Key Specs
160GB
AAC; MP3; WAV; AIFF; Audible; Apple Lossless
JPEG; TIFF, PICT; GIF; PNG; JPG2000/JP2; PSD; SGI; BMP
H.264; MPEG-4
2.5 inches
No
Yes
None
36 hours (audio); 6 hours (video)
4.1x2.4x0.4 inches
4.9 ounces
n a world where the iPod Touch now rules as king of the iPods, some were surprised when the Apple iPod Classic, first introduced in 2001, got a revision in the latest round of Apple's media-player releases. Granted, it's not much of a refresh. The most notable new feature is its expanded hard drive, which went from 120GB to 160GB. (According to Apple's projections, that's 40,000 songs, 200 hours of video, or 25,000 photos.) Raw capacity alone makes the iPod Classic the best bang-for-your-buck deal in the iPod family if you intend to carry lots of media files. If you're dead-set on buying an iPod, what it comes down to is whether you are willing to sacrifice the sleek design and advanced features of the iPod Touch for the big hard drive capacity and long battery life of the Classic.
The latest Classic looks just like the previous version in every way. The front of the body is covered with anodized aluminum, and the back is the same smudge-and-scratch-attracting metal that has become synonymous with the Classic. At just 0.4 inch thick and 4.9 ounces, the Classic can easily be slid into your pocket for on-the-go use. The familiar scroll wheel with forward, back, Menu, and pause/play buttons sits below the 2.5-inch plastic color screen. (The Classic is the only iPod to not feature a glass, scratch-resistant screen.) A select button lies in the middle of the wheel, and on top of the body is the Hold button (which freezes the functions of the iPod) and a headphone jack.
The iPod Classic has always been admirable for its combination of functionality and simplicity, and the latest model is no different. It's amazing how easily you can operate it with so few buttons. We have to admit, however, that after using the iPod interface on our iPhone for so long, we got a bit tired at first of navigating through several menu pages to do what the iPhone can do on a single page. But, like we said before, there are sacrifices to be made if you choose to go with the Classic.
The split-screen LCD displays menu items on one side while scrolling through album artwork on the other. Although we thought this was a cool feature when we first started using it, the novelty wore off after a while. The split screen will also display a clock while in that menu, as well as a visual representation of the date while in Calendar. Another new feature with the Classic is the ability to scroll through music using Cover Flow, which shows album covers as you browse through your music. We found this feature to be more useful on our iPhone and on the iPod Touch, where you have a much bigger screen to scroll through. We switched back to the classic mode, which just shows the song/artist/album info, pretty quickly.
Like the previous generation of the Classic, you'll find the Genius feature on this one, too (although you have to have this feature enabled in the iTunes software on your computer for it to work on your iPod). This is a fun way to create a 25-song playlist based on the characteristics of one song. This is a feature that we have grown to love, and we're hardly ever disappointed by the mix that the Genius puts together. The Classic gets the advantage here because the more songs you have on your hard drive, the more opportunity there is for diverse playlists. And with 160GB of space available, you've got plenty of room for music. We admit to having a pretty extensive music collection, but we couldn't even come close to filling up this hard drive. That means most folks will have plenty of room left over for the photos and video that the Classic also supports. (Alternately, if you have an older iPod, you can also use our guide to upgrade your hard drive up to 250GB.)
