Apple iPod

40 GB

Owner Review

Review date: April 26, 2005

Biographical Information:

Name:                          Chuck Carnes

Age:                             35

Gender:                       Male

Height:                        6’ 0” (1.83 m)

Weight:                        175 lbs (79 kg)

Email address:            ctcarnes1(at)yahoo(dot)com

City, State, Country:   Greenville, South Carolina United States

Backpacking Background:

I love the outdoors – I’ve spent time camping in the outdoors since I was born, and have been actively hiking and backpacking since 1992. I consider myself a lightweight hiker, usually carrying 20-30 lbs (9-14 kg) for hikes up to a week in length. I hike at an easy pace, averaging 2 mph (3 kph). I carry a one-man tent for shelter for now until something I like better comes along. I like to carry a single trekking pole when I hike to help relieve stress to my legs and knees. I like to get out on the trail as often as I can.

Product Information:

Manufacturer:             Apple
Model:                         iPod (40 GB)
Year of Manufacture:  2004
URL:                           http://www.apple.com
Color:                         White
Listed Weight:            5.6 oz (159 g)
Weight as Delivered:  5.6 oz (159 g)
MSRP:                        $399.00 US

Product Description:

• 10,000 songs can be uploaded to the iPod for my listening pleasure
• The Apple Click Wheel allows me to search through my songs quick and easily
• The built in rechargeable battery lasts up to 12 hours on a full charge
• It has 25 minutes of skip protection
• It can save different Playlists and they can be customized the way I want them
• It can play Audiobooks
• Text Notes can be entered onto the iPod through the computer to remind me of special interest on the trail that I am hiking
• It comes with an Alarm Clock/Sleep Timer so that I can set it to get moving on the trail early in the mornings
• I can enter Names, Addresses and Phone numbers through the computer to keep handy in case of an emergency contacts, calendars and to-do lists
• With an accessory, I can use it as a voice recorder to act as a journal for taking notes and recording thoughts at the end of the day
• All of this is synced through a fire wire that is plugged into the iPod and the computer

Field Use:

            My iPod has gone with me on many trips. Most of the trips were day hikes around Jones Gap where the weather was usually very nice. The temperatures ranged between 55 F (12 C) and 70 F (21 C) and the sky was clear to partly cloudy. I have taken it with me on a few backpacking trips to Pisgah National Forest and to the Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah was very cold and windy but no rain. The temperatures ranged between 20 F (-6 C) and 45 F (7 C). The Smokey Mountains trip was a little bit different. We had snow and some light rain. The temperatures ranged between 22 F (-5 C) and 40 F (4 C). Each time that I have had my iPod on these trips I have had no problems. The temperatures did not seem to affect the functionality of the unit. In all cases, the elevation range was between 2000 ft (610 m) and 6600 ft (2012 m). 

Product Review:

What? An iPod in the backcountry? You got it; I take mine every time I go. It doesn't sound like this should be part of a backpacking gear list, but it is near the top of mine. I have been using my iPod in the backcountry since I purchased it in October of 2004. I was looking for an MP3 player to listen to while hiking and although the iPod is one of the larger players in its category, I decided to go with it since it has a huge hard drive capacity. I also got to thinking about why I should carry an iPod that weighs 5.6 oz (159 g) and is 4.1 in (10.4 cm) tall, 2.4 in (6.1 cm) wide and 0.57 in (1.4 cm) thick when most MP3 players now come the size of a pack of gum. Most of the time I want to cut the weight down not add to it. Well, after looking at the features and all of the things that I could use it for I decided to go with the iPod. Here are some of the reasons I chose it to take backpacking with me.

I really enjoy listening to music if I am hiking by myself and while I am resting in my tent before bedtime. I usually listen to classic rock, classical, contemporary and some ‘90s music. I bought a cover that protects the iPod and has a belt clip attached to the back of the case. This allows me to clip it to my hip belt and is easy to retrieve. I also carry it in a front pouch where I have my camera, GPS and snacks when I decide to carry this much stuff in front of me. I do not notice the weight of the iPod because it is usually at my waist and that is where most of the load is distributed. I typically run the earphone cord through the straps where the water bladder hose goes through and bring it under my sternum strap and up to my ears. This keeps the cord from swinging around and getting caught on other objects.

As far as operating the iPod while hiking it is very easy to do. The iPod has a feature called an Apple Click Wheel which allows one to rotate the thumb around an area on this wheel to toggle through songs and other menu items. In the center of this wheel is a button that allows me to select what is highlighted on the screen. I have gotten pretty good at knowing how many turns and how many clicks to perform to get to a certain area in the menu and to certain songs, without looking at the screen. The iPod’s screen is backlit whenever the user touches the wheel or presses the center button. This comes in handy at night when a light is needed but I don’t want to turn on my headlamp. On the top of the player is a “hold” button that slides to one side to activate this feature. When this feature is activated, the click wheel and the center button are deactivated so that the user will not accidentally change songs or stop the player. This feature is very useful when I decide to hold the player while hiking as my thumb is constantly bumping the wheel and the center button. This keeps me from changing songs or turning the volume way up by accident.

With 12 hours of playing time with each charge I have to pick and chose when and how long I want to listen to the player. It does not use regular ‘AA’ or ‘AAA’ batteries. It has an internal battery that has to be recharged when it runs down. This is done by an AC adapter that comes with the iPod or through the user’s computer. The iPod also comes with iTunes, which is software that allows the user to organize, add, delete and customize my own iPod with songs that are already on the my computer or CD’s that can be loaded to the iPod via my computer. It also allows me to purchase songs from Apple at various prices. The majority of the songs are .99 cents. I can also purchase audio books that can be played on the iPod. This software is very easy to use and the requirements for the software can be found on the web site that is given above.

Another feature that I like about the iPod is the alarm, clock, calendar and contact list. This is like having my PDA with me on the trail. I have all of my contacts with me. I have a calendar that can be used if I am on the trail for more than a few days or if I want to plan another trip with a group. The alarm comes in very handy when I want to hit the trail early in the mornings. I simply go to the Alarm feature, set the alarm to ‘On’, choose the time that I want to wake up, choose the ‘Beep’ sound or any song that I have loaded and that is it. Most of the time I set the awake sound to ‘Beep’ because if I wake up to a song then I may think that I just went to sleep without turning it off. The clock is a great feature since I usually have it by my head when I am sleeping, from listening to soft, relaxing music to go to sleep by. The clock appears when the center button is pressed when the iPod is off. It appears backlit and has big numbers to make it easy to read. All features are reached through the rotation of the click wheel and the center button.

I do not know whether the iPod can be adversely affected by altitude. The highest elevation that I have had the iPod is 6600 ft (2012 m) and I did not experience any problems. I have been listening to this iPod while hiking in snow, rain and with the cover to protect it; I have not experienced any problems with it. I have listened to it while the temperature was 20 F (-6 C) and the iPod was not affected in any way. I have not hiked 12 consecutive hours to see if the battery would last this long but I have listened to it at 1-3 hour periods for a total of about 12 hours and the battery life seemed to drain at a normal rate; nothing unusual due to the temperature. The click wheel functions even with gloves on; the pad is very sensitive to the touch. The ear buds fit nicely in my ears and I am still able to wear ear muffs or a balaclava and still not affect the sound or the placement of the ear buds. 

While thinking about buying the iPod a scenario ran though my mind that helped me make my decision on purchasing it. I thought to myself “How many miles can I go and listen to 10,000 songs?” With a 10,000 song capacity most songs are three minutes long, so in one hour I can listen to 20 songs. Now, if I listen to 20 songs per hour and I normally walk two miles per hour, I can listen to 10,000 songs in 1,000 miles and not listen to the same one twice. That is if I have 10,000 different songs which if I load my whole CD collection onto the iPod, it would be possible to listen to this many songs. The only drawback is when and where to charge the battery. The iPod will play for about 12 hours so that only lets me listen to it for about one day before the battery needs charging. Depending on how low the temperatures are, the 12 hour battery life could be lower. I guess I would have to pick and choose when to listen to it and charge the battery every chance that I got or buy the battery pack accessory that uses ‘AA’ batteries and plugs into the iPod and keeps it charged continuously.    

Summary:

             I have really enjoyed my iPod. It is a far fetch to consider it a part of a gear list but I don’t think I would go unless I had it with me. It has been very easy to use and the weight is not even noticeable.

The Good:

• The capacity that it has to hold songs, books and all kinds of information
• The sound quality
• All of the features and accessories

The Bad:

• Heavy for an MP3 player
• The 12 hour battery life on the trail is not as long as I would prefer. Although, there is an accessory for the iPod that uses ‘AA’ batteries and plugs into the bottom of the iPod to keep it charged continuously. This would add a few ounces as it is a separate piece that uses suction cups to attach itself to the iPod but having a full battery all the time would be nice.