“Last week, Apple released a souped-up version of its wildly popular iPod called the iPod Photo. Unlike earlier iPods, this new model has a vivid color screen and can store and display up to 25,000 photos. It retains the usual music storage and playback functions as well. You can view your photos on the iPod itself or on the screen of any TV that’s handy, using a clever cable that comes with the new iPod,” Walter S. Mossberg reports for The Wall Street Journal.
“This week, my assistant Katie Boehret and I tested this latest addition to the iPod family, which costs $499 or $599, depending on capacity. We also tested a competing music player from iRiver America that claims to store and display photos in a similar way — the $330, 20-gigabyte iRiver H320. This player also comes in a 40-gigabyte version for $430,” Mossberg reports.
“Our verdict: The iPod Photo was just as easy, and satisfying, to use with photos as it is with music. It’s a winner, if a little pricey. But the iRiver player is complicated and clumsy… in terms of simplicity and ease of use, it doesn’t begin to compare to the iPod Photo. Physically, it’s about the same size as the iPod, though slightly thicker, but that’s where the similarities end. The H320’s nine buttons frustrated us right away because they don’t include a scrolling device like Apple’s wheel that would have helped us move through long lists of songs or pictures within the player’s vast hard disk,” Mossberg reports. “We can’t recommend the iRiver for average, nontechnical users. But the new iPod Photo is a great choice for storing and sharing digital photos. We just hope it comes down in price.”
Full article here.