Lost in the Shuffle

There comes a time in our sad and sappy lives that we live and breathe music as if it were the most important thing in the universe. Music is and will always be good for the soul. It just makes life extraordinary. Hey, as a teenybopper learning the ways of rock n’ roll, I fell in love with Axl Rose and wanted to be his Rocket Queen.

Like most music-lovers, collecting CDs is a must – the ultimate passion and obsession. However in this digital age, there is a new breed of music fans that belong to the iPod generation. Now, you can barely see anyone without a Pod.

For this reason, my music bible Q magazine relaunched itself two years ago into a downloading guide for the new generation of digital music buffs. Notice that the issues now have essential tracks and top tunes to download.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs thinks that iPod is more than just a part of a pop-cultural trend. He said, "The iPod is a phenomenal product that’s reinventing the way people enjoy music." Perhaps the seed of Apple’s innovation is that the company has the hardware expertise, the industrial design expertise and the software expertise. Plus, you can manage your music library through iTunes.

To add an element of coolness in the world of Apple, the company recently launched their 80GB iPod with video player, the super-slim line of nanos with aluminum design, and – the cutest of them all – the iPod shuffle. All seamlessly integrated with iTunes7. Time to drool on!

Dig this: the new 80GB iPod has stunning high-resolution color display that is perfect for watching home movies and viewing album art and wacky photos. Other enhancements include longer video battery life, support for cool games like Brick and Solitaire. Plus, a Search and Quick Scroll feature that makes it easier to look for songs. The price drop is quite nice, too. The 30GB iPod model in black or white costs P16,190 while the 80GB model in black or white is available for P22,690.

The iPod nano with its super-slenderized and aluminum body is the finest music player in terms of look and feel. It is kinda like a smaller version of the iPod mini. It has 24 hours of battery life and more than twice the music capacity. The 2GB iPod nano in silver costs P9,390. The 4GB models in silver, pink, green and blue are available for P12,690 and the new 8GB model in black costs P15,490. Perfect to match everyone’s individual style.

For those who like their music players small and easy to use, the iPod Shuffle is the top choice. Now with a silver anodized-aluminum look, the "wearable" Shuffle contains one gigabyte of flash memory and holds up to 240 songs that play randomly. It features 12 hours of battery life and is more affordable than ever at just P5,390.

Listening to music has never been this exciting. You can pull all your favorite tunes in one device or even watch videos and store memorable photos. Indeed, there is a music player for your ever-changing needs. It just goes to show that the iPod is definitely the device that rocked Apple and eventually ruled the world.

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The new iPods are available at Apple stores nationwide. E-mail love-hate whatever things to becca_rodriguez@yahoo.com.