Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have used three different iPod models since they were released a few years ago. They keep improving with age. What's great about this model: 1. previously, I had problems with battery life dissipating after a month or so of use (and I use mine hard; it's on at least six hours a day), but that hasn't happened with this one. I find that I get right around 15--fifteen!--hours of battery life on a charge. However, if I go two or more days between use, the battery runs itself down to almost nothing; 2. the vibrant colors are a wonderful change. Compared to the iPod Photo, the old black-and-white models look positively antiquated. The font on the Photo is updated as well; 3. to my untuned ear, I cannot tell the difference between what I hear on my earbuds and the CD the music came from. Sound quality is, as always, excellent; 4. the price drop. I paid $399 for my last 40g model and $299 for this 20 gig product, which is far superior to its predecessor. I don't need 40 gigs of space, so I was happy to make the compromise to save $100; 5. picture quality on the iPod is quite (surprisingly) good. It's like carrying an entire photo album with me. I have over 2,200 songs and 1,300 photos stored on my machine and it's little more than half full; and 6. it's frighteningly easy to use. I--a fairly competent computer, etc., person--have had a few glitches (see below) but nothing major. For the most part, you install the software, load some CDs on your comp, plug in the iPod, and go. I talked my mom through this process over the phone in under 15 minutes--this from a woman who asked that I "explain that whole e-mail thing again" to her. What I'm not crazy about: 1. I'm not sure how the album art is stored; namely, why some have it and others don't. Anything downloaded from iTunes will have it, and some stuff from my own music collection does, too, but I can't figure out a pattern and have been too lazy to research it. Less than half of my music has album art to display without me manually adding it to iTunes; 2. I know that the "random" feature is the result of a complex algorithm and has, in fact, been proven to be truly random, but my iPod has a propensity for picking certain tracks while never playing others; 3. to lower the price, Apple's skimped on the accessories that come included with the iPods. In this model, no dock or case were provided as when I bought my 40g b&w model; 4. the displays on iPods scratch ridiculously easily. I recommend picking up an iSkin which is a colorful jacket that fits over the iPod and comes with a screen protector that works really well. Apple sells these for about $30 but they can be had on eBay for a third of the cost; 5. no way to delete songs directly from the iPod and no way to load photos onto the machine. Both of these things must be done from a computer; and 6. I hate being tied to iTunes. The software itself is good and improving all the time (the new version with PodCast capability is wonderful), but it's simply the fact that I don't have a choice in the matter. If you have an iPod, you HAVE to use iTunes, and that's irksome. A quick word on Apple's customer service: if you register your iPod with them, you can request repairs or replacement parts for accessories at (usually) no charge within a year of purchase. So when your earbuds begin to fray (and they will), you can get a new pair simply for asking. I've done this four times with no problems, free of charge. They even ship new parts for free via FedEx. Whoa. If you've been going back and forth on whether to buy one of these or not, I heartily encourage you to do so. They've never been more affordable or, well, awesome.