Apple's New iPod - Evolutionary, not Revolutionary

What's in the Box

As we mentioned at the beginning of this article, we purchased a 15GB iPod for this review simply because it comes with the full bundle of accessories that we'd need to completely review the product.

Apple, as usual, was very quick in shipping and there were no problems with the ordering process. Many cities have Apple Stores that you can drop by and pick an iPod up locally from, and retail outlets like Compusa also stock the new players (many retail shops are heavily discounting the older units if you're on a budget). As long as Apple has a location in your state, you will be paying sales tax on your order, so keep that in mind so that there are no surprises when you're done ordering.

Apple redid the boxes for the new iPods as you can see from the picture above, the stylish black box is home to a very well packed iPod and set of accessories. In the usual Apple style, each of the accessories is individually wrapped and packaged, almost in an effort to justify the iPod's high price (although I don't know a single user that wouldn't opt for a lower price at the expense of fancy packaging). It's much like the feeling of sitting in a luxury car, Apple's intent with even the packaging of the iPod is to convey the impression that you've bought an expensive product - if your credit card statement doesn't convey that, then the iPod's excellent packaging absolutely will.

Unfolding the box you'll find a single installation CD that contains both Mac and Windows installation programs (interestingly enough, iTunes 4 for the Mac doesn't come on the CD, an older version 3 was on the C instead). The rest of the box includes the following:

- the iPod 15GB unit
- a set of earbud headphones
- two sets of black covers for the earbuds, just in case you lose one set
- the wired remote control*
- a 6-pin to 4-pin Firewire adapter
- an AC adapter
- an iPod to 6-pin Firewire cable
- the iPod docking station*
- a cloth carrying case*
- a rigid carrying case*
- two covers for the proprietary connector at the base of the iPod

The * denotes items that only come with the 15/30GB units.

The inclusion of two sets of black covers for the earbuds is quite handy, considering they are some of the first things you'll end up losing if you carry your iPod around a lot. Interestingly enough, these sets fall off the earbuds just as easily as on the old iPod. Covers with a slightly tighter fit would definitely have been appreciated, rather than simply supplying more.