GIDGET: My New Digital iPal

A few weeks ago Steve Jobs announced the new 5G iPod, “now with video.” Like any iPod user, I was both curious and excited about the announcement. It was long speculated in rumor sites, and forums, and so it wasn’t such a big surprise when Jobs finally unveiled it to the world. Well I was able to get my hands on one of the new iPod a few weeks ago, but instead of writing a technical review (which is available in countless tech/gadget websites), I decided to write a sort of diary about my new iPal. From my quest to finding the said iPod, to opening the box, to marveling at the new design, to plugging it to a Mac and synching it with songs and videos, and to actually road-testing it. Think of it as …A Day In The Life Of Gidget.

I was browsing the web when I came upon Apple's website, and saw the new 5G iPods. My old iPod mini (ok so its just over a year old), was quickly running out of disk space, and would soon be unable to accommodate my ever-expanding collection of mostly rock music. I had thought of purchasing a 30GB iPod photo, but the introduction of the new iPod couldn’t have come any sooner. This was great news for me, as the price of the 30GB iPod video was the roughly same as the 30 gigger iPod photo. So guess which one I should buy? Suffice to say; I decided to wait for a few weeks before I made the purchase. This way I would get additional feedback about the product from early buyers, and from tech reviewers. It sure was a difficult three weeks, because the more I read about the reviews and clamors, I was really excited getting my own unit. And so after resisting the temptations this long, I finally gave in and commenced my quest to acquire the new iPod.

Armed with my trusty credit card I set off for the mall in search of the new iPod. But even after a few weeks of waiting, I wasn’t sure if it was already available in the nearest local shops. Well it turned out that I was right. None of the local shops even knew that the new iPods even existed. Defeated I waited for a few more days until I tried to go to other malls, still no luck. After a few more days I decided to head for Apple Center (which I was definitely sure had some in stock already). I was hoping I wouldn’t have to make the trip to Makati because of the traffic, but hey I badly needed my techno fix, and so… To make the long story short, I finally went home with a brand spanking new iPod at hand (yey!).

Upon arriving home, I immediately opened the box and check if everything was in there. Never having owned the large iPod before, I didn’t really take notice of how big the new screen is (unlike most people who reviewed it). I did notice that the click-wheel was the same size as that of my mini. Having seen an iPod nano from my cousin, I would say that the material used are the same with the iPod video, which would mean that it is also prone to scratching. That bothered me a bit, but at least it came with a slipcase. Comparing it with my mini, I would say that the 30GB is just as thin as the mini (haven’t really proven that yet). Time to boot up the sucker and sync it with the computer!

After a few minutes It was up and running. Videos I had already converted to be compatible with the iPod got synched without any hitch. I also had to name my new iPod. My mini was named Pogo, and I wanted something cute and female sounding. Immediately, I thought of the name Gidget. I remember it being a name of a model or something, plus it was a play on the word gadget.
After charging it for a while (it was already factory charged) I took it for a spin. The music was just as great. I didn’t really notice if it was better than my mini, but at least it was just as good. The screen was bright and clear, and I could see how amazing the videos would look. So after much delay, I loaded up Star Wars to test its video capability. All I can say is wow! It works! Even though the screen is only 2.5 inches, the sharpness makes it appear bigger than it really was. I didn’t find myself squinting at all. I was even able to read the intro scrawl. Amazing! So for the next few hours I just drowned myself with my new digital pal, and in the following few days I started adding more video content, including music videos and videocasts. The new iPod is certainly a worthy upgrade (especially coming from a 4GB mini), but despite the addition of video, I still regard it as a music player first and foremost. I don’t know what Apple has in store for the venerable iPod in the future, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. For the meantime I’m gonna go watch Matrix on my new iPod.