Editor’s Note: We now have two Top Ten articles up on the 5G iPod: this one, and Top Ten Things Techies Wanted to Know About the 5G iPod.
10. As first introduced in iPod nano, on-screen lyric display is supported, and the text is more readable than before.
9. In addition to appearing in your Videos library, music videos appear as songs in your audio music library, and play back there in audio-only form. They’re indicated with video icons. Clicking through with the center button gives you a single still image from the video (generated by iTunes), not the full video.
8. New photo transition effects do in fact include realtime 3-D. Cube effects, derived from iPhoto for the Mac, are simple but do look nice. Page flip looks even better.
7. Apple has done a mediocre job of updating the iPod’s interface for the new, larger display. In addition to the copious amounts of white space now on every screen, icons such as the upper right corner battery indicator are a bit smaller than before because they weren’t scaled upwards.
6. Videos look surprisingly good on the screen, which is very clear, well-lit, and easily viewed from literally any angle. It is a major contrast with the screen on Creative’s Zen Vision, which looks bad from any angle except straight on, and has an odd reflective, shimmering quality even when viewed properly.
5. The optional video widescreen mode actually works, if videos have been formatted properly. Our gallery will contain shots of the same movie playing in widescreen and non-widescreen modes. In one, the full screen is used with cropping, in the other, black bars appear on screen. The video is regrettably small in widescreen mode, but still very viewable.
4. The case that comes with each 5G iPod is thin neoprene, very similar to the iPod nano armband. It’s gray on the outside, white on the inside, regardless of the color of iPod you buy. An iPod fits inside completely.
3. You’ll be surprised by the thinness and lightness of the new iPods. Both models (30GB and 60GB) are thinner and lighter than the past color 20GB iPod, and they cannot support themselves standing up on their bottom edges.
2. So far, our black unit is not showing scratches. We’re surprised. Nor is our white one.
