Electronics : Apple iPod - 30GB - Black [video playback] MA146B/A

Rating: - a flawed jewel
This thing has some huge design-flaws, as well as inherent limitations.

The design-flaws first:

On the first day of my using it, I left the ipod in my pockets while sitting in a train, sleeping and listening to an audiobook. When I woke up, I took the ipod out of my pocket, it was severely scratched all over, and there were 2 strong scratches on the screen, giving rainbow-colors in those scratches. Very annoying to look at if you want to see a video.. I had nothing else in my pocket, no keys or anything. All that caused the scratches were dust-particles and hair. Apparently, customers are suing Apple for the Ipod Nano which has the exact same problem. When the train-trip was over, I purchased a scratch-remover called "iClean". See? Carrion-birds (opportunistic business-people) are already making money from iPod's huge flaws..

I have now purchased "Invisibleshield", which is a very powerful plastic used on military helicopters to protect military rotorblades against sand. Installing this was quite cumbersome.. but it's the only way I can keep it from "dying". I have also bought a more powerful protector for it, "roughskin".

The inherent limitations:
This thing only takes a very narrow band of formats.
Audio: It does not take OGG Vorbis..
Video: It does not take MPEG1, MPEG2, DIVX, XVID etc.

ON THE OTHER HAND: The main contestant (only mp3-player doing videos currently) is Creative Zen Vision:M , and this one actually DOES take all these exotic formats, AND it doesn't have this insane scratching-flaw on the surface.

Guess what I want to do? Sell my iPod..
It's not something I want to do immediately though :(

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Rating: - A respectable player
Having purchased an Ipod Mini before, i was confident in purchasing the newer 30 gb model. Initially pleased with the player, the product itself is not of the highest quality, the build as mentioned by previous reviewers is questionable, with the plastic casing prone to scratching, regardless of how cautious you are, a bizzare advancement, considering the Ipod Mini was scratch resistant. The sound quality seems to have remained very good, albeit Apple has never been able to handle Bass in songs, so it is advised that owners switch off the Bass mode. The Itunes software's simplicity is the key to its success, user friendly and much more intuitive than rival packages (WM Player), remains the best on the market. But given the price, the 30gb Apple Ipod is actually a very good buy, and perfect for students like myself who use it to store documents and files on the Ipod as well. Battery life is decent, and the video quality is breathtaking, but a lack of available quality downloads, mean that this facility is more of a gimmick than anything. A shameful tactic by Apple to increase sales, means that the Ipod is not coupled with a external wall charger, so buyers may need to consider adding an extra 20 pounds on to the overall price. Hope the advice helps.

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Rating: - video killed the mp3 star..
The new iPod is stunning. Thinner than previous hard drive models, and slightly lighter too, it still manages to fit 30 gig of music and pictures in the tightly packaged space. My previous MP3 players all look pretty dull in comparison. It may not be as small as a Nano, but if you need disc space above size its perfect.

But looks aren't everything. Lucky, then, that I found the iPod perfect for everything I threw at it. Music is sorted logically in various ways and shows album covers when you play a song. Podcasts can be displayed seperately, allowing you to quickly find them. iTunes too is so easy to use and the two link up so effortlessly that you'd wonder how you ever got on without them.

The new video function is great, but don't think it'll be perfect for watching whole movies. Although the screen is crystal clear, it's too small to comfortably watch a full movie and the battery only allows for 2 hours or so in video mode.

I do have a few niggles, the ease at which you can scratch the iPod is well documented (I sent off for the nice hard cases on Amazon to protect it, but they're still on order). With older USB connections the music/videos can take ages to sync with your computer, USB 2.0 is really recommended and should be almost as fast as the old firewire (which Apple have removed from these iPods - a shame) and lastly, the battery life is a maximum of 14 hours at best, so buy a cheap mains adaptor (don't pay more than £9 for one).

However, these niggles don't detract from what has been my favorite MP3 player yet, and I've had a few. I would recommend this to anyone.

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Rating: - Fabulous
I've always been a fan of iPods, so this may be a little biased, but in my opinion you can't get much better than this product!

Firstly, looks. The 2.5in (diagonal) screen is absolutely gorgeous, very sharp and clear, and I think it's fine for watching video on as well. The smooth casing with the clickwheel (what an invention!) looks great as well, and this iPod is the thinnest model made bar the nano.

The storage space is amazing, and I don't know anyone who would ever need more than this. Its fab being able to play any song that I own at any time, and you'd be surprised how much my iPod comes into my social life now. One of the other thngs I love about this is the fact that you can use it as an external drive, to store files on, which means there is no need to buy a seperate memory stick if you're prepared to carry around the connector cable.

OK, bad points. Firstly, everyone says that it scratches easily, but to be honest, I haven't found that at all, mine still looks pristine. I'm not really sure why, as I keep it in my bag with all my other stuff for day-to-day use. Secondly, it is obviously expensive, and it might be hard to justify buying it. However, if you compare it to other players on the market, it is actually pretty good value for the price of each gigobyte.

The ability to play video is a fab addition, and those who say that a 2.5 inch screen is too small to watch videos obviously aren't looking for a very portable player. The only bad thing is that you have to hold up the iPod to watch videos, and this can be a strain on your arm if you're watching a film or even a TV programme.

The selection of choice at the iTunes store is pretty good as well, as is the $1.99 price for a sitcom episode or music video.

Overall I think this is the best player on the market if you need more than 4GB of storage space.

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Rating: - My first MP3 player and I'm very impressed
I am writing this review for others, as I found ones like it on amazon and others sites extemely useful when choosing the right product for me. I should say before I start I have never owned another apple product and can in no way be considered a "fan boy". In fact I had never owned an MP3 player before, but decided it was the right time with an upcoming beach holiday.
I chose the ipod video after much research, it basically came down to this or the creative vision M. However from what I read the creative's software doesn't run on windows XP and i'm still stuck on W2K.
Everything I read mentioned scratching problems so bought a case with the ipod, which it went into straight from opening the box. It does come with a sleeve but its not see through, so you have to guess the buttons and take it out to see the screen.
The player itself feels solid and well built, and i'm still amazed when using the click wheel having never used one before. I like the subtle touches like protective caps on both ends of the usb adapter, and getting two sets of foam covers for the headphones.
The headphones are ok, but then I don't listen to very loud music, there is noticable distortion however with heavy bass. For some reason they also make my left ear hurt after extended use, but thats probably just me.
The photo viewer is good and simple to use and the slideshow feature is a nice touch. Pictures are also very clear and much better than the digital camera lcd screen effect I was expecting.
For videos, so far I've only watched video podcasts, as my videos are in .avi format and havn't found a suitable converter yet. converter by videora seems to cover most other formats, but a shame itunes doesn't do it for short clips. watching videos certainly does drain the battery charge quickly though, so if this is your main aim you may be better off with the slighly bigger 60GB version.
As for accessories I will definately be buying a power adapter, I was fully aware it didn't come with one and factored this into the price. I will also invest in better (non white) headphones or see a doctor about my problem ear!
Overall a great product for gadget lovers