First Generation iPod Tips & Advice

For music lovers on the go, the standard player for years was some version of a hand held or belt loop attached device that played cassette tapes or compact discs. Rolling through double-A batteries, skipping as you jog, and 'eating the tape' episodes were common issues that people just grinned though, since there weren't any other options available. Since those grim and distant days, Apple computers have released the gold standard of music players, the iPod. Reading compressed audio files like .mp3 and .m4a, the iPod stores music digitally, organizes it, and plays it back from its small, hand-held display. Using a rechargeable battery, the ability to read and store music directly from a personal computer, as well as the bonus of being platform neutral (accepts PCs and Macs) makes the iPod the perfect way to listen to your music on the go.

In this free video clip series, our expert will explain the basic pieces of information you need to know before purchasing an iPod, tips for getting started with your new media player, as well as methods to utilize the iPod's extra features, file type recognition and unique menu browser, the click wheel. See for yourself how simple the iPod is to use and get inspired to shed that dated disc player!

"Hi! My name is Eric. I’m coming to you today on behalf of expertvillage.com to talk to you about the 1st through 4th generation units of iPods that have come out in the years of 2002-2005. The first unit I’m going to show you today is the iPod second generation model that I have here. It was the first unit to dawn the actual touch wheel, which in common in all of the current model iPods today except for the iPod shuffle. The 1st generation and 2nd generation units are completely identical in shape, non-rounded features, and solid back polished silver exterior case. They both dawn a full size fire wire port at the very top, a plastic hold switch, and a remote and headphone port that are both completely connected together. The 1st generation model, which I don’t have the ability to show you today, has an actual fully movable scroll wheel on the very front of it. These units have not been in use since about the end of 2003. When in the early Christmas season of that year, the 3rd generation iPod unit was introduced. This unit was rather interesting in the fact that is was the first one to go through and introduce the iPod dock connector cable, which allowed it to be plugged in to Windows PC computers via USB later on. This unit was available on multiple sizes, in 10, 20, 30, and 40-gigabyte capacities, and moderately about the same size. Notably, it was the first one to go through and separate the headphone jack and the remote port as two separate entity. The actual hold button was changed over to a solid metal piece, and the 4 buttons that have surrounded the wheel on the 1st and 2nd generation model, were moved above the wheel to make the wheel independent for ease of use. This was the last of the actual non-colored screen units, which was modified and taken care of and introduced in early 2005. As you can see, with this unit it dawns a beautiful vibrant colored screen and has all the features that would allow it to be a phone companion, hence the name iPod Photo. The buttons on this unit were relocated and moved under the actual click wheel itself and made very convenient for ease of use while either driving or traveling, and it was one of the hottest selling products of the 2005 Christmas season. Identical to the earlier generation model except for the fact that it maintained of an actual video port on the top. This is the information that we have for you today on the first generations of the iPod. My name is Eric."