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In October 12th 2005, Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the new fifth generation (5G) iPod to the world’s press and everyone was surprisingly enthralling by the new version of the popular digital music player.

Jobs pitched the new iPod as the “music player with video as a bonus,” so how good is this video feature? Is it better than Sony’s PlayStation Portable? Lets take a closer examination…

The first impression that hits you is the size of the iPod itself. The dimension remains the same footprint – 4.1″ by 2.4″ – over the previous generations despite featuring a nice screen size – 2.5″.

The look of the iPod is like its predecessors. It is equipped with a screen; a circular touch-sensitive, five-button controller called the “Click Wheel,” and a rechargeable battery.

This is Apple Computer’s “fifth-generation” (5G) full-sized iPod, having been preceded by the original in 2001, the second-generation in 2002, the third-generation in 2003, and both the fourth-generation black-and-white and color iPods in 2004.

There are two models available, the 30-Gigabyte model which is capable of holding approximately 7,500 songs, while the 60-Gigabyte version stores around 15,000 songs. In addition, two colours are available. The classic Apple white and the cool, sexy black.

As for digital photos and video, Apple says that both 30GB and 60GB iPods can hold 25,000 compressed photos. The 60GB iPod is advertised as holding 150 hours of compressed video (with audio accompaniment), while the 30GB iPod can hold 75, each using the H.264 standard.

H.264, also known as MPEG-4 AVC (Advanced Video Coding), is a video compression standard that offers significantly greater compression than its predecessors are.

Even though movies are compressed in this new format, the quality offered my H.264 is acceptable. Offering crystal clear display and sound.

To watch videos on your iPod, you can either convert your own personal movies (from your computer) or download a selection of music videos from the UK version of the extremely successful iTunes Music Store. TV shows are missing at the moment (compared to the US iTunes), but eventually we will have access to a number of TV shows from the likes of the BBC.

So how great is this iPod at playing videos? Initially, I was sceptical in particular the 320×240 display but in actual fact, it looks quite good.

The screen is nice and clear, running at a smooth framerate around 27 frames-per-second (fps). You can view the moving image at any angle without having to worry about distortion or glaring.

The sound quality is excellent and watching an episode of Desperate Housewives brings a huge joy to this reviewer because you never imagine watching a popular TV show on your iPod!

But is this better than Sony’s PSP in terms of playback quality? Yes and no… Yes, because it supports H.264 and MPEG4 meaning more data space on which to store your movies. But sadly no, because the screen is at 4:3 ratio compared to the widescreen 16:9 – 480×272 pixels – offered by the PSP. So it’s not a good idea to watch a two-hour movie on such a small screen…

But what about the other features on the new 5G iPod? The music playback is outstanding with even a louder and impressive sound quality. The photo mode has a nice animated slideshow that showcase your personal digital photos. Plus updates to the organiser to keep track of all your personal notes and business details.

Conclusion
So what can we say about the Fifth Generation iPod? It is still the best music player in its field (compared to iRiver, Zen and Sony’s Walkman). Features an impressive photo player and it is a beautiful piece of technology. Regardless of its only acceptable video performance, there is no device at its size and price that does all of these things as well as it does, or looks as elegant doing them. For first-time iPod buyers, especially those focused on its audio functionality, this is an exciting new product. 9/10

Pros
• Attractive, thinner-than-ever iPod enclosures with a bright, detailed 2.5″ display.
• Best-sounding iPod yet, plus optional on-screen lyric display.
• Improved battery life. Over fifteen-hour music play time for 30GB model beats Apple’s estimate, 60GB model runs nearly 20 hours.
• The ability to watch videos on the go. Without having to worry about carrying a portable DVD player, laptop or PSP.
• Beautiful User Interface. No complicated controls, easy to use.

Cons
• No FireWire support. Only USB 2.0 is used to transfer data from computer to iPod.
• Implementation of video functionality is incomplete, lacking hardware support for popular standards, and free software to convert existing videos.
• Though detailed and bright, the screen is smaller than both competitors and consumers’ expectations.
• No longer includes wall charger! So you have to charge it via your computer.
• Can get scratches, like the Nano!
• New Creative Zen Vision is on the market with better handling on video formats.

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