![]() Brightness: Video PlaybackĪll times in hours:minutes, rounded to the nearest minute.Īs you can see, with screen brightness at the lowest level, the new 30GB iPod was able to play 24 additional minutes of video, just over 10 percent longer with brightness increased to the maximum, video playback time was reduced by a full hour-a 26 percent decrease. By lowering the brightness level, you can increase the iPod’s playback time.” So I also tested the video-watching battery life of both models with the brightness level first turned all the way up and then turned all the way down:īattery Life vs. As Apple notes, “brightness level will have a direct impact on battery life. In my testing, the new iPods hold up well to Apple’s claims of longer battery life, surpassing even the new, longer estimates in every test except for video playback on the 80GB model-in that case, battery life was within 22 seconds of Apple’s rated time, at 6 hours, 29 minutes, and 38 seconds.īut these numbers don’t tell the whole story. (If you rip your music at higher or lower bit rates, your battery life will be shorter or longer, respectively.) For the photo slideshow and video tests, I used the iPod’s default brightness setting while viewing a repeating slideshow of iTunes-synced photos accompanied by the same music playlist, or while repeatedly playing the movie Good Will Hunting (purchased from the iTunes Store), respectively. For music, I played a single playlist of 4- to 6-minute songs, each encoded at 160kbps AAC, and with audio effects (EQ, Sound Check) and backlighting off. Below is a chart of Apple’s battery estimates for the original and new 5G iPods performing a variety of tasks, along with my results after testing the new line.Īll tests were performed using a fully-charged iPod with Apple’s included headphones and the volume set at approximately 50 percent of maximum. ![]() Although the actual sizes of the two models haven’t changed-4.1 by 2.4 by 0.43 inches for the 30GB model and 4.1 by 2.4 by 0.55 inches for the 80GB model, the same as the previous 30GB and 60GB models, respectively-battery life has improved significantly. ![]() The other major hardware improvement in the new 5G iPods is longer battery life. ![]() (This brightness level doesn’t affect output to a TV.) But crank it up to the maximum and you’ll see the new screen in all its brightly-shining glory. Via a new Brightness option in the iPod’s Settings menu, you can increase or decrease overall screen brightness that level is set by default to midway between brightest and dimmest. That’s because of another new feature: adjustable screen brightness. That said, you won’t actually see this dramatic difference in brightness when you first take a new iPod out of its box: Its screen will be only slightly brighter than its predecessor’s. Today’s 80GB iPod gets you 229MB for every dollar.) The additional storage alone makes the biggest iPod ever quite appealing to those who actually use their iPod for storing video (and, of course, for those with huge music collections or who listen to high-bit-rate, lossless, or uncompressed music). (Stop and consider for a moment that just four years ago, $399 got you only 5GB-a little more than 12.5MB for every dollar. However, instead of 30GB and 60GB models, the new line gets you 30GB for $249 and a whopping 80GB for $349-each model $50 cheaper than before. Like the original 5G line, the new 5G iPod is available in two sizes. But in many ways, thanks to its improved video support and additional multimedia features, the latest full-size iPod may be the most significant in terms of its role as a harbinger of products to come. In fact, the new 5G iPod-officially known as Fifth Generation iPod (Late 2006)-is virtually identical to its original-5G predecessor on the outside most of its changes are under the hood, in the form of software updates and improved hardware. Contrary to many rumors and much speculation leading up to the event, we didn’t see a “real” video iPod-one with a larger screen and a video-watching-focused design. Of all the announcements Steve Jobs made during a special press event on September 12 -including a new iPod nano ( ), the debut of iTunes 7 ( ) and movie downloads, and a new iPod shuffle -an update to the fifth-generation (5G) iPod generated the least buzz.
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