Chapter 3. Controlling an iPod or iPod Mini

In This Chapter

• Connect an iPod to headphones or speakers so you can hear its music.

• Turn on an iPod and learn about its controls.

• Tour the iPod's menus and screens.

• Light up your iPod's world with the Backlight.

• Put an iPod on hold.

• Turn off an iPod.

The iPod is a well-designed device that is easy to control once you understand its controls and how they work, that is. Because the iPod is likely quite different from other devices you have used, it can take a little time to get totally comfortable controlling one. That's where this chapter comes in. You'll learn about the iPod's controls and how to use them. You'll also come to know (and love) the iPod's menu structure and the major screens with which you will deal. You'll get into the details of using all these controls and screens in subsequent chapters.

In this chapter, you'll learn the specific controls on the current generation of iPods (current to when I was writing this book, that is) that you use to perform certain actions. Previous generations used different kinds of controls. For example, before the Click Wheel was standard on all iPod models, some models had separate buttons for Play and other actions. Throughout the rest of this part of the book, I'll refer to the action in general and expect that you know which control to use for your model of iPod. For example, in later chapters when a step says to play the iPod, I'll just write that you should press the Play button without telling you where it is. On all iPods except the shuffle, you'll know where it is from this chapter, and you'll learn where it is on the shuffle in Chapter 5. For other models, you'll have to figure it out, which won't be hard because the buttons are labeled with the same icons.

note

In this chapter, I use the term iPod to mean all models except the shuffle. The iPod shuffle works differently from the other iPods. If you use only an iPod shuffle, you don't need to read this chapter or the next, so move ahead to Chapter 5, "Listening to Music on an iPod shuffle."