Apple Ipod Photo 60GB

Editor's Weekly Ramblings 105

Friday 17th June 2005

Apple Ipod Photo 60GB

Ipod's are everywhere! And in early April I finally succumbed to the Harpe-esque charms of the little white boxes, by buying one from the massive Apple Store on Regent's Street in London.

In the end I decided to splash the cash and get the top of the range, all singing, all dancing Apple Ipod Photo 60GB model. My reasoning was simple. I wanted a colour screen, and the Photo models are the only ones that have them. Whilst 60GB is enough space to serve as a practical back-up drive for PC data (In case it crashes!) as well as store all my songs.

Plus it also wins in being eminently practical. It is small. Easy to use. As well as being pretty. And Apple have been intelligent enough to offer its users an easy pathway to using their new toy. Namely the iTunes software that comes with it. So that mobile music is one area where Apple is definitely one step ahead of Microsoft.

Apple Ipod Photo 60GB

And the screen really is fabulous. It is very clear. The colours are really bright, and it makes using the thing a real pleasure. If you are thinking about getting an Ipod, then do yourself a favour and compare the normal greyscale screen model side by side with the Photo Model. If you do then it will become crystal clear in about ten seconds that the colour screen is so much better it is almost laughable.

It is a bit like the difference between Haagen Daz Strawberry Ice Cream, and the Supermarket Carton Stuff. It is not that the carton stuff is bad. It is just that the Haagen Daz tastes so much better that it spoils you for anything else.

Still, on the downside, Apple are very tight when it comes to what is included with your Ipod Photo 60GB. There is no case for starters. So that costs an extra £20. There is no docking station. So if you actually want to plug it into an external amp and get the best sound then you will have to buy one separately for another £30. So your £249 Colour Ipod really costs about £300 just to get the basic kit.

Plus, there is more expense required if you are going to get this set up properly. As well as the above two additions which I consider mandatory purchases. Here are a couple of others that in my experience of using this you should seriously consider buying as well: Please note - NONE OF THESE ARE AFFILIATE LINKS - I am recommending them because I use the products. Period. And want to assist you to get a great setup immediately that I only got by a lot of research...

1/ Anapod Explorer Software - Great software which allows you to browse your ipod in the same way that you would with Windows Explorer. Personally I find iTunes quite limiting. So I would categorise this in the 'essential purchase' category. It costs $30. And you can download it instantly. I have got it and it works great. One thing though. It only runs on Windows. So you are out of luck if you run an Apple Mac...