iPod, iMac owners may bite at upgrades

Updating an existing product is no easy task. Computers aren't like toasters or blenders, which can remain essentially unchanged for years and still give the same level of service as when they were introduced.

New software versions take advantage of faster processors and require more memory, while new technologies move from intriguing gimmicks to nearly essential tools.

But Apple Computer knows that including a faster processor and larger hard drive in a computer isn't guaranteed to persuade people to buy the most recent revisions.

At the same time, it isn't possible to redesign everything from scratch for a splashy new announcement.

So, in addition to beefing up its latest products, the company has been adding extra incentives — but offering the machines at the same price.

With the newest iMac G5 and iPod, this approach is sure to make owners of those devices consider upgrading.

Watch My iPod

Apple harnessed cultural cool in the iPod, the nearly ubiquitous digital music player, and has incrementally updated it over time by adding more storage capacity, offering a color display and improving the Click Wheel interface.

The latest version, introduced last month, adds video playback, but not in the manner that Apple watchers expected. While people anticipated a redesigned video player with iPod styling, Apple delivered a regular iPod that just happens to play video (Practical Mac, Oct. 15).

In fact, the "iPod (with video)," as it is officially designated, isn't even a unique iPod model in the way that the iPod photo was. The iPod (with video) is the only new iPod you can buy, aside from the iPod nano and iPod shuffle.

If you have any interest at all in video content, the new iPod is worth buying, even if you've purchased a music-only iPod model in the recent past. The screen is crisp, bright and larger than earlier iPod screens at 2.5 inches diagonally, with a resolution of 320 x 240 pixels.

Surprisingly, the experience of watching video isn't claustrophobic. While it will never compare with watching your mammoth flat-screen television (or even my modest 24-inch Trinitron), the video is clear enough that I was perfectly content with the iPod on my lap during a recent train ride to Portland.

Battery life limits the movie watching, unfortunately, as the 30 GB model I tested ($299) can go for a little more than two hours before recharging; the 60 GB model ($399) boasts nearly three hours of video playback.

That's not an issue if you're catching video podcasts or television shows but it bumps up against the limit of feature-length movies.

Apple offers music videos, Pixar shorts and selected television shows for purchase through the iTunes Music Store, as well as the capability to subscribe to video podcasts. You can also use QuickTime Pro 7.0.3 to encode your own home movies to the iPod's specifications.

The iPod has some appealing features for those who don't care about video, too. Battery life for playing music has improved, with up to 14 hours for the 30 GB model and 20 hours for the 60 GB.

Apple has also added a few features it introduced in the iPod nano, such as a stopwatch, world clock and screen lock function.

It now supports audio recording at 44.1 KHz stereo, good news for students recording lectures or podcasters doing remote interviews.

So far, though, this feature is untapped. No third-party vendors have announced microphone add-ons that work with the new iPod, but that's likely to change.

Being the industrial-design fan I am, I can't leave without mentioning the iPod's size. Although the height and width are the same as the previous generation model, the new iPod, at about half an inch (the 60 GB model is slightly thicker), is exceedingly thin.

Watch My iMac

The new iMac G5 is also thinner than its previous generation, but otherwise looks the same. That is, until you notice the little camera eye at the top of the display.

One of the iMac's new additions is an iSight video camera built into the case, which Apple hopes will encourage more users to use iChat's videoconferencing capabilities.

It also ties in to a fun utility called Photo Booth that takes pictures and applies a number of visual effects. You can set the photos as your iChat icon or Mac OS X account icon, send them to iPhoto or e-mail them.

As an upgrade, the iMac G5 adds oomph. The 17-inch model ($1,299) sports a 1.9 GHz PowerPC G5 processor, while the 20-inch model ($1,699) has a 2.1 GHz G5 processor.

Both include 512 MB of memory (expandable to 2 GB), an 8x speed SuperDrive capable of writing to dual-layer DVD media, and built-in AirPort Extreme and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate) wireless networking.

More interesting is the small remote control included with the iMac. Resembling an iPod shuffle, the control has a Menu button that, when pressed, hides the Mac OS X desktop and activates Front Row, a living room-friendly interface for controlling the media stored on the computer.

With large type appropriate for viewing from the couch, you can play your iTunes music, view iPhoto pictures or slideshows, watch video content, or play DVDs.

I don't envision people replacing their televisions with iMacs but it's great for college dorms and small apartments.

Note it doesn't play back television; it's not quite the ultimate media TiVo I'd secretly like it to be. Still, it's a glimpse at what Apple could do if it decided to compete directly with Microsoft's Media Center PC.

For all of its gorgeous graphics and smooth operation, Front Row still feels like a version 1.0 solution.

The iTunes interaction lets you play your playlists, but you can't shuffle their songs independently; you can either shuffle your entire library or play the playlist songs in order.

When you're watching video, it doesn't bookmark your location if you switch out of the Movies environment; when you go back to catch the last few minutes of "Lost," for example, you start at the beginning again.

As for the unit itself, I was disappointed to discover this iMac G5 doesn't have the level of user access as the first.

With the last model, you could remove the back panel and replace (if necessary) nearly every component. This time around, Apple decided that the accessibility wasn't as important and engineered the internals to make the unit thinner.

The Apple representative I spoke with said their research suggested people didn't need to do much more than upgrade the memory. To that end, you can open a door on the bottom of this model to access the RAM. It's also possible to open the case and replace the hard drive if you want.

As the consumer star of the Macintosh lineup, the iMac G5 continues to be a solid choice with enough added flash to make it more exciting than just a simple refresh of processor and other components.

Jeff Carlson writes the Practical Mac column for Personal Technology and about technology in general for The Seattle Times and other publications. Send questions to carlsoncolumn@mac.com. More Practical Mac columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists.