Seduced by it’s simple, white, clean look and Apple’s promise of instant cool factor, I bought myself a 40g iPod 4G 3 months ago. Apple makes an absolute killing on this, as retailers earn very little markup per unit (as I was told by a friend who works in retail). Fortunately, if you’re a student and you buy one from an Apple center, you get a 10% discount.

Doing my part-time MBA finally paid off.

Soon after I bought it, Apple released the iPod Photo. You can imagine the severe case of buyer’s remorse I suffered shortly after seeing the ad on tv.

So how does the iPod fare? Before I begin, let me explain why I should be relied upon as a definitive source of info. I’ve grown up listening to hi-end, audiophile level hi-fis so in terms of judging sound quality, I do know my stuff. I also play the saxophone, and I’m a notorious karaoke mike-hog so I know my music. I listen to a range of music, mainly smooth jazz, r&b and most importantly, Chinese pop songs, which is absolutely essential to keep tone deaf guai-los from killing the mood when it’s your turn to sing.

The iPod’s sound quality, with it’s bundled ear phones, is average at best. Very poor bass response and treble’s a bit too sharp. It’s sounds much better with higher quality head phones of course. I’ve tried it with my Sennheiser PX-100, but because I favor earphones so as not to mess up my hair, I purchased a Sony MDR-EX71.

Why? Because it was the only one that came in white at the time (I suspect many others bought them for the same reason).

The iTunes software that comes with the iPod isn’t great, although it does rip sound tracks from cds and saves them in AAC format, which is what you should really use with your iPod. Of course don’t convert your existing MP3s into AAC. Just move them over.

EQ settings cannot be adjusted manually in the iPod. You’re left with pre-determined settings and I don’t like any of them. You can set your own eq settings on songs in iTunes, but it’s a major pain in the rear end.

Sounds like I regret buying my iPod hor? Most certainly not! The only reason why I bought it was to stir up jealousy among the non-iPodders. Although alot of people already own iPods, you still get the occasional oohs & aahs, as well as envious looks. This to me, makes it all worth while.

But if audio quality’s at the top of your list, I suggest you give the models from Creative, IRiver and JNC a go before making your decision on an MP3 hard disk player.

I’ve also bought a condom skin case and an iTrip which I will post mini reviews for at some stage.