new photo 60gb -- user notes

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AHA

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Have had my 60gb Photo for a week. A few notes for prospective buyers...

- exact same dimensions as my 2gen 10gb
- wanted a 40gb but got the 60 'cause Bestbuy sold out of 40s in a day
- installed 1800 songs and 7500 pics no problem, though initial photo install took well over an hour as all pics are reformatted for small screen
- photos look pretty good, though I bought it more to store files than use it as a "presentation device"; for the relatively small added cost I just thought the color interface was cooler and ultimately the shape of ipods to come
- screen res is much higher therefore more text info fits on screen; usefull for songs (as well as Contacts if you use that stuff)
- battery life seems much less than 12-15 hrs advertised; I have used it connected to my PC, tagging mp3 files etc, which probably uses more juice than normal, but so far I am not convinced it does not have a flaw. When using as above I can discharge the battery in less than 2 hours. - When backlight is off and I am using it in "listen" mode, it lasts longer but not anywhere near 15 hours
- unlike monochrome pods, this one's screen pretty much needs the backlight (less contrast than the mono screens), so battery use is greater
- I use Anapod Explorer and Ephpod as primary interfaces, with Winamp 5 Pro and iTunes as alternatives. iTunes is pretty irritating on a PC. Ephpod is an old favorite and Anapod seems to be a pretty well thought-out product (Red Chair Software)
- today tested the new Bose speaker thingie made for the pod, sounded pretty darn good for a small unit

Haven't used many of the photo features yet, but hope this helps those of you in a frenzy to get one of these.
 

AHA

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A few more notes...

Right, almost forgot about software...

- Using iTunes, photos can sync directly with your My Pictures directory, but the problem is that the photos' subdirectories are not faithfully recreated. In other words, I use tons of directories & subdirectories for my 7500 photos -- but when syncing, iTunes only recreates each of the main folders under My Pics. All the photos are sucked over regardless of location, but they all get dumped in each of the level-1 folders, with no subfolders. Stupid. I then bought PS Elements 3 since it apparently has better category control, but it's such a cheezy consumer interface I'm not sure I'm any further ahead -- it's too irritating to use. Hopefully they'll integrate it with Photoshop, Fireworks, or some other hi-end app that is more pro oriented
- I get the impression that as the photopod penetrates that market, better software products will emerge to make it work a bit better
 

lindaw143

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Ext speakers & iPod photo

Does the photo really work with the Bose Sounddock?
What about inmotion & im3?
JBL?

I hear conflicting views
 
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The iPod photo works great with my inMotion speakers -- no problems at all. In the iPodlounge iPod photo Power Users' Review it does mention that it works with the Bose Sounddock with no problems either.

The dock connector is essentially the same as any 4G iPod. Any compatibility problems with accessories would be caused by the very slight extra thickness of the iPod photo (as compared to the 4G 40Gb).
 

mattyboy

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Re: A few more notes...

AHA said:

- Using iTunes, photos can sync directly with your My Pictures directory, but the problem is that the photos' subdirectories are not faithfully recreated. In other words, I use tons of directories & subdirectories for my 7500 photos -- but when syncing, iTunes only recreates each of the main folders under My Pics. All the photos are sucked over regardless of location, but they all get dumped in each of the level-1 folders, with no subfolders. Stupid.
Yeah, I bought mine 2 days ago and found the same problem. I think I get what you mean. The folders iTunes stores your pics in seems to be year\month\day.

What I did as a hack was to manually copy my Photos to another dir on the iPod - named Pics.

Then I told iTunes to sync my photos from this Pics dir on the iPod itself - and to NOT Include Full Resolution Photos.

Result: my photos stored in my desired flat directory structure on the iPod.

-Matt
 
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pinkuff

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I got a new 60GB iPhod to replace my 3G 30GB

Songs syncing works OK, damn slow, but I am still stuck with a USB1.1, so my fault, really - however my 3,297 songs got copied in a night, thanks to the double headed cable that charges it at the same time.

I synched a first batch of photos (about 1,200) all right, but then I wanted to pour in more photos that I keep in another drive; when I updated the Photos tag to reflect the new path, I lost the previous pics.

And you're right, the iTunes interface is annoying, especially as the pics management seems an afterthought grafted in at the last minute: no way to view the pics directory tree or to personalize the screen show from the PC (why not have something akin to a playlist ?).

Or maybe there is, but the interface is so clumsy that I haven't been able to figure it out, yet - in which case, here's a question for the smarter people out there...

-Pinkuff
 
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No, the iTunes interface is definitely limited at this point. I think the expectation is that you would manage your photos from iPhoto (on Mac) or Adobe Photoshop Album/Essentials (on a PC).

Apparently with iPhoto, things are a bit more flexible, but I think we're all hoping that iTunes 4.8 (or 5.0, or whatever) provides more photo management functionality.

For more info on how this all fits together, check out my iPod 101 article.
 

pinkuff

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yeah, I am sure they will be coming out with a new release soon; the flat directory tree is actually a good reason NOT to import hirez pix, much better to leave 'em on my external drive.

However the slideshow function is AWESOME - especially now that I had the time to elaborate an appropriate background music playlist

I do have a serious question on battery life though, as a 1,000 pix show drains the battery completely in about 2 hours - this normal ?

Also, any way to turn the iPhod screen off when you're viewing on TV ?
 

Codybarnett

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I have noticed that too...somethings use a LOT more battery than others. When I just listen to music I bet it would last 15 hours (WO Backlight) When I add pictures or browsing menues I definetly notice the increase and battery usage.
 
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pinkuff said:
Also, any way to turn the iPhod screen off when you're viewing on TV ?
The screen? No. But if you're referring to the backlight, then sure... Hold down the "Menu" button and that will switch the backlight off. Hold it down again to switch the backlight back on (this works the same in any menu).
 
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