[MP3 Players Main Page] [All MP3 Players] [iRiver Top Picks] [Rio Top Picks]
[Apple iPod Top Picks] [Apple iPod Accessory Top Picks] [MiniDisc Players Top Picks]

Compare reviews of the best Apple iPod MP3 Player Top Picks. Scroll down for comparisons of portable media players and digital recorders. Join CleverJoe's clever newsletter and he'll let you know when new articles are posted.

Apple iPod MP3 Player Reviews and Comparison
Apple has always managed to make it's products both user manageable and sexy. There are good reasons why Apple's iPod family has enjoyed such immense success. Apple always seems to keep the user's end experience in mind, and this philosophy has translated into a family of iPod mp3 player products that are easy to use, great to listen to, nice to look at, and fun to brag about. Apple iPod mp3 players are the most popular portable media players on the market with something in the iPod family for everyone's music and file storage needs. Check out the best of the best, listed below.

 
#1 Apple iPod MP3 Player Top Pick

Apple 60 GB iPod with Video Playback
Have a hankering for the sweetest, the best iPod on the Apple tree? Check out this tastiness: 60 gigs of massive storage space for 15,000 songs, 20,000 photos, or a cool 150 hours of video playback. The color display is bigger (2.5-inches) and easy to read, and you can now squeeze a whopping 20 hours out of the battery - 5x more than before. Comes with comfortable, quality earbuds and lots of attitude. Three big thumbs up from CleverJoe.

 #2 Apple iPod MP3 Player Top Pick
Apple 30 GB iPod
with Video Playback!
This sexy baby stores up to 7,500 songs, 20,000 photos, or 75 hours of video playback. Owners speak about their iPod in religious terms, and there are some pretty good reasons why. The new generation of the hugely popular iPods have arrived, and this 30 GB version is slim and feather-light, and offers a small barrage of other bonus features. If CleverJoe were all thumbs, each one of them would be sticking straight up. Apple's iPod rocks on.

 
#3 Apple iPod MP3 Player Top Pick

Apple 20 GB iPod
One of the top selling iPods. With the capacity to hold up to 5,000 songs, the Apple iPod 20 GB mp3 player is the top pick for iPod fans with a need for a large amount of storage space. Up to 12 hours continuous play can be squeezed out the iPod thanks to the included rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery. The new and improved Innovative Click Wheel makes navigation easier than other mp3 players, as well as earlier iPod mp3 players. Synchs up very easily with your PC with the included USB 2.0 and Firewire cables. The included headphones are not too bad but don't throw out your old pair yet. The ear bud style doesn't appeal to everyone's ears. A 1 year limited hardware warranty with 1 year toll-free 24x7x365 phone support is included with new buys. Three thumbs up!

 
#4 Apple iPod MP3 Player Top Pick

Apple 1 GB iPod Shuffle
Lightweight and skipfree, the iPod Shuffle is for those on the go. This is the 1 GB model, holding up to 240 of your fave tunes. It supports MP3, AAC, WAV, MP3 VBR and is both Mac and Windows compatible. Built-in FireWire and USB 2.0 interface for fastest digital transfer available. 12 hours of rechargeable battery life. WIth a nicely redesigned, backlit navigation system, the iPod is easier to use than previous versions. Earbud headphones are included as is a FireWire Cable, PC FireWire Adapter, and AC adapter. A selection of built-in utilities and games are also inluded, as is a sleep timer and alarm clock so you can wake up with the tunage of your choice. Thumbs up.

 
#5 Apple iPod MP3 Player Top Pick

Apple 4 GB iPod Nano Black
If you like your music to be sexy, the Nano Ipod will satisfy. This super-slim ipod is only .27 inches and weighs 1.5 ounces! Stores up to 1000 songs, with battery life of 14 hours music playback, or 4 hours of slideshows with music. Comes with earbud headphones, USB cable and dock adapter. Supports a wide range of audio formats.

 
#6 Apple iPod MP3 Player Top Pick

Apple 20 GB iPod U2 Special Edition
Want to stand out from the mp3 crowd? The iPod U2 Special Edition will help you do just do just that. If you're a U2 fan, this mp3 player makes a very tasty opportunity to own a unique and feature-rich portable media player. Sports a jet black enclosure with red Apple Click Wheel and autographs of all four U2 band members on back. This 20 GB model holds up to 5,000 songs and supports AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 (32 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible, AIFF, Apple Lossless and WAV files. Up to 12 hours battery life when fully charged although it's more like 8-10 hours with normal usage. Mac OS X or Windows 2000 and XP compatible. FireWire and USB 2.0 interface for fastest digital transfer available. Comes with earbud headphones, AC adapter, FireWire cable, and USB 2.0 cable.

 
#7 Apple iPod MP3 Player Top Pick

Monster Cable iCarPlay Wireless FM Transmitter for iPods
Make your music even more portable! Play your iPod mp3 player in your car or anywhere there is an FM radio. Simply plug into the cigarette lighter on your car and listen to your music through the radio. Your music transmits wirelessly to your car stereo using FM radio frequencies. The inlcuded 12v adaptor rapidly charges your iPod, and then switches to a trickle charge to optimize its performance. Easy music made even easier.

 
#8 Apple iPod MP3 Player Top Pick

Apple iPod Carrying Case with Belt Clip
For iPod Click Wheel models only, this is a decent carrying case to protect your iPod mp3 player from scratches and dings. Clip your iPod to your belt, purse, or backpack and you're ready to go. Includes handy belt clip. For 20 GB iPod with click wheel only

 
#9 Apple iPod MP3 Player Top Pick

Apple iPod Remote and Earphones
If you find earbud style headphones comfy (not everyone does!), you should be happy with most of Apple's included earbud style headphones. This set uses neodymium transducers technology to enhance frequency response and overall sound quality. Suffice it to say their sound quality is excellent. Many people swear by the wired remote that lets you fast forward, rewind, play/pause, and control the volume with four simple buttons. Includes a Hold switch allowing you to lock your iPod remote so buttons can't be pressed accidentally. Clip the remote to your lapel, shirt, or collar for easy access. Supports all iPods with Dock Connector.

 
#10 Apple iPod MP3 Player Top Pick

Belkin TuneDok Car Holder for iPod
Hold your iPod mp3 player in place with this innovative car dash holder. Ratcheting neck lets you easily reposition your iPod. Cable-management clip lets you eliminate loose and tangled cords. Adjustable height. NOTE: not compatible with iPod mini.

 
#11 Apple iPod MP3 Player Top Pick

iTalk iPod Voice Recorder with Mic and Loudspeaker
The iTalk converts your Apple iPod music player into a digital voice recorder offering thousands of hours of record time. Built-in microphone with automatic gain control. 2 watt loudspeaker lets you listen to your voice files or music files. Stereo headphone jack with passthrough circuit so you can listen to either voice files or iPod music files. Includes a .125-inch minijack input for use with an external microphone (not included).

More MP3 Players here...

 
Manufacturer Editorial:
Incorporating the fabulous Apple Click Wheel that was first introduced on iPod mini. Offering up to 12 hours of battery life. Weighing in at just 5.6 ounces. And getting slightly thinner with each new generation. iPod continues to define the perfect digital music player for Mac and Windows.

A musical dream come true, the fourth-generation iPod offers huge capacity, letting you easily slip up to 10,000 songs into your pocket. And enjoy it wherever you go. In the car. On the treadmill. At the office. Around the house. In fact, the new fourth-generation iPod includes features that make it even easier to access -- and have fun with -- your music. 

Take, for example, the Apple Click Wheel. With the Click Wheel, you can select playlists, scroll through a long list of albums or artists and choose just the song you want to hear without ever lifting your thumb from the wheel. Feel like mixing things up? Now you can choose “Shuffle Songs” right from the main iPod menu. We think you’ll also enjoy iPod’s long battery life -- up to 12 hours. And with the 25 minutes of skip protection iPod provides, you can jump for joy and the music will keep playing.

A Click in the Right Direction
iPod now incorporates the same touch-sensitive Apple Click Wheel that debuted on iPod mini. Without lifting that trusty thumb of yours from the wheel, you can easily select playlists, scroll through thousands of songs, and start the music playing. Want that song to play from the beginning again? A single click will do the trick.

Do the iPod Shuffle
You can put the Apple Click Wheel to use the next time you want to set your music to shuffle. Right there on the main menu -- where it’s very easy to find -- you’ll find a new option --Shuffle Songs. Everyone’s favorite option for mixing things up, Shuffle Songs randomly plays songs in a selected playlist or your entire music collection. You’ll never guess what’s coming up next, so you’re always surprised by startling juxtapositions -- like a melodic Coldplay song setting up an aria by Caballé.

Play Your Music for Hours
…and Hours And you can shuffle your way through a lot of songs now that iPod lets you play your music for up to 12 hours on a single battery charge. Imagine: you could fly from New York to Paris and still have hours of listening time left over as you stroll the Champs Elysée. While you’re on the move, iPod keeps you aware of its charge level, and when it’s time, iPod’s quick to recharge. Plug it into your computer or a handy wall socket (via the included power adapter), and you can fast-charge iPod in as little as 2 hours.

Music and More
But, guess what -- iPod lets you do more than listen to music. Much more. iPod provides you with up to 40 GB of storage. True, you’re likely to use a good portion of that storage capacity for your music and audio books, but you’re bound to have a little space left over. You can use the FireWire or USB 2.0 cable that comes with iPod to connect the iPod to your computer and copy files. Word documents. Keynote presentations. Excel spreadsheets. Photoshop files. You name it.

Apple's fourth-generation iPod features song shuffling from the main menu, as well as Calendar, Games, and Alarm functionality.

Where am I at 2 p.m. Tuesday?
If you’ve ever forgotten a dental appointment, you’ll be pleased to hear that iPod also lets you take your calendar with you. Many applications -- iCal, Microsoft Entourage and Palm Desktop, to name a few -- export calendar files in vCalendar or iCalender formats, both of which iPod supports.

Sorry, Wrong Number
Little black address books are so last millennium. Thanks to its support for industry-standard vCard files, iPod lets you store and access all your important contact information -- names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses -- with the spin of a Click Wheel.

Play Games
You know what they say about all work and no play. Navigate to Extras and you’ll find Games: Music Quiz, Solitaire, Brick and Parachute, four popular games you can play anywhere (like when you’re waiting for the movie to start at the multiplex).

Store Text Notes
You’ve got playlists. You’ve got To-do Lists. And you can carry both with you on iPod. iPod’s Notes Reader lets you take text-based information such as news downloaded off the web, stock tips, your workout regimen, restaurant reviews, directions, your shopping list with you on your travels. Just transfer it via FireWire or USB 2.0 to iPod from your computer (Mac or PC).

Rise and Shine
Did you know that iPod has a sleep timer that lets you fall asleep to music? It’s true. And if you like to wake up to music or to the sound of an alarm clock, iPod is just as accommodating. You’ll find settings for the Alarm Clock and Sleep Timer in the Extras menu. Both features work very well, by the way, when you connect iPod to a pair of portable speakers.

A musical dream come true, the fourth-generation iPod offers huge capacity, letting you easily slip up to 10000 songs into your pocket. And enjoy it wherever you go. In the car. On the treadmill. At the office. Around the house.

[MP3 Players Main Page] [All MP3 Players]
[iRiver Top Picks] [Rio Top Picks] [Apple iPod Top Picks] [MiniDisc Players Top Picks]

More Articles  CleverJoe Home Page