A Review of the 15GB iPod & Belkin Voice Recorder

15GB iPod:
In a word: Nice! iPod Docs are for Windoze users and losers ... The cord only option on the 15GB model works better for my portable Powerbook lifestyle. However, this also highlights my one complaint between my old first generation 10GB iPod and the new 3G models: the move from straight Firewire to an iPod proprietary cord. This is a design mistake, as far as I am concerned. With my old iPod, I could take it anywhere and plug it into any firewire capable computer with a nice little 3-inch long firewire cord that I have. Easy file access anywhere. Now, I have to make sure I have my 2 foot long iPod cord with me, and if it should short out from all the wear and tear I unleash on it while pulling it in and out of bags and rolling it into little tightly wound wreaths, I have to buy a replacement proprietary cord from Apple for $19, when with my old iPod, I could have just grabbed any of the extra firewire cords that I happen to have lying around my junk box in the closet at home. Fortunately, for a dollar less than the cost of a replacement cord, I could simply buy the PocketDock from SendStation, which basically is a small adapter that makes using regular firewire cords possible again. Now I just have to decide whether to go ahead and order that now, or wait until the cord fails...

Other than this one small short-coming (and the lack of a remote on the headphones on the 15GB), this new iPod is nice. Lighter, thinner and more awe-inspiring than my old 10GB. The way the backlighting fades in and out and the red lighting of the keys are very nice touches.

What really makes it excellent is the Belkin Voice Recorder, which isn't compatible with older model iPods and which I have been lusting after since it was first announced. Now I can record notes, or anything, and in abundance whenever I want. Here's a short clip of my pet parrot, Misha, saying "hello", that I recorded with the Belkin Voice Recorder and converted to mp3 in iTunes. And, you can use it as a little speaker for all your songs to boot. The sound is nice and clear, although mono, not too loud, and lacking a good bit of bass, but still pretty cool. Thanks to this tiny little speaker and the built in alarm clock in the iPod, I woke up to the "One Two Three Four..." of "Hey Ya!" by Outkast this morning. Now if that's not the start of a cheerful day, I don't know what is...

Only downside of the BVR is that I am a loud person and if I get my mouth too close to the mic while recording notes there is much distortion and popping. But, that is simply something that habit will fix...

All in all, I have to say that the 15GB iPod is the best buy out there for the price, and the Belkin Voice Recorder is a worthy addition. I wonder how the recently announced Griffin iTalk will compare? The pass through headphone jack and plug for an external mic are definite advantages over the BVR. I might have to buy one of those too, just to alleviate my curiosity...