iPod 80GB Review

The good: The enhanced iPod has the same sleek design with improved video battery life and brighter screen; it brings gapless playback to the masses; up to 80GB; new features such as instant search and enhanced games; movies now available in iTunes 7; excellent overall value.

The bad: The Apple iPod has added no major functions such as FM radio, wireless, recording; small screen not conducive to movie viewing; proprietary USB cable; narrow native video-format compatibility; body is still scratch prone.

The bottom line: The amazingly low priced updated Apple iPod gets many under-the-hood improvements, but it's still not a true video player.

The latest full-size iPod can be considered generation 5.5, since the interface and design improvements aren't nearly as drastic as they were from generation 4 to 5. The new model comes in 30GB and an ultra-roomy 80GB capacity. With the exception of the brighter screen, all the enhancements are in the firmware, including gapless playback, a new search feature, and support for better games (solitaire and Brick were getting pretty stale). And although the second-gen iPod nano now comes in a variety of colors, the full-size model is still limited to just black or white.
This new 80GB model measures 0.6 by 4.1 by 2.4 inches and weighs 5.5 ounces—the same size as the discontinued fifth-gen 60GB model. The 30GB version measures the same old 0.4 by 4.1 by 2.4 inches and weighs 4.8 ounces. The screen is still 2.5 inches (diagonal) with an array of 320 by 240 tightly packed (0.16mm dot pitch) pixels. The headphone jack and hold switch are on top, while the dock connector is on the bottom. As before, the back casing is stainless steel and the front is covered in a fingerprint-prone polycarbonate, both of which have a tendency to scratch and scuff when put in contact with hard objects. I strongly recommend keeping the iPod in the sleeve that came with it or a third-party case.

Along with the imitation suede sleeve, the 80GB iPod ships with a USB charge/sync cable, and earbuds. There's no longer a bundled CD, since iTunes can be downloaded online. The earbuds are smaller than the old iPod earbuds, and they have silicone rims around the edges for better comfort. The new buds also have different transducers, which let the bass and highs extend a bit farther, resulting in better overall sound.
The new iPod still sports the click wheel, my favorite way to get around lots of content, but it also has new search and power-scroll features, which makes for even easier track navigation. You can choose Search from the Music menu and locate songs, videos, podcasts, artists, and albums by letter or keyword. If you're scrolling quickly through a long list, a shaded square appears in the center of the screen with a letter on it. This means the power-scroll feature has been activated automatically, and you'll be scrolling by first letter instead of individual list items. Although I like this ability, I would prefer to the option to invoke it manually, the way you can on Creative's and Archos's players. I also like that you can customize what appears on the main menu, but it would be nice to have the option of adding Repeat there, since I change that setting frequently.
The iPod's now-legendary integration with iTunes and the iTunes Music Store has been the key to its success. (This is why Microsoft is now spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a similarly integrated system.) Check out our review of iTunes 7 for a gander at the software's newest iPod-related features.
For audio formats, the iPod supports WAV, AIFF, AAC, protected AAC, Apple Lossless, and MP3. It can also play Audible audiobooks. Images can be viewed if they are stored in JPEG, TIFF, GIF, BMP, or PNG formats, as well as PSD files if you're using a Mac. Video compatibility is far more limited; basically you are limited to MPEG-4 files, H.264-encoded video with the .mp4 or .m4v extension, and MOV files. Videos can be up to 30 frames per second, at VGA quality with maximum bit rates of 2.5 Mbps for MPEG-4 or 1.5 Mbps for H.264. The audio format for videos is AAC-LC at up to 160 Kbps. I'd love to see broader video format support, specifically for the AVI file format and for videos with MP3 soundtracks. Most videos not acquired via the iTunes Store need to be converted in iTunes or with a third-party video transcoding utility.
Gapless playback is an excellent addition to the iPod's playback capabilities, especially for listeners of classical music and live albums, as well as studio albums that have tracks that are meant to be played one after another seamlessly. The gapless playback is actually a sophisticated cross-fade, according to Apple, and it works quite well. Playlisting options are still good. You can create multiple playlists directly on the device without a PC, but you can't edit, rename, or delete saved playlists.

On the subway and in an office (or in any relatively quiet room), the iPod's sound quality is more than adequate, but the included earbuds don't block out much noise. I swapped out the included earbuds for a set of noise-isolating Etymotic ER4P in-ear headphones, and the overall sound was accurate and well-balanced.
I'm still waiting for Apple to include a custom graphic equalizer in the iPod firmware, though the bevy of preset sound enhancement modes does provide quite a few options.

The iPod's frequency response with the included earbuds plugged in is quite good too, maintaining output power well down into the bass region. The audio signal is very clean until the volume progress bar gets to about a quarter of an inch from the maximum, at which point harmonic distortion begins to creep in. At maximum volume, there's quite a bit of harmonic distortion. (If you're listening at that volume, you're probably too busy damaging your hearing to notice that the music sounds muddy.)
You can only access the iPod's recording features via third-party products from companies such as Belkin and Griffin Technologies. I'd really like to see an integrated mic, but it would probably pick up the hard drive's whine. I also wish you could have the option to record in MP3 format instead of just WAV.

Photos look sharp and clear on the screen, but it would be great if you were able to pan, zoom, and rotate images. Video on the new iPod isn't any better on the fifth-gen model, except that the screen is 60 percent brighter. This percentage is Apple's claim. I haven't actually measured it, but the claim seems fair to my eyes. Video is clear and smooth with good color, though hues are slightly drab compared with the Creative Zen Vision:M. The 2.5-inch screen is better-suited to watching 4:3 TV shows than letterboxed widescreen films. Apple rates the 80GB iPod's battery life at 20 hours for audio and an impressive 6.5 hours for video. While I'm impressed with the video numbers, I'd rather see closer to 30 hours for audio, since that's still the iPod's focus.
I tested the 80GB iPod's video battery life using a playlist made up of TV shows downloaded from iTunes with the included earbuds at a comfortable volume. The player beat Apple's 6.5-hour claim, turning in a solid 7 hours of continuous video playback time, which handily bests both the 30GB and 60GB versions of the Creative Zen Vision:M. On my audio battery rundown test, the 80GB iPod turned in a respectable 21 hours, beating Apple's own claim by an hour.
I'm sure some astute readers will notice that I have slightly different improvement suggestions for the full-size iPod than I did for the new iPod nano. That has more to do with the nano's size—packing an FM tuner and voice recorder in there would make it larger (think SanDisk Sansa e200 series), killing some of the sleekness factor. But with the full-size iPod, I'd really like to see an integrated FM tuner and mic—at least in the 80GB model, despite the availability of the Apple Radio Remote and mic adapters. As always, you can sync your iPod with Microsoft Outlook 2003 or later, a handy feature. As a side note, I'd love the full-size iPod to take on the metal casing of the old iPod mini, as the second-gen nano did.
The iPod still earns PC Magazine's Editor's Choice award for three reasons: It has very good music player features (remember, video is an extra feature); it integrates seamlessly with iTunes; and it has an elegant and simple design. The Creative Zen Vision:M beats the iPod at video, but as a music player, the Apple's combination of intuitive interface, software integration, and sound quality still trumps the competition.