[fener]

www.appanext.com

Pictures, comparison of 4G. 4G 40 GB vs 3G 15 GB.

4G iPod has some cool features together with the obvious ones.

Such as,....

4G iPod automatically pauses when the headphones are unplugged.
It is very easy to customize the menus right from the iPod.

New playlists can be created and deleted right from the iPod, without a need for a computer.

etc, etc.

[dracoleb]

You know, the new 4G design is really starting to grow on me. When I first saw it, I thought the 3G was still nicer looking, but the more pic's I see, the more i'm starting to like it. Probably would have my new 20 gig now if I hadn't decided to have it engraved, oh well, supposed to ship some time today, hope to get it on monday, then I'll give my bro my mini as a b-day gift

[Synotic]

Originally posted by dracoleb:
You know, the new 4G design is really starting to grow on me. When I first saw it, I thought the 3G was still nicer looking, but the more pic's I see, the more i'm starting to like it. Probably would have my new 20 gig now if I hadn't decided to have it engraved, oh well, supposed to ship some time today, hope to get it on monday, then I'll give my bro my mini as a b-day gift

Cardboard? Are all the accessories and all that just piled in there? Mine came with a dock, case and remote... is the packaging different? I remember mine being noticably nicer... I went to check the other 4G pictures thread but it seems the pictures were taken down

[mishap]

why do on a lot of these comparisons i see people saying "you can now customize the main menu." i guess a lot of ppl didnt get to know their 3G Pods.

[legacyb4]

Wow, no kidding! That packaging looks so un-Appleish with what looks like a cardboard egg container...

I still remember how nice the packaging for the 3G iPod was; in fact, didn't some magazine just rate the experience of opening a new iPod quite highly?

Cheers.

Originally posted by Synotic:
Cardboard? Are all the accessories and all that just piled in there? Mine came with a dock, case and remote... is the packaging different? I remember mine being noticably nicer... I went to check the other 4G pictures thread but it seems the pictures were taken down

[jaxxe]

My 4G - 40Giga just arrived at my door a few hours ago. With all these cool posts of photos, etc., I was able to hold off opening mine for something like 30 minutes. My wife couldn't believe the discipline I displayed. :-)

[Krypton]

The interior packaging is now reconstituted card to be more environmentally friendly - there's a link on the iPod page, of Apple's new initiative regarding this.

[Axo1ot1]

Good to see Apple is finally doing something about it's excessive packaging. I always thought all the styrofoam in the iPod packaging was gratuitous. Looks like it will be easily recyclable now.

[Nerozwei]

Excellent photos, Fener. Thanks!

[Synotic]

I'm still sure they could of created something cool. After all, limitations encourage creative design. Or something interesting like that It's not as much that they used cardboard, rather that everything is simply thrown in there (seemingly). Oh well.

[RonnieoftheRose]

I never liked the horizontally laid out buttons of the 3G. It ruined the simplicity of design that the original iPod had. Now we're back to simplicity and elegance.

[mcsharick]

I never considered the 3G iPod to be progess from a hardware and usability standpoint. The control buttons were misplaced and a significantly shorter battery life from the previous generation is not progress. For those complaining about no back light for the click wheel, you don't need it! You don't have to even see this iPod to know the placement of the controls. From a firmware standpoint however, the 3G was a significant improvement.

Now the 4G has an incremental improvement from the 3G's software features and options, and significant hardware improvements with the increase in battery life (even from the 1G and 2G) and the click wheel. I just received mine 3 hours ago, and comparing it to my 2G 10GB, its vastly superior in every way.

So a word of advice from a former 2G owner to the 3G people who don't have expendable cash, patience. Don't expect that you will be getting the firmware enhancements for the 4G either, we didn't get yours. I expect the 5G will be a leap forward for the iPod's functions but the hardware only incremental.

[zenwave]

I agree with McSharick:

I always liked the way my 2G iPod's buttons surrounded the wheel. When I first saw the four buttons in a row on the 3G, I thought it was a bit ungainly. Still do.

*Now* I feel like upgrading!

Jon

[Evan_11]

Originally posted by Axo1ot1:
Good to see Apple is finally doing something about it's excessive packaging. I always thought all the styrofoam in the iPod packaging was gratuitous. Looks like it will be easily recyclable now.

Yeah but what rationally minded Apple buyer throws away their packaging?! I actually hang on to the little silver bread ties and baggies with non-sensical barcodes on them.

Don't most of us build shrines out of Apple boxes?

[m2bored]

I only keep all the box materials so that I can sell my iPod in a year...for a small loss.

[foo12]

Originally posted by legacyb4:
Wow, no kidding! That packaging looks so un-Appleish with what looks like a cardboard egg container...

Are we sure it's cardboard? From the pictures it looks an awful lot like the custom packaging we used at my former work -- a molded plastic covered with a soft felt.

[jfromnillicus]

Originally posted by foo12:
Are we sure it's cardboard? From the pictures it looks an awful lot like the custom packaging we used at my former work -- a molded plastic covered with a soft felt.

nnnnnno, i unpacked mine yesterday (just over 24 hours ago) and it's rather... cardboardy, as i recall. i dunno i'm at work now and it's at home but it was NOT felt-covered plastic, that much i can say.

But I did think it was rather well laid out, if that's any consolation. can't compare it to any previous-gen stuff, but it's still certainly Apple packaging. I thought from a color-scheme perspective it was fine - the grey kindof matches the click wheel.

and yes, the accessories are more or less just piled in there, but they have their own little place down there - and i liked the fact that they were all (well, the important stuff anyway) hermetically sealed - it makes it seem like you're dealing with a bunch of medial instruments. anyway the whole thing is well thought out and everything fits perfectly.

i enjoyed the experience overall.

my crappy phone-pics of the unpacking experience can be found here...

[AppA]

Host change.

Web site will be up asap with updates, Airport Express pictures.

Regards

AppA

[blizaine]

The only thing holding me back from getting a new iPod was the design of the 3G.... I hated the buttons across the top. I loved what they did with the mini's scroll wheel. The 4G's are the coolest design yet, where as the 3G (in my opinion) was worse than the 1G & 2G..

[AppA]

Site is up.

http://st15.startlogic.com/~appanext/

[Graymalkin]

No it isn't.

[King Bob On The Cob]

Is the new click wheel solid state though? I always liked that there were no places for crumbs to get stuck in the 3G

[joelcpa]

Originally posted by King Bob On The Cob:
Is the new click wheel solid state though? I always liked that there were no places for crumbs to get stuck in the 3G

....well if you didn't eat while listening to your iPod....

[joelcpa]

Originally posted by Synotic:
Cardboard? Are all the accessories and all that just piled in there? Mine came with a dock, case and remote... is the packaging different? I remember mine being noticably nicer... I went to check the other 4G pictures thread but it seems the pictures were taken down

Actually, I think Apple has improved the look of recycled packaging. Much nicer than some of the junky stuff I've seen.

[Minty Fresh]

I actually don't like the looks of the 4G, as much as the 3G. Dunno....maybe it will grow on me. I liek the solid white front of the 3G, and there's just something cool about the glowing red controls.

[pliny]

didn't apple's ipod packaging win the award for best packaging or whatever i thought the packaging was really cool when i got mine.

[TailsToo]

Originally posted by Minty Fresh:
I actually don't like the looks of the 4G, as much as the 3G. Dunno....maybe it will grow on me. I liek the solid white front of the 3G, and there's just something cool about the glowing red controls.

I agree - the all white with the red glow looks awesome. This was the design that really made the iPod huge in the market. Not the the new one won't do well, but maybe they should have not decided to change the color scheme just for change's sake.

[nredman]

cool pictures, thanks...i like the feature of the ipod pausing when the headphones disconnect...cool stuff.

[Axo1ot1]

Originally posted by Evan_11:
Yeah but what rationally minded Apple buyer throws away their packaging?! I actually hang on to the little silver bread ties and baggies with non-sensical barcodes on them.

Don't most of us build shrines out of Apple boxes?

no. seek psychiatric help.

[tekno_geek911]

My iPod was delivered about an hour ago....Not one single defect,it looks much better in person,I actually think it looks better than the 3G now that its in my hand. And the Click Wheel is awesome,so much easier to navigate with!

[nredman]

Originally posted by tekno_geek911:
My iPod was delivered about an hour ago....Not one single defect,it looks much better in person,I actually think it looks better than the 3G now that its in my hand. And the Click Wheel is awesome,so much easier to navigate with!

where are the pics?

[The Mick]

One thing I noticed is the size of the click wheel is just a bit larger and higher up on the unit compared to the 3G touch-wheel. I find this makes it easier to scroll through the menus. Bummer it doesn't light up with the backlight. Otherwise I like it a lot.

[MacmanX]

The new iPods look cool. I may finally replace my old-school iPod which I bought when they were first released. Does the 'click-wheel' stay put in your pocket? I have to keep my iPod on hold if I have it in my pants pocket. The swaying of my leg has a disconcerting habit of cranking up the volume by spinning the jog-wheel.

Cheers!

[John G. Stillmank]

*EDIT DELETE*

[Lancer409]

Originally posted by tekno_geek911:
My iPod was delivered about an hour ago....Not one single defect,it looks much better in person,I actually think it looks better than the 3G now that its in my hand. And the Click Wheel is awesome,so much easier to navigate with!

i checked it out at an apple store. it is aLOT better looking in person. the click wheel is very velvety smooth to the touch, and the fact that it is flush is the appeal. i still opted for a 3g 15 because of the price and no gaps .. i plan to gym alot and i dont need sweat and dust getting in the click wheel's gap. the fact that it's flush makes it very appealing in person, compared to the 3g with it's indentations and so forth... hard to explain

[tekno_geek911]

Originally posted by nredman:
where are the pics?

I'll post pics tomorrow

[tekno_geek911]

Originally posted by Lancer409:
i checked it out at an apple store. it is aLOT better looking in person. the click wheel is very velvety smooth to the touch, and the fact that it is flush is the appeal. i still opted for a 3g 15 because of the price and no gaps .. i plan to gym alot and i dont need sweat and dust getting in the click wheel's gap. the fact that it's flush makes it very appealing in person, compared to the 3g with it's indentations and so forth... hard to explain

I know exactly what you mean...When I had my 3G stuff would get stuck around the edges of the touch buttons.

[AppA]

www.appanext.com

is back.

Updates are coming soon.

[tekno_geek911]

Cant post pictures sorry

SpyMac is acting weird so I cant host them.

[tekno_geek911]

Heres a couple pics


http://www.spymac.com/gallery/show_p...p?picid=210559

http://www.spymac.com/gallery/show_p...p?picid=210557

[Cadaver]

Can't really tell from the pictures -

Which is thinner, a 3G 20GB or a 4G 40GB?? (I know the 4G 20's are the thinnest...)

[Graymalkin]

I got a chance to check out the 4G iPods and I have to say I really like the new design. While I thought the design of the 3G was alright I prefer the tactile response of the buttons on my 2G 20GB iPod. The new ones maintain the tactile response while keeping the lines of the iPod smooth. My friend who also has a 2G iPod doesn't care for the grey color of the scroll wheel but I think it makes the graphics stands out a bit better than the 3Gs.

I also was really impressed by the Airport Express. What I found the most interesting about it was the fact it was built like all of Apples other power bricks. As such it can use one of the standard Apple extension cables. While I doubt it comes with one this does allow you to better position an AP Express to get a better signal or get it a little closer to your stereo or printer.

[psu03bob]

I do not have a 20GB, but my 3G 15GB is only slightly thinner than my new 4G 40G, although the difference is very difficult to detect. The white "face" of the 4G's appears much thinner compared to the 3G. The corners and edges of the 4G appear sharper as well. The 4G looks thicker and has a stronger visual presence but is physically not much larger than the 3G.

For those upset about not getting the software update for the 3G the software differences, other than possible power management improvements, the changes have little change on how the iPod functions. The music menu is just the browse menu renamed with the playlist menu included and a category added for audiobooks. This is kind of counter intuitive because one must find audiobooks in the music menu. Having the audiobooks menu appear in the main menu when an audiobook is detected in the library makes much more sense IMHO. The Shuffle Songs function did not do what i expected. I thought it would turn on shuffling in my current playlist but it plays the entire library in random order. The strongest arguments for upgrading from a 3G are the physical changes not possible with a firmware/software upgrade. The click wheel answers many of the problems of the 3G scroll wheel and buttons.

The grey wheel is more subtile than it appears in the photographs i have seen, but makes the controls easier to see. The backlight buttons on the 3G looked cool, but loss of backlighting on the button labels is not that big of a deal. The buttons are large enough far enough apart that the lights are not really necessary. Holding the iPod in your palm and navigating with the thumb of that hand obscures the buttons, but they remain visible on the 4G scroll wheel.

The biggest improvement on the 4G is the screen. It is by far much easier to read. The screen is noticeably less green and the contrast is much improved. I did not know the iPod could show grey until i got my 4G. The screen is so much improved that i can now use my iPod in normal indoor lighting without the backlight (which is also improved).

I bought my new iPod because my 3G was full, but the improvements in the 4G make me very glad I did.

[Zim]

Originally posted by Axo1ot1:
Good to see Apple is finally doing something about it's excessive packaging. I always thought all the styrofoam in the iPod packaging was gratuitous. Looks like it will be easily recyclable now.

Unfortunately it seems Apple wants the iPod itself to be recyclable (ie. throw-away) now... no support for previous models, and they've now soldered the battery to the device making the "2nd life" option of a new battery even more challenging. ;(

Mike

[firefly]

Originally posted by Zim:
they've now soldered the battery to the device making the "2nd life" option of a new battery even more challenging. ;(

Where did you hear this??