iPod Video 30GB Review

Packaging & First Impressions

Steve Jobs said that people don't like to watch videos on small screens, I guess he meant small non-Apple screens. The fifth generation of iPod now has video playback ability and it is very cool. Like all of Apple's products, the fifth generation (5G) iPod comes in a snappy little box about half the size of the original iPod box. Our iPod box was black which matched our black iPod and had a picture of Bono from U2 on the iPod screen. Seems like every time you turn around Apple and U2 are closer and closer. i2? uPod?

Out of the box the new iPod is both familiar and new. The shape and weight of the device are familiar while the big 2.5" color screen and relative thinness are really new and appreciated. This time around you get a pair of earphones, a soft, pouch carrying case and a USB 2.0 cord to hook the iPod up to your computer. Where did the firewire go you ask? We don't know. We tried plugging our iPod into our old iPod dock and of it displayed a screen saying we needed to use a USB 2.0 connection. Maybe Apple is finally giving up to the rest of the PC world and is going to just use USB for consumer devices. Steve hasn't returned our calls.

Video Killed the iPod Star?

We got our iPod video hooked up to the computer as quick as we could and headed into iTunes 6.0 to the new video section to get some viewing material. Since we have already watched Lost and are not really interested in housewives, we purchased the premier of Night Stalker a new ABC thriller. As that downloaded we headed over to the music video section and bought a Shakira video. All videos and TV shows are $1.99 for now but we are not sure paying the same amount for a three minute video and a forty two minute show will remain the same (or should).

Videos on the go and we were off. First of all, yes the screen is amazing. It is so clear, so crisp that everyone in our "world lab" was impressed. Both the music video and TV show come across in vibrant colors and while sitting there watching it reminded me of those tiny little portable TV sets that were so hot in the late eighties. In our tests the screen compared very well to a Palm T3 but was both brighter and clearer. If you think the videos look nice, try out some photos from iPhoto which also looked great. Not much to say about the music as it still plays music, showing album art and all the rest just like the old iPod photo.

So, it is smaller, faster, lighter has a bigger screen, more capabilities and comes is black. Anything not to like? Well, yes, there are a few things. The lack of firewire support bugs us as it now counts out a whole set of docks and plugs that most of use have for our older iPods. Also, while not official yet we think that the video iPod might suffer from the same sensitive screen as the iPod Nano, so keep that in mind. On the really picky list of things we would love to see a pair of black earphones and to have the iPod ship with a dock again.