"
Heya Mike,
I got a sample iPOD from a news journalist for the evening (saturday)
and have to return it in the morning (Monday). This unit is a very kewl
to use, The interface is very simple and fast once you get accustom to
the built-in menus. The LCD was bright and clear to view. Battery life
was also very good.
My main compliant of the iPOD is that the white face
edge is very sharp to the touch. It won't cut, But I would have expect
better from apple.
Also the iPOD lacks a lanyard for some type of wrist
strap. Bad move on Apple. It owner had already drop it once while
picking up something from the floor. It was in his breast pocket.
Furthermore the unit would not boot a Ti Book with 9.2.1 installed the
drive portion. Startup Disk CP saw it as a available disk. No boot. Also
the unit was prone to crashing every few hours. I would have to hold the
menu & pause button for 11 seconds for it to reboot Overall the unit
looks like another hit for apple except for it is 90 DAY WARRANTY and
lack of lanyard.
David"
The 90 day warranty is disappointing for a $399 product - granted some appliances have
that for labor but parts are usually 1 yr.
I know I drop my cellphone several times a month from having it in my
shirt pocket... I'd definitely be more careful with a $399 iPod.
I asked David for more info such as if the iPod survived the drop and if the 'sharp edge' he mentioned
was what appears as a channel on the front of the iPod in his
2nd photo below. He later wrote:
Sorry I couldn't get back to you sooner. I was a away from my mac and
out of touch.
I can't say that the ipod has a tunnel on the edge of the surface. I use
to work in the manufacturing industry. The surface edge of the ipod was
unbroken. Traditionally this would not be an acceptable part to supply a
customer with, unless specified by the customer. Normally the the edge
would be broken either with a deburr knife or sandpaper. The other
possible reason for the sharp edge is that the outfit that machined
(milling machine) the OD did not either have the correct milling program
(CNC) or tooling to machine a radius on the edge. It had to say what
Apple or the outfit that manufactured the ipod was doing. Hopefully
future ipod units will not have this sharp edge on them.
[I would expect the iPod housing to be molded rather than a machined part. For my reply to another reader's comments that the housing was machined - see below-Mike]
As to your inquiry about being dropped. It is unknown as what kind of
surface the ipod was dropped on. I could not see any visible damage on
any of the corners when I received said unit.
But I will say that the ipod is prone to scratches. I noticed
immediately that the ipod had scratches and nicks on the menu surface
from being withdrawn from pocket which had some coins and so dimms.
Don't ask. I had iPod while at work.
[I asked if he tried booting with the Option key-Mike]
And yes the Option key was held
down at boot. Nada.
Most consumers should start seeing their iPOD by today or tomorrow. Oh
yeah, The ipod I got to check out last saturday had a version rev. of
either 1.3b or 1.8b in the about menu when I got a hold of it. Oh yeah,
I'll buy my ipod at circuit city and buy their extended warranty program
through them.
David
"
Since this was an earlir iPod and I think the iPod FAQ at Apple noted it was bootable, perhaps the production models will be (for Macs that can boot from FW drives.)
Another reader wrote about an "easter egg" in the iPod. (I think an Italian web site noted this last week, but in case anyone missed it.)
"
Just hoping to be the first to write in about this one.. I had my first
chance to play with an iPod today, and I stumpled accross a useless but
fun easter egg!
Go to the "About" screen in the iPod and hold down the "Enter" button
for about 5 seconds
Up pops brick out! You have your paddle and the ball is already in
motion! Cool!
s
Dan Jensen"
Several readers noted their iPods were shipped recently (one said it was shipped from Taiwan).
For more info, specs and even QT movies on the iPod, see Apple's product page.
iPod Related Apple Docs:
iPod Related Software: (other than iTunes2 of course which it ships with)
My comments on why the housing is probably molded:
I've worked in engineering and mfg for over 20 years
(until a few years back) - I would never expect a mass produced
product like this to be machined.
My father also worked as a Tool and Die maker for 40 years
- he made molds/dies for very very intricate parts - much more
complex than the iPod's housing. I would bet that it's molded
- not machined, but that 's my opinion and based on
many years of experience and from my father's work which is
exactly in this area.
Cost wise (and from the shape) there's no justification for such a relatively
simple housing to be machined. You should see some of the
intricate molds my father made for the company he worked
for (a telephone company - very intricate plastic pieces
far far more complex than the iPod's simple housing).
Even in their smaller production runs, they always made molds
due to the much higher cost of machined parts.
The iPod housing is trivial in complexity to the
parts he made molds for. A machined part would be
far more expensive and not necessary
- there's no real reason to do that
and I seriously doubt Apple would have chosen that method
unless some early prototypes were done that way.
(Maching is common for prototypes, but for mass production
molds are made due to massive cost savings. Of course the
mold/die for the housing is usually machined.)
Mike
Other iPod Related Items:
DrBott's iPod Auto Charger and iPod Connection Kit: (from the 11/20/2001 www.xlr8yourmac.com news page)
(press release)
"Dr. Bott is proud to announce Auto Charger for iPod(tm) and iPod(tm) Connection Kit.
Dr. Bott's Auto Charger for iPod(tm) ensures that you are never far from a
full battery nor will you be caught on the road without the power you need
to keep your music flowing. Auto Charger for iPod(tm) connects to the standard
12 Volt DC cigarette lighter found in most any car and provides power to
the FireWire port of the iPod(tm).
http://www.drbott.com/prod/ipodauto.html
Availability: Dr. Bott's Auto Charger for iPod™ retails for $24.95 and will be shipping in mid-December.
Dr. Bott's iPod(tm) Connection Kit includes everything you might need to bring
your music anywhere you might want it. iPod(tm) Connection Kit provides most
every option for connecting to iPod's 3.5-mm stereo headphone jack to
automobile stereo systems, home stereo systems, mic input of computers and
other devices, boom boxes, and clock radios. The kit includes an Auto
Charger, FM Transmitter, various audio cables and a carry pouch.
http://www.drbott.com/prod/ipodkit.html
Availability: Dr. Bott's iPod Connection Kit retails for $49.95 and will
be shipping in December."
I hope their FM transmitter works better (higher transmit power) than the one I owned (and returned to Radio Shack). Weak transmit signal - only one free station here, and it picked up noise from the car's ignition system, etc. - useless... (other readers noted similar experiences as noted in the news a week or two back).
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