Reviews

I won’t go into great detail about the content, except to say that I found that all of the bases were covered reasonably well. Even moderately advanced users are likely to find something of interest here; I particularly liked the Informational iPod chapter, since it gave me ideas about storing notes on my iPod. The writing style is light and friendly, without a lot of jargon or computing terms that might cause confusion. The illustrations are profuse and well done; there’s nothing like showing and telling someone at the same time to make a concept clear. Whether discussing features on the iPod itself or discussing desktop computer software or the iTunes store, there are always plenty of illustrations that show exactly what you should see at each point.

On the back cover of the book, there check marks next to beginning and intermediate under “book level” and that’s about right. The iPod and iTunes Pocket Guide covers all of the basics, and just enough of the more advanced features to whet your appetite. If you want something more in-depth, Secrets of iPod and iTunes (reviewed here) is likely a better choice. The list price is just $9.99, and you can get it at a discount if you order it direct from the Peachpit Press online store.