Note: At its September 2008 iPod event, Apple announced that the 80GB and 160GB Classic models were being discontinued in favour of a single 120GB player. This version retails for AU$339.
Design
When Steve Jobs decreed that the full-size iPod needed an appellation like its siblings the Touch, nano and Shuffle, it meant that all of the changes to the sixth-generation full-size iPod would be relatively subtle ones. There's no drastic change in the shape -- like the Shuffle's transfiguration from a USB key to a trendoid belt clip, or the nano's from an aluminium candy bar into a shrunk-in-the-wash iPod. Despite the bigger hard disk capacities -- 80GB and a bigger-than-Ben-Hur 160GB -- the new iPod is slimmer than the just-departed 30GB and 80GB models. Oh, and if you put old and new side-by-side, you'll notice that it's also slightly taller than before.
When we first heard that the latest iPod was being fitted with an anodised aluminium shell, our hearts sang in hope that it would be akin to the one-piece affair seen on the second-gen nano. Alas, it wasn't to be. The lightly curved and (sorta) scratch-proof aluminium is used only on the front plate -- bye bye, glossy plastic! -- with the shiny back returning for more fingerprint-taking and scratch-making action. The changes give the iPod a greater sense of solidity and quality. Pity then that in Apple's quest for the feel-good factor, it hasn't fitted this iPod with a scratch-proof screen and the Click Wheel was looking decidedly worn out after just a week.
What do you think of Apple's decision to disable video out from the headphone jack and up the price of its video cables?
Nanos and Shuffles are available in a veritable rainbow of colours, but the Classic has just two against its name: silver and black. Almost every other external element remains unchanged. There's a 320 x 240 2.5-inch screen, a hold switch and 3.5mm headphone jack along the top and the proprietary connector on the bottom.
Apple has tweaked the iPod's interface for the first time in, well, forever with the introduction of a preview pane. It splits the screen in half, with the traditional iPod menu on the left and a panning preview of your assortment of album art, video stills or photos on the right. As eye candy, it's almost as good as a platter full of Belgian dark chocolate. Unfortunately, this all comes at a price ... and it's not to your waist line. There's often a delay of up to three seconds, as the Classic's hard disk powers up and finds an appropriate thumbnail or still, during which time the iPod is completely frozen. It makes scrolling through anywhere where thumbnails are used an incredibly frustrating, not to mention hit-and-miss, affair. At least with your time-outs you can admire the much improved anti-aliased text.
Cover Flow, first seen on the iPhone and iPod Touch, also suffers from this hard disk lag issue. Although flicking through album art is undeniably cool, we're not so sure that it's a more effective way of searching for music. The cool factor drops off precipitously if you don't have much in the way of cover art. While we're at it, we bemoan Apple's decision to use a generic album cover, instead of just plain text, for tracks without cover art.
Note: Apple released a fix patch for the Classic via iTunes over the weekend, well after we had returned our review unit. According to chatter on Internet forums, the patch hasn't fixed the lag problem. We'll keep you posted on the issue.
Features
Unlike many other MP3 players out there, Apple has resisted making features like voice recording and an FM tuner standard. That's the case with the sixth-gen iPod and with the iPod still dominating the market, looks set to be so for the foreseeable future.
In addition to playing music and videos -- more on that later -- the guys and gals from Cupertino have spruced up the bundled Solitaire and Music Quiz games. They've also added a circular version of the classic Pong, and the ability to purchase more games through iTunes. All bar the Music Quiz are enjoyable ways of passing time on public transport while listening to music.
Of greater importance to many is the fact that the new iPod can pump video to your TV in either 480p (NTSC) or 576p (PAL). There's a price to be paid for this, though. TV output via the headphone jack has now been disabled, as has video output through docking devices without an Apple authorisation chip. This spells trouble for those who are thinking of upgrading but already have equipment compatible with previous video iPods -- be it a AU$29 composite cable or AU$1,300 Philips SoundBar. Making matters worse is the steep price (AU$79) Apple is charging for composite and component cables compatible with the new nano and Classic.
Performance
An iPod tradition that's carried on with the Classic is the less than stellar audio quality -- and that's not only when you're hooked up via the standard white earbuds. On the Flaming Lips' "Waiting for Superman" the bass was sufficiently loud but was flat and without any real kick. This sense of flatness was heard time and time again with all manner of instrumentation, from acoustic guitars to mandolins and xylophones. Vocals also sound a little hollow and are easily drowned out as the output volume increases. Combined, it results in a listening experience that's okay but is quite tiring if you have to turn the volume up to, say, counter the noise on public transport. Video, however, was a far more pleasant experience. The screen proved to be bright and the colours nicely saturated, although with its smaller screen dimensions (2-inches versus 2.5) the nano is better in this regard. The Classic's also got enough processing grunt to handle action scenes without artefacts ruining the day. For the reasons stated above, we weren't able to test out how the Classic fared when connected to a TV.
Battery performance should be in the same ballpark as the claimed figures -- 30 hours of music and five hours of video for 80GB, with 40 hours and seven hours for the 160GB. We managed two solid days of music playing, as well as a few hours of playing Solitaire and watching video.
Although we're pretty certain that Apple will get around to fixing the hard disk lag issue in the future, it's a pretty obvious bug to overlook and mars Apple's reputation for ease-of-use and design panache. Also distressing is the video out issue, which on the face of it seems like a case of price gouging. Overall, though, the new iPod is good value at AU$349 for the 80GB unit and AU$479 for the 160GB model. We just wouldn't buy it if we already had a suite of iPod video accessories or were fussy about sound.
A nice music player, but a disappointment in the minor things that may (or not) matter to you.
I'll stick with my 4th gen iPod for now. Maybe a firmware update to the classic to address the cons might change that.
The good: Sleek, feels robust, impressive battery life, bright screen. Nice eye candy.
The bad: Sluggish response time, esp. compared with the previous and generation 4 iPod models.
Interface quirks and non-configurable design decisions that make no sense at all, like the "clock" screen saver (instead of title/artist as with previous models) or the cover flow that doesn't support any other sorting than by artist (album seems like a more obvious choice?).
And what's the point of deliberately disabling video out except with a 50 $ add-on kit? Well, cash, of course. Well, mine's back to the store after one day. "Not A Happy Customer."