With its solid, rectangular shape and horizontal screen, the faithful iPod Classic still looks the most like the original boxy white-and-chrome iPod that arrived on the scene in 2001. Less than a decade later, Apple has transformed that humble little 5-gigabyte music player with a black-and-white screen into a full-color, gorgeous portable media system that can play movies, TV shows, and video games—all while still fitting comfortably in the palm of your hand. And it’s come a long way from those first 5 gigabytes: now you can stuff 160 gigabytes of music, photos, videos, and more onto it. In those 160 gigabytes, you can fit 40,000 songs or 200 hours of video. And you don’t have to stock up on the Duracells, either, because the iPod has a rechargeable battery that can play audio for 36 hours or video for 6 hours.

The iPod Classic comes in either silver or black. Unlike earlier iPods that sported hard glossy plastic on the front, Apple’s latest version comes outfitted in a full metal jacket—anodized aluminum on the front and shiny stainless steel on the back.

Along with the click wheel—think of it as the iPod’s mouse—the 2.5- inch color screen is the player’s other main component. Capable of displaying more than 65,000 colors at a resolution of 320×240 pixels (translation: high-quality), the Classic’s a great place to store and show off your latest vacation photos. In fact, you can have up to 25,000 pictures on your ‘Pod. The screen also makes it a delight to catch up on that episode of The Daily Show you missed, or play a few rounds of solitaire while you listen to your favorite music or podcast.

The Classic comes with everything you need to hook it up to your Windows PC or Macintosh: a USB 2.0 cable. You also get those iconic see-what-I’ve-got white earphones. Once you get up and iPodding, you’ll find that everyone and their grandmother wants to sell you other iPod accessories—all you have to do is stroll down to your favorite computer store and browse the everincreasing selection of cases, cables, battery chargers, and more.

Source of Information : Oreilly - iPod The Missing Manual 8 Edition 2009

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If an iPod Nano and Apple’s iPhone ever had a kid, it would surely look something like the youngest iPod family member, the iPod Touch. The Touch gets its moniker from its responsive touch screen, the smooth front-side surface that lets you navigate through your music, videos, and photos with a tap or drag of your finger.

While it may have inherited its sensitivity from the iPhone, the Touch gets its stability from the same flash memory that’s inside the Nano. No matter how hard you run or rock out, you’ll probably never hear your music skip. You get about 30 hours of audio playback on a battery charge, or 6 hours of video. Speaking of video, the iPod Touch sports the iPhone’s eye-catching 3.5-inch widescreen display and 480×320 pixel resolution. Flip it sideways to see why it makes movies and TV shows look so good.

Apple gives you three Touches to choose from: an 8-gigabyte model, a 32-gigabyte version, or one that can store 64 gigs of your favorite stuff. That’s 1,750 songs or 10 hours of iPod-friendly video on the 8 GB Touch; 7,000 songs or 40 hours of video on the 32 GB model; and a relatively whopping 14,000 songs and 80 hours of video on the big 64-gigabyte model.

But the Touch is much more than just a pretty face. In addition to all its regular iPod capabilities, like listening to music or showing off your latest photos, this iPod can reach right out and touch the Internet. Thanks to a built-in Wi-Fi chip and a small-but-powerful version of Apple’s Safari Web browser, you can You use your fingertips to point your way around the Web—or fire up the Touch’s onscreen keyboard when you have to enter text for a Web address or on a page. And where there’s Internet, there’s email, stock-market updates, weather forecasts, and online maps. If that’s not enough, there’s a whole new world of possibilities in the iTunes App Store, where you can customize your iPod with additional software. Whether you’re connected or not, you also get a handy notepad, your personal calendar, and your computer’s address book, too.

If you hate leaving your computer for fear of missing something totally cool posted on YouTube, the popular video-sharing site, the Touch is there for you. This wireless iPod comes with its own one-click link to YouTube so you can keep up with the Web’s funniest videos.

Oh, and one more thing…have you ever been listening to your iPod and wished you could buy even more music right there, no matter where you are? With the Touch (and a wireless network connection), you can. This little Internet iPod can step right up to the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store and search, sample, and snap up tracks over the airwaves.

They may look an awful lot alike, but the iPod Touch and the iPhone have some distinct differences. For one thing, the iPod Touch is not a mobile phone. While this means Touch owners get to skip the AT&T Experience, it also means there’s no ubiquitous cellphone network to use for online fun when your pool of Wi-Fi hotspots runs cold. There’s also no integrated 2-megapixel camera. On the plus side, without the extra hardware inside, the Touch is much more svelte.

They may look an awful lot alike, but the iPod Touch and the iPhone have some distinct differences. For one thing, the iPod Touch is not a mobile phone. While this means Touch owners get to skip the AT&T Experience, it also means there’s no ubiquitous cellphone network to use for online fun when your pool of Wi-Fi hotspots runs cold. There’s also no integrated 2-megapixel camera. On the plus side, without the extra hardware inside, the Touch is much more svelte.

Source of Information : Oreilly - iPod The Missing Manual 8 Edition 2009

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The iPod Nano may be Apple’s mid-sized music player, but it’s also one of its most versatile models. Sure, it can play songs, podcasts, and audio books like all the other iPods. And like the iPod Touch and iPod Classic, it can display photos, text notes, contacts, and calendars on its bright color screen. But unlike those ‘Pods, which can merely play video, the Nano can also shoot video. It’s one of the smallest camcorders ever.

If that’s not enough, there’s more: The 2009 Nano is the first iPod to include a built-in FM radio. That’s right— you don’t need a third-party attachment or any extra add-ons to pull live broadcasts out of the air and into your earphones. And unlike standard receivers, the Nano’s radio can even pause live shows for a few minutes should someone start talking at you in the middle of a song.

You navigate through all these goodies using the Nano’s smooth, touchsensitive click wheel. With its 2.2-inch color screen and sharp 320 ×376 pixel resolution, the Nano can also play movies, TV shows, and video podcasts just like the bigger iPods, and it comes with its own selection of video games. But the Nano’s perfect for gym workouts or that mad dash for the last train because it uses a flash memory chip to store everything. That means it’s much more tolerant of jumping around than the traditional Classic iPod, with its big ol’ hard drive tucked inside.

The Nano comes in two sizes: 8-gigabyte and 16 GB, all wrapped in scratch-resistant anodized aluminum. And you’re not stuck deciding between two colors when you buy a Nano, either—you get a rainbow of nine choices: silver, black, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, and pink. Oh, and if you like your music flowing all day long, you’ll be glad to know the Nano’s battery lasts up to 24 hours—you’ll probably conk out before it does. The Nano has a few other tricks under its aluminum hood. For one thing, it’s got a built-in pedometer to measure your steps. It even reports how many calories you burn on your walk. There’s also an accelerometer (tilt sensor), which means the Nano senses movement and knows which way you’re holding it. Turn it sideways to watch a movie, and the picture instantly spins around to orient itself for the wider view.

The accelerometer is shaking things up in another way, too—literally. Not in the mood for that song that just came on? Give your Nano a shake to have it shuffle up a new tune. And certain video games were made with the Nano in mind, making you tilt and move your way through a pixelated landscape in search of that next level.

The Nano is also one of the most accessible iPods ever for visually impaired listeners. An optional Spoken Menus feature recites the names of songs, albums, artists, and menus out loud, letting you navigate through this iPod‘s content with verbal cues. And for those of you tired of squinting, you can make the on-screen font size larger if you like.

At about a quarter of an inch thick and tipping the scales at a mere 1.3 ounces, who’d have thought it’d be this easy to fit a combination video camera/ radio receiver/jukebox/movie theater/fitness trainer/handheld gaming console in your pocket?

Source of Information : Oreilly - iPod The Missing Manual 8 Edition 2009

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