Video iPod

As a new range of 'fifth generation' iPods hit the shelves Chris Pickup plays with Apple's latest space-age gizmo

By Chris Pickup

The latest gadget in Apple’s infamous range is the new ‘fifth generation’ video iPod. Compact and available in 30GB and 60GB black or white versions this model acts as a standard music player as well as having the ability to display photos and videos. It’s a simple yet elegant device which continues to refine existing iPod technology.

The standard video iPod package contains all the necessary kit to get started, but surprisingly lacks a detailed manual or an AC supply. The iPod is charged from the USB connection at the back of your PC and is designed to be synchronized with iTunes (Apple’s own media player). After waiting an incredibly long 10 hours for iTunes to convert around 2000 of my audio files into the compatible M4A format, I was able to play with my new toy, plugging it straight into my PC to upload the media library.

The sound quality is what you would expect from a market leader in this field, as is the option to display photos, but there are various drawbacks to the new video playback system. Apple didn’t seem to realize they would sell millions of players. Little effort has been put into making it easy for people to transfer videos to the device. This all-important video function only allows playback of the elusive MPEG4 and H.264 formats. Apple has used this cunning ruse to force people to pay around ¬£20 extra for QuickTime Pro in order to get basic video conversion software.

There is of course no easy button on iTunes to ‘put DVD movie on iPod’ so users have to go through the laborious processes of finding third-party programs to do so. If you scour the internet for long enough you can find programs that will convert all standard MPEG, AVI and MOV files into iPod format, however it is inexcusable for Apple to not include this function in the packaged software.

Having highlighted this myriad of problems with the software, once up and running the new video iPod is a magnificent piece of technology. You can keep the whole of your media library on this tiny portable device to listen to or watch at any time. The resolution of the screen is simply stunning, running videos at 320×240 on the screen and not losing too much detail when hooked up to a 21” television with an AV cable.

Apple’s claims of 14 hours of battery life for the 30GB model and 20 hours’ battery life for a 60GB are ridiculously optimistic, making it a necessity to buy an additional AC mains charger for watching long movies.

As always, it is compulsory to buy a cover for your iPod, as even dust will somehow manage to scratch its shiny exterior. Problems aside however, this iconic brand has come up trumps once again and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a piece of technology that delivers so much for under ¬£200.