by Alex Landis

Created on: March 12, 2008

If you happen to be the lucky owner of a new iPod, and aren't sure how to get started, then this is the article for you! There are several good tips that any new iPod owner should know before and after they start using their media player that will make it breeze to be listening and watching all of your favorite content.

Protect your iPod

This is a major tip. If you are recently purchased a new iPod for yourself or a loved one, I highly recommened getting the Apple Plan warranty in case your iPod experiences technical problems or needs maintanence. This shouldn't happen often, but your iPod is an expensive piece of technology so it's good to have that extended warranty.

Also, it's a good idea to buy a case for your iPod. There are many different iPod cases to choose from, from plastic, leather, and even metal cases. They all vary in price, but you want to make sure you get one that will protect the screen and iPod surface from scaratches and will cushion the blow in case the iPod is accidentally dropped.

Setup iTunes

iTunes is Apple software that will add your media to your iPod so you have to setup iTunes if you haven't done so before you can start using your iPod. iTunes is a free download, and can be downloaded at

www.apple.com/itunes/

Once you have downloaded and installed iTunes, it's also a good idea to setup an iTUnes Store account, which will allow you to pay for and download all the great content that is offered such as music, music videos, tv shows, movies, podcasts, games, audiobooks, and more.

Add files to iTunes

If you haven't already done so, you'll have to import your media to iTunes, so you can add it to your iPod. This may take awhile, so prepare to spend a couple hours doing this before you make real progress.

Connect and Name Your iPod

When you first connect your iPod to your computer, iTunes will open up and ask you to name your iPod. You can name your iPod anything your wish. My iPod is name "Podster" for example.

Sync your iPod

Once you name your iPod you'll also be asked a couple questions about how you want to manage your new iPod. You'll be asked to sync or manually add files to your iPod. Syncing automatically adds and fills up your iPod for your. Manually adding files requires you to add the files to you iPod yourself, but then you can make sure only the things you want are added to it.

Create "smart playlists"

A very good tip for iPod users is to create a smart playlist in iTunes that you add onto your iPod. Smart playlists are dynamic, meaning that they will automatically change based on certain criteria you give to the playlist. For example, while listening to your songs on iPod, you can rate the songs using the star rating feature.

You can use this feature a rule for your smart playlists. You can set up a smart playlist to only contain songs that have 5 stars, and that way you can listen to all your favorite music. The playlist will update automatically every time you give a new song a 5 star rating, or remove stars from a song already in the playlist. Pretty darn sweet huh!?!

As a new iPod user, these tips should have you well on your way to enjoying all the great content available for your awesome gizmo, and making it you portable entertainment system. Enjoy!

Learn more about this author, Alex Landis.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.