Comments on: iPod Classic Usability and Quality Concerns

By: Tam

Tam — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 14:22:06 +0000

I thought it was just me! I’ve had every version of the iPod (original classic, nano, iPod Touch and now the new classic). I purchased the new classic because I wanted more hard drive space to store my music. I have never been so disappointed with a product. If this is the best they could do, perhaps it’s time to discontinue the Classic. Maybe that’s what Apple is trying to do…make everyone hate the new Classics so much that they stop buying them. If it weren’t for the hard drive, I’d be dumping this and getting another Touch.

Thanks for confirming that I didn’t just purchase a defective iPod!

By: Ultra

Ultra — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 13:59:25 +0000

I think they made a minimum volume setting to limit number of people saying ‘its not working’ when they have the volume all the way down. However, I have tinnitus, and the minimum volume is much too loud for me. I also believe some management person made the decision to do this, and is refusing to back down even in the face of lots of criticism from users (last firmware update didn’t correct it).

However, the min volume problem is nothing compared to sound on ipod touch – with a good pair of earphones, there’s so much audible static it’s like listening to a detuned radio at same time!

By: Allen Rabinovich

Allen Rabinovich — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 02:14:11 +0000

1. Take a look at Zune, I actually like its UI way more, even without the round wheel. It has a notion of a horizontal/vertical hierarchy (categories are horizontal / items are vertical) that iPod is lacking It also plays FM radio, has a bigger screen, and costs less.
But be advised that it’s way more restricted than iPod: you can’t use it as an external hard-drive, and the syncing software is possibly the most idiotic thing ever written.

2. For the car, invest in a dock (FM or with a connector): the audio output through the dock connection is at constant volume, and thus the only volume you’ll be setting would be on your car stereo.

3. Play around with the Volume Range setting on the iPod — it’s supposed to set the maximum possible volume — perhaps it would help with the minimum possible volume, too?

4. Album artwork display is a big performance hit — if you want interactions to be instantaneous, disable it (it’s a setting in iTunes whether to allow artwork on the device).

5. One positive thing to say about the sixth gen: now to change the shuffle setting songs/albums/off), you don’t have to back up all the way to the Settings menu — if you hit the middle button while the song is playing, one of the dialog screens it goes through allows you to modify the shuffle setting. I thought that was clever.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 19:48:47 +0000

"One last thing. I canâ€t turn the volume down to zero. Every audio device Iâ€ve owned could be turned down all the way. Now, one might argue that turning it all the way down rather than just pausing it is silly. I agree. However, twice now, Iâ€ve turned it all the way down and I wanted it to be quieter. I had to turn it off because the volume was distracting rather than providing the subtle ambiance that I desired" I know exactly how you feel, when im lying in bed and want to listen to music it seems too loud even when the ipod itself claims the volume is at zero . There is certain volume levels in the lower range that even though it claims to be getting louder or quieter it doesnt actully turn down.

By: OBRIENS

OBRIENS — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:23:26 +0000

send articles to me.