6. The Third Generation iPod In Action, Continued

There is no change in the sound quality of the new third-generation iPod. The newest iPod delivers sound quality that is equal to the previous generations of the iPod. The ear buds have undergone a bit of an overhaul to reduce their size. Some users must have complained about the size of the original ear buds, as we did quite a number of tests comparing the original ear buds vs. the new ones, and could not tell any difference between the two, other than their size reduction.

We tested the battery life claims of the third-generation iPod, which claims a battery life of about 8 hours after a full charge. As we explained in our first review of the iPod, in order to achieve these claimed battery times Apple uses the strategy of keeping the hard disk spun down as much as possible, while reading the MP3 files in from the 32 MB of RAM cache that is aboard the iPod. As you might guess, no one really knows how Apple's energy management strategy works for the iPod beyond these broad strokes.

We charged the iPod and completely drained the iPod battery three times after opening the box. We then created a play list that included about 25 songs that were a total size of about 75 MB, and then set the iPod to continuously repeat this play list. We next set the iPod on a stable surface and monitored its performance while waiting for its battery to shut down. If our guesses about the power management strategy were correct, the iPod would have to spin up to two or three times during the play list to load more tracks into the buffer. In an 'active' rather than 'test' mode where the possibility of misreads on the hard disk could occur, this could affect battery life and performance; so we look at this test mode as a "best case" scenario. We ran this test three times, re-charging the iPod each time for a minimum of 6 hours between test runs. In our testing results, the iPod's battery run time was 'on the money' with results of 7 hours 49 minutes, 7 hours 45 minutes, and 7 hours 52 minutes, respectively. The iPod delivers exceptional battery performance, which is no small feat, as the new iPod uses a new battery that is much smaller in size than its predecessor.

Another great new feature is the iPod's ability to create a play list on the fly with the new "On-The-Go Play List Maker" feature. This allows the user to create a new play list from the files that are already on the iPod. While the "On-The-Go" play list can't be archived, it is retained until the next time the iPod is connected to a PC. MusicMatch Jukebox software has included some new enhancements to make the creation and management of play lists somewhat easier than before.

As we explained previously, the new back lit buttons are a very welcomed addition. The sensitivity of these buttons is, however, a little more than necessary. It took some practice to get accustomed to using these buttons, as we were used to the original "click" oriented buttons on the previous generation iPods. The new navigation wheel, on the other hand, was similar: it took us some time to adjust to it. Instead of being too touch sensitive, however, it appears to be a little less responsive than its predecessors.

Overall, in everyday use the iPod is equal to the previous generation of iPods. The sound quality is every bit as good and the new form factor is nice. The iPod performed very well and we really did not find much about this new version of the iPod that we didn't like.