Apple iPod Classic 160 GB

The iPod Video, renamed the iPod Classic, now comes in brushed metal.  After having been made slightly slimmer, we found the new design very attractive.  In addition, the matte body with rounded curves is more sober and less a magnet for finger smudges.  It's also much more resistant to scratching and the interface has been improved, notably with the arrival of CoverFlow (see box).

We find the iPod Classic in expanded capacity versions ; 80 GB and 160 GB and in black or gray.  This last characteristic should please those music lovers with large collections.

We have to add that these capacities aren't too exaggerated if we consider use for video.  However, given that the iPod Classic is video oriented, we were rather frustrated to not be able to simply drag and drop our movies and clips into iTunes in order that they are transferred to our Classic.  Whatever the video format, we got an error message saying that the file could not be copied because it was impossible to read.   As conversion wasn't automatic, we tried to manually do this in iTunes - a bad move!  This operation is first of all very slow, requiring 25 minutes and 42 seconds to convert a 6min50s file, but also it drains your computer's resources.

As usual, replace the headphones!

Once we got through the transfer challenge, the screen turned out to be very enjoyable with a  sharp and fluid display of videos.  It's more the size of the screen (2.5 inches or 6.35 cm) that seems limiting.  And we have to admit, after having tried the 3.5 inch iPod Touch, other players seem a bit inferior.

In terms of audio, unsurprisingly this iPod is of good quality.  As usual, replace the original headphones for a model that produces less dry and more refined sound.  On the other hand, purists won't be satisfied compared to what the best Creative or Cowon are capable of.  The most noticeable defect was the accentuation of extreme high notes which quickly saturated.



Purists will avoid the Classic because it saturates more easily than Creative models.  However, the less finicky ear will be entirely satisfied.   Note that the above sample isn't representative of the real differences between players.  This is a very short particularly demanding sample which we use because it has extreme highs and basses.