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4G iPod Picked as TIME's Weekly Gadget
by , 11:30 AM EDT, July 29th, 2004
Last week, the Apple's AirPort Express. This week, Apple's fourth-generation iPod is TIME magazines "Gadget of the Week" and labeled by reviewer Wilson Rothman as a "modest hop forward and a complete overhaul."
"But you should know that internally the new iPod is a ground-up reconstruction, and its really compelling applications — the ones that very well might get the goat of anyone unable or unwilling to upgrade — are still secret. All that Apple is saying is that there's more to this than what's being publicized," he writes.
Mr. Rothman praises the new portable device for its improved, 12-hour battery life, new click-wheel, and multiple On-the-Go Playlists feature, but notes the drawback of the iPod's shuffle feature.
"I would prefer that the real Shuffle option, from Settings, be placed in the main menu," he suggests. "That way you could toggle between your shuffled and ordered experiences — genres versus albums, for instance — without seven extra button taps. (Also, the Shuffle algorithm is still less than satisfying: while shuffling through 1,643 songs, two of the first eight tracks it pulled were from the Beastie Boys.)"
In the end, Mr. Rothman wrote the new model is perfect for first timers, but not a 'must have' for those considering an upgrade.
Observer Comments
Thu Jul 29, 2004 12:08 pm Subject: I'm intrigued...
,,,that "its really compelling applications...are still secret" and that "Apple is saying is that there's more to this than what's being publicized."
How does he know? Did somebody at Apple say too much? Is it an "official" leak? If so, why didn't Newsweek get in on the scoop when they devoted a cover story to it?
This is the juiciest tidbit I've seen in a long time.
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