The iPod Nano

#1

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Published - Sept 15 2005 07:06AM CDT || AP

Ever since Apple Computer Inc. jumped into the music player business with the original iPod in 2001, the rest of the consumer electronics industry has been playing catch-up. So far, nobody has come close in terms of coolness or sales.

That's unlikely to change anytime soon.

Apple, refusing to stand still, has released its trimmest full-featured iPod yet. The iPod Nano plays music, displays photos, is cleverly designed and is VERY small.

And if that weren't impressive enough, the Nano's battery lasts more than 14 hours on a single charge.

Unlike regular iPods that store songs on hard drives, the Nano uses solid-state memory. That makes the Nano less prone to skipping when dropped or jostled, though that has never really been a problem with its bulkier brethren.

The flash memory, plus an internal redesign, gives the Nano a more responsive feel. It also makes it possible to squeeze a lot of bang into a package just over a quarter inch thick.

In fact, the Nano is 80 percent smaller than the original 2001 iPod and 62 percent smaller than the iPod Mini that it replaced. The Nano is only as tall as a business card and it's three fingers wide.

The Nano is nevertheless bigger than the less capacious and cheaper iPod Shuffle, which lacks a display. And it has more features than previous versions of the regular iPod line, including a world clock, a built-in stopwatch and a software-based screen lock.

Available in black or white, the Nano comes in two configurations: A 2-gigabyte model (enough for about 500 pop songs) for $199 and a 4 GB model (1,000 songs) for $249. By comparison, a 20 GB hard-drive iPod is $299.

Like the larger iPods, navigation is simple. Scrolling through menus and songs is as simple as sliding a finger around a "click wheel." Embedded buttons enable quick track skipping.

Like all iPods, the Nano only works with Apple's free iTunes software for either Windows and Mac OS X computers. That locks you into the iTunes Music Store, which remains the most impressive site for buying music online.

More....
QUOTEThe Nano supports a variety of music formats, but not Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Media. (Look elsewhere if, for some reason, you would rather pay monthly subscription fees for music that's rendered unplayable if you miss a payment).

I filled up a 4 GB Nano with about 680 songs _ including some lengthy classical pieces _ in about 10 minutes. The sound quality is very good though I'm not a big fan of the included ear buds, which fall out too easily.

To test out the battery claims, I left it on with the volume at about 50 percent. It lasted about 14 hours, 30 minutes _ a half hour longer than Apple claims.

I found the color screen to be a very nice addition from the traditional monochrome iPods that I've tested in the past. Still, color is hardly necessary to navigate and listen to music, though the Nano does display album art.

The color does come in handy for viewing pictures. Despite the screen's dimensions _ just 1.5 inches when measured diagonally _ photos, especially close-ups, were clear. Too bad, unlike regular iPods, there's no connector to display pictures on a television set.

The Nano can, though, serve as a substitute for pictures moms and dads carry in their wallets. The built-in slideshow feature supports background music, though I found it cuts down battery life to about four hours if used continuously.

So what's there not to like about the Nano?

For one, the rechargeable battery will eventually have to be replaced. Like other iPods, it's not as simple as swapping in some new Duracells. The Nano, because of its size and tight construction, appears to be even more difficult than regular iPods to disassemble.

The Nano also requires a USB connection to transfer songs or pictures from a PC and to charge the device. Apple's own FireWire, ironically, can't be used to sync up a Nano though iPod FireWire cables do fit and can charge the battery.

That limitation wasn't a problem on my PC with its fast USB 2.0 connection, but my 2001 Power Mac only supports the older, slower USB 1.1. It took several hours to fill up the Nano on that system.

But the biggest problem, which also turns out to be its biggest selling point, is size. The Nano is so small that it tends to disappear quite easily on a cluttered desk. It's also conceivable that more than a few Nanos will be forgotten in pockets and sent through the washing machine.

And though a Nano can easily slide into the pocket of a tight pair of jeans, it feels far more susceptible to snapping or bending if sat on the wrong way.

And maybe that's a hint from Apple: If you want to get slim, get a new Nano and hit the gym.

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#2

Man those Nano Ipods look damn cool to me. But I already got an Ipod so Im not really looking into buying it but Damn that one looks nice and it even comes in black lol......thats cool az man

#3

I'm actually thinking about getting one. The thing is...I could get one that's about 5 times bigger for only $50 more. They look sweet tho

#4

iPods suck and are, and always have been totally useless. This "nano" is obsolete, already.

check out samsung, who just came up with a 16gig drive based on flash chip.

#5

I tend to agree with raum, however, flash chips do have their downsides...

I'd recommend NOT buying a nano, simply because they have an easy to scratch screen, not to mention it costs you $100 extra from what it costs Apple to make it..

#6

I can almost promise it costs apple less than 100...they make a killing on these things..

#7

So if you're looking at getting something like this what product would you recomend?

#8

these are the best dedicated mp3/audio players in their class, not made by samsung, which is soon to be the absolute best... here's prices from newegg.com

ARCHOS Silver 20GB USB 2.0 Pocket Multimedia Center Model Gmini 402 - $296 (but worth it, imho)

Creative Silver 30GB USB 2.0 Portable Player Model NOMAD Jukebox Zen Xtra - 189

Creative Silver 40GB Portable MP3 Player Model Zen Xtra - $209

but I don't want a dedicated MP3 player. I want on good pocket pc that does everything, and it is only a few hundred more... so I am saving up.

Ch

#9

#10

LMFAO..!!