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iPod Accessories

  • Dec. 19th, 2006 at 12:39 PM
thinkgeek - geek.
I'm still all hyped up about my iPod, of course. So far my favorite feature - besides the big one, watching videos - are the fact that podcasts are dated and it shows which ones you haven't listened to yet. I like podcasts, so that plus the scrolling title is an awesome benefit for me. And the whole thing is just awesome in general!

I'm trying to decide what, if any, accessories I should get now. For my old one I had a $15 pair of earbuds and they are working fine on this one, of course. My car charger and cassette adapter work fine too. I spent $25 on the iSkin eVo3 case (the "arctic" color) because I want the best protection possible for this iPod; for my old one I got a pink silicone case - which I have since lost! - but it was kind of cheap. For this one I want good protection.

I got a $50 Amazon gift certificate from the webmaster of a site I've worked on this year, so I am looking at a few accessories there. So far my Shopping List includes the USB power adapter, TuneJuice battery backup, Logitech wireless headphones, the Macally portable speaker, and the iTop button relocator. Or I could use the $50 for something from my wishlist, and just let the iPod be an iPod and not obsess over it so much. Input welcome!

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[info]sskipstress wrote:
Dec. 19th, 2006 06:08 pm (UTC)
I have a red eVo3 :) I got a USB power adapter for home, but I find that I'm charging more often from the car or from the firewire adapter I had at the office for my old iPod.
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[info]firesign3000 wrote:
Dec. 19th, 2006 06:31 pm (UTC)
the podcast stuff on the 5g ipods is awesome. i love my 60 gig video. for me, though, as nice as the video is i rarely use it. for one thing, the screen is way too small for watching anything longer than short video podcasts. for another it chews through the battery. for me, even the psp screen is too small for watching a full length film. id rather just load it up on the laptops hd if i can. ymmv. enjoy your new ipod! it is made of awesome. :)
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[info]woofiegrrl wrote:
Dec. 19th, 2006 06:38 pm (UTC)
One of the primary reasons I chose the 80GB version is because the battery life while watching videos is reportedly 6.5 hours. I figure even if they are being generous, it might be able to pull off 4 hrs, and if I can get two movies out of it then I'm happy. Unfortunately it turns out that transcoding into the iPod format takes at least twice as long as the actual runtime - it took about 2 hrs each to transcode a couple of 45 min shows.
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[info]gomer43 wrote:
Dec. 19th, 2006 07:02 pm (UTC)
The transcoding time depends on, of course, your computer. My iBook also does it kind of slow, but I just let it transcode overnight, and it's all ready for me in the AM!

I have the power adapter for being on the go. I rarely use it though - between being docked at work for use on my work PC and docked at home when I'm using it as a drive or syncing, it's almost always charged. I thought about getting a backup battery, but with the 80GB's battery life, I can't see how I'd ever need it. I have the Contour iSee Video clear plastic case so I can see my iPod completely. I'm tempted to not use it though, as the iPod feels so nice in my hand... ah, aesthetics.

You can get close to 6 hours, but it requires keeping the brightness and volume down to the minimum. To heck with that - the video looks better really bright, and then you indeed get about 4, 4.5 hours of video with the 80GB. Do yourself a couple of favors though - be sure to reset your iPod occasionally (I find the battery meter is more accurate when I do this) by setting to Hold, then off Hold, then hold down Menu and center button at the same time until it turns off and then back on, and then also "calibrate" your battery once a month by starting with a full charge, and then nonstop play it until it dies, and then fully recharge it again. This is supposed to keep the battery capacity higher longer. Anecdotally, it seems to work.
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[info]woofiegrrl wrote:
Dec. 19th, 2006 07:06 pm (UTC)
Thanks for the tip! That doesn't require me to reload everything onto the iPod though, does it? The songs and movies will all be intact?

How often do you do the reset vs. calibrating once a month?
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[info]gomer43 wrote:
Dec. 19th, 2006 08:40 pm (UTC)
No, a reset doesn't erase iPod, it just "reboots" it. It's the default troubleshooting measure whenever anything weird happens on iPod, too.

If you ever do want to do a hard reset (Apple calls it a "restore", which is restoring to factory settings), you can do that in iTunes when iPod is connected, by going to iPod's summary screen and clicking Restore. (I'm sure you saw that already, but just in case...)

I usually reset once a week, and calibrate once a month. YMMV, depending on if you're as anal retentive as I am. :P
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[info]woofiegrrl wrote:
Dec. 20th, 2006 08:04 pm (UTC)
Oh, also, my laptop has a smaller penis than yours, so it doesn't like to play video much. I downloaded a few free TV shows from the iTunes store a while back, but the laptop just choked on them. I was finally able to watch them when I put them on my new iPod. Go figure!
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[info]firesign3000 wrote:
Dec. 19th, 2006 07:02 pm (UTC)
yeah, transcoding takes awhile, depending on how fast your computer is and stuff.
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[info]tiny_elbow wrote:
Dec. 20th, 2006 03:45 am (UTC)
I have a red evo, but I'm not using it right now. Those wireless headphones look great. I still haven't bought any speakers. And I haven't been calibrating, oops! What podcasts do you like?
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[info]woofiegrrl wrote:
Dec. 20th, 2006 04:09 pm (UTC)
I've heard that those wireless headphones break easily, but I am usually pretty careful with my electronics so I might get them anyway. There is a newer model, also from Logitech, that looks like it is less breakable, but it's more expensive!

I love podcasts. Here's a few of the ones I've been listening to for a while:
Tech Tuesday (Kojo Nnamdi show from WAMU)
Ouch! (BBC disability podcast)
This Week in Tech
A Way with Words (KPBS show about language)

For some reason my iPod isn't showing all of them - does it only show unheard podcasts?! So I will check tonight when I get home to my iTunes and see what I'm actually subscribed to.
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[info]tiny_elbow wrote:
Dec. 21st, 2006 03:14 am (UTC)
Hmm, I dunno why it would not be showing them unless they aren't on there... maybe something about your iTunes preferences isn't putting them on your iPod? Dunno, sorry! A Way with Words sounds neat! I really like Japanesepod101 and I kind of like Grammar Girl...
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