My iPod had been troubling me for a long time… Roughly 4 months. In the month of April my iPod had been showing some odd symptoms. Every time I woke it up, it would reset itself. At times it would show 0 songs and I had to reset it again. At times it just wont play the songs well. Eventually in the last week of April it showed me the Sad Icon!!

Sigh, my iPod was sad…

If you are an owner of an unhealthy Apple product, Chandigarh is the worst place you could be in. Inspite of the fact that the Apple website shows quite a few retailers in Chandigarh, I could locate just one. In due course of time I realized that for all practical purposes, that was the only retail-cum-support. So if you feel that there is a difference in class between the Apple Premium Dealer at Ansal Plaza and the Apple Stores in the US (Rungta has shown me a lot of pics/videos/ 360º VRs) imagine this. 5-6 posters, one G5 iMac, one Macbook, one small shelf in the corner containing iPod accessories and a senior executive (?or maybe owner) who possesses a Powerbook. As a matter of fact they themselves seem to use PCs more than Macs.
Anyways I handed over the poor iPod and they said that they will try to put the iPod software in it which will cost Rs 200 (I guess it is not same as the iPod software we update/restore.) and if it solves the problem then the charges would be Rs 500. I also told them about the battery backup problem (which had reduced considerably) and they offered me the battery exchange program. So for Rs 3950 they would give me a refurbished iPod same model.
I decided to go for the battery exchange cause now it didn’t even last an entire trip from Chandigarh to my home. The best thing was that the replacement arrived in two days as opposed to 5 days which they initially committed.
A few weeks later I returned to Delhi and me my new MBP. This time I tried to sync the Pod with the notebook. But repeatedly the syncing would terminate after a few songs. Throughout the holidays I had a miserable time updating my iPod. I had restored it 2-3 times and managed to update it completely only twice. Anyways I was returning to Chandigarh after my holidays when in between my journey the right earbud of my Sony Earphones just stopped working!! Height of bad luck!! It was working as good as new. I pauses the music for say 10 mins and when I played it again… the right bud just refused to respond while the left one played everything smoothly totally ignorant of the fact that its partner was totally unresponsive.
Somehow I covered the rest of the journey without music. And to top that the very next day my replaced iPod showed the Sad icon…. Ah another visit to that miserable shop. Only this time the lady in the shop was surprised to see me return with the same problem on the replaced iPod. And since the head-technician was missing I had to leave my iPod with them… After about an hour they called me back saying that there was a hardware problem and nothing can be done as it is no longer under warranty. This news really brought out the Voldemort in me and I gave that guy a piece of my mind over the telephone. He asked me to return to their office and talk to the lady. I had my lunch and rushed back to the office and as soon as I entered the office the lady was ready with my iPod- this time totally in working condition. Anyways they managed to fix it and not charge me anything. I checked it with my laptop and it worked fine.
Now I was left with one problem… headphones. I was scheduled to return to Delhi the very next weekend and so I decided to hold on before taking any action in hurry. I was hoping that the Sony ones would still be under warranty cover cause it hadn’t been an year since Karan had got it for me. The moment I reached home I checked out the warranty terms.. 90 Days..!! Yuk!! 90 days?? Can 90 days even qualify as a valid warranty period?? As good as no warranty.
So today I searched through the internet for good headphones. I was looking for Sony / Sennheiser. I really could not track Sennheiser stores/dealers in Delhi except for a Distributor at Hauz Khas. During my search I also read the Reviews for Bose In-Ear. Most of the Reviews matched my experience when I had tried them during the holidays. Unlike the Headphones there is hardly any noise cancellation. Although the sound is good, but not worth spending 5 grands. I went to the Sony World at Rajouri Garden. Unlike the Sony website which showed around 10 models of earphones, the Sony World only had the 3 worst ones that they had to offer. And NO WARRANTY. I walked right out of it. I am fed up of headphones problems. Since the time I have started using my iPod I have collected 5 pairs of earphones. 3 Sony and 2 Apple. So I need one that is more reliable. After spending some time in the Rajouri Garden Malls I reached Shopper Stop. It has opened very recently and right at the center of the Shopper Stop Ground Floor there is a new Apple iStore. And they had a decent stock of Sennheiser Headphones and Earphones. I finally purchased a Sennheiser MX 550.





Well Day 1 has really satisfied me. The earbuds are a little big with the foam cushion, but not very uncomfortable. Also unlike my Sony it does not have a very good noise cancellation, particularly because it does not have a silicon bud that goes into your canal. But it is better than the Apple earphones. The Sound is great!! I find it better than the Sony. Since the Sony was In-Ear, the sound was pushed into your canals, and at times it is uncomfy. The ear sometimes felt too full of unidirectional sound. But in this pair, the big buds give a much wider sound experience. The Base is good. The sound does not crack/distort at all full volume. The Sony one did not give a good full volume experience, although you would hardly play an in-ear at full volume. This one also has a small volume adjustment control in the cable. Also you get a nice carrying case worth using. The Sony case was utterly useless. And finally the best thing: 2 Years Warranty.