Apple 80 GB iPod video Black (5.5 Generation)

Apple iPod - Continuing its tradition of hardware and software innovation and design, Apple has released a new iPod that surpasses the last. This update to the 5th generation iPod with video playback features a huge 80GB hard drive - the largest yet! With iTunes 7 ushering in movie and game downloads, there's more than enough content to satisfy this beast of a media player. You also get a 2.5" display that is now 60% brighter, a higher capacity battery for up to 20 hrs. of music and 6.5 hrs. of video, and a set of newly designed iPod earbuds. Ports - dock connector, Stereo minijack, composite video and audio through minijack Connectivity - USB through dock connector, composite video (with A/V cable - sold separately), and audio through headphone jack or line out on the iPod Universal Dock (sold separately) Charge Time - about 4 hrs. (2 hrs. fast charge to 80% capacity) Audio Support - AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Music Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, WAV, & AIFF Photo Support - syncs iPod-viewable photos in JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PSD (Mac only), and PNG formats Video Support - H.264 video - up to 768 Kbps, 320 x 240, 30 fps, Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 Khz, stereo audio in. m4v,. mp4 and. mov file formats / MPEG-4 video - up to 2.5 mbps, 480 x 480, 30 fps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 Khz, stereo audio in. m4v,. mp4 and. mov file formats Backlight Timer Sleep Timer 20 Equalizer Settings Shuffle Songs or Albums Date and Time Unit Dimensions - 4.1 x 2.4 x 0.55 Unit Weight - 5.5 oz. Color - Black

Also available at our Macy's Herald Square location

Customer Reviews:

Apple 80 GB iPod video Black (5.5 Generation)
Apple 80 GB iPod video Black (5.5 Generation)

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--2006-12-20

Great Source of Entertainment
Overall, I think this is a great product, but as with any electronic device there will be some quirks.

Pros:
Large, Bright Screen
Very Attractive
Holds A LOT of Songs and Movies
Portable
Fast Transfer-Some People have said the transfer was slow, but it is faster than any other mp3 player I have had

Cons:
You pretty much have to use iTunes
Scratches easily
Freezes Up Sometimes (which you can fix by flipping the hold switch to "on" then "off"... next press the menu button and center button down for about 6-10 seconds. might have to repeat the second part - I got this from the Apple website)
Slightly Bulky, but not terribly
You can't take the music back off of the iPod without 3rd party software

--2006-12-19

What a sleek baby!
It's practically impossible not to love this gadget. Everything about it is smooth and sleek, including even the box it comes in. I bought this model because I really needed the space. My multimedia collection is currently at almost 40 GB and growing. Now I can hold my entire music, video, and picture collection in one place and not worry about running out of storage anytime soon. I have been impressed so far.

The screen, though small, is very, very crisp. The pictures and movies on the screen are crystal clear and very sharp, almost like watching high definition TV on a small screen. With the right accessories, you can hook up the iPod to any TV set and enjoy your videos and pictures on a big screen. Battery life has been exceptionally excellent in this model. The calendar and contacts features are fine and sync with Microsoft Outlook easily, but don't ditch your PDA just yet.

I highly recommend this model. It is a great improvement over previous models, especially in battery life, which comes in handy if you travel a lot with your iPod.
--2006-12-16

Adults Beware, You won't want to put up with this treatment!
My computer freezes up when I connect my new 80 GB Ipod to it, so I can't download my extensive collection of audio books to the Ipod, but I must say that the songs imported by one of the techs at the Apple store on one of my trips there do sound nice.

Aside from the sound quality, I would recommend that an adult with a PC and no patience for nonsense answers and poor treatment look for an MP3 player. The way Apple sells and supports products is amazingly awful and disrespectful to their customers.

I started by loading the Itunes software and importing my audio books and meditation CDs into the Itunes library. I was very happy with the ease of use of the Itunes software and the help section, which answered all my questions about importing and renaming files. I could even turn off the screen that shows the annoying ads from the Itunes store!

The lovely black Ipod came with a very small instruction pamphlet, which I followed carefully. After charging the Ipod for 4 hours with a ridiculously short USB cord, I opened Itunes and turned on the Ipod. The Itunes software didn't recognize the Ipod, the Ipod froze on with a "Do Not Disconnect" message, and my computer turned itself off.

I called the Apple store and was told how to reset the Ipod. Then the girl at the store connected me with Tech support in India. I couldn't understand the man at all so I called the store back. The girl at the store got snotty with me about not using a Mac and asked me just how old my PC was?

I then drove to the store where I found that:

1) They kept asking me if I was using a Mac, as if only a freak would use a PC.

2) They didn't want to exchange brand spanking new Ipod that didn't work for a new one, the wanted to send it away to be fixed. Once you buy an Ipod they are not going to easily take it back, even if it doesn't work! And if you open the box they have a 10% restocking fee, should you decide to return or exchange it.

2) They were happy to help me after I loudly exclaimed loudly to others at the cash register with stacks of Ipods in their hands that my new Ipod just froze up and wouldn't work right out of the box.

3) Everything including a USB cord long enough to really connect the Ipod to the computer, a real carrying case and a wall charger costs extra and the prices on the accessories are very inflated. I find that to be a real rip-off. An adult expects a product to work out of the box and to have proper basic accessories with it.

5) The cement flooring in the stark store kills the feet of a 40 something woman after a few minutes...think of the young kids working there...bulging leg veins and foot problems in their 20s after a few weeks of work. I find the amazingly hard floor not at all attractive and very disrespectful to both Apple's workers and their customers.

4) The Ipod worked when synced with a Mac and I got some songs uploaded to it that I didn't want.

6) I was told that it must be the software so I should go home and reload the Itunes software.

So, I went home and saved my Itunes library to a disk, uninstalled the software, redownloaded Itunes and reinstalled it. Upon connection to the computer, my Ipod froze again and froze my computer. I tried the USB 1.1 port and the Ipod and computer froze again.

I called tech support again, it was evening now, and got someone from the United States. He was nice but didn't know much about PCs. He said that the PC staff is only in from 6-6 PST, but they had holiday hours for Mac support. When asked what percent of computers in this country are Mac he said 4 or 5%. So they don't supply support for PC users during their extended helpline hours. The 95 or 96% of their buyers who own a PC aren't as important as the 4 or 5% who own a Mac. I find that to be very disrespectful to their customers and pointed that out to the tech. He didn't disagree. When asked about the very short cord he said that most of the designers use a laptop. You'd think they'd test drive their designs with some PC users, wouldn't you?

So, as of this writing I cannot use the Ipod with my PC. It could be the USB 2.0 port...which works with everything else...my camera and my Treo phone. I went online and didn't find much information. The scant instruction manual mentioned further information about compatible USB 2.0 cards at the ipodstore site but all I found was "Reset, Retry, Restart, Reinstall, Restore" advice.

I'll call tomorrow and see if the Ipod PC people really know PCs. I've already wasted several hours on this expensive toy and wouldn't recommend it for adults who have no patience or time to waste.

--2006-12-16

The Best MP3 On The Market
I purchased the 80 GB iPod from Costco 2 months ago. I used a bunch of
birthday cash for a radical device that I would otherwise not buy. It is
truely amazaing for all the things it can do. I have had no problems with lockup. Of course I bought a good case and even a mini camera bag to keep it and the accessories in. If you read any reviews about viruses,just run
your anti virus program on the iPod before you load music, if viruses are present, simply delete. The most amazing thing about iPod is all the accessories to get for it. A decent set of headphones is a must because the earbuds included just don't work for most people. I own the DLO docking station and it works perfectly to pipe the sound thru your reciever, it is amazing how such a small device can create all that crystal clear sound. I have asked Santa Clause for some other accessories and I will let you know how they work out. You must try out a game that is included with the iPod called Name That Tune. The game plays 30 seconds of the song and you have to choose the artist; the quicker you choose and get it right, the more points you score, cool. If you are considering buying a like an iPod such as Zune or any of the others, don't. The iPod is the best in MP3 players.
--2006-12-16

- Apple Computer