iPod Size: 2.4 inches by 4.1 inches Colour: Silver only Accessories: inMotion Portable iPod Speakers (for a spectrum of pure, rich sound); Belkin Voice Recorder (record memos, meetings, interviews and more); iPod Dock (for charging at home) Price: 15 GB — Rs 19,990, 20 GB — Rs 27,400, 40 GB — Rs 34,000 Source: Through the website at www.apple.com/ipod or contact MacIntel Solutions, 3 Parasar Road, Calcutta 29, phone 31000908, 9831026311

iPod mini Size: 2 inches by 3.6 inches Colour: Silver, gold, blue, pink and green (all shiny!) Accessories: NaviPod IR Remote (control from across the room with the 5-button infrared remote); Monster iSplitter (connects two mini-stereo headphones/speakers to one jack, so two people can share); World Travel Adapter Kit (iPod goes anywhere in the world with this set of six AC plugs) Price: $249 (around Rs 11,000) Source: Same as iPod

It doesn’t get better… or cooler… or handier. Apple’s iPod defines what a digital music player should be. And to put it bluntly, if you don’t have one — or at least don’t have your eyes on one — you’re simply not in the zone.

Unlike a personal CD player (such as discman), where you have to lug around your favourite CDs along with the player, all you need to carry is the iPod — the music is within.

Lighter than two CDs, able to hold up to 10,000 songs (that’s four weeks of music played continuously) or thousands of digital photos, works as a personal voice recorder, syncs as smoothly with Macintosh as with Windows. What else can you possibly want from your pocketbook player?

A smaller, lighter and cuter version of course! So, not content with the original iPod, Apple’s design team launched the mini iPod in January this year.

But that comes later. The original iPod first. The key to everything Apple is the simplicity in design, be it in case of software like iTunes and the Mac operating system itself, or hardware like the Apple desktop and laptop computers (the range of iMacs and Powerbooks).

The iPod is no exception. The Touch Wheel makes scrolling through large music collections quick and easy, and the all-touch interface enhances durability and sensitivity. LCD (liquid crystal display) screen and buttons with backlight boost visibility, particularly in low-light conditions.

The player — in 15, 30 and 45 gigabyte (GB) capacities — supports music in popular formats like MP3 (up to 320 kbps), WAV (non-compressed wave audio files, the way music is stored on audio CDs) and Apple’s own advanced audio coding (AAC) compression format. Graphic equalisers help you switch the settings to Rock, Latin, Pop or anything else, depending on what you’re listening to.

Download your favourite tunes from the increasingly popular legal download services, or rip and store your own CDs. Sadly, legal music download services like Apple’s iTunes or the new, legal avatar of Napster don’t extend their services beyond the US, yet. But you can try www.allofmp3.com — a Russian site with a huge collection of high-quality MP3s across genres and ages for a price, or www.mp3.com — free, but with mostly little known, unsigned bands.

Syncing the iPod with the PC is child’s play through high-speed data-transfer systems like FireWire and USB 2.0. An entire album can be loaded onto the iPod in five seconds.

Each time you plug the iPod to your PC, the iTunes software checks for additions in the playlist and updates the iPod accordingly.

All ears

“It’s the best thing to have happened to music,” gushes Supriya Chatterjee, an iPod fan in Salt Lake. “I have the choice of listening to any type of music that I have downloaded at the touch of a button, or, in this case, at the touch of a touchpad.”

The carry-your-music-wherever-you-go concept floored Supriya. “Unlike the walkman and the discman where you have to physically remove and replace a CD or cassette to continue listening, the iPod provides uninterrupted music.”

But she has minor complaints, too. “The 15 GB model that I own is prone to scratches and if you’re not careful, the Touch Wheel can move faster than your fingers!”

Who better to know the virtues of travelling light and travelling right than today’s cricketers? Left-arm spinner Murali Karthik is an iPod freak. “It’s simply fantastic,” he feels. His iPod is a must-feature in his kit, whether it’s cricket at home or abroad. “I use Bang & Olufsen headphones with the player, which only add to the magic,” says Karthik, allowing this correspondent to plug on.

If you’re someone who looks for add-ons in everything, iPod has them too. There’s a sleep timer and alarm clock (choose Mozart or Madonna to wake up to), contacts, calendar, to-do lists and even games like Music Quiz, Solitaire, Brick and Parachute. A note reader lets you download text-based information — from nightlife guides to news articles — and read it on screen.

Mini magic

Finally, on to the latest addition to the iPod family, the iPod mini. “Everything you love about the iPod just got tinier” is the catch-line. And it’s true. Unlike its single-colour big brother, this one comes in five fruity colours — silver, gold, blue, pink and green. iPod mini features an anodised aluminium case that resists stains and scratches. The case weighs almost nothing, but protects the player in your pocket, purse or backpack.

It holds less than the iPod (1,000 songs only!), but lasts eight hours on a single four-hour battery charge and provides over 25 minutes of skip protection, just like the bigger version.

The Click Wheel, with buttons underneath, replaces the Touch Wheel here, providing enhanced durability and sensitivity. The Click Wheel makes the best use of the miniscule space and lets you scroll single-handedly through all 1,000 songs.

Both FireWire and USB 2.0 cables, for transferring music, are bundled with the iPod mini.

So, plug on and smile.