Apple's New iPods Get Torn Apart and Examined

[smeker]

[citation][nom]jescott418[/nom]I think we all know Apple makes some pretty nice profit margins. Thanks to its wonderful marketing and brainwashed loyal Apple fans. As long as the products work flawlessly I think that's fine. But lately their have been some real flaws in Apple's core. I think Apple's quality in a finished product has diminished.[/citation]

Keep dreaming...

What a numbnut...

It's really funny looking at you Apple haters... Your comments make as much sense as a two year old kid on a science fare... I guess it's in fashion talking trash about apple as their shares keep going up and their products sell as hot cakes.
But it has to be the Apple's "Brain Washing" technique.
It's a conspiracy... the world against the Apple haters.

I really wish that CIA had this brainwashing technique, so it can win the war against terrorism. NO need of bombing Afghanistan and Iraq, just send Steve Jobs over there and they'll love all AMericans

 

[wishmaster12]

who owns apple now a days adam and eve?

 

[ray-ng]

As I was looking through the pics, I couldn't help but here "bow chika wow wow" in the back of my head.

 

[tipoo]

[citation][nom]jgv115[/nom]They obviously want users to buy the new iPod Touch.iPod touch = app store = $$$ for apple[/citation]


Obviously, but I think a reduction in features for the Nano should have come with a reduction in price.

 

[Stifle]

Good luck with getting those batteries replaced, those batteries which have a mean life expectancy of no more than 3 years.

 

[smeker]

[citation][nom]stifle[/nom]Good luck with getting those batteries replaced, those batteries which have a mean life expectancy of no more than 3 years.[/citation]
It's funny but a litle bit more than 3 years ago there weren't any iPhones.
NOw if my iPod touch lasts 3 years I'll be more than happy... Shoot... I change my Graphics card every other year or so ... and that is more expensive than the freaking iPod touch.

 

[randomizer]

[citation][nom]smeker[/nom]It's funny but a litle bit more than 3 years ago there weren't any iPhones. NOw if my iPod touch lasts 3 years I'll be more than happy... Shoot... I change my Graphics card every other year or so ... and that is more expensive than the freaking iPod touch.[/citation]
The difference there is that the video card is obsolete if you continue to buy new games. It simply doesn't perform to the standard required for smooth gaming. Music hasn't changed. An iPod today doesn't really play it any better than an iPod of 3 years ago. People shouldn't have to buy something new for the sake of buying something new. But, sadly, that is the result of planned obsolescence, and it permeates every market and every industry.

I'd be kicking up a storm if I had to upgrade my phone every 5 years.

 

[DXRick]

So, I am curious to know which chip is the memory chip? I remember when they used those mini hard drives or flash memory. Now it is all flash memory, and I would like to know how small a 32GB chip is these days. The battery is clearly the biggest component!

 

[LMF5000]

[citation][nom]stifle[/nom]Good luck with getting those batteries replaced, those batteries which have a mean life expectancy of no more than 3 years.[/citation]

You can buy barnd new, small lithium polymer batteries on ebay for next to nothing. Then it's just a simple matter of taking it apart, cutting the two wires leading to the worn out battery, and sticking them to the wires coming out of the new battery. It's a simple procedure anyone can do if they have gentle fingers and a bit of patience

 

[kikireeki]

They still use wires!

 

[LMF5000]

[citation][nom]WR[/nom]0.19 watt hour rechargeable battery - what miniaturization![/citation]

True. Lithium polymer batteries are pretty impressive. But they weren't invented for Apple products (or by Apple for that matter). My radio controlled indoor helicopter has a 70mAh lipo battery that's about half the size of the one in the iPod Nano for example.

 

[Pyroflea]

[citation][nom]smeker[/nom]Keep dreaming...What a numbnut... It's really funny looking at you Apple haters... Your comments make as much sense as a two year old kid on a science fare... I guess it's in fashion talking trash about apple as their shares keep going up and their products sell as hot cakes.But it has to be the Apple's "Brain Washing" technique.It's a conspiracy... the world against the Apple haters.I really wish that CIA had this brainwashing technique, so it can win the war against terrorism. NO need of bombing Afghanistan and Iraq, just send Steve Jobs over there and they'll love all AMericans[/citation]

That's not the point. The majority of people buy Apple products JUST because they're apple products. If they wanted the best bang-for-buck, they'd have to buy something else. It's the association with the company people are looking for.

I agree with randomizer, I don't see the point in buying a new music player/phone/etc. every year just to follow Apple's release schedule. As he said, it's not like a new iPod will play music any better than last year's iPod.

 

[nforce4max]

[citation][nom]iam2thecrowe[/nom]wonder if apple has patented iWatch yet?[/citation]

Don't forget the iStamp, its an iPod just as large as a postal stamp. Enjoying the best of the 80s one click at a time. :s

 

[idoln95]

[citation][nom]kikireeki[/nom]They still use wires![/citation]
no....

Don't you know apple products run on "Magic" energy?

The wires are their for purely aesthetic reasons.

 

[brendano257]

[citation][nom]smeker[/nom]Well for one the Ipod touch does not feel like a brick in your pocket, and the Archos does.Than it has a better screen, battery life, way more apps, and VLC just submitted their player to the Apps store so if that gets approved you'll be able to play moves from different codecs.Did I also mention that the GUI is way smoother on the iPod touch than on the Archos[/citation]

I give Apple credit for the iTouch UI. I have a Samsung Moment for a smartphone now, and coming from an iPod touch it is sometimes hard to deal with. The scrolling and touch features on the iTouch are soooo smooth comparatively, however I appreciate the flexibility of Android enough to keep my phone and not even think about an iPhone.

 

[soundping]

[citation][nom]AMW1011[/nom]Yeah I'm not seeing whats so special about it. There are far better products on the market, a good example is that new Archos 43. It has full flash, a bigger screen, expandable memory (gasp!), plenty of music and video codecs, doesn't require iTunes, has a nicer camera, HDMI out, USB host, Blue Tooth tethering, and all at a lower price. What does the iPod have? Some screen resolution gimmick and video chat, wow...[/citation]
Release date on the Archos 43?

 

[wishmaster12]

i dont even want to "touch" a apple. no pun intended

 

[ern88]

I'll tell you something right now. I have had a Ipod Touch Gen 1 for 4 years now. I have had no problems with it. The battery still holds a really good charge. If the new Ipod touch works a good as my Gen 1. I would buy it for sure. But I want the Iphone 4. I have been really impressed with my Ipod Touch. And this is from a user perspective.

 

[dEAne]

thanks tom. I really like this article.

 

[JackFrost860]

Is it just me or does the amplifier in the iPod sound crap! So i compared it with the same file played on my Xonar card, and it's not the file.

 

[mitch074]

While Apple products are carefully built (usually), and provide an intuitive environment to do stuff, it is:
- intrusive,
- a very pricey apple that someone already bit into.

Moreover, their customer relation isn't really up to snuff (see iPhone 4):
Customer - there's an antenna problem.
Stevie - no there's not.
C - yes there is! Look, I hold it thus ("death grip"), and I drop a call.
S - you're holding it wrong.
C - I hold it with my hand, to my ear! And I drop calls!
S - reception was bad in your area, all phones will react the same.
C - No, look, when I hold it thus, I lose 3 bars - that other phone doesn't lose more than one!
S - here's a software patch. It was AT&T's fault. Nevermind we gave them exclusivity.
C - the software patch doesn't help if I lose enough to dropa call!
S - you're holding it wrong. The iPhone 4 is perfect.
C - No it's not! Look, if I put a little bit of duct tape on here, it solves it! You designed the antenna wrong!
S - No we didn't. The iPhone 4 is perfect.
Customer report quality tests - the iPhone 4 loses 24 dB of reception quality in a normal left-handed grip - more than any other concurrent phone. We can't recommend that phone, as it doesn't phone well. As a media player maybe.
S (reading Customer Report's QT) - ah damn, the Apple Distortion Field didn't hold in front of Universal Rules and Physics - ok, have a free rubber wrap if you bought your iPhone 4 recently or until September 30th. You already got one? No refunds you're screwed.

That's it for customer relationship.

Now, software quality - you want to upload a song to your iPod. You need iTunes. Which needs Quicktime. Which needs a system-level service running 24/7 with SYSTEM rights. You also need a discovery service that keeps spamming the network to find another computer with itself installed. And while you're at it, use Safari as default browser. And a background process looking for updates. Nevermind that security fixes for iTunes, Quicktime and Safari are usually shipped 3 months after an exploit has been discovered and used.

And people wonder why I hesitated so long before I stopped using my iRiver to use the iPod Mini I was given.

Well, I actually enjoy the iPod Mini a lot - especially since:
- having "Rockbox"ed it, I can now click-n-drag MP3s and AAC files to it - or, Vorbis, FLAC, AC3, WAV, WMA... Without iTunes;
- having replaced the 400mA battery with a 750mA, it finally went past 3 hours autonomy to reach 5 hours;
- having replaced the hard disk drive with a $30 8 Gb CompactFlash card, it's become completely silent, much less prone to suffer damage, and went past 9 hours autonomy (actually, if I listen to it by 4-hours increments and take a break here and there, the battery lasts for 15 hours).

So yes, I own an Apple device; it became bearable when I managed to change the firmware, the storage and the battery. Since the newer ones don't allow that, I won't get them.

 

[smeker]

[citation][nom]mitch074[/nom]So yes, I own an Apple device; it became bearable when I managed to change the firmware, the storage and the battery. Since the newer ones don't allow that, I won't get them.[/citation]

Wow.. what a rant.... Good for you though...
I got my girlfriend the iPod touch 3G few months back and she loves it, and so do I.
I just ordered the iPod Touch 4 for myself and am suppose to get it this coming Thursday. Wohooooo!

 

[del35]

Apple products are for those with a lesser intelligence and willing to part with their money.

 

[smeker]

[citation][nom]del35[/nom]Apple products are for those with a lesser intelligence and willing to part with their money.[/citation]

Keep saying that to yourself.... You might start feeling better.

 

[dalta centauri]

[citation][nom]AMW1011[/nom]Yeah I'm not seeing whats so special about it. There are far better products on the market, a good example is that new Archos 43. It has full flash, a bigger screen, expandable memory (gasp!), plenty of music and video codecs, doesn't require iTunes, has a nicer camera, HDMI out, USB host, Blue Tooth tethering, and all at a lower price. What does the iPod have? Some screen resolution gimmick and video chat, wow...[/citation]
Ahhh, Archos support. They still have the same yearly firmware updates on their products? I bought an Archos 7 about two years ago, so far it's advertising of, "Enjoy hd video's and streaming on site's like youtube!"
Of course the Archos 7 only uses Flash 9 lite, and there have been no further updates at all.
Archos plans that you have one of their products for about a year before needing to buy a newer model, although you don't have to pay for the extra codecs anymore on their droid models.