First on my block... of 6.5 million people.
Apple launched the iPod in Hong Kong today.
Needless to say, I snapped one up.
I'm a little bit bugged, though.
1. Why does Apple have to include a 40-foot FireWire cable? Actually, I measured it and it's 6 and a half feet. But this is ridiculous, especially for use with a Powerbook. Let's get this straight... a mouse, which stays on your desk, needs only two feet of cable, but a device which is meant to be portable needs six and a half. Riiight.
Fortunately, OWC shipped a more logical 2' FW cable with my Oxford FW enclosure that I can use instead.
2. You know the cool power adapter that plugs directly into the wall? Well, Apple was too cheap to design a British plug that fits the way the US plug fits directly onto the brick. Instead we get a separate, thick-ass, huge six and a half foot power cord that the brick plugs into, and it looks like sh^t. As soon as I can I'll post a pic. You'll be amazed. Are UK iPods shipped like this too?
3. The screen is really, really poor quality. Backlighting is uneven and there are vertical lines of liquid crystal "shadowing". This is obviously a very poor quality passive matrix screen.
4. In the demo unit I noticed that the matte white navigation wheel is going to get really dirty, and it doesn't look very easy to clean.
5. Apple really needs to include slipcase and a cap for the firewire port, the cheap bastahds
.
But it's not all bad. A nice touch I noticed is that the Apple logo and legal info on the back isn't silk-screened on, it's actually etched into the metal. Nice.
I'll send an update later...
Needless to say, I snapped one up.
I'm a little bit bugged, though.
1. Why does Apple have to include a 40-foot FireWire cable? Actually, I measured it and it's 6 and a half feet. But this is ridiculous, especially for use with a Powerbook. Let's get this straight... a mouse, which stays on your desk, needs only two feet of cable, but a device which is meant to be portable needs six and a half. Riiight.
Fortunately, OWC shipped a more logical 2' FW cable with my Oxford FW enclosure that I can use instead.2. You know the cool power adapter that plugs directly into the wall? Well, Apple was too cheap to design a British plug that fits the way the US plug fits directly onto the brick. Instead we get a separate, thick-ass, huge six and a half foot power cord that the brick plugs into, and it looks like sh^t. As soon as I can I'll post a pic. You'll be amazed. Are UK iPods shipped like this too?
3. The screen is really, really poor quality. Backlighting is uneven and there are vertical lines of liquid crystal "shadowing". This is obviously a very poor quality passive matrix screen.
4. In the demo unit I noticed that the matte white navigation wheel is going to get really dirty, and it doesn't look very easy to clean.
5. Apple really needs to include slipcase and a cap for the firewire port, the cheap bastahds
.But it's not all bad. A nice touch I noticed is that the Apple logo and legal info on the back isn't silk-screened on, it's actually etched into the metal. Nice.
I'll send an update later...
Comments
I got to play with one on Saturday, and the screen wasn't bad at all, IMO. Maybe its different overseas?
Sorry about your power convereter woes.
<strong> Why does Apple have to include a 40-foot FireWire cable? Actually, I measured it and it's 6 and a half feet. But this is ridiculous, especially for use with a Powerbook. Let's get this straight... a mouse, which stays on your desk, needs only two feet of cable, but a device which is meant to be portable needs six and a half. Riiight..</strong><hr></blockquote>
What if (like me) you have a G4 tower and it's on the floor under the desk. You will then be glad for the extra FW cable length.
The info about the UK style plug is interesting (I didn't know they used the UK style 3 pronged plugs in HK. do you have 240v supply to) I had hoped as Mr Ives is English he would have designed a nice plug for us