2010 iPod + iPhone Buyers' Guide

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Ask iLounge 4-28-06

Author's pic

By Jeremy Horwitz

Editor-in-Chief, iLounge
Published: Friday, April 28, 2006
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:

How do I copy music from my iPod onto my computer?

Click here for the answer.

The second most asked question at iLounge.com:

How do I put DVDs on my iPod?


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

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

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:

This special edition of Ask iLounge responds to a number of frequently asked questions iLounge’s editors have received from readers and iPod accessory vendors over the past several months. We’ll resume our normal edition next week.

Q:

What happened to the iLounge Week in Review podcasts? I loved listening to them every week, and now they’re gone without a trace. Will they be coming back?

A:

You can still find our past editions here. There were three main reasons we decided to discontinue the iLounge Week in Review podcasts late last year - traffic, time, and value. At its peak, our podcast ranked 8th in the United States on the iTunes Music Store - this even surprised us - and similarly in the U.K. version of iTMS. Yet the total number of listeners at that point was in the single-digit thousands, which was clearly better than zero, but not enough to justify the time and effort that went into every week’s edition.

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Behind the scenes, production was very problematic. We tried a variety of different software tools to produce our shows, which were being recorded via an overseas audio connection between iLounge’s U.S.- and U.K.-based staff. The connections were highly unreliable, and the tools had an amazing tendency to crash and lose most or all of our recordings - often after we’d finished doing the entire podcast. So a single half-hour show sometimes was recorded three times, interrupted by international telecom issues, and then edited for another hour or two. As much as we enjoyed doing a podcast on the first take, we tired of having to repeat everything over and over, and losing everything with such frequency.

Several weeks ago, we tried to use the Podcast Studio feature of Apple’s latest Garageband to produce a short podcast introduction to the iTalkPro voice recorder samples we placed online. We were blown away with the program’s ease of use and results, creating a recording that explained pretty much everything above, then led into the audio samples. Then Garageband crashed, losing all of the new podcast, so we decided to pull the plug once and for all. Apple has since patched Garageband to improve its reliability, but we’re not rushing back into podcasting unless there’s a really good reason to do so.

Q:

What are some of your favorite applications for iPod video creation?

A:

In addition to the programs mentioned in our PC and Mac video creation tutorials, we’re presently very impressed by Eric Petit’s Instant Handbrake, which simplifies video creation, and Lowell Stewart’s Lostify, which easily creates iTunes-ready metatags for video files. PC users can use Atomic Parsley or its easier alternative versions (bottom of page).

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Q:

I’ve noticed that some of your reviews indicate that certain iPod accessories are “Made For iPod,” while others do not. What does “Made for iPod” mean, and why doesn’t that appear on all of your reviews.

A:

Made For iPod is a licensing program developed by Apple, ostensibly to guarantee a base level of quality across licensed products, and also to provide Apple with a royalty fee (in 2005, approximately 10% of every Made For iPod product’s wholesale price) used to help build the iPod brand worldwide. We set up an information page on Made For iPod when it was announced in early 2005, and have updated it a couple of times since then. Some companies have joined the program, others have not.

Apple hasn’t explained the Made For iPod program especially well to members of the public, and from what we’ve seen, iPod accessory prices have been going up steadily since the program was introduced, without commensurate benefits to consumers. We get the feeling that this trend will continue in 2006, and perhaps get worse. For these reasons, we have been considering whether to drop Made For iPod references from our reviews going forward, and would appreciate your comments on that subject.

Q:

Has anything been added to the site recently that you guys haven’t publicized?

A:

Yes. You might want to check out our massive iPod Accessory Guide page, which now includes over 1,300 iPods and accessories in one place - now preserving all of your comments on individual products in a single place, without the need to search separately through our old Gear Guide, First Looks, and Reviews sections. We also have revamped our Articles page to make it easy for you to find the tutorials, old Ask iLounge columns, editorials and features we’ve published. There’s also a large Comparison Shopping engine now on the site, helping you to find great deals on both iPods and popular accessories.

Finally, brand new photo and art galleries are now online for our Free iPod Book 2.0 contests, which we strongly encourage you to enter. Over $3500 in prizes are there to be won!

Q:

My company is planning to release a new iPod product in the future. What do I need to know before I become involved in the iLounge community?

A:

Read our site policies first. Then contact Dennis Lloyd (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) for additional details.

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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...

Next: Editorial: Thank you, Steve

Previous: Ask iLounge 4-20-06

Comments

1

What does erro 4450 mean when I try to burn a cd

Posted by FINGER on April 29, 2006 at 6:05 AM (PDT)

2

I am very disappointed that there will be no more podcasts.  This should be something that you guys do.  I mean you guys cover iPod’s and podcasting is a natural fit.  Also I can’t help but be offended that thousands of listeners are not enough of you guys to feel it worth while.  How many are needed to keep the website going?  I guess I could keep going but I am a little hurt.

Posted by timp4jc on April 29, 2006 at 7:56 PM (PDT)

3

I agree that a product’s “Made for iPod” status has no bearing on a review of the product for three reasons:  whether it works well with an ipod or not will come out in the review, the status as Made For Ipod is basically meaningless since Apple won’t explain just what the standards are, and it doesn’t apply to the large variety of cases available.

Posted by Chibithulhu on April 30, 2006 at 5:44 AM (PDT)

4

Can 2 ipods run on one computer, beacause me and my dad have been haveing troble with that.

Posted by Sup? on May 2, 2006 at 12:15 AM (PDT)

5

an apple application crashed?? surely not??

Posted by robroe in Manchester, UK on May 3, 2006 at 5:45 AM (PDT)

6

I have been trying to figure out how to put a tv show on my iPod. I have the show in a folder on my desktop but when i go to add a file in iTunes it doesn’t add. I am lost and i need some help. Thanks

Posted by coolripper88 on May 23, 2006 at 1:09 PM (PDT)

If you have a comment, news tip, advertising inquiry, or coverage request, a question about iPods or accessories, or if you sell or market iPod products or services, read iLounge's Comments + Questions policies before posting, and fully identify yourself if you do. We will delete comments containing advertising, astroturfing, trolling, personal attacks, offensive language, or other objectionable content, then ban and/or publicly identify violators.





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