Theocacao: iPod 5G Has Arrived

iPod 5G Has Arrived

The iPod showed up yesterday. The screen really is nice. I don't have a 4G handy to do a side-by-side comparison, but it seems noticeably brighter and clearer than the 4G 'pod. Even though the screen is only a bit bigger, the difference is tangible. Between the screen size, the black exterior and the thinner body, the entire thing feels more slick. The UI also feels more responsive.

I downloaded two videos last night, Original of the Species and For the Birds. The former does a good job of proving the idea that iPod-based music videos are actually fun to watch. It's not as if you're trying to squint at a tiny little Bono. The video playback is fluid and convincing. Works as advertised.

Just as with photos, videos can be played piped out to a TV for full-size playback. I haven't actually tried this yet, but it puts a whole separate spin on the thing. Having your photos and videos automatically synced onto an iPod means that you always have this stuff in your pocket. I think this is perhaps what they're thinking with TV shows. If you want to watch the latest episode of Lost at a friend's house, for example, you just have to bring the iPod.

This was something I think the media didn't really pick up on about the photo capabilities. True, you can look at photos on the iPod, but more importantly, you have albums in your pocket wherever you go, ready for an impromptu slideshow with music on a full-size TV.

The 5G iPod also has one minor software improvement. With the 4G software, I couldn't find a way to leave the album cover displayed -- it would just keep snapping back to the song details screen. The 5G software doesn't have this problem, though I'd be surprised if this was hardware specific.

One surprise is that there was no wall charger included. I had plug it directly into the computer to charge it. It does come with a little cloth iPod condom thingy, though. Not a true carrying case, but enough to prevent incidental scratches when it's just sitting around.