[.uk] iPod & iTunes For Dummies, 3rd Edition (For Dummies ... (ISBN 0471747394)

Great Overview of iPod & iTunes:
This is the second edition of this series that I have bought. The Dummies series is excellent for their easy to read, fun and informative explanations of tech subjects. Although I am a tech geek, I do enjoy this series for coverage of little know features in iTunes. Apple does a great job on its products, but doesn't give a lot of information on using them. I was looking to buy my first iPod and I love the coverage of each of the iPod family, their features and how they work with iTunes. This is the new edition of this series, but it was published before the latest change to iPods and iTunes came out. They should be covered in the next version. Therefore you will not see any coverage if the 2nd generation iPod Touches or iPhones and iTunes 8 with the Genius feature and App Store. Some of the preferences were changed in iTunes, but otherwise you can still find most of the settings and features mentioned. There are step by step instructions for how to set up accounts and use the iTunes store to your liking and syncing your iPod and/or iPhone. The suggestions for music listed in the book constantly relate to the sixties. That could be left out, I do not like it when authors try to tell you what music to listen to. The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because some of the more in-depth explanations and information found in previous editions were left out of this book and placed on a companion website, free to purchasers of the book.

Good reference book, helped me get started:
I bought the book to help me get started using the ipod, and it did just that. I couldn't have figured out how to use it without the book or an experienced user (which I didn't have at hand). The book did the job.

Not up-to-date:
This book (the 6th edition, that is) was published on the heels of Apple's recent updating of the iPod line with the new Nanos and Touches. I naively assumed that the timing was so that it could have the very latest info about the newest iPods. Not so. It refers to the pudgy third gen Nano as the latest thing. There's still a lot of good content here, but it is not as current as you might want.

Newer Edition Out with DVD:
Five weeks after this 6th edition came out, the publisher came out with the iPod & iTunes For Dummies, DVD + Book Bundle (Dummies), which includes the same book seen here, but also a DVD tutorial, for the same price.

Does the job:
I always thought I was tech savvy, but after getting a Touch and trying to set it up with my old cds, I found myself struggling. This book helped me get my head wrapped around the concepts of iTunes and the iPod. I'm still having problems ripping cds, especially compilations or collections and it hasn't answered that issue. I still have multiple albums in my library that hold the songs of an individual artist on a compilation album and I can't seem to get them back together under one album. Its a minor frustration so far. As a general primer for someone trying to learn the iTunes and iPod universe it does a fine job.