Get to Know the iPod Interface


In a world where clumsy, difficult-to-navigate MP3 players have been commonplace, the iPodwhen it was releasedwas a much-needed breath of fresh air. Billed since the beginning as "iTunes to Go," the iPod presented a synthesis of iTunes' sensible organizational structure and a navigation system that worked with a human being's hand rather than rebelling against it. The revolutionary navigation wheel is several controls in one: someone who has never seen an iPod before might wonder where all the directional buttons and volume controls are; they're all incorporated into the wheel. While you're navigating the menus , the wheel moves the selection bar up and down, and the Select button chooses an option. When a song is playing, the wheel adjusts the volume. Additional wheel functions, such as seeking to a point within a song, are accessed by pressing the Select button one or more times to change the mode and then turning the wheel.

Slide your finger or thumb in a circle on the wheel surface to navigate through the menu systems and control the volume. Press the Select button in the center to make a selection.

The four remaining buttons are the minimum necessary for complete control of the device. Whether the buttons are arranged in a ring surrounding the wheel (as in the 1G and 2G iPods), in a row above the wheel (as in the 3G iPod), or incorporated into the wheel itself (as in the 4G iPod, iPod photo, and iPod mini), they cover the same functions: moving back and forward one track at a time (or, if you hold them down, fast-seeking backward and forward within the song), pausing and resuming the music, and moving up to the previous menu level.

NOTE

The iPod shuffle, lacking both a screen and a navigation wheel, has separate volume control buttons in addition to Back, Forward , and Play/Pause buttons. The iPod remote has the same selection of controls that the iPod shuffle does.


The iPod's controls allow you to delve into your music collection and zero in on the music you want with a spin of the dial.

The iPod remote, an accessory that comes standard with some iPod models and is also available separately, is designed to give you most of the control you need while listening to your music, without having to pull your iPod out of your pocket or its belt clip. The remote plugs directly into the top of the iPod, and your headphones or earbuds plug into the other side of the remote. You can then clip the remote to your lapel or the seam of your pants. The controls on the remote cover the necessary functionality of the iPod aside from direct navigation and manipulation of the source of music currently being played .

On both the iPod remote and the iPod itself, there's a Hold switch that disables all the iPod's controls when engaged, ensuring that your iPod can't be inadvertently jostled into switching music tracks or cranking up the volume to maximum while you're jogging or reaching for your loose change. The switch is deliberately hard to move so that you can't accidentally flip it on or off. When it's engaged, a "lock" icon appears on the iPod's screen, so check for this icon if your iPod's controls don't seem to be working.

NOTE

The Hold switch on the iPod affects only the iPod's built-in controls; the Hold switch on the remote affects only the remote's controls.


TIP

Holding down the Menu button for several seconds turns the backlight on or off.


If you leave the iPod undisturbed without playing music for two minutes, its screen shuts itself off automatically and the iPod enters its sleep mode (from which it can be awakened at the touch of any control button). If you're impatient, you can put the iPod to sleep immediately by holding down the Play/Pause button. When the iPod is asleep, it does not lose its place in the menus or in a song you're playing; when you wake it back up, it'll resume playing almost instantly, right where you left off. Even in sleep mode, however, the iPod uses a small amount of battery power; after two days of sitting unused, the iPod shuts down entirely. Pressing a button on a powered -down iPod causes it to go through its full boot procedure, which takes 10 to 15 seconds, and can be identified by the Apple logo that appears on the screen before the menus become visible.

On rare occasions, the iPod might become unresponsive and require you to reset it (which is equivalent to rebooting the system software). First toggle the Hold switch to its engaged position, and then back again to unlock it. For 3G and earlier iPods, hold down the Menu and Play/Pause buttons simultaneously for several seconds until the Apple logo appears on the screen. For the 4G iPod and iPod mini, because those two buttons are opposite each other on the click wheel and can't be pressed simultaneously, instead hold down the Select and Menu buttons to reset the unit.

To play music, use the navigation wheel to scroll through the Main Menu options to highlight Playlists (to access your playlists) or Browse (to select music by artist, album, or song name ). Press the Select button to move to the next screen. Continue navigating in this way until you see the music you want to hear; press Select to begin playing it. Alternatively, select the name of any playlist, artist, or album and press Play/Pause to begin playing all the music categorized in that selection. These techniques and more are covered in greater detail in 46 Find and Play Music on the iPod .



iPod + iTunes for Windows and Mac in a Snap
iPod + iTunes for Windows and Mac in a Snap (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 0672328992
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 152
Authors: Brian Tiemann

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