Apple iPod Fourth Generation (20 GB, MAC/PC - M9282LL/A ) MP3 Player

With the saturation of the market with iPods, Apple has really found itself rolling in the money with an idea that wasn't really their own, but one which they have greatly improved upon. With the iPod, people can now take nearly all of their music everywhere that they go, and it has taken the personal music device to the next level. The one that has recently been playing for my ears is the Apple iPod Fourth Generation MP3 Player. This one holds 20 GB of music, is a nice little whitish color, and compatible for both Macintosh and Personal Computers. By having a product like this around, that can take music off of nearly any computer you have, it makes the process of putting music on your handheld devices easier than ever before. Gone are the days of needing to burn something to a CD to take with you, and with the iPods it really only comes down to how many songs you want to take with you. One of the additional tricks, is that with the iPod you don't even have to have the CD because you can just use iTunes to get music directly on to it. So, yes the iPod is a great thing to have, but now I am going to explain what it has to offer.


The Apple iPod Fourth Generation MP3 Player

The great thing about the iPod, is that it comes with everything that you are going to need to get started. You will want to have access to a computer with recent software on it, so that you can move through the programs quickly, but beyond that the packaging comes with your basic needs. Included with the iPod are; an AC Adapter, a Firewire Cable, Headphones, Software (CD Ripper), and a USB Cable. The adapter is to charge up the internal battery, and the firewire cable /USB cables are of course to hook you up to the computer that you will be taking your music off of. The headphones are the inner-ear kind, and don't go over your ears, so that is a small benefit, but if you are using this in the car, you will probably need to get the car hook-up kit separately. The battery is an internal one, and is a rechargeable lithium ion. By just plugging your adapter into a power source, you can recharge it on the spot quickly. The little iPod measures out to about 4 inches in height, 2.5 inches wide, and it is only about 1/2 of an inch thick. That means that it isn't going to take up very much of your space no matter where you pack it. It also clocks in at only 5.6 ounces, so it isn't heavy at all either. On the front of the iPod you have the screen at the top which will display where you are at in the menus, and below that are the four directional keys that control how you get from file to file on the iPod, and how you choose which of the songs to play.

When you power-up your iPod, you are right away taken to a set of menus that will take you to specific places on your iPod. Those main menus are Music, Extras, Settings, Shuffle Songs, and Backlight. It is easy to figure out what each of the sections means, but there are hidden features under each one of them as well, that can lead to different menus and different uses of the iPod itself. Here is a quick breakdown of what you see under each of the menus and their sub-menus:

Music -- playlists, artists, albums, songs, genres, composers, audiobooks.

Extras -- clock (alarm, sleep timer, date and time), contacts, calendar (All, to do, alarms-beeps), notes, games

Settings -- contrast, sound checks, speakers, date-time, shuffle/repeat

Shuffle Songs

Backlight

When you are going through each of the different menus, you can set functions such as alarms or settings, so that the iPod is set up exactly the way you want it to be. Regarding the shuffle button, that will shuffle all of your songs into an order to be played back to you, and of course the backlight is to light up the iPod screen for you while it is in use. Really just about everything is easy to use on the iPod, and the only thing that you need to worry about is remembering where each of the options is under each of the main menus. Once you have that down in your mind, and the usage tools memorized then you are golden for the rest of your iPods life. The songs are all situated according to the information you enter on your iTunes program, so if you put in the artist, album, song etc., it will all transfer over from your program. That iTunes program is set up using the software provided on your personal computer, and you simply hook it up to your iPod and transfer the songs over. It could take you a little while if you have a ton of songs to transfer, but the end result is well worth the few extra minutes of doing that and entering the information on each of your songs. Those songs are the ones from your own CD's, but if you are downloading from the iTunes site, the information is already there if you option for it to be.


Putting the iPod to use

As I was discussing earlier, the major time consumption will be setting up all of your songs and figuring out just which ones you want on your iPod. This particular iPod (the fourth generation 20 GB) can hold as many as 10,000 songs, so there is plenty of room to get every song you have ever liked on to it. In fact, there is plenty of room left over for the songs that you don't like as well. There is no rule saying you have to use the entire space, but it is nice to know that you have it there. When the battery of the iPod is fully charged, you will have about 12 hours of continuous play that it can give you. That is without recharging or using any adapters to assist it while it is working. If you decide to go with a car adapter, that will help with the power drain, and will extend the concurrent life of the battery. With the car adapter, you can also get whats called a Monster iCarPlay Wireless Adapter. What this does is make it so that you can listen to your iPod right through the radio, and play around with the songs using just the iPod controls. It is a really cool option, because you can set up the iPod, set it down, and enjoy hours and hours of pre-selected music on a long drive. The way it works, is that you turn you radio to one of the available stations (88.1/88.3/88.5/88.7/88.9/89.1/89.3/89.5), set the iPod to send its signal there, and sit back with some good music. So many numbers are offered, because every once in a while a radio station will use one of these lower frequencies, and you simply just switch to a different one. One of the bonuses, is that there are instructions on a card hooked to the connection wires, that explain what how to work it.


My Final Thoughts on the Apple iPod 4th Generation

The iPod is a really great product that gives you the ability to take your entire music collection anywhere that you are going. The beauty is that it is compact, and can hold 10,000 of your songs. So, if you are going on a long driving trip, taking a long flight, or just need to kill some hours in town, you can pop on your iPod and listen to some tunes. It is really easy to use, and it is just as easy to download the songs from iTunes that you will want to listen to. Working with all of the accessories, you quickly find that the set-up of the iPod was intended to be so easy that a child could do it, and in the end you are very pleased with how smart it makes you feel. 24 hours a day, you can go get new songs from iTunes, and you are basically only on your own time when it comes to downloading the songs. With a 12 hour battery life, and only a 2 hour downtime to recharge the unit fully, you can go an entire day using it, just recharge it at night, and you are good to go. Using the iPod is so easy, and such a time saver, that you won't know what you ever did before you bought one. Currently this version is selling for between $239 and $299 depending upon where you purchase it, so it would pay to price compare. It is a product that is well worth the expense, and I highly recommend having one for all your portable music needs.