An ode to my iPod

I got an iPod for Xmas from my parents. I had been wanting one just for its mp3 player capacities. I had a 1Gig mp3 player that had died, and even after being repaired on warranty, it died again, so I decided I needed to follow the craze and get an iPod. I mentioned to my mother that I was thinking of getting one, but I was completely surprised when I opened my gift from my parents on Christmas morning.

Now what surprised me, was not only that they got me one, but which iPod they got me. If I were going to get an iPod for myself, I would have gotten the Nano. Because it is small. But the price tag for a Nano isn't so small. In fact, Apple products are highly overpriced. I mean, to get 4Gigs, you are going to pay around $250. And what do you get for that? Well, basically a miniture iPod...it had a scroll screen, and you can upload a few pics...but basically you are left with an overpriced mp3 player.


So what completely blows my mind, is that for around $400 you can get the 60Gig video iPod. That is a huge jump in memory, and on top of it, you can play videos, and the screen is bigger. Albeit, it is a little larger.


But that is the iPod my parents got me. First, I thought it was “just” a normal iPod. But then I saw that it was a 60Gig one and started bouncing around so much that my eldest brother said we should have recorded it and sent it to Apple for them to integrate into a commercial...such pure joy about a piece of electonics.

So at first I thought my parents had spent way too much money indulging me, and basically giving me more than I needed, since I was just looking for an mp3 player. But, boy, am I glad they bought me the 60Gig one. It has been the gift that keeps on giving, as my mother calls it.

First off, I got this great little adapter thingie, that allows you to upload pictures directly from your camera onto your iPod, without the need of a computer to interface. Which meant that when we were on our 3 week trip to China, we could shoot pictures to our hearts' content, and vids, and not have to worry about the memory on my camera filling up. We would just upload the pictures onto the iPod.

And then a few days ago I discovered TV podcasts. Now, I knew they existed before, but I had never taken advantage of them before. It was on the advice of my iPod mentor that I should download some episodes. Now they seem kind of pricey at almost $2 a show, but I got the most recent episodes of Law and Order: CI, and checked out Showtime's Weeds, and enjoyed them on the trainride to my boyfriend's last week...and looking forward to watching more episodes on the way back made it almost easier to leave him again.

The screen might seem a little small for that, but I didn't feel like I was losing out. I loved the fact that I could just pull the iPod out of my purse, and bingo, I was on my way. No discs to carry, and it's so tiny. Then I charged the iPod up at my boyfriend's place, used the playlists for jogging and the integrated stopwatch to time myself, and then was ready for the train ride back on Monday.

Marvelous.

And the fact that you can get many news shows in their podcast form. I can passively catch up on a lot of the news I usually read online, just listening while on my way to uni, or at the gym.

I swear...if anyone is seesawing about whether to buy one or not, I can only say: go for it! And don't wimp out and buy the Nano...go for the whole box of cigars, because when you compare the price you are paying for 4Gig to the price for 60Gig with video, you are getting a deal. I tease my boyfriend about his tiny Nano, and he teases me about “lugging” my iPod around, but seriously, those few extra ounces are all worth it.

Having said this, iPods are a bitch. They have “personalities.” When we were halfway through our China trip, I downloaded the second "roll" of pics from our trip, and then the iPod said the photo folder was empty. I could feel the blood run out of my face when I realized 600+ photos were gone. However, my boyfriend rebooted it, and miraculously they all appeared again. It performed that trick a couple of times during the trip, and I really developed a love/hate relationship with it. But it held out.

And almost everyone who has an iPod has an “iPod story.” Either it doesn't play songs, the battery doesn't recharge, it says files are missing, but when the memory usage suggests they are still there...they are super finicky and I hope Apple repairs that in the future, but honestly...I love it! Thanks, Mum and Pops!

The beginning of a beautiful friendship!