Apple iPod Classic 160GB 6th Generation Review
To start with, we would like to brief you with what has happened with the iPod classic sixth generation so far. Steve Jobs introduced the sixth generation iPod Classic to the world on an iPod centric event on 5th September 2007. This sixth gen classic featured slightly thinner body made of different material, signature white color replaced by silver color, a cover flow with more graphics and a dramatically improved battery life. This version was released in 80GB and 160GB capacities. But then, on 9th September 2008, the thicker 160GB model was dropped in the favor of a thinner 120GB and this model also had Apple’s Genius and audio recording capabilities, but there were no firmware updates were given to the previous two models. And then, just prior to its rock and roll event in 9th September 2009, the price of the 120GB version was dropped and a new 160GB version was introduced with the same slim profile of the 120GB version.
In the following review, let us have a detailed look at this latest 160GB version of the sixth generation iPod classic.
Dimensionally thinner:
As we had mentioned earlier, the iPod Classic 160GB sixth Generation has thinner dimensions of (H x W x D) 4.1” x 2.4” x 0.41” and weights just 140 grams. The model still retains the 2.5” display of resolution 320 x 240 pixels and the click wheel is same as that of the one that we had seen previously in the iPod classic fifth generation, still made out of plastic. Though the front of the device is made out of scratch resilient anodized aluminum, the rear side of the device still has the scratch and fingerprint attracting polished metal.
The arrangement of the ports is exactly the same that you would find in the previous models. You get the hold switch and headphone jack on the top and the dock connector port is bottom mounted.
To brief about the design and physical characteristics of the iPod Classic 160GB September 2009 model, except for the thickness of the device, it has not improved by much this year. No other colorful Classic iPods have ever materialized and so, the silver and black look very dull next to the continuously evolving iPod Nano family. We feel that Apple is simply doing nothing to glamorize Classic as the only real improvements made to the device are internally with its features.
An updated user interface:
Apple had updated the user interface for iPod Nano third generation and Classic in such a way that it has more happenings than just a black text on a white background. Though the fourth generation nano dropped that and moved forward to have a new interface, the latest classic has maintained the same with no changes. The first and second level menu options are shown on the left side of the screen and its right side is used for the album artwork.
Screen:
When music, videos, photos or podcasts on the left of the screen are highlighted using the click wheel, you will be able to see the picture or the album art floating on the right. As you enter the third level of the menu, the whole screen becomes white except for the blue cursor and the black and grey text. The playlists have small grey song tallies, the artists have small artist names and art icons, the songs have artist’s names and the genres have the artist and album tallies. The videos too have the icons and appropriate summary information. The split screen menu is especially of great use in the settings menu of iPod classic. Some of the menu options like clicker, shuffle and repeat that might have confused the users of past, have appropriate explanations next to them.
Cannot adjust the EQ:
The EQ (equalizer) feature which has been long neglected by apple still does not allow the users to adjust it. However, the various presets are now having a bar style visual indicators of how they work, assuming that the users already know what the bars are supposed to represent.
New options will be kept unused for long:
Two new options have been added to the video settings menu that enables you to select alternate audio and subtitles for the video files. And these features totally depend on the kind of video you are watching to have encoded audio or subtitled data, which are very uncommon. This feature has been added in the Nano too, but not in the iPod Touch or the iPhone.
A tint of OS X leopard style:
When you go though the menu, you will be able to feel that Apple has included a bit of its Mac OS X leopard style design. The search function that was introduced in the fifth generation iPod gets a clean matte overlay bar and in addition to this the usually glassy scroll bars and volume level indicators look more solid. The now playing screen of classic looks increasingly outdated, while the new nano and iPhones use their entire screen widths for its huge album art, the iPod classic continues to feature a perspective angled album art that is inspired by the Apple TV. This screen is now less detailed. When the device is continuously playing, an odd looking clock, play icon and battery indicator appear as the screen saver.
Interface as a whole:
Though the new interface is fine, it is a little odd to use as it looks as though the menu has been cobbled together from the earlier and much more powerful products of Apple. For instance, the cover flow is the cut down version of the one found in the iPhone, but then works with more of button clicking. Though the interface is much faster than what we had last year, we feel that it is a bit slower than the new iPod Nano or iPhones.
No change in standards supported:
The sixth generation iPod Classic 160GB Black, Silver Color Media Player still plays the same audio, podcasts, video and photo that it had been playing the in the previous generations, there have been no new additions of formats or even an up-graded on-screen video. The quality of audio and video remains to be unchanged.
Addition of Genius:
The only new addition that Apple has made to the new interface is a feature that can already found in iPhone, iPod Touch and the Nano, “Genius”. As you might be already aware, Genius feature allows you to automatic playlists of similar music, just by selecting the track and holding down the center button for a second, and then choosing the “Start Genius” option. For the very first time, it is necessary for you to be connected to iTunes to import Genius data from your library, but from then on, it creates a smart playlist from the current song’s genre.
Improved audio:
In the last year’s model apple had improvised on audio by replacing the wolfson audio chips that was found in the prior iPod models with the Cirrus Logic chip. And hence, using the same high end earphones on both the models developed a noticeable difference in audio hiss; this made the new iPod Classic sound much clearer. This improvement urged apple to replace the chips of the new iPod Nano and the iPod Touch too.
Video remains to be the same:
And unlike the Audio very less had been changed in the video of the last year’s model. You have to pre-select if you have to take up the entire screen or display in a letterboxed widescreen mode. The quality of video is same as that of the 2007 model. The brightness levels in the videos are same but are a bit softer in both widescreen and full screen modes.
Worst set of image features:
Though the performances of audio and video are impressive, the sixth gen iPod Classic 160GB Capacity has the least impressive photo display quality in the iPod family. The photo thumbnails are displayed against an attractive dark grey background and they are displayed on a very easy to view 5 x 3 grid. Though you get fewer thumbnails of 15 than on the iPod nano or iPod Touch (20), but we also have to mention here that they are much larger than that of Nano’s and is a little easier to see.
The only advantage ever the classic has over Nano is that it has a bigger display and so the photo details are easier to see on the display of classic than on that of Nano. However, Nano can enjoy the benefits of the accelerometer, but the classic cannot do the same. Yet another inability is that, the Classic does not have the zoom effects of the iPod Touch and iPhone Photo applications. Not to mention, the transition effects that Classic has are the worst in the family and they include cross fade, fade to black, zoom out, wipe across, and wipe center.
Hardware changes in iPod Classic 6th Gen:
The only significant hardware change that has been made to the iPod Classic 160GB 2009 model is in the headphone port input. As in the case of the new iPod nano and the Touch, the headphone port has been changed subtly changed in order to support the latest microphone and remote control accessories. The classic can also be used with the stereo headphones that includes both a mic and a single button for track play/pause functionality, which now can be pressed three times to skip backwards a track, or two times to skip forwards.
Voice Memos:
By connecting the headphones to the Classic, you get the Voice Memos menu option and the old dock connector based accessories continue to bring up the same menu and work. Unlike the iPod nano, the iPod classic’s Voice Memos feature offers two quality choices; low or high for the recordings it makes, creating one as a monaural 22kHz and the other as a stereo 44kHz file, both in WAV format.
Games support:
There is no difference between the previous model and this one in terms of built-in games or games support. The 160GB black, Silver iPod Classic comes with trivia game called iQuiz and a Solitaire game called Klondike, both the improvements are on the previous generation iPod games. The single best title Apple includes with the iPod classic is Vortex, an updated version of the classic game Breakout.
The extras:
All of the Extras previously found on the iPod classic remain in the 2009 model, as well. They are Clocks, Calendars, Contacts, Alarms, Notes, Screen Lock and Stopwatch. Clocks fits up to three nice-looking transparent clocks on screen at once. They are displayed on top of a gray map of the Earth, and can display the current times in countries and cities all across the world.
Huge improvement in capacity and battery with no change in price:
One of the features that got us most exited with the previous year’s 80 and 160GB models was that, these models were not only packed with the largest capacities of the iPod family, but they also had the best battery life that Apple had ever offered. Previously, you would get a 30GB classic with battery life of fourteen hours for $249 and now you get an 80GB classic with thirty hours of audio run time for the same price. And Apple has managed to do the same this year too, the $249 iPod Classic now has 100% more capacity using a single platter 180GB hard disk as a replacement for the 80GB disk.
Battery life:
The 160GB iPod classic has a battery life that is better than ever before. The built-in rechargeable lithium ion battery gives an audio playback time of 36 hours and video playback time of six hours when fully charged. Apple usually gives the minimum life in its specifications so you can always expect much higher rate than what is specified. By charging for about two hours, the battery gets 80% charged and full charging takes about four hours.
Package contents:
The package of the device is same as that of last year. It comes in a cardboard box, which is more common with the current iPhones and iPod Touches. In fact, there is one difference, the box is white instead of the trademark black and uses a foam padded interior with a hard plastic shell to hold the 160GB classic on its place. Beneath it, you will find a sealed white paper pouch with the three white colored iPod accessories (a pair of iPiod earphones, a USB to iPod dock connector cable and the universal dock adaptor), instructions, safety instructions and apple stickers.
Warranty:
Apple offers sixth generation iPod Classic 160GB one year standard warranty.
Verdict:
Frankly speaking, we would not recommend the Apple iPod Classic 160GB for now. This is not because of any new deficiencies that the iPod has, but is solely considering all the other members of the iPod family. The only two developments that this new model has got are the fair competitiveness in battery life with its predecessor and an additional 37GB at the same price. Said that, this Classic model has fallen back considerably as far as features are concerned when put into comparison with the less expensive Nano and Touch siblings. As Apple itself had suggested, Storage Capacity is simply the only main reason you could consider the Classic at this point.
The Apple iPod Classic 160GB is recommended only for those who need a large collection of music at once and cannot wait to spend on the upcoming high capacity versions of the iPod. There is no doubt on the fact that it is a good iPod, being very fast, capacious and a long running iPod , but we also have to accept the fact that it does much lesser than ipods that were once its subordinates.
Check other Apple iPod Reviews in our website.
iPod Classic 160GB 6th Generation- Technical Specification Table
| Manufacturer | Apple |
| Model Name | Apple ipod classic 160GB |
| Generation | Sixth Gen (sept 2009 edition) |
| iPod Type | iPod Classic |
| Media Player Type | Hard drive based digital player |
| Dimension (H X W X D) | 4.1” x 2.4” x 0.41” |
| Weight | 140 grams |
| Body Enclosure material | Anodized Aluminium |
| Display | LCD color |
| Resolution | 320 x 240 pixels |
| Diagonal size | 2.5 inches |
| Colours available | Silver, Black |
| Storage media | Built-in hard disk drive |
| Capacity | 160GB ( can hold up to 200 hrs of video ) |
| Supported photo standards | BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, PSD (Mac only) |
| Supported audio standards | WAV, AAC, AIFF, Audible, MP3, Apple Lossless |
| Supported video standards | MOV, MPEG-4, H.264 |
| Audio output | Headphones - binaural |
| Connectivity | Docking connector Headphones Component vide Composite video |
| itunes | itunes 7.6 or later versions |
| Additional features | Genius Battery level indication hold button volume limiter playback speed control date display phone book calendar upgradeable firmware built-in games notes photo wallet USB 2.0 compatibility Cover flow |
| Supporting OS | Windows vista Windows XP Home or Professional with Service pack 2 or later |
| Battery | Rechargeable Lithium ion battery |
| Battery life | Audio playback: 36hrs Video playback: 6shrs |
| In the box | iPod classic Earphones USB 2.0 cable Dock adaptor Quick Start guide |
| Warranty | 1 Year |
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