Apple iPod classic 160 GB Black (6th Generation) Reviews

• DOWNGRADE to the iPod Classic

  
  By A3DJRNEMOM1XF on 2007-09-12
  Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3DO8QC7JUAA37 This is my third iPod. My first iPod was a 4G 40GB, my second was a 5G 60GB.
  
  When I upgraded from the 4G to 5G it was a big improvement. I absolutely loved the new features such as color, photos, video, album art, etc...
  
  Unfortunately my upgrade to the 80GB iPod `Classic' has been nothing but a big disappointment. When I heard Apple was about to release a new line of iPods I sold my 5G and was eagerly awaiting Jobs' keynote. First I must admit I was very disappointed they didn't release a high capacity `Touch'... I mean really disappointed... Although I strongly desire all the amazing features of the `Touch' such as WiFi and the fullscreen touch screen, my first requirement would be enough capacity to hold my entire 63 GB music library. I settled for the 80GB `Classic' since I was iPodless.
  
  My first reaction with the iPod `Classic' was that it looked like a much sexier 5G iPod. This 80GB unit was noticeably thinner. The brushed aluminum front looked really great too. Unfortunately it was all downhill from there:
  
  * The `Classic' does not come with the little sleeve case that 5G's came with.
  
  * The screen is slightly lower than the brushed metal front and I am concerned it will begin to collect dust around the edges.
  
  * The click wheel is HORRIBLE (what the hell happened) it completely lacks response and sensitivity. My 5G 60GB was so easy to navigate and after over a week of using my new `Classic' I find it the biggest pain to navigate. For this reason alone I wish I had my old 60GB 5G back.
  
  * Coverflow... I was really looking forward to this feature. I make a lot of effort to maintain my music library and I'd say 95%+ of my music has cover art. Unfortunately the coverflow is so slow and laggy that it renders the feature completely gimmicky and not functional. When I flow through albums all I see are "question mark albums" and it takes a few seconds for the actual album covers to replace the "question mark albums".
  
  * Another big disappointment is that you are no longer able to view album covers full screen as you are playing a song. (You used to be able to do this by clicking the middle button a few times when playing a song)...
  
  * Also overall I find the GUI pretty slow when browsing my library... Sometimes it takes a few seconds to view the next layer of navigation when you push the button.
  
  * I think Apple added some cool visual aspects to the GUI like animation in between menus etc.... Unfortunately these are sometimes choppy making me wish I just had the simple less-fancy old menus back.
  
  * My iPod has frozen a few times. Sometimes I can scroll through the main menu but when I actually click on something (such as Music, Podcasts, or Extras) nothing actually happens...
  
  So yes I am terribly disappointed with the iPod `Classic'. Keep in mind that this level of disappointment is relative to the high level of quality I expect from Apple on their iPod line. Although I am really disappointed this is probably still the best high capacity music player on the market. (Definitely better than the Zune)... It just isn't much better than (and is actually worse) than the 5G Video iPod. So my advice: if you currently have a 5G or 5.5G and are considering upgrading, don't, wait for Apple to release something better.
  
  UPDATE: (9/18/2007)
  I previously mentioned that the Classic doesn't come with the white sleeve/case that 5G's came with. Now I know why. When the 5G iPods are in the sleeve the click wheel is still functional.. if you press your finger against it you can pause, skip the track, adjust the volume, etc... (granted you can't see the screen).. Today I tried this with the Classic (in the old 5G sleeve) I can no longer adjust the volume on the iPod when the sleeve is on. I wonder if this is related to the overall click-wheel problem.
  
  UPDATE: (9/19/2007)
  Games purchased from the iTunes store for older iPods ARE NOT compatible with the Classic. This means the $20 I spent on four games for my previous iPod is completely wasted. Apple has said to customers that they must 're-purchase' the games in the new compatible format.
  
  UPDATE: (9/20/2007)
  I've added a video demonstration to show how slow and sluggish the cover flow feature is. The demo is using the new firmware update which supposedly addressed the cover flow issue.
  
  UPDATE: (9/25/2007)
  Two more issues are really annoying me. If anyone knows a solution/fix for either of them please post it in this review's comment section.
  
  1) If you are playing a song and you don't touch any buttons for a while (after the backlight has already turned off) the clock "screensaver" comes on and you cannot see what is currently being played. This is particularly annoying when I am shuffling through all my songs and I have to touch the clickwheel just to disengage the "screen saver" to see what song is being played.
  
  2) When I charge the iPod via USB (using Vista) the backlight on the iPod is ALWAYS on and there is no way to turn it off. So when I charge the unit overnight the backlight is still on when I wake up in the morning.
  
  Update: (10/1/2007)
  see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK-rDeD1Lfk
  
  Update: (11/6/2007)
  So my iPod totally died... Or rather the screen died. It was covered under warranty and Apple ultimately sent me a brand new iPod Classic. Apple Support handled the issue very fast and efficiently. The scroll wheel on my 'new' Classic is PERFECT!!! It's just as good as the old iPods, I was truly surprised... Also it generally seems to be running much better. Has Apple modified the hardware since the initial release? Or is this all a matter of a software fix? Either way I am much happier with the Classic. (On another note I recently switched to the iPhone and it is the best thing ever!!! 6 out of 5 stars)
  
  

• Great Concept... Seriously Flawed

  
  By A32OOW0H123JHC on 2007-10-15
  Ok. I have not read any other comments on this product on the Amazon webpage because I want it be about my experience and not influenced by anybody else's experience. I'll go back and read the other reviews after I post this and see where I fit in.
  
  I purchased my 160GB iPod Classic 2 weeks ago because I was getting very limited on my previous 60G iPod (my 4th iPod) and I thought the extra 100 Gigs of space would last me for the next years with no problems. That aspect of the product has proved to be true.
  
  That's when the problems began.
  
  First, after uploading my entire 60 Gigs of songs and videos (6 hours to do that) the menus were so sluggish they were unusable.
  
  The coverflow view provided the album cover for every artist on every album as a different album cover so it literally took 5 minutes to scroll from the first album to the last which made this "selling point" totally unusable. If the coverflow view just provided a view of each album cover by the name of the album, like I do when I view CD's on my bookshelf I would be happy, but what they have done makes no sense at all. After installing the 1.0.2 firmware update things improved slightly because they removed artists from compilation albums from the sort order and moved them to the end of the list, but seriously, nobody at Apple seems to have even looked at how someone picks up a CD from a bookshelf... by the single CD case which is a single title, not arranged by who sang each track on each CD!
  
  
  OK, we'll get around that coverflow problem by just ignoring it and not using it. Check.
  
  So, I put the thing in the dock on my PC. Hours later after the first synch all is good. But then, each successive time when you put it in the dock you get into a repeating connected, synching, connected, synching, connected, syching mode, and you cannot stop it. iTunes says synching once, but then if you try to eject the thing you can't. iTunes locks up for minutes at a time.
  
  What do I do next? I go to the Apple Support discussions. I realize that there are many, many comments about this. Hmm! So I post some questions and I make a point of saying I have bought 4 other iPods and none of them do this. They all get deleted from the discussion groups.
  
  Then I start monitoring the discussion groups by downloading the entire website several times a day and I realize that Apple is literally deleting many, many posts about these same problems.
  
  The message you get from them is that you are violating their guidelines which I guess means that if you complain that your product flat out doesn't work you aren't allowed on the "support group".
  
  Then if you start to examine the discussion groups and realize that Apple has intentionally disabled many of the video functions of the previous iPod models which breaks EVERY non-Apple video device out there you have to start wondering if Apple has not become the Anti-Apple!
  
  What ever happened to "Think Different"?
  
  Seriously, this is the most flawed product Apple has ever produced and as a fifth time Apple iPod buyer I have to say it's the last iPod I will ever own. Apple seems to be much worse than any other company now that they have a monopoly on MP3 players.
  
  My vote is to buy anything BUT Apple from no on because they just screwed me, and thousands of other people, over on this iPod Classic.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Such a disappointment

  
  By A136JX6OH2P4IO on 2007-10-01
  You can read on for a detailed review. In summary, if my music collection wasn't larger than the iPod this was replacing, I would put the iPod classic on the shelf (or maybe ebay it) and run the old one.
  
  This iPod is the first apple iPod product I have felt was just an afterthought. I have owned the 1G shuffle, the 2G 4GB Nano, and a 4G 20GB iPod color (wife also has a 5G 30GB iPod Video). I absolutely loved all of them. All felt like polished products.
  
  The iPod Classic feels like an afterthought that they came up with when they decided to make the iPod touch not a real iPod, but halfway between a nano & an iPod.
  
  The iPod Classic is very underpowered, or the firmware is poorly written. Either way, you will find navigating through the menus very tedious and will start becoming annoyed. The first thing you will notice is that there is something wrong with the click wheel. It doesn't pick up your finger movements the way the other generations of iPod did.
  
  Apple has never been very friendly to audiobook listeners, but the current software makes it really bad. You can no longer sort your audio books by genre (or author, or even book title). All audiobook files are only accessible in a single alphabetized list. Yes, that's files, not books. So to get to 'State of Fear' part 6 of 8, you need to scroll down through every file of every book you have that has a title that starts earlier in the alphabet than "S". For me, that's 187 files. What's worse, is the list isn't a normal list of files (as was in the last generation of iPod), but is double height for each file and displays a tiny picture of the book's cover next to the file. What's still worse is that most of the time these just show question marks and slow the scrolling process even more.
  
  The podcast menu uses the same double height lists, as do virtually all lists. Currently you can't turn this off, and you get to wade through your songs in this manner.
  
  The cover flow feature is completely unusable as it is so slow and the album art isn't populated quick enough to actually be of use.
  
  The general navigation utilizes a 1/2 screen for the menu and 1/2 screen for artwork, cut vertically. Its only use is to look good in apple commercials. After the "wow, that's neat" wears off, you search around for how to turn it off, but sadly, you can't. All it does is make what you are trying to read cut off, and also slows down the iPod. You will notice between a 1 & 2 second lag time from selecting an item before the sub-menu shows up.
  
  I would say you should buy a fifth generation if you can find one, or hold out for the next generation of the touch (when it has enough space to hold your music).
  
  The only good thing about this iPod is that all the problems appear to be software related... however my fear is that apple won't be working too hard to fix them as the "touch" is their baby right now. The click wheel problems might also be software related, as it seems like some of the non-response you get is the software locking up, rather than the click wheel itself not detecting your finger. I would recommend not purchasing this iPod until a SIGNIFICANT software update is released.
  
  I will update this review for new updates to the software if there is any noticeable difference. Currently I have version 1.0.1
  
  *Update: I have found that if you disable "view album artwork" on the settings in iTunes, this dramatically speeds up the iPod. It is a shame you need to do this, but it even makes the click wheel more responsive. You will have no artwork, at all, on the iPod, but the music and menus will function quickly.
  
  *Apple released software version 1.0.2. I have not noticed any change in performance running the iPod without artwork. I enabled artwork to test if the patch did anything there, and I must say that the speed of the menus has improved and the coverflow is a lot more smooth (though still not very useful). However, it is still slower than the old iPods and the flaws mentioned above remain.
  
  *Apple released software version 1.0.3. Hopefully it will address some of the above mentioned concerns.
  
  ***WARNING - I have installed software update 1.1. It has some serious issues and I would not advise installing this update. For some, it is bricking the iPod. Not for me, but there are some really weird/bad things it does and I haven't noticed anything good that it does. The most noticeable negative change is that the iPod does not turn off correctly at the end of a playlist. I like to listen to my iPod as I fall asleep (The Classic Tales podcast is excellent, look into it), so I do an "on the go" playlist with one episode, so that after I fall asleep the episode will end and the iPod will shut off. Not so with the new update. At the end of the episode the iPod just plays what I can only describe as dead air. So, the iPod will just play this (I guess until the iPod runs out of batteries, but I usually just find it playing dead air in the morning and turn it off manually by holding the play button).
  
  My fears about the software updates not being priority for Apple look like they are coming true. I have a sneaking feeling that they will update the iPod Touch to a full sized iPod (30GB-60GB) before the Classic is fixed. Again, buy a 5th gen if you can find one and avoid this product.
  
  

• I've got one!!! Size matters..

  
  By A24N1BAS3CU27H on 2007-09-09
  Ok guys, I just picked up my silver iPod classic 160gb from the Apple store on Regent Street in London so I can give an actual review on it.
  
  I've had an 80GB video iPod for a year and it's already full, so I was really hoping Apple would make an iPod big enough for me. Presently I've got 110GB (and counting) of music, so this iPod is for people like me who have a large music collection, and who like to be able to take it anyplace.
  
  The 160GB iPod is the same size as the 80gb, but costs less than the 80GB did when it first came out.
  
  With a brushed aluminium front finish (similar to the 2 and 3G Nanos), it should be less prone to scratching, though the back is the same smudge magnet, and I don't know how resilient the screen is. The front is curvier than that of the last 2 video iPods, with the screen slightly depressed from the rest of the casing.
  
  Additional features are extra long battery life (40 hours for music, 7 hours for video; I've tested this and playing music non stop without much fast forwarding, etc, it's about right), and cover flow (a fun way of scrolling through for music using album cover art, though it is a bit sluggish).
  
  The new split-screen interface lists functions to the left half of the screen, and symbols (or previews of content such as cover art, videos or photos shown as a slide show) to the right as you scroll through the functions. Neat!!
  
  During music playback, after being idle for about 80 seconds, the screen goes gray and displays a clock, and battery power. Viewing tracks in an album also gives you, at a glance, the track times. Same for video. A nice touch. To my hearing, the sound quality (without equalizers, mind you) is improved; more bass and a bit more treble. The iPod turns off in about 2 seconds, much faster than previous models.
  
  It's still got the other regular features; album track lyrics (new, nicer text font, and it also shows the album art), can play video and games, store photos, contacts, calendar, notes, stopwatch, and screen lock (which allows you to lock the screen with a password), and it can be used as an external hard drive. It shows up in windows explorer as an external drive. The search feature allowing one to type in album/song/artist titles (introduced in the last video iPod) is still there, but relocated to the "music" menu. I didn't spot it at first. In fact, the menu has been reshuffled to make it better, and (under settings) one can now view number of songs, videos, photos, etc graphically just like in iTunes.
  
  If you need loads of space for your music collection, you can't go wrong getting this. Judging from the crowds in the store, Apple's got another hit here. Now if only the iPod touch had this much memory...
  
  

• just what you ordered

  
  By AZVA13Q19KURR on 2007-09-07
  I saw the 3-star review and I had to chime in. The 3 star reviewer gave it excellent reviews for the music capability, etc, and only downgraded it because he had trouble downloading porn onto it and using it as a PHONE on the internet due to lack of a mic and external speaker. With all due respect to the guy's computer savvy and inventiveness, this is not an iPhone--it's an iPod. I keep 15,000 songs on mine and I still have room for more. The first one I bought had a bug, but apple replaced it and I haven't had a problem since. It works great with my car stereo and as a walkman. This is the iPod that convinced me to "go digital" and break down my huge collection of CDs into storage.
  
  
• Sound not good enough
  By A2Z5UBRTCCTTDW on 2007-10-20
  I had been looking forward for some time to an iPod with enough storage to hold a large number of high quality Apple lossless files. So it was a real disappointment that the sound quality of this new model was actually worse than before.
  
  Many people were willing to put up with substandard sound quality from compressed audio files because of the convenience. Now that the newest music players have enough capacity to store high quality audio, there is really no excuse for the poor digital-analog converters that Apple is apparently putting in the new iPod Classic. When playing exactly the same uncompressed WAV data, $100 CD players from Sony sound a lot better when plugged into a good stereo than the iPod.
  
  The irony is that the fix should really be pretty simple: a decent digital-analog converter (perhaps the problems with the new chip can be fixed via a firmware upgrade), and a better equalizer with the ability to save user-defined settings would probably be enough for all but the most demanding listeners.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• bad reviews are misleading
  By A1AB3IASCNHDYH on 2007-10-14
  I read the bad reviews here and they are all very particular and specific and odd (i.e., the problems these people are having will probably never happen to you). This version of the iPod is probably going to be the last in its line before they switch over completely to the iPod Touch version. But when I was trying to figure out which one to go with RIGHT NOW, the Touch is 400 freakin' dollars and it only has 16 GB on it! That's nothing as far as I'm concerned - maybe I'm spoiled but I like putting all sorts of things on my iPod besides my entire record collection which is around 35 GB right off the bat. The iPod "Classic" is not perfect or ideal (starting with its stupid name)- the ideal would be an iTouch with 80 GB or higher - but its pretty sweet. The games on it work really well once you get used to the wheel, as far as I know there are no games on the iTouch. The video looks really good on the iPod Classic too. As far as the meat is concerned which is the music, the cover flow works fine - all that stuff about it being too sluggish is b.s. - the sound quality is really good and it comes with about 20 preset EQ settings which are nice. Sync with iTunes is really easy and almost fun and in short its just really simple to use and does the job. My advice is to get this one and wait for Apple to release an iTouch with more GB later, which might take awhile but I just have a hard time paying 400 dollars for 16 gb just so I can move an album cover across the screen with my finger. p.s. yeah, the itouch has the wi-fi internet capability but I have trouble digesting what I read about it, like no java - that's a big setback, most of my favorite websites rely on that -otherwise I'm just looking at an incredibly shrunken version of a website and that doesn't really do much for me.
  
  
• CONSUMER ALERT
  By A3IQ2ODI3FHFDV on 2007-09-13
  I purchased this item last week to upgrade my ipod 80gb (great item!!!).
  I found the sound on the classic VASTLY INFERIOR to the old ipod. I thought it might have been my imagination but after cruising some websites, I discovered that APPLE is using another chip that deteriorates the sound in significant way. I found the sound of the Classic to be thin and shrill compared to the older one and not nearly as warm and "clean." (I mostly listen to Jazz and classical) Again, I thought this might be my imagination but apparently other purchasers have had a similar experience. I'll be returning mine.
  
  
• Re: Ipod classic TV out problem
  By A2D5ZZ2PUIR2TQ on 2007-09-16
  Apple has intentionally disabled the Video Out button on the Classic models. Spend more, get less features. I am shocked to hear that Apple will treat so poorly those who shell out $349 for a 160 GB Classic. I contacted the Geek Squad none of the salespeople or support team had a clue that Apple had disabled the video out feature. They pushed every available button before contacting Apple to find out that Apple has disabled a basic feature available on all prior video Ipods. I had stopped at Circuit City first and had the same experience there.
  
  I would not have bought this so quickly had I known that Apple disabled the video out capability. The video settings menu is still there, but all the clicking in the world will not change OFF to Ask or On. Apple will soon be selling a $49 accessory to allow some limited output of video. I already own the Icuiti IWear. Memorex and Virtual Reality Ipod video accessories, all now rendered useless by this greedy move on Apple's part. We all expect value-added from Apple, not elimination of a basic feature. Shame on you, Apple and Steve Jobs.
  
  
  
• Apple why did you do this to me?
  By A21BMX5GT45BG9 on 2007-12-21
  "Apple why did you do this to me?" might sound like a harsh name for a review, so I should start by saying this iPod is an amazing device that may satisfy some customers. Building on tradition this iPod features the largest capacity yet: 160GB! When I heard this unit was out I immediately wanted it. After all who wouldn't want the king of all iPods? 160 GB is enough to hold many entire albums even without using compression--and have them playback gap free! So, here's why the unit had to be returned to the store, and why I have no interest in a 6G iPod.
  
  Apple managed to do what appears to be a typical move for successful manufacturers. They have discontinued the use of a key piece of technology used in previous iPods: the Wolfson DAC. A "DAC", or digital to analog converter, is the chip that is responsible for turning numbers into sound (which is essentially what an iPod does). On the 6G iPod Apple has chosen a new DAC made by Cirrus Logic. This new chip apparently fails the taste test to an important community: people who care about the quality of their audio listening products. These are the same folks who throw away the headphones that come with the iPod and buy headphones that actually sound good.
  
  Unfortunately this has me halting any iPod "classic" recommendations and purchases. I'm happy with my 5.5G iPod which uses the faithful Wolfson DAC and sounds like what a "classic" iPod should sound like. There are even folks who swear by the fidelity of even earlier iPods. Apple, please get it together.
  
  
• The New Firmware seems to have ironed out A LOT of the bugs others have talked about!
  By A1XP2MN7WBXYMT on 2007-12-09
  **Before you read some of the negative reviews, please consider this was BEFORE the new firmware update 1.0.3 came out so unfortunately they had unresponsive clickwheels, itunes messing up etc. Also some people simply did NOT upgrade their firmware for whatever reason but A LOT of those problems have been fixed with the new firmware so UPGRADE YOUR FIRMWARE AS SOON AS YOU GET YOUR IPOD! It will make a BIG difference!**
  
  Ok, on to the review..I just got my 80 gb ipod classic recently with a 3 year extended service plan, immediately got itunes version 7.5 and upgraded the firmware immediately to 1.0.3 which seems to have taken care of A LOT of bugs people have been reporting. It must have because I am not getting ANY of the problems other have reported such as laggy clickwheel, itunes freezing etc. The clickwheel is VERY responsive, only a light touch is needed and scrolling through cover art was very quick! No problems whatsoever with the clickwheel. I also have had no problems copying files to itunes and transferring them to my ipod. The ipod itself is a thing of beauty, love the non scratchable surface but the back of the ipod is where you can see all the fingerprints etc so get a good cover for it. The slimness of it is very sleek and heck this ipod just looks cool. I got the ipod up and running in no time after I transferred my music over. Love the search feature as well. There is a lot of features, settings and extra's. Heck I even like the clock.
  
  PLEASE NOTE:TURN OFF & DON'T use the EQ (equalizer setting)if you want normal distortion free sound. I was using the EQ and wondered why a lot of my songs had distortion. I thought it was due to the bad sound everyone was talking about until I turned OFF the EQ. Upon turning the EQ off, the distortion vanished completely, the sound was just fine, pretty good in fact. It's a shame that you have to turn off the EQ settings to get good sound. Hopefully Apple will fix this with a firmware update.
  
  I almost got one of the itouch ipods but the very limited space is what kept me from doing so. 80 gb is plenty of space for my music, a bit of videos etc. It might not have wifi or a touch screen but it's got tons of space for my music and that's what counts! I love my ipod classic, can't find much to be picky about except for the sound when EQ is enabled. It does exactly what it's supposed to, is easy to navigate, videos look crisp/great on it and most of all it holds a crapload of music. Just remember to upgrade your firmware to the newest version, disable EQ and invest in a good pair of headphones. One of the best things about the ipod classic is that because it has so much space, I don't have to worry about how many mp3's I put on it. I've never downloaded so many mp3's in my life! I literally put my entire collection of mp3's on it and still have tons of space left. Overall, I rate the ipod classic 80 gb (black)...absolutely superb.
  
  
• Hooked on Apple
  By A1PN2U0AWXGVML on 2007-09-08
  Picked up an 80Gig Black iPod classic today at the Burlingame, CA Apple store. For only $250, you are getting almost 3 times the hard drive space from the previous model (5.5 generation), you also get the new interface, a slimmer body, all metal casing and a super bright screen. I'm selling my 5th generation ipod, which was fairly dim, scratch prone and a duller interface. I'm really impressed with apple products lately. Never being an apple person, they really are starting to change my mine after seeing the newest imacs made of aluminum and glass for a competitive price. I don't need a new computer now but when I do I will consider an imac!
  
  
• Not worthy of the Apple or iPod name
  By A1H5156TW5O92Z on 2007-10-03
  The iPod Classic is a profound disappointment. For some reason, Apple has locked down the iPod to eliminate third-party video output, so don't expect it to work with your old cables, video docks, etc. Secondly, the audio output is reportedly inferior to the previous generation; however, I can't speak to that directly, because the firmware is so buggy, I can't even load my iTunes library on it. The latest firmware (1.0.1 as of this writing) supposedly fixed a bunch of bugs, but you wouldn't know it from where I'm standing. Apple support claims it's my library, but my library worked fine on my 5.5gen iPod. I was able to get the music on it in manual mode, but that's not an acceptable solution.
  
  Apple has remained typically silent on the issue, so there's no telling when (or if) these MAJOR flaws will be fixed. I can't think of a decent reason to cripple the video output that was present on the previous generations, and Apple hasn't deigned to give us a reason. I'd expect such shoddy engineering and treatment from Microsoft, but coming from Apple, it's a tremendous disappointment. It's clear that Steve is more infatuated with the flash-based players, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's quite a while before the iPod Classic becomes a worthy successor to its ancestors. Until then, AVOID AT ALL COSTS.
  
  
• a user's review
  By A3GIHY7KMAGUAA on 2007-09-08
  I don't know how many people actually have this and wrote the review but at least I have it. Here are my takes on it:
  
  Good things about this device:
  
  1. its new interface looks much better than the old generation ones. fonts are sharper, coverflow search is hip, and there are some subtle differences people will appreciate. For example, when you play iPod after certain seconds the screen goes black and it will serve as a watch. it tells you what time it is. it may not look like much, but you will appreciate it.
  
  2. audio quality has improved and you will definitely notice the difference if you have listened to a lot of music. far less hiss on the background and the sound is just warmer.
  
  3. enclosure is absolutely gorgeous. there is also some subtle difference that makes this iPod look far much better than the last gen iPods. plus it's a lot thinner than last gen's iPod as well.
  
  now the bad things about it.
  
  1. touch wheel response is almost unbearable. since Apple decided to manufacture touchwheels on their own it has been having very inconsistent responses. last gen iPod was too jumpy when you scroll so you would have difficulty being accurate. This iPod, on the other hand, does not respond well when you scroll. it will take you far more pressure and far more spinning to get to where you want to be.
  
  2. there are some bugs that must be fixed too. it sorta happens randomly but sometimes you can't control the volume, and sometimes you can't scroll down within albums.
  
  overall, this iPod is excellent. the top notch sound quality overcame some of the problems it had. recommended.
  
  
• Wait for 6 - 8 Months Then Buy
  By APTWDK936VYNY on 2007-11-07
  Be careful. I returned three of the silver 160 GB iPod classics to the Apple store for the same apparent defect. All three of the iPods I took home seized up when I began to put large amounts of music on it. The problem happened when I hit about 10 GB of music. The iPod would go to the boot up screen and freeze. It would then make this loud clicking noise while the screen light turned on and off. It continued doing this until the battery ran out of power. When I took the last one back and demanded a refund the Apple store clerk suggested that it was a faulty USB port on my lousy Windows based PC. The problem is that one of my three iPods seized up on my work laptop and the others did it on my home PC. The final clincher was when the third one seized up and I read on the Apple website similar problems from other users. I believe Apple turned out this product too soon and either there are a high percentage that are very defective or there is an inherant design flaw in the system. I love my 60 GB iPod but it is nearly full and it has never had a problem. I will probably wait for 6 to 8 months and give Apple the chance to fix the problem before trying again. I recommend if you have problems demanding a refund from Apple and returning their poorly designed product to force them to address the issues.
  
  
• Terrible Tech Support; a waste of $$$$
  By AED9U0EPYPY47 on 2007-09-23
  Let me start by admitting this is my 4th iPod, and I didn't have any problems with the previous 3 except the simple truth my media files exceeded my storage capacity, so...160GB seemed like a plausible solution. I still own the previous gen (5.5) 80GB iPod video and it works perfectly fine. This 160GB Classic is a nightmare and Apple's lack of product support is shear lunacy. I have written and phoned ad nauseum without any resolution, and I paid an extra $60 for the AppleCare Protection Plan above & beyond the $350 cost for the Ipod itself. It crashes daily and needs to be "restored" which can take 6-8 hours to erase, reformat and restore all the music & media files. I have the most current version of iTunes as well as the most current version of iPod software. I shipped the iPod back to Apple, they kept it for a week and then sent it back to me with a letter stating they couldn't find anything wrong with it.
  
  I own a 4GB Apple iPod Nano too, and it works perfectly fine...but not this 160GB Classic! It doesn't sync with iTunes, it needs to be restored daily, it loses the media and crashes repeatedly...it's essentially useless. After repeated letters and phone calls to Apple, I'm basically stuck with a $350 piece of useless hardware.
  
  
• When customers are viewed as sheep!!
  By A3I4PHXEKVY40L on 2007-09-26
  Yes.....iPod created the wave with its beautiful mp3 player line. People loved it and placed complete trust in Apple. What ever comes out of Apple, must be the best and costs reasonably......The business strategy is to take people there before the corporations drop them down and make a helluva lot of money for lesser and lesser. I remember iPods used to come with chargers et. al. which has to be bought seperately now. Now with this jukebox what is called as a 'Classic', No TV out, poorer quality of audio. They brought in a newer and a cheaper chip that is not only a poorer performer but also a feature chopper!! Apple has disabled the TV out in an effort to sell another of their $50 product. AV cables work no more. Tell me something.....why will somebody watch a movie on a 2.5inch screen, unless they are waiting in a stinking airport? I also think their menu-ing system has slowed down a bit. Definitely they have been infected with Microsoft's monopolizing disease.
  
  Here I am one of the first sheep to buy this product.....It is a shame. If you find a 30 or an 80 gb 5.5Gen iPod.....Simply buy it. Run for it since people are drying up this product from the market. I am sure this is an opportunity for other manufacturers to get ahead.
  
  
  
  
• At last!
  By A37IZXMGDNHUVB on 2007-09-06
  I don't yet own an iPod, and no, I'm not Amish! I have been sitting on the fence for years waiting for an iPod that has the capacity I need. My CD collection is 75Gb, ripped at 256k MP3. My partner probably has a further 15Gb.
  
  I don't want to have to pick and choose albums to carry on my music player, I just want an iPod that holds EVERYTHING and has room for GROWTH.
  
  This is it, at last.
  
  I finally get to join the 21st century and own an iPod. Thanks Apple.
  
  
• iCrock - the iPod NOT
  By A2PQMB0RHHPCJ9 on 2007-11-06
  The only possible saving grace about the new iPod Classic is that it does have the potential for a firmware upgrade to fix at least some of the more glaring problems. I think the other reviews have spoken to the issues well but I did want to chime in on the audiobook issue since that is to me one of the most bizarre aspects of this non-product.
  
  I have used every version of iPod from the first generation on (not nanos or whatever just iPods) and this one has definitely broken audiobook organization. On every previous model I simply went to "artists" and selected the name of the author and then had a nice list of the books (using the "album" attribute for book title) and then I could select the part of the book that I wanted to dive into which I could title using the song title attribute. I never ever found the straight audiobook listing particularly useful.
  
  Now I've got to use the amusing "search" mechanism or spend a bunch of time screwing around with playlists to try and put some order in the chaos that some misguided engineers have introduced.
  
  Playlists are extra work that wasn't needed with the prior User Interface and only a partial measure at best since one is still looking at a list of book parts rather than a list of books - obviously playlists were designed for a different purpose than trying to rescue a misbegotten UI design.
  
  The search is actually broken. For example I search for Asimov and the search results report every single one of the audiobook files that I have (500+) not just the ones with "Asimov" as a value of some attribute.
  
  I can not for the life of me understand how the current audiobook category behavior ever got signed off on by QC and usability reviews. The iPod Classic as it stands now is almost exclusively a music box rather than what I used to have which was a library of audiobooks. I do have music on my iPod but I rarely ever listen to it; rather, I spend hours each evening and in the early hours listening to various books some in [...] format some that I've converted myself from CD or cassettes and so on.
  
  This is without a doubt the most completely non-user-engineered downgrade to an otherwise sterling product line that I've ever seen!
  
  If you need a stylish 80GB or 160GB external hard drive this may be the product for you.
  
  
• Lovin' it
  By AIZ372HXVRWXJ on 2007-09-27
  I've only previously owned a 4th gen 40GB iPod, so I can't comment on the 'downgrade' issues from the last generation iPods, but so far I am very, very happy with my new 80GB classic. Installation was a breeze. I already had iTunes set up with all my music, so all I had to do was load up iTunes and plug in the iPod, and automation took care of the rest. The iPod charged up in a few hours. That simple!
  
  The 80GB classic is perfect for what I use it for: listening to my entire music collection from one convienent place. I've been listening to it for many many hours straight, and it's barely even touched the battery. The screen is nice and vibrant for looking at all the cover art, and the backlight auto shuts off to save on batteries when you aren't using it, especially useful when it's just sitting in your pocket or glovebox. The brushed aluminum looks very stylish and gives it a more solid feel. The clickwheel can be a little sluggish at times, but I've never found myself irritated by it.
  
  All in all an excellent purchase. Extremely impressed by the battery life. I'm glad I waited a little longer to buy an iPod, as we now get 80GB of storage instead of 30GB for the same price.
  
  
• Decisions, decisions..
  By A142ZUGDGWE1NY on 2007-09-08
  I had my 3rd gen ipod for 4 years, holding out on a video ipod until for a larger screen. I was torn when Apple released the full-screen flash memory based 'touch' with 16gig max (less than my old 20gig full with music files), and the small-screen hard-drive 'classic' with up to 160gig. Maybe the full-screen and hard-drive together would wear too much on a battery?
  I decided I would be annoyed with 16gig, managing which files to load. I have a Blackberry, and get enough internet, without being limited to wi-fi, plus all my work mail and calendar are tied to that. The bigger touch screen was not worth it for me, and I could not wait for another upgrade.
  Because of an Amazon delivery est. 4-7 weeks out, I canceled my order for an 80gig, went to Apple instead(free shipping), and ordered the 160gig. 160gig does not seem extreme. There is always something new to fill space. Higher quality music and videos, backups, games etc.. Plus the apple-site shows the 160gig battery has about an extra 30% play-time than the 80gig (apple site Classic tech specs).
  Had to pay sales tax, but got free engraving. Used that to add 'return to' with my name and email on the device. That gives the honest majority of our population the chance to get it back to me, and the less classy folks will need to scratch up or hide the back side.
  **update**
  I now have it in hand and stick with my 4-star pre-review.
  I got it loaded fine, including new videos I had in anticipation, and many photos from my pc -all of which barely made a dent in the space. The options are very easy to manage in iTunes. I like you can choose full-photo vs. ipod-veiwing-photo file sizes. Old news to many of you though. Of course I went full-sized, I have 160gig now, and this is a great way to back up those pics.
  Actually I have 148.79 available space. Everything looks good and runs smoothly, so I'm not griping about the space the os/software used up.
  I like the album art display on the menu and songs. Things like that don't matter in the big picture to most people, but those types of touches make Apple products seem a little more friendly.
  I am jumping from a monochrome music-only ipod, so for me this is a major upgrade.
  It does have the search option, but typing in a word by scrolling around a click wheel is not much faster than working through the menu.
  It also has a few games loaded, clock/alarm, a lock code setting, notes and calendar you can load from your pc/mac. I like the stopwatch, which dispays an old analog version. Using a stopwatch makes even boring activities seem more like an event.
  The only real rub with this is the 'TV-out' (video output)option is locked to 'off'. I had seen a 50buck cable for sale from Apple so I knew I could do it(cnet claimed video-out had been removed), but I read on a rumor-site that you will now be forced to use the Apple licensed component-cable in order to enable the video out. Fine, it comes with some other adapter stuff, so I'll do it, but their availability is 3-4 weeks.
  I do love this device, and appreciate how far we've come since reel-to-reel and projectors, but not getting a hard-drive in the the 'touch', and not having the video cable (and many games) ready for launch takes a star off.
  *** Update 2 ***
  Well, I had it stolen already. Hope the engraving somehow causes the perps some pain. Smashed my car window at church and grabbed my bag. I was dumbfounded. I did an on-line police report and tried to get my serial number from the Apple registration. Could find no way to veiw previous registrations, and the email confirming the registration didn't have it. Without the ipod connected to iTunes there appears to be no way to see it there either. I easily signed on to Garmin and got my gps s/n (they got that too), so I don't know why apple would make it so difficult. My wife found it printed on the box. Good old printed ink. Writing it down may be a good idea. Maybe this is gods way of telling me to get the touch?
  
  
• Great Battery Life- Poorer Sound Quality Then The 5G iPod
  By A225G2TFM76GYX on 2007-09-23
  I picked one of these up about a week ago. Battery Life is DOUBLE what my 5G 60 GB unit has. Unfortunately in a side by side comparison sound quality has degraded significantly compared to my wonderful 2 year old fifth generation unit. I did some research and found out Apple has completely redesigned the Logic Board and is no longer using the old Wolfson Microelectronics chip. The new iPod has a dynamically compressed, tinny, metallic sound that can even be heard thru the cheap earphones provided. There is almost ZERO 3D sense of depth and imaging. The sound is so horrible compared to 5G that you can tell the difference thru every headphone tested except for Bose which has almost zero high frequency response. If someone is new to iPod and never owned a fifth generation audiophile quality unit they will probably not have a problem with the sound though.
  
  When I first got the unit it had firmware 1.00 installed and I experienced extremely sluggish menu response. I updated to 1.01 and response is now much quicker though still not as fast as my 2 year old iPod.
  
  Update: The latest firmware 1.03 solves the sluggish menu response problem pretty well. Too bad nothing has been done about the sound quality.
  
  
  
• don't buy the 6th gen ipods...read why
  By A18D3LIFU1JY8N on 2007-09-22
  Apple is pulling a clasiic Microsoft tactic here by making the 6th gen ipods NOT backward compatible for no apparent reason other than to force you to pay more to upgrade your OS and docking stations / cables. Plus, the 5.5 gen is faster, and better assembled. From what I am reading here, alot of others are saying the same thing.
  
  Don't buy this item. Buy a 5.5 gen instead.
  
  
• I may have to go to 40 hour days!
  By A1M7BVJEOJK9ZN on 2007-09-06
  I think 160 GB is NOT excessive. In fact I think it ROCKS! If I fall down with my IPod in my pocket I hope I have the bass boost on so I can cath the vibrations. Besides I don't carry it in my pocket I use a belt clip so I think I'm ok. Speaking as someone who has legally gathered about him tons of music, podcasts, and video for the IPod I think 160 GB is just about right. This year I have spent months in the hospital and on the couch recovering from three surgeries and a lengthy hospital stay. My 60 GB kept me sane but now and then I could have used a bigger one. Especially since I had no access to a TV for months at a time. Keep up the good work Apple.
  
  
• User interface is slow!
  By A2BHDJSSXDE7I on 2007-09-12
  After trying several units at different Apple stores, all of the new iPod Classics suffer from a slow interface. Apple added Cover Flow and additional graphics but apparently underpowered the device and menu items have a noticable delay, Cover Flow is slow to refresh and even the clickwheel navigation is sluggish. These problems are not shared by the new Nano, which operates beautifully. I wanted to buy the classic, but now will go with either a Nano or a Touch.
  
  
• Not ready for prime time
  By A1UKZSAQYXM1GS on 2007-11-10
  There are 2 major shortcomings to the new 160 classic:
  
  1. If you have been using prior video Ipods as sources for video devices (e.g.the My Vu) then it is highly likely the classic won't work. Apple has added an authentication chip that makes the new classic incompatible with most older video devices. You can find documentation of this on the web and if you call Apple support.
  
  2. On the Mac (at least, haven't tried on a PC) if you have a large music collection (presumably why one buys the 160) synching is unreliable and painfully slow, as is attempting to eject the IPod. Itunes often freezes and one needs to do a "force quit" and restart. The firmware updates do NOT fix this problem to date.
  
  I'd suggest searching the Web to confirm these observations, but my view is that this is a crippled IPod (regarding the video) with the overall quality of a beta device. DO NOT buy it if you are trying to get a larger IPod to handle large video or music libraries. Recalling this is basically a tiny hard drive, Apple hasn't gotten the hardware or software right and iced this with crippling the video capabilities of the device without telling anyone before hand.
  
  
• Absolutely stunning (I own this product)
  By A2H5YV3L760BF5 on 2007-09-10
  UPDATE after 2 weeks use:
  
  One feature that makes it all worth it for me: switching the shuffle mode between albums/songs/off while in shuffle mode. Let's say I have 10,000 songs on shuffle, and I hear a song by Nirvana that gets me in the mood to listen to more Nirvana...I click the middle button 3X and switch random to "Album". Now I'm going to listen to the rest of the album. Before, I had to go to Menu, scroll to Music -> Albums, scroll 500 album names to letter N, then choose album. Can't believe reviewers overlooked this feature.
  
  I insist the sound quality is very good. The new DAC is different than the previous gen iPods, but by no means worse. Sound quality is subjective and depends on many factors including genre, encoding, headphones, hearing loss etc. In my isolated case, I noticed a slight improvement in treble and a huge improvement in bass. The 5.5 gen 80gb used to wash out the bass. Mids and overall dynamic range is just about the same.
  
  ------------------------------
  
  Pros:
  
  - For MP3's encoded in 192kbps, you can fit roughly 27,000 on here
  - about .08 inches thinner than 5.5 gen 80gb iPod
  - sweet finish on the front
  - center button is a little concave and feels better
  - coverflow is great eyecandy, let's leave it at that =)
  - new interface for every menu is very intuitive and stylish
  - battery life is AMAZING
  - 10000 songs and 6 movies later it's not even half full
  - sound quality is great, no need for eq imo(using Sony MDR-EX90LP Stereo Earphones )
  - when music is playing and the screen in dim, you see the battery charge and clock in large numbers
  
  Cons:
  
  - Coverlow only organized by artist, can't do by album (or at least can't figure this out yet)
  - Great theft potential
  - Back still scratches easily
  - iTunes is not exactly the best software ever written for windows
  
  Notes:
  
  No, this mp3 player is not perfect, but it's way up there when compared to other players overall. Obviously you won't get $100 headphones included. Yes, iTunes is clunky and there are better ways to organize your music, and you have to convert all your movies...at the end of the day: it's small, it's easy, it's cool and it will play you media really really well.
  
  
• major problems with thumbwheel
  By A18D3LIFU1JY8N on 2007-09-23
  I strongly urge anyone considering this product to do a test-drive first. Apple has redesigned the thumbwheel and it just doesn't work properly. Its virtually impossible to stop on the desired album or track. Also, the album art is a disaster - images don't load timely and as they do, it causes the flow to freeze and then release 10 albums away from where you were trying to get to. The Nano doesn't have this delay issue, so it must be related to the hard-drive slower access times. But both the classic and nano both have the same redesigned thumbwheel that is very hard to control. I was completely frastrated with my experience. I'm not going to recommend another product, just don't buy this or the redesigned Nano.
  
  
• Excellent upgrade from 5G model
  By AXV9GS0TMSVW on 2007-09-09
  In one day of trying the new 80GB model IPOD, one can tell that the new model is well worth it. It offers almost three times the space, for one. It also is slightly smaller than the 5G 30GB model. There are also some features carried over from Itunes featured here, notably the coverview feature, which was rumored to either be in a firmware upgrade for current models or in the newer models. Well here it is and it's a neat little feature. Not highly neccessary, mind you, but fun to have on the ipod. My biggest praise for the new model (besides the space, of course), is that there is a faster response time on it. While the sleeker looking menus are nice and the games are cute (the music quiz one especially), it's the functionality that wins here. This continues the tradition of Ipods in creating the most user friendly MP3 player on the market.
  
  
• Avoid if you have an older computer!
  By ASBOBEAG7I3YS on 2007-09-23
  If you have an older PC or Mac, avoid the iPod Classic and go for a previous generation of iPod.
  
  The new iPod Classics are serious CPU hogs when they sync with iTunes. On my 1.8ghz iMac G5, for example, syncing my iPod Classic 160gb takes 7 minutes, even when there is nothing new to sync. Throughout that time, my CPU is over 95%, according to Activity Monitor. This is in stark contrast to syncing my other iPods (gen5.5, gen4), where syncing never uses more than 30% of the CPU.
  
  Windows users report similar behavior (Google for "ipod classic sync crash").
  
  So unless you have an Intel-based Mac (or similar post-2006 PC), stick with the earlier iPods.
  
  

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• Griffin PowerJolt Redesign Home/Car Charger for iPod and iPhone 1G (Black)

• iPod Video and Classic Leather Case with screen protector 30, 60, 80, 120, 160GB - Black
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