[funkyspelunker]

I just bought a new 4g ipod, and I'm sitting here comparing it to my 3g. I notice a significant difference in build quality as well as materials and operation. First of all the screen in the 3g looks much more brilliant, the text scrolls much more smoothly (I read about this issue being due to a software update). Also, my 4g has an issue with the white plastic being mis-aligned with the chrome metal casing. On one side you can feel an edge sticking out and on the other side its sunken in. Its not that obvious to the average person but as an ipod enthusiast I notice it as quite an annoyance (like a tongue feels a tiny chip in a tooth). Also, I went through the box of my 3g, preparing to sell it and noticed that it came with so many more accessories: a case, a carrying pouch, 2 little port covers, and a remote control, even longer firewire cable, none of which is included in the 4g. Though the price of the 4g is cheaper than the 3g was when it came out, once you add in all these additional accessories you're basically spending the same amount if not more. Besides all that, the build quality is definitely a grade lower, I notice little assymetries and small blemishes here and there in the plastic, something that is non-existant in my 3g. With Apple going into massive production with the HP deal and all, and now seeing the iPod sold in 2nd tier department stores, I see this as the beginning of the decline in what made the iPod such a hit in the first place: Quality. This brings to mind how The North Face brand of mountaineering and ski apparel, once the definition of uncompromising quality and performance, later slid into just another department store brand of average sportswear....along with the Columbias and Helly Hansens, when they decided to go after the mass market with dollar signs in thier eyes.



Any thoughts?

[Hydra]

I think anyone who buys a 4g who already has a 3g will not be incredibly impressed. Unless you must have the click-wheel I don't really see why one would upgrade unless the extra battery life was essential too. I don't own an iPod as I don't have a huge amount of use for it but I have experience will all the models and the 4g I definitely like the best. I think apparel is not such a good comparison. Make no mistake the iPod's most endearing features are it's interface, of which a ski jacket has only a zipper and some pockets , and it's design, which is still hugely popular. I think as any product starts to sell by the millions it becomes more likely people will get ones that are not quite up to QC's levels of the past.


The thing I find odd is that you bought a music device that has a modified control interface from the one you had previous and 50% better battery life. In your post I see not a single word on the sound quality, the new control wheel and the much improved battery life If you bought it on esthetics alone then you are bound to be disappointed. I'm not trying to flame you but I'm not sure you really should have bought the 4g if you were happy with the 3g. Just my $0.02


-Jerry C.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by funkyspelunker:
Also, I went through the box of my 3g, preparing to sell it and noticed that it came with so many more accessories: a case, a carrying pouch, 2 little port covers, and a remote control, even longer firewire cable, none of which is included in the 4g. Though the price of the 4g is cheaper than the 3g was when it came out, once you add in all these additional accessories you're basically spending the same amount if not more.

The fact that you noticed that when the time came to search out the original packaging for re-sale of your 3G iPod says it all, really: You spent $100 extra on sh¡t you never even used.

I say making it optional is a good sign for Apple.

[bradoesch]

I love my 4G iPod. I noticed the unevenness at the top right too. The thing just looks stunning, so it doesn't upset me too much.

This is my first iPod.

[d.fine]

I got a 3G iPod a months ago or so. The price for this 3G was the exact same price of the 4G iPod. I chose the 3G model because of all the accessories you get. I use the remote, dock port cover, included case and the dock every single day. I thought it would be stupid of me to get the 4G model just to have the newest model, and then have to pay €40 extra for the dock, €40 extra for the carrying case, €32 extra for the remote ... you get my point. If you're gonna pay €339 for an iPod I think the accessories included in the 3G models are a very very nice extra, and in my case useful, and in my opinion should have been included with the 4G models !!

[scaught]

a 40GB ipod for the same price the 5GB debuted at less than 3 years ago. how is that not a good thing?

[Wiskedjak]

Originally posted by funkyspelunker:
More affordable, and love the click wheel and battery life. Its great!

More affordable? The low end 4G iPod is more expensive than the low end 3G iPod

[ajprice]

The low end 3g was 15Gb, the low end 4g is 20Gb.

[Link]

Anyone who thinks that janky case the ipod comes with is worth $30 is an idiot. All that thing does is scratch the back of your ipod up until the belt clip snaps off.

[AC Rempt]

There's another thread on the boards about how useful/less the dock is, and considering the case is pretty weak, I sure don't miss it (though I did buy a dock cuz I think it's cool).

Thing is, the 4G is ten times easier to use, in my opinion, than the 3G. I was always having to backtrack with my 3G when I tapped a bit too hard, and the iPod flew three screens down when I wanted only one. I also hated the total lack of tactile feedback, and I rarely, if ever, used the backlighting on the buttons.

As for the fit and finish, I don't see a difference between my 3G and my 4G. They are both slick little devices, but the 4G has a superior hardware interface, price point and ditches features I, for one, never used.

[Graymalkin]

I just bought a 4G recently to replace my venerable 2G that I adored. For me the 4G was a no brainer, they have larger capacity drives (I went from 20GB to 40GB), a dock connector for all the swank new peripherals, better battery life, and more software features while retaining all of the old iPod functionality. If I had had a 3G iPod I don't really think I would have bought a new one so soon. All in all the new iPods don't offer a whole lot besides extended battery life to owners of 3G iPods. Sure the scroll wheel is different and they're a tiny bit smaller but in reality there's been only one or two significant changes. The 3G iPods have dock connectors, the note reader, ALC support, and USB2 connectivity the same as the 4Gs.

The case Apple shipped with their previous iPods was more likely to damage your iPod than your pocket was. My 2G was scratched all over from using the case. Besides take a look at Apple's iPod Accessories page on their store site; they sell all manner of iPod cases and most of them are orders of magnitude better than the old iPod cases. For $20 or less you can pick up a case that is much nicer and much friendlier to your iPod's finish than the $40 case Apple is selling.

The remote is something people either love to use or hate to use. It's also fairly delicate and has a really weak clip. Cutting out these two "extras" is something I can easily understand. I think it'd be a bit nicer if the 20GB came with a dock but if you really want one they're readily available. However you could just as easily take that $40 and put it towards a third party dock with some added functionality.

I don't think Apple is trying to stiff iPod buyers by putting fewer items in the box, I think instead they're trying to generate a base of third party support for the iPod. If you go out and buy a Belkin card reader and a JBL On Stage dock you're not going to toss out your iPod anytime soon. In fact you're more likely to get a new iPod down the road when you've got some iPod-only peripherals. Also you're not stuck with things you don't have a use for. If you go out and buy an iSkin Evo case you don't need one Apple gave you with the iPod, the same goes with buying a remote you like better than Apple's rather plain one.

[ajprice]

Good points Graymalkin. My 4g 40gig is my first iPod. I'm looking for a case for it, at the moment its in an old camera pouch. I bought the Apple case with it, but I didn't realisr that it completely hidden the screen and wheel, it was also a bit tight for the 40gig. I took it back and got it refunded, no problems. I'm now waiting for the rubber skin cases to become available in the UK. Virgin Megastores still stock the 3g types, there are no Apple resellers locally (I bought mine and got the case refunded on holiday in Edinburgh), and a case is something I want to see before I buy, so I don't really want to order one online. are there any other iPod remotes than the Apple one, I've never seen any, but one with a little LCD screen like some walkmans etc have would be good.

[Graymalkin]

If you carry your iPod in your pocket you might want to rethink a silicone case for it. The silicone most of the cases are made out of is extremely porous which makes it very sticky. Pulling your iPod out of your pocket with such a case tends to tug the fabric of your pocket along with it. It also makes it difficult to slide your iPod back into your pocket. My brother got an iSkin Evo for his 3G iPod and hates it because it is a hassle to keep it in his pocket when he's out and about.

[MrForgetable]

Right now, I'm just careful with the iPod, I put it in a clean pocket with nothing else and earphones in the other pocket. I've been thinking about using a sock until I can find a nice affordable case (never?).

I like to look at the iPod's elegant, beautiful sexiness anyhow, so..

[bradoesch]

Originally posted by MrForgetable:
I've been thinking about using a sock until I can find a nice affordable case (never?).

I'm using a sock. I was thinking of ordering an skin from iskin.com until I read that post by Graymalkin. I always keep it in my pocket.

[MrForgetable]

Originally posted by bradoesch:
I'm using a sock. I was thinking of ordering an skin from iskin.com until I read that post by Graymalkin. I always keep it in my pocket.

I tried it when I went out for lunch, It works. Kind of a hassle to get it in and out though.

[Vauxhall]

Last week I bought a new 40GB 4G iPod, what a nightmare. It worked fine until the next day when it started showing the true satanic colors that lurk underneath its pristine white shell. Songs would stop playing, controls would freeze-up and the disk would just keep spinning as the unit became alarmingly hot. I eventually figured out how to force it to shut down. When it was actually playing it would often skip songs or groups of songs until it found something it felt like playing - and then it would freeze up some more, or just turn itself off. Yes, it was fully charged (don't even get me started on that flaky battery). I took it to the retailer, and after the Mac guy told me this was "normal", he tried a hardware reset and sent me on my way. Of course this did not fix the problem. For the next few days I tried all the things suggested in the manual and in the Apple forums, where I also read about other people's similar frustrations. I reinitialized, I reset, I updated. I did everything I could until I realized I was spending more time trying to fix the thing than actually listening to it. For that kind of money I expect music, not maintenance. So instead of dealing with the whole sending-it-back-to-Apple soap opera and waiting for who knows how long for a replacement to arrive (which may or may not be new, and may or may not have the same problems as the first one), I decided to just return it and get my money (and my life) back. I'v never owned any previous iPod models so I have nothing to compare the 4G to but mechanically speaking, this thing was a mess. My expectations were high since I have a 1GHz iMac that has worked beautifully since I bought it about a 18 months ago. I really hate to think that Apple is getting sloppy, but this iPod experience has got me wondering.

[Graymalkin]

Oh noes you got a bad iPod! Someone call the emergencies!

[Turnpike]

Originally posted by d.fine:
I thought it would be stupid of me to get the 4G model just to have the newest model, and then have to pay €40 extra for the dock, €40 extra for the carrying case, €32 extra for the remote

it has already been stated that the case and remote are not of good quality anyway. my 4G came with a dock. Problem solved.

[d.fine]

Originally posted by Turnpike:
it has already been stated that the case and remote are not of good quality anyway. my 4G came with a dock. Problem solved.

Next time you'll say 'well the standard earphones included in the 4G models weren't that good anyway so they shouldn't be included in the 5G models ...' and then what ? People will buy an iPod and that's all they'll have. It's just the principle. The product seems much more attractive to most people when they get some extras for their money's worth ...

[Randman]

I've owned a 2G, a 3G a Mini and just last week I won a 40GB 4G model. No defects on mine, the battery lasted much longer than the 3G and it's a touch smaller than the 3G 40 I just sold off. The software extras are nice as well.
The screen is bright and the scroll wheel is great and very intuitive, as like the Mini's.
Decline? Hardly. Apple's going to sell more of these than any other model. Troll elsewhere.

[ajprice]

Originally posted by Randman:
and just last week I won a 40GB 4G model

Oh yes, win an iPod, happens every day! Nothing special about that...

Congratulations, by the way.

[Randman]

Thanks. and trust me, it came as quite a shock. Almost as good was I bought .Mac off some pc dude who didn't want it for half price as my renewal is on Oct 1.
With that and the rebate I'm getting from purchasing my PB17 last month, my .Mac renewal is only $5 this year.
But back on track, I really like the iPod and I wasn't blown away when it first came out. In fact, I was satisfied with my older iPod, but it is an improvement, however subtle.