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[ElyrionX]

Ok, I own a 3G 20GB iPod and recently picked up a 4G 20GB iPod for my sis. Well, the 4G iPod feels familiar and almost identical to the 3G iPod. Anyway, what struck me immediately was that the packaging for the 4G iPod is not even half as sleek or classy as that of the packaging for the 3G iPod. I mean, the first time I took out my 3G iPod from the box, I was literally in awe and thinking "shit, thats what I'm paying $399 for". The 3G iPod had custom-made styrofoam where every single accessory had a perfect slot to go into. The 4G iPod uses some cheap industrial greyish egg-carton-esque tray to store the components. Compared to the 3G iPod, the 4G iPod's packaging is simply meh.

Next, the whole click-wheel concept feels like a step down from the touch-interface of the 3G models. The whole point of paying so much for an iPod is precisely because the thing just feels soooo good to use and own. The touch wheel and buttons on my 3G iPod definitely feels better than the click-wheel concept in the 4G iPod.

 

[God's Hand]

I agree. I will never buy a 4G over my 3G. It's a step down.

 

[Mercury Fred]

3G>4G

However, firmwear 3.0 on 3G would be nice.

 

[mashoutposse]

You think 3G's better? Honestly, I never liked those four buttons as they are impossible to distinguish between when the thing is in your pocket (I gave away my inline remote).

 

[Marty Chinn]

You think 3G's better? Honestly, I never liked those four buttons as they are impossible to distinguish between when the thing is in your pocket (I gave away my inline remote).

Ya, I totally hate the four buttons. I either accidently hit them or they don't react when I want them too. I regret giving my 2G iPod to my g/f cuz of this. I like how you can feel the buttons being pressed on the new 4G. I sorta want to trade mine up.

 

[arter_2]

I just hate the fact that the center button on the 4g is an actual button you have to actually click in. I liked my one touch precise controls. I hope that in the next model they go back to a touch center button

 

[Phoenix]

When Apple cut the price on the 4G, the cost of the manufacturing had to go down as well...

 

[Poody]

refer to similar topic I started...

http://forums.gaming-age.com/showthread.php?t=12835

 

[xsarien]

The thing is that the 3G is actually the abberation in the iPod design. 1G and 2G iPods also had the controls around the wheel with mechanical parts, and the 4G went back to that. I'm personally not a fan of the click-wheel, but that's most likely because I'm used to the capacitance switches on the 3G. "Pushing" a button an iPod just seems really awkward instead of just tapping and/or holding.

I guess I won't have to worry about this for awhile, though. I plan on using my 3G until the battery's completely incapable of holding anything, or until the hard drive fails. Whichever comes first.

 

[mrklaw]

The 3G iPod had custom-made styrofoam where every single accessory had a perfect slot to go into. The 4G iPod uses some cheap industrial greyish egg-carton-esque tray to store the components. Compared to the 3G iPod, the 4G iPod's packaging is simply meh.

You know, that might just be Apple being nice to the environment for once. Styrofoam is v.bad for the environment - doesn't degrade, takes lots of energy to produce, blah blah.

that 'shitty egg carton stuff' is recycled, unbleached paper. Low energy, reused, easily degrades after you landfill it.

Its a good thing.

 

[God's Hand]

Just wondering... is the scroll wheel on the 4G touch sensative, or is it an actual wheel?

 

[Poody]

Just wondering... is the scroll wheel on the 4G touch sensative, or is it an actual wheel?

its touch sensitive

 

[Fowler]

Honestly, I can't see why people prefer the 3G iPods. Don't get me wrong, the tactile element of those buttons is awesome, and the red/orange button lights never fail to make people go "OH MY GOD THAT'S SO COOL!", but as cool as they look and as cool as they feel, they're just not functional.

The positioning is off, for a start. It's easy to figure out where the buttons are on the other iPods because they're arranged in a fairly simple and logical manner. With this one, if you're blindly fumbling to pause a song it's a crapshoot which button you'll actually push (or maybe I'm just retarded here).

What makes the problem worse is that the best part of those buttons -- the whole touch sensitive aspect -- makes it impossible for you to use the buttons to get your bearings, since the slightest touch will set them off.

If we're comparing the 4Gs and 3Gs overall and not just on the buttons, I like that the wheel is now bigger. I like the better software on the new ones for On-the-Go playlists, and they're thinner to boot. Not a lot thinner, but enough to make me see my 15GB 3G iPod as a fatty.

(And though I'm not a big iPod batteries suck person, it's worth noting that the 3G iPods have the worst battery performance of the lot.)

Anyway, I'm definitely upgrading to the 4G iPods soon, just waiting for the right time. I love iPods, and I really like the 3G iPods, but they're just not as good as the 4G iPods IMO.

 

[xsarien]

Honestly, I can't see why people prefer the 3G iPods. Don't get me wrong, the tactile element of those buttons is awesome, and the red/orange button lights never fail to make people go "OH MY GOD THAT'S SO COOL!", but as cool as they look and as cool as they feel, they're just not functional.

How in the hell is the orange backlighting on the labeled buttons not functional? Would you rather guess which button is which in the dark?

 

[nitewulf]

i think he meant the buttons themselves, not the lighting. anyway, i have always preffered mechanical buttons with a solid click, so i preffer the 4G, and i thought the touch buttons were a bit counter intuitive anyway.

 

[Fowler]

I was referring more to the buttons, but really with the layout of the buttons in the original iPod -> clickwheel format you don't really need to see them at all. You get there from touch alone. Though I do agree that before you figure out which button is where (which shouldn't take all that long, but whatever) a light would be helpful if you're pecking in the dark, the north-south-east-west layout is simple enough that you can navigate by touch. You don't need to look at the iPod to see which button your finger is about to hit.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

i just picked up a 4G 20gig ipod last night (one of the HP ones, is there any difference btw or is HP just paying to have their logo on the sucker?) and so far i love it. Never tried the 3G but the touch sense wheel works fine for me with the little button in the middle.

 

[xsarien]

i just picked up a 4G 20gig ipod last night (one of the HP ones, is there any difference btw or is HP just paying to have their logo on the sucker?)

Pretty much just paying to have their logos and custom designs on them, yeah. It's good for Apple because it gets the iPod into more stores that they normally don't have access to.

 

[Ninja Scooter]

Pretty much just paying to have their logos and custom designs on them, yeah. It's good for Apple because it gets the iPod into more stores that they normally don't have access to.

yeah, i freaked out a bit because the guy behind the counter was like "Oh, we got those new HP ipods in i guess. " and when i asked what the difference was he was like "Oh its just another color" and i noticed the box had a nice neon pink design and freaked out. But i made sure it was the standard white and all was well.

 

[Fresh Prince]

anyway, i have always preffered mechanical buttons with a solid click, so i preffer the 4G, and i thought the touch buttons were a bit counter intuitive anyway.

IAWTP. So far it has been really good, the centre button feels solid and definate.
Anyway all I'm hoping now is that Apple puts Gapless and an LCD remote on the agenda for the 4G.

 

[Freestyler]

All HP computers now come with iTunes pre-installed too, so that's another good thing for Apple out of the HP+iPod deal.

We've got three iPods in my house (sisters boyfriend fell in love with my iPod and so he bought her one for her birthday (a 3G) then he bought himself a 4G as soon as they were out), and I prefer the 3G's. I just don't like the feel of the new wheel and I don't like the 'new' clicking sound the wheel makes, it sounds more like a beep than the nice loud click that you get with the 3G wheels.

The four buttons of the 3G look classier too if you ask me, and I have no trouble knowing which one I'm pressing even with my eyes closed. Might be because I've had my 3G 20GB for a year though, so I'm used to it.

 

[Pochacco]

Quick Q:
Can the iPod display Asian characters? Or do they come out as gibberish characters?

 

[Timbuktu]

Quick Q:
Can the iPod display Asian characters? Or do they come out as gibberish characters?

Yes. Chinese, Japanese and Korean.

From Apple:

Menu Languages: English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Swedish, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese.

Display Song, Artist and Album Info in: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Swedish, Traditional Chinese, Turkish and Ukrainian.

 

[Pochacco]

That's great - thanks.

 

[Trasher]

Ok, I own a 3G 20GB iPod and recently picked up a 4G 20GB iPod for my sis. Well, the 4G iPod feels familiar and almost identical to the 3G iPod. Anyway, what struck me immediately was that the packaging for the 4G iPod is not even half as sleek or classy as that of the packaging for the 3G iPod. I mean, the first time I took out my 3G iPod from the box, I was literally in awe and thinking "shit, thats what I'm paying $399 for".

4G>3G
The click-wheel is awesome and I have no troubles with it, it is thinner, and it only cost me 285 bucks with shipping(plus free engraving). Who cares if the packaging is worse, just as long as it gets to me in perfect condition, which it did. Forgot to mention the better battery life.