USB and Firewire capabilities

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USB and Firewire capabilities

Ask iLounge offers readers the opportunity to get answers to their iPod-, iPhone-, iPad-, iTunes-, or Apple TV-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.

I am planning on getting an iPod for Christmas this year, but have a few concerns about putting music on it. I have an iBook G3 from mid-2001 that is equipped with USB 1.1, not 2.0, so I apparently can’t use the included cable. If I buy the Firewire cable, does this also charge the iPod while loading music?

- Jennifer

A: First, a USB 2.0 cable is completely compatible with USB 1.1 - no worries there, except that USB 1.1 can’t charge any iPod.

However, your question about Firewire is increasingly relevant. In the recent past, connectivity options haven’t been much of a problem - especially for Mac iPod users. With Apple’s recent decision to drop Firewire data transfer support on both the iPod nano and yesterday’s 5th Generation iPod, however, we felt it would be worth clarifying the situation for all users:

Here’s a current list of iPod data & charging capabilities:

iPod Model	USB 1.1	USB2.0	Firewire
1st Gen	-	-	Charge & Sync
2nd Gen	-	-	Charge & Sync
3rd Gen	Sync only	Sync only	Charge & Sync
4th Gen	Sync only	Charge & Sync	Charge & Sync
Photo	Sync only	Charge & Sync	Charge & Sync
5th Gen	Sync only	Charge & Sync	Charge only
1G/2G mini	Sync only	Charge & Sync	Charge & Sync
nano	Sync only	Charge & Sync	Charge only

What does this mean for you with respect to current and recent iPods? You can use Firewire for 4th Generation, photo, or mini iPods, transferring data at full speed. You can use the iPod nano or yesterday’s new 5th Generation iPods, but your transfer rate will be much slower than optimal.

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