBs slimmer body which is still small enough to workout with (though clearly not as portable as any flash player). The Third Generation iPod has two major differences between itself and the 4th generation: 1) Button Placement. The 3rd generation iPod has the back, forward, menu and play/pause buttons above the click wheel. The 4th generation iPod has those button integrated into the click wheel - its completely a personal preference, but I like the button sitting above the wheel because, to me, it provides faster scrolling and more direct response. That said, I know several people who prefer the 4th generation. Up to you! 2) Battery Life. The biggest advantage of the 4th generation is its improved battery life - that said, I get far more than the suggested 8hour battery life. My iPod will generally last nearly two full work days with about 12 hours of use. I do prefer the 3rd generation iPod to the 4th generation and, on eBay, it's a rather substantial price difference that gives the 3rd generation iPod the edge in my opinion. Either way though, you can't go wrong. iPod Specifics: Size of Display 2 inch Digital Storage Media 20 GB (Hard Drive) PC Interface Supported Firewire, USB 2.0 Battery Run Time 8 hrs. Battery Type AC/DC Adapter, Internal Battery Dimensions (W X D X H) 2.4 in. x .62 in. x 4.1 in. Weight 5.6 oz.Read full review
Everyone is making a big deal over the newest generations of music players. Does it have a color display? Does it have video playback? Will it do my homework for me? Can it tell me the meaning of life? But only a few years back, what we cared about when shopping for a music player was the way in which it delivered MUSIC. The iPods 1G and 2G seemed almost like a training exercise for the creation of the 3G. It just feels like this one got almost everything right. To start with, this was the "ultraslim" iPod... it was much thinner than iPods past, which resembled chrome and white bricks. Beyond that, the control scheme was the best Apple had ever come up with: tactile touchbuttons that were so sensitive that you could barely brush your finger near them and they would probably pick it up. This felt--and feels--much more futuristic and stylish than the newer "clickwheel" that Apple is building into their iPods now. To me and a lot of other people, moving from touch-sensitive controls to a clicking interface seemed like a great big step backwards. The display on this device does not play video. It is not in color. It is not in high-resolution. But still, it works well. Not only that, but it works often times better than the navigation on the newer iPods which have so much going on at once that they have to chug along slowly, thinking hard about every little thing. You can rapidly tap the select button on the 3G and get wherever that takes you by the time you lift your thumb back up. Trying that on one of the new video iPods is likely to just lock the whole thing up. Another high point in comparison is that not only is the plastic on the 3G more scratch-resistant than on the new iPods, it is not in color so if it does get scratched, you won't get rainbow stripes across the face that make it impossible to read what's on the screen. The only drawback to this iPod... the one and only drawback in my mind, something worthy of dropping it from a 5/5 to a 4/5, is the battery life. Apple iPods are notorious for their battery life, and this one is no different. The factory battery will get about 8 hours at best, right out of the box. This is okay for the subway ride to work or for jogging, but if you plan to take it on a plane trip overseas, this will become a big problem. Available from different companies though, are replacement batteries that can raise that number up to 12 hours with a bit of home-installation (or, for a fee, some will let you mail them your iPod and will install it for you). If you don't mind the battery issue, or plan to do something about it like I did (12 hours of greatness, baby!) then this is the best iPod around. It only goes up to 40GB (the new ones go up to 60) but that's still a great number of songs. So, in summation: Buy. This. iPod.Read full review
The iPod third generation 20 Gig, is by far the biggest bang for the buck! Most will probably need to have the battery replaced which is very low priced and available on ebay. Accesories such as iTrip, & Car chargers are also low cost, but be sure to use a firewire auto charger the USB type are for the newer ones and do not charge correctly. I now own 3 of these gems and am quite pleased with them all, and are better than the newer smaller ones. I think I will use mine forever, I do have alot of music (about 7,000 CDs) but I can load up the iPod and drive cross country and back and not listen to the same song twice.
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