The third-generation iPod Classic is also capable of recording voice memos, although you'll need to pay a little extra to get the feature working. If you find iTunes' Genius feature too demanding of your computer's resources or too invasive of your privacy (the feature reports your listening habits to Apple), then you'll need to live without the feature on your iPod as well. Oddly, the Genius feature won't work if you haven't enabled Genius in your computer's iTunes software. You can create and save Genius playlists directly onto your iPod, and with automatic syncing enabled in iTunes you can also transfer them back to your computer. Genius is easy to use, and the results are fun, provided your music collection holds enough songs to make interesting connections (with 160GB of storage, that shouldn't be hard). The Genius feature lets you create an instant 25-song playlist based on the musical characteristics of a single song, offering a new way to group together similar songs in your collection. Perhaps the last feature added to the iPod Classic is the capability to create instant Genius playlists.

And for better or worse, once you've loaded up your media collection, it's just stuck there until the next time you connect back to your computer. You just load it up with music, podcasts, audiobooks, and video using Apple's free iTunes software on your home computer (Mac or PC).

True to its name, the iPod Classic keeps with the basic formula for the iPod's original success. You won't even find options for Bluetooth music streaming or AirPlay. Users with large music collections to sort through will prefer browsing using the list mode or search function. You also have the option to browse your music using the Cover Flow view made popular by the iPhone however, the novelty of Cover Flow wears thin without a touch-screen display. This split-screen effect is more beautiful than it is distracting, and applies to menu items such as movies, podcasts, and photos, as well. For example, highlighting Music on the main menu causes the right half of the screen to display a drifting close-up of cover artwork from your music library.

It's also now the only iPod to use a split-screen main-menu layout, displaying menu items on the left half of the screen and a picture related to the selection on the right.

Apple ipod classic 7th gen 160gb black