Apple iPod 30GB

Posted by T3 Online on Thu 25 Oct 2007

It's showtime for the latest Apple product - the long-awaited video iPod.

How do you improve a product that everyone already thinks is better than sliced bread? If you're Apple, you add the ability to play video, give it a bigger, sharper screen and make it wafer-thin.

To coincide with the new video functionality, you can now buy music promos and short films via iTunes and transfer them across to the player. The resolution is only 320 x 240, but we tried Daft Punk's Da Funk video and it looked very impressive - the detail was pin-sharp and even the challenging dark street scenes looked great.

That said, the battery life for video playback wasn't wonderful - we got just under two hours - so you're not going to be able to use it to watch The Lord of the Rings. Nevertheless, it still managed an impressive 14 hours for music listening.

It's almost shocking how slim this model is, especially as the hard disk size has been increased to 30GB - enough to store around 7,500 songs. A whole 30 per cent has been slashed off its thickness, meaning it only weighs 136g. And, of course, it now comes in black.

Navigation remains the best around and the audio quality is top-notch. If anything, Apple has managed to extract more bass and sonic detail, and the iTunes software still hasn't been bettered.

There are some minor annoyances, though. The nine-pin connector's gone, so some old accessories won't work, and it doesn't come with a power supply - you have to charge it via the USB lead.

However, while it might not offer the groundbreaking video experience some were expecting, this is still a real class product. There's simply no other hard disk jukebox around that's as stylish or as easy to use as this beauty.