Apple iPod Classic

Creative has announced a new product called the Xdock HD. It will be the only iPod dock that will upconvert video to resolutions of 720p or 1080i. This is very exciting for hi-def enthusiasts. The device will also convert audio to X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity. The good news doesn’t stop there. In addition to playing video on an HDTV in full surround sound the Creative Xdock HD will also wirelessly connect to remote speakers located throughout the home.

The Creative Xdock HD will allow you to browse your music, movies, podcasts and photos via an attractive HD-quality menu on your television. And it will allow you to do this wirelessly with its included remote control.

The product was designed with the goal to allow you to experience all the media you carry around with you on your iPod in HD in your home. Finally the bridge is made between portable device and high-quality HD entertainment system.

As far as connectivity goes you will have the option to connect your Apple iPod Classic via HDMI, component or composite video cables. For audio you can choose between analog and optical line out.

The Creative Xdock HD will include one X-Fi Wireless Receiver to wirelessly connect to a pair of remote speakers, and will be available in Spring 2008 for US$399.99. Additional X-Fi Wireless Receivers will be available for US$99.99.

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The iLuv Electronics I177BLK iPod Speaker System is the most recent development of a clock radio style device for your Apple iPod Classic (or any other iPod for that matter, including the iPod Shuffle). The iLuv I177BLK has a good and bright display with three adjustable dimmer settings including an option to completely turn it off. Additionally it has dual alarm settings so you can set it to go off at two different times, which is great if you are sharing it with someone who has to wake up at a different time than you do.

The sound quality on the iLuv iPod Speaker System is very good. It provides deep, rich and clear playback eventhough it is a smaller device.

The iLuv Electronics I177BLK iPod Speaker System includes a remote control, but also has function buttons on the system. The remote control is handy so you do not have to keep getting up to change songs. The iLuv has a built in charger and will charge your iPod as you sleep. It is good to know that your iPod will function as long as it is connected to the iLuv and you do not have to worry about the battery running down.

The built in AM/FM digital tuner provides good radio reception and gives you the choice to wake to the radio (or buzzer) if you ever wish to. Perhaps if you forget your Apple iPod Classic somewhere.

All in all the iLuv Electronics I177BLK iPod Speaker System is a great little device that delivers on it’s intended purpose. With two alarm settings, adjustable backlight, and superior sound quality you just can’t go wrong.

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The XtremeMac MicroMemo is a digital voice recorder for the Apple iPod. MicroMemo plugs into your iPod to record audio content directly. It can also record directly from a computer or soundboard. Unlike the Belkin TuneTalk, the MicroMemo includes a small speaker for instant playback of what you recorded.

Recordings are controlled via the iPod’s center button and are simple enough to make based on the selections that pop up on the iPod’s screen (record, pause, and so on).

MicroMemo features one-touch recording in 2 different quality levels: Low (default) and High. They are then saved as 16-bit audio at 44 kHz or 8-bit at 22 kHz WAV files. Recording time is displayed on your iPod screen. Voice recordings come out loud and clear; using a stereo mic brings even better results.

Recordings can be played back directly from the iPod and/or transferred to a computer via USB.

MicroMemo snaps into the bottom of the iPod and works without batteries or cables. The MicroMemo is available in black and white and comes in two versions: one for the iPod Video and one for the iPod Nano.

The XtremeMac MicroMemo is reasonably priced and does and excellent job of digital voice recording.

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Over the last few years, Apple’s iPod’s have received more attention and popularity than any other brand out there, even side stepping the Macintoshes that came out first – this shouldn’t be surprising at all! Apple technologies have taken advantage of the cultural resurgence amongst the youth of today by marketing their ultra-innovative media players. The media players of today’s ‘Generation X’ are super sleek and uber sexy and are available in a whole range of colors, and even come with miniature inbuilt CPU parts!! As amazing as it sounds, its true – your Apple iPod is like a miniature portable computer, storing all your audio and video files.

The recently released iPod Touch plays all audio and video formats, allows you to browse through the Internet by using the wi-fi, and enables you to view photos on a multi-touch wide display screen, making it a mini-miracle gadget.

Just like its former predecessors, the Touch has a vivid blue screen with a dull gray background. The display screen is made up of 163 pixels per inch and has a considerably distinct resolution of 480 x 320. the contrast and brightness and color accuracy are far more precise, and the speed is just as fast. What’s more, it offers no glitches and errors. The resolution will help you browse through photos and videos easily, while retaining the original texture and color – making it one of the most user-friendly media players ever!

The iPod Touch comes with a single master button that is much smaller than the one on the iPhone. The starting ‘wake’ button that is present right on top stands for power on and off purposes, so it isn’t too hard to figure out what you are doing. The wi-fi antenna window will be located right next to the close button and is always used to access the Internet or to receive radio signals. The touch uses a feature called ‘the piezo’ for certain single beeps that are fairly loud. Headphones will be provided for audio playback and the jack or opening for the headphones or earphones is present at the bottom end of the instrument. Remember that the jack can only accommodate original earpieces – so none of those fake earpieces will do. However, if you wish to use another earphone, then you’ll probably need a dock connector.

As the name suggests, the iPod Touch has ‘touch-sensitive’ buttons that may look complicated at first but is actually quite easy to use, since it is fairly primitive in playback control mechanisms. The only limiting factor is the ‘next’ button, which can be quite troublesome and should be avoided as far as possible.

Overall, it is quite easy to browse through the device, since the controls tend to be more instinctive than its other media player counterparts. With such a user-friendly model out by Apple, the heat is finally on!

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The initial hype following the Apple press conference on the 5^th September has died down. The original iPod, re-christened as iPod Classic, has excited many people, just like the new Nano, and the first ever iPod Touch. Now we can safely come in terms with the reality of these players. Classic is the least innovated of all the iPods for this generation. But at least Apple has continued manufacturing the hard drive based player, which is very hard to come across in the market these days with other companies. While the focus is on the flash memory based players, Apple has proved that the hard drive based Classic can still rock.

There are many changes that Apple has made to the Classic in order to perfect it. Though it’s far from perfect, many users are going to be delighted with the new features. While the price remains the same, the memory has jumped to 80 GB, and 160 GB, which can only be possible with a hard drive based player, at least for now. This effectively means that your Classic ceases to be “just” your media player, and effectively become a portable media library. People who are always on the move, and like to take their collection with them will simply love the new Classic. In addition, they have replaced the plastic body with a metal one, so now the White Classic actually is a Silver Classic. The black remains the same. And though the disk space has increased, the Classic is actually an inch thinner than its previous generation model. Cover Flow is a positive change in the User Interface that is appreciated, and this is enhanced by the complete change in the menu system. The battery life has improved greatly, without which, all that storage space would have meant little.

There are also few problems facing users with the new Classic, and we are not talking about the lack of FM radio, the absent SD card slot, or a removable battery. One of the main drawbacks is that the new Classic is only compatible with the latest version of iTunes, which will not work on the older computers. Also, according to many users, the sound quality has actually come down, as compared to the older generation iPod! Also, all the improvements in the menu, along with the Cover Flow make the new Classic frustratingly slow at times. Browsing through a large collection on Cover Flow is no fun.

Still, iPod remains the most novel media player in the market. Now it is up to individual users to decide whether they can use the improvements or would be affected by the drawbacks of iPod Classic, and accordingly make the buying decision for the festival season.

No Comments » Posted by Gregory / Features and Device