http://articles.shop4gadgetsplus.com/rss.xml A blog about shop4gadgetsplus.com daily 365 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://articles.shop4gadgetsplus.com/?a=36174 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>The iPod is a very popular mp3 player. Apple keeps making them better and better with each new release. There are currently three variations which have storage capacities between 30 and 60 gigabytes that can store over 14,000 songs and a lot more depending on the average length of the songs. The other variation is the iPod Nano that is a lot smaller than the main iPod. It has storage capacities between 1 and 4 gigabytes. The last, the least in size, but not the least in popularity is the iPod shuffle which is about the size of a chewing gum. Tiny in size but great in functionality. It comes with a 512MB or 1Gigabyte storage capability.<br /><br />Apart from its remarkable small size, it is different from the other iPod's in its permanent random play pattern. You never can tell which song will play next. Now considering that it can hold over a 100 favorite songs, it gives a suspense-filled listening atmosphere. The type you experience when listening to your favorite FM station. The only difference being that you don't hear advertisers' jingles.<br /><br />It is not just the order of songs that is randomized. The play list can also be changed. If you use the Autofill feature on iTunes. This can load songs from iTunes' entire library. Depending on your mood, you can decide which music genre you want loaded. This is not the default but an option. It is useful if you prefer a particular genre for the whole day. You can choose to fill the iPod shuffle with only RnB tunes, Jazz or whichever genre you prefer at the moment.<br /><br />The iPod shuffle's design and dimensions add further interest to its features. Like I said earlier, it is as small as a chewing gum. Furthermore, it weighs less than most lighters. This means you can easily wear it and keep up the music flow while involved in physical activities like jogging. It is not prone to skipping because of the storage system it uses.<br /><br />You don't have any touch pad in the iPod shuffle.It has buttons instead. With these you can control the play and volume. It also has a switch at the back where you can switch off the battery and choose whether your songs will play in order or randomly. It has three lights that show the current state of the shuffle's battery. Green means the battery is fully charged, yellow means low charge and red means critically low charge. You need to recharge quickly. If it shows nothing, then the battery is totally discharged. A fully charged battery can last for up to 12 hours. <br /><br />It connects to your computer much like a flash drive. It also does what flash drives do: store non-musical data. iTunes gives room for you to determine how much space you want to use for songs and otherwise.<br /><br />If you want to spend less and still enjoy the benefits of an iPod, then the under $70 iPod Shuffle is for you.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as high tech gadgets at <a href="http://www.shop4gadgetsplus.com/">http://www.shop4gadgetsplus.com</a></p> 2006-10-27T21:28-04:00 http://articles.shop4gadgetsplus.com/?a=36173 <p>by Gregg Hall</p><p>The newest iPod models are video capable. Talk about never leaving a good thing alone. Apple decided to add video to the device's many features. You can now watch your favorite movie on your iPod video. However, you'll have to convert it to a form your iPod can understand. This is called encoding. This may not sound strange to those of you who have a PSP. This is because it uses the MPEG 4 format for its video files. There is nothing difficult about encoding. I'll walk you through the process so you can start watching those videos wherever you want.<br /><br />You'll need QuickTime Pro 7 or a later version. With it you can encode your video to the MPEG 4 format that your iPod will understand and play. It is a pretty straightforward process. Download it if you don't have it or if you have a version older than 7. Once you're through with the installation, open it and click on File and Choose Open File. Export the video after you have selected the movie, home video or whichever video recording you intend to watch on your ipod. Now make sure you choose the 320 x 240 resolution. That's the resolution that your iPod can handle. The next step now is for you to simply click Save. You'll see how the encoding is going from a bar that comes on once you save.<br /><br />Once the process is completed, you'll see the movie on your desktop or anywhere else you specified. You now need iTunes not older than version 6 to load it onto your iPod. All you have to do then is to make sure your iTune synchronizes with your computer. You can then play the movies of your choice with ease. <br />Take note of this: your encoding time will depend on the length of your video. Longer videos will take longer while shorter videos will take less time. The configuration of your computer will also determine the time this process takes. You don't expect a 1 gigabyte processor with a 256MB RAM to do the job as fast as your friend's 3 gigabyte duo processor with 2GB RAM. <br /><br />You can take the whole iPod video thing to another level by watching it on your standard TV. For this you'll need an AV cable, then go to your iPod video's options screen from Video then Video Settings and choose how you want your iPod to play back your movies. You have several options: TV out, TV signal and Wide screen. Choose the TV out option and select Yes. If you choose otherwise you won't be able to watch the movie on your TV.<br /><br />Now your movies can go with you wherever you go. Have a nice time but, please, never turn on the iPod video while driving for your safety and others.</p><h3 class="popup">About the Author </h3><p>Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as high tech gadgets at <a href="http://www.shop4gadgetsplus.com/">http://www.shop4gadgetsplus.com</a></p> 2006-10-27T21:24-04:00