The first thing you notice when clasping your sweaty paws on the new iPod 5g is that it feels slimmer and lighters than the 4G and the screen is clearly much bigger than the older model. Perhaps our eyes are deceiving us when we think that the click wheel is smaller but it feels a little more compact when using it to navigate though the updated menu structure.

The model we have to review is the smallest of the range with 30gb of storage and in a departure for us this one is in black or “Nano black” as we’ve taken to calling it. It does strike us a weird that we prefer the black model to the iconic Apple white but perhaps this is just a reaction to the millions of ice white iPod’s that litter public transport and spaces.

The specs do show that the 5G pod has been on a diet measuring just 104 x 61 x 11mm that’s 31% thinner than the 4G model and at 136 grams its pretty light for a 30gb hard disk device. The screen is also improved the 2.5” (or 6.35cm) LCD seems better equipped for viewing video and also makes the menus more readable in direct sunlight. Overall the new model feels refreshed and significantly different even though this is more of an update than an all-new device. 

Before we move onto the new features we need to ensure that the iPod still performs its primary tasks well as Apple have deleted the non-video capable devices from its range. This 5G supports Apples own format ACC (including digital rights managed versions) MP3 up to 320kbps, audible formats (2,3, and 4) and also lossless AIFF and WAV. No change in supporting Ogg Vorbis or WMA but then that’s hardly a surprise but we still feel Apple will have to offer limited support at some stage. The USB 2.0 connection gets files on fairly rapidly and is essential when it comes to moving video. Battery life improves slightly again with 14 hours of replay (we managed just over 13) from a charge and recharging takes around 5 hours to get back to fully loaded.

Apple ship the iPod 5G with ear buds and the USB cable and as a package it’s ideal for listening to your MP3 collection, the ear buds while not 1^st class audio equipment are enough to show the audio quality of the iPod. However we’d strongly recommend getting a set of Shure or Future Sonic headphones to accompany your device.

So to the new feature, Video playback. Apple have cottoned onto the fact that their market position means they can be a provider of video downloads and therefore the iPod needs to support video replay. They have opted for a number of standards but mostly those that suit Apples own video offerings, there is H.264, MPEG-4, M4V, and MOV up to 768Kbps, 320x240 pixels, and 30fps. Videos are available from the recently revamped iTunes V 6.0 store and mostly consists of music videos and short films, as of yet there are no major films or TV series these will take a lot more negotiations and convincing the film studios its safe to distribute video in this way.

The experience is a mixed bag, we downloaded the Kanye West Video for Gold digger, it all worked seamlessly inside iTunes and then a bit of a wait for it to squirt over the USB link. Selecting the video from the iPod’s library is as easy as selecting MP3 tracks and the addition of a key frame makes the experience a mix of audio track selection and browsing photos. Playback was smooth and the image looked of good quality although it’s hardly easy to tell on the 320 x 240 pixel screen, which easily hides most defects. We then plugged the 5G to a TV screen using the optional AV cables to see just what you were getting, the video has clearly been encoded for the iPod and not for TV and the resolution produces a fairly poor product when hooked up to a 26” TV, this is a real shame as it starts to show that the iPod video is not really up to the standards of the portable media players.

In that respect the iPod has tough competition from devices like the Archos AV700 which has a whopping 7” screen and works natively at a much higher resolution than the 5G. That said both devices suffer the same problem, this is that you can rip your own CD and upload tracks to the iPod at the click of an iTunes button, but you can’t rip a DVD. Well you can but then you’ll need to spend time a lot of time using Quick Time Pro or similar to format the Ripped racks for your device.

For now the main video available is the 2000 music videos which look good on your device and will appeal to many as the same basic device will use them for no extra outlay and the 5G pod isn’t the size of the gargantuan AV700 either. Battery life in video more is frankly poor, just 2 hours when watching music videos and less with the backlight on full and audio cranked right up.

If its sounds like we are being negative on the iPod then perhaps we should put this in perspective, Video replay is an extra here, its part of the inherent design but then that’s part of the £219 30gb device and not part of a £400+ portable media player. The latest iPod is a slow evolution of the original device, it does nothing wrong but it still has work to do if its to become the defacto video player.

Choosing an iPod is still the safe bet, no one will ever be upset with one as a gift and it will provide excellent audio quality as well as being simple to drive, the video could be dismissed as a gimmick but we’d have money on it being improved over time much as the battery life for audio playback has been increased.

£219 for the 30gb model in black or white is outstanding value for money and makes you wonder why you’d buy an iPod Nano. One last word of caution, the newer iPod’s are prone to damage and scratches so purchasing a good case is a reasonable way to protect your investment.

 30gb Model

 60gb Model

More iPod Reviews

Published - 06/11/2005

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