FYI: find your iPod

Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino, August-Sept, 2005 by Francis Lora

For those of you whose day simply cannot go buy without the beauty and excitement of music, Apple has developed some of the most exciting advances in personal technology. Among them are the iPods, a pioneer series of music players that have been leading the pack ... and causing quite a stir. The broad array of choices of iPods has made them the choice product of its category. You might be tempted to think that these gadgets pretty much all do the same thing, so what's the difference? Let's take a look at them together and find out what all the fuss, and the buzz, is all about.

For the Free Spirited the iPod Shuffle

For the younger, free spirited crowd, the iPod Shuffle is an excellent choice, iPod shuffle is the most unpredictable and spontaneous iPod of them all. It will not go over your play list the same way twice, at least not until completing several variations if you choose. The more songs you have, the more different each play cycle will be. You will never know what if will play next, as it automatically shuffles the song list. Listening to this iPod is like listening to your favorite radio station, but without the interruptions. Perhaps best of all, it is the smallest iPod yet, and it fits neatly in the palm of your hand and can go anywhere with you. You can choose from pocket-size 512MB or 1G models starting at $99. Like other iPods, to load it just plug it into your computer's USB port, let iTunes auto-fill if with up to 240 songs and get a new experience with every connection, iPod shuffle can add musical spontaneity to anyone's life, provided they have more than a few songs. But the best pert of this little gadget is precisely that: its size. The iPod Shuffle weighs as little as a car key and at only 3.3in x .98in, it makes a hip fashion statement. Just throw the included lanyard around your neck and take a walk. Or run. Or ride. There's nowhere your skip-free iPod shuffle can't go, and with up to 12 hours of continuous playback time, it keeps going for quite a while.

Prices start at $99.00USD

http://www.apple.com/iPodshuffle/

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For the Fashion Conscious Workaholic the iPod Mini

... This season's must-have accessory? Your music; and you can listen to it in style with the iPod Mini, starting from just $199. Like any classic fashion icon, the iPod Mini goes with just about everything: Macs, PCs, sequins and t-shirts.

Weighing in at just 3.6 ounces and available in three new shades, the Mini is larger than the iPod Shuffle, but it has several additional features that could make it the iPod of choice. The chic, matte anodized aluminum case resists stains and scratches, all the while protecting your iPod Mini without the need of purchasing any additional accessories. Unfortunately, unlike the iPod Shuffle, the iPod Mini only has up to 25 minutes of skip protection, so don't plan on running any marathons while listening to it. But the iPod Mini does let you do more than just enjoy your music. You can use the included USB 2.0 cable or the optional FireWire cable (sold separately) to connect the Mini to your computer and copy files, Word documents, Keynote presentations, Excel spreadsheets, Photoshop flies ... almost any type of file that you may need from your computer. After all, the Mini has up to 6GB of hard drive space, and while you'll want to reserve most of it for your music and audio books, you may also like to use a bit of it to tote documents around as well.

Prices start at $199.00USD

http://www.apple.com/ipodmini/

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Rated 'E' For Everyone the Original iPod

Sometimes bigger is better, especially when size opens your doors to a whole new world of possibilities. Starting at only $299, you can choose from 20GB or 60GB models and carry up to 15,000 songs or as many as 25,000 photos in your pocket, and the best part is that it is compatible with Mac or PC. The originator of the series, iPod changed the way we listen to music by placing thousands of songs by different artists readily available in a pocket-size gadget. Now, it also changes the way you "see" your music, with the addition of a crisp color screen. Browse play lists via vivid menus, thumb through album cover art, even play games and view calendars in color. Your personal, portable entertainment library, iPod looks as good as if sounds.

iPod lets you play your music for up to 15 hours on a single battery charge, it also keeps you aware of its charge level, and when it's time, it is quick to recharge. Plug it into your computer or a any wall socket (via the included power adapter) and you can fast-charge iPod in as little as two hours.

iPod also comes in special edition versions. The U2 Special Edition comes With autographs of famous band's members and a few other stand-alone features specially developed for U2 Fans. The distinctive 20GB iPod U2 Special Edition for Mac and Windows, now with a full-color display, is available for only $329.

Prices start at $299.00USD

http://www.apple.com/ipod/color/

http://www.apple.com/ipod/colour/U2