2010 iPod + iPhone Buyers' Guide

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Ask iLounge 3-14-08

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By Jesse David Hollington

Contributing Editor
Published: Friday, March 14, 2008
Category: Ask iLounge

Ask iLounge offers readers the opportunity to get answers to their iPod-related questions from a member of the iLounge editorial team. We'll answer several questions here each week, and of course, you can always get help with more immediate concerns from the iLounge Discussion Forums. Submit your questions for consideration using our Ask iLounge Submit Form. We reserve the right to edit questions for grammar, spelling, and length.

The most asked question at iLounge.com:

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For converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and home movies to your iPod, iPhone or Apple TV, we have a three-part series outlining the best formats, settings, and various tools to use for converting all types of video content for use on these devices.

The Complete Guide to iPod, Apple TV and iPhone Video Formats

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The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Windows)

Top five questions most recently asked by iLounge readers:

Q: What are the best speakers to use with my iPod? (15, 76-79, and 90-92)

Q: What are the best headphones to use with my iPod? (10, 72-75, and 90-92)

Q: I really want to get a nice case for my iPod. Do you have any suggestions? (36-37, 54-67, and 90-92)

Q: How can I connect my iPod to my car stereo? (14, 32-35, 68-71, and 90-92)

Q: Are there any batteries that I can use to extend my iPod's battery life? (82-83 and 90-92)

A: Answers to these and many other questions can be found in two places. Our Free iPod Book 3.3 provides a complete report card to all of the iPod accessories we've reviewed as of summer 2007, as well as over 125 iTunes and iPod tips & tricks. Further, our new 2008 iPod & iPhone Buyers' Guide has accessory tutorials at the page numbers listed in parentheses above. These and other publications in our Library are free downloads, developed by the editors of iLounge!

And now, for this week's Ask iLounge column:

Q:

iTunes only seems to register a “skipped” song when I skip a song in iTunes itself. When I skip a song playing on my iPod or iPhone it doesn’t seem to register in iTunes’ skip count. Interestingly, when my wife skips a song on her shuffle it seems to register in iTunes. Is this a common occurrence, and is there a solution that will allow me to keep track of skips so that my Smart Playlists exclude recently skipped songs?

- Richard

A:

Unfortunately, the “Skip Count” feature has not bee consistently implemented on all iPod models and firmware versions at this point.

Specifically, only the following iPod models actually support the “Skip Count” at this point:

  • Fifth-generation iPod with firmware v1.2
  • Second-generation iPod nano
  • iPod classic
  • iPod nano (with video)
  • Second-generation iPod shuffle

At this point, skip counts are not tracked at all on the iPhone, iPod touch, or Apple TV, although this may certainly change with future firmware updates.

Even on the iPod models that do support tracking skip count, the skip count is only incremented when the track is skipped between the two second and thirty-second time intervals. Skipping a track before two seconds have elapsed or after you’ve listened to thirty seconds or more will not increment the skip count. Further, the skip count is only incremented on the iPod and in iTunes when you actually hit the “Next” button—skipping in reverse or simply exiting the track (by choosing a different track) does not increment the skip count either.

If you are using one of the supported iPod models and still find that the skip count is not incremented properly, you may wish to try a different firmware version, as it is entirely possible that this may not work reliably on all firmware versions.

Q:

During your recent interview with XtremeMac, did you happen to get more information on when the Luna X2 will ship? Everything I’ve seen indicates it will be available Jan/Feb. On the same note, any idea when the iPhone compatible iHome iP9 or iP14 will really ship? I just want a decent iPhone compatible alarm clock radio.

- Mike

A:

Actually, at Macworld in January, XtremeMac indicated to us that a March ship date would be expected. From our recent interview with them, this appears to have been pushed back to April.

Note that the Luna X2 is not specifically an iPhone-compatible device. It will work with the iPhone in the same way most other speakers will, but you can expect to receive the standard “Not Compatible” message prompting you to enable Airplane Mode, and cellular radio interference may also be an issue.

We have no information from iHome on expected release dates with regards to these devices, although expect to see more information in our news articles as it becomes available.

Q:

I’ve been nervous about applying the recent updates for my fifth-generation iPod as I’ve heard that the new firmware updates break compatibility with certain accessories, and specifically prevent any non-Apple video accessories from working in the same way that the iPod classic does. Is this true? Do I need to apply this latest firmware update or should I wait?

- Victor

A:

Our testing with the fifth-generation iPod with recent firmware versions, including the latest v1.3 version, indicates that there are no additional specific restrictions being placed by new firmware versions on the use of third-party video output accessories or any other type of accessory. It is certainly possible that compatibility with certain less mainstream accessories such as car integration kits may be affected by changes in the firmware, but we have no reason to believe that such changes would be deliberate.

The reality, however, is that the v1.3 firmware does not list any new functionality, and from our own testing, doesn’t even appear to change anything specific. There is therefore no real reason to apply this firmware upgrade if your iPod has otherwise been working fine.

Note that with the traditional iPod models such as the fifth-generation iPod and even the iPod classic, it is actually very easy to downgrade to an older firmware version, provided that you actually have that older version on-hand, and you already have all of your content in your iTunes library (since moving back to an older firmware version requires a “Restore” of your iPod).

To restore your iPod using an older firmware version, simply connect your iPod, go to the “Summary” tab in iTunes, and hold down the OPT key (Mac) or SHIFT key (Windows) while clicking the “Restore” button. iTunes will prompt you to select the firmware package you wish to use.

Existing firmware packages downloaded by iTunes itself as part of the normal iPod updates can be found in /Users/(username)/Library/Application Support/iTunes/iPod Software Updates on Mac OS X, C:\Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPod Software Updates on Windows XP, and C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPod Software Updates on Windows Vista.

Q:

After moving my iTunes library to an external hard drive can I delete the media off of my computer?

- Tina

A:

Assuming that you have moved your iTunes library to an external hard drive via the “Consolidate Library” function, as described in our article on Managing your iTunes Library on an External Hard Drive then the media left behind in the “iTunes Music” folder is no longer being used by iTunes and can be safely deleted.

To err on the side of caution, iTunes always copies files when performing library consolidations or adding new tracks into the iTunes Music folder. These original files end up being left behind as the responsibility for the user to clean up once they have confirmed that the files have been properly moved or imported.

You can spot-check your iTunes library to confirm that your library has been properly updated with the new track location simply by selecting a track and choosing File, Get Info. The “Summary” tab will show the full path to the selected track at the bottom.

Q:

I have recently bought an iPod nano, however when I go to playlists on my iPod I do not get the options for Recently Played, Top 25, etc. I only have the playlist which I created myself. How do I enable the option to see these other playlists?

- Aran

Q:

Is there a limit on the number of Playlists that can be imported onto an iPod nano? I’ve created several new playlists that don’t appear after I’ve synched. I can add songs to existing playlists, just can’t add new ones. What do I need to do to add more playlists?

- J.D.

A:

In both of your cases, it sounds like you have your iPod nano set to only sync selected playlists. This is the default behaviour when you first set up a new iPod nano with an iTunes library that is larger than the capacity of the iPod. In this case, iTunes will offer to create a selection of music to fit on your iPod, and in doing so will create a new playlist of these tracks and set your iPod to sync only that particular playlist.

Any new playlists you create will need to be selecting in your sync preferences manually before they will appear on your iPod.

You can do this by connecting your iPod, and selecting it from the iTunes source list on the left-hand side of the iTunes window. When you see the iPod “Summary” screen, simply click the “Music” tab at the top to access your music sync preferences:

From here, you can choose either “All songs and playlists” which will sync your entire music library to your iPod, including all playlists that you have created, or “Selected playlists” which will only sync tracks contained with the playlists selected from the list that appears below this option.

With “Selected Playlists” as your current option, simply ensure that you have selected any additional playlists that you also wish to appear on your iPod and click the “Apply” button.

Q:

I have over 7500 songs on my iPod that I keep on an external drive. I’ve had no problems switching between my laptop and my desktop. recently, I bought a new laptop and installed iTunes and hooked up my external drive. I went to the iTunes store an purchased some new music. I was asked to authorize my computer, which I did. Then I went to sync my iPod and a dialog box came up to say that there were 50 songs that could not be transferred to my iPod because they were not authorized. How do you get individual songs authorized?

- Laurie

A:

There is no specific way to authorize individual tracks, as the authorization key is tied to the iTunes Store account and not the tracks themselves. Basically, as long as your authorization key has been downloaded to the computer (ie, your computer is “authorized”) all tracks purchased with that account should also be authorized to play.

The most likely case of this message is that these 50 additional tracks may have been purchased or downloaded using a different iTunes Store account from your main one. This frequently happens when multiple users share the same computer, or in some cases when a user starts out with a different iTunes Store account and later changes to a new one.

You can check which account a given iTunes Store track was purchased with by selecting the track and choosing File, Get Info. The track’s “Summary” tab will show the iTunes Store account information for that particular track.

You can either use the Store, Authorize Computer menu again or simply try to play one of these tracks. In either case, you should be prompted to enter the credentials for this second account, which will authorize the computer to play these additional tracks as well. A given iTunes library or iPod can be authorized for up to five different iTunes Store accounts simultaneously.

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Ask iLounge Archives:

10-30-09: Authorization problems with iPod touch, Changing Grid View background in iTunes, iTunes library and Music Folder are different sizes, Older iPods and firmware updates, Reconciling two different iTunes libraries, Syncing multiple devices to one iTunes library

10-23-09: Using a laptop with an iTunes library on an external hard drive, Transferring YouTube videos to iPod, iPod touch accessibility settings, Disabling Shake to Shuffle on iPod nano, Purchased songs fail to download from iTunes Store, Charging and powering off iPhone

10-16-09: Moving iTunes to a new computer, Transferring contacts from Blackberry to an iPhone, Disabling iPhone Backups, Using AV cables for audio only, Problems syncing photos to iPod touch, Memorex iFlip and iPhone compatibility

10-9-09: iPhone OS and external keyboards, Adjusting ratings in a remote iTunes library, Excluding tracks from Genius Mixes, Moving iTunes library out of My Documents, Playlist folders on iPod touch, Refreshing random Smart Playlists

9-25-09: iTunes 9 and Shopping Cart, Restoring iTunes to an external hard drive, Using an HTTP Proxy over 3G, Problems transferring movies from iTunes to IPhone, iPod touch shuffle mode, Using an iPhone without a SIM card

See the rest of the Archives...

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Previous: The Complete Guide to iTunes Tagging

Comments

1

I have had a 20GB Click Wheel since 2004. It died this weekend and I don’t want to replace the Hard Drive.

Is there a model I can buy that will work with my current ITunes setup. Last fall, I bought my wife a Nano that would not sync up with my ITunes. I don’t want to make the same mistake twice.

Thanks for the help…

Posted by Wes Durham on March 19, 2008 at 6:51 PM (PDT)

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