Apple iPod (80GB, video) review

We still have a problem with watching video for more than 30 minutes on that small 64mm (2.5-inch) screen. Even a little stand would help for hands-free viewing, though a bigger-screened unit like the Cowon A2 or Archos 604 would have made the portable iTunes movie experience more satisfying. There are some portable accessories such as the Memorex iFlip (not yet available in the UK) that dock with the iPod and increase its viewing size to up to 213mm (8.4 inches). Though the proprietary dock connector isn't nearly as convenient as a standard USB port, the iPod benefits from its thousands of dock connector-based third-party podcessories.

Once again, Apple has done a good job of minimising packaging and bundled accessories, which include a newly designed set of white earbuds, a proprietary USB cable, a soft case and a dock adaptor. Unfortunately, like many MP3 players these days, you'll have to shell out extra for a power adaptor (£19). There also isn't an iTunes software CD, which leaves those not connected to the Internet in trouble. And while the futuristic headphones sound decent, they didn't stay firmly in our ears (no foam earbud covers in this version).

The 80GB iPod with its bundled accessories: notice the lack of a power adaptor

Features
The iPod's enhanced software definitely makes it better. For one, you can search tunes using an alphabet-style instant search. The last option in the Music menu, Search places a two-line virtual keyboard at the bottom of the screen. The first letter you select brings up all artist, album and song titles that begin with that letter, with albums and artists indicated by icons.

Results pop up dynamically as you enter new letters. If you type in 'ca', you'll see results listed by all the titles that start with 'ca', then continue with any mention of the letters 'ca' in any title. It's a little more sophisticated than the search features found in the Creative Zen Vision:M (and other players that first implemented search-by-letters), but because you have to select Done to browse your results, it's a tad more tedious to use.

The search feature, which brings the iPod up to speed with some other brands, gives you a leg up on your massive music library

Another 'borrowed' feature is that as you scroll through tracks, the first letter of the track section appears as a graphical button overlay. This is truly convenient when scrolling through huge lists where your desired alphabet 'sector' used to whiz by, and you'd have to make a U-turn. We've found we still tend to pass by our desired letter, but not by much.

Gapless playback is probably one of the most requested minor features in any MP3 player, and Apple has responded. Many music fanatics, especially those who like dance music, can now enjoy their music without annoying gaps. We think this is a valuable feature that should be implemented more throughout the MP3 world (the classic Rio Karma and the current Archos 04 series also do pure gapless playback). The new iPod lineup (the updated iPod, iPod nano and iPod Shuffle, as well as the older 5G iPod once it has the software update) can apply the gapless playback settings that need to be manually stitched to each track in iTunes.

Finally, Apple has added a refined games section, which includes titles such as Bejeweled, Tetris, Texas Hold 'Em and Pac-Man. The games are quality, though familiar games such as Pac-Man take some adjustment as you need to tap the Click Wheel to control the little fella. It also takes a good 12 seconds to load a game. New games are available online at the iTunes Store and cost £3.99 each.