Apple iPod nano
Site News By James McCarthy | September 23, 2005
Category: portable audio (eg, iPod, Dell DJ, etc.)
Apple's iPod nano breezed through the press grape-vine with the usual "oo-ah" zing from web content providers and Apple added a one-two punch with a hip-hop television ad campaign that literally danced the nano through your tv and hopefully into your fingertips. By the time the product delivered, which was the typical 1-2 weeks after announcing it, the nano was yet another mega-iPod-success to add to Apple's legacy as innovator and trend-setter.
Details
Platform: Portable Digital Audio
Price: $199 (2GB) / $249 (4GB)
Rating: 5 out 5
Pros: Awesome form factor, Bright display/easy to read, priced reasonably for size and features
Cons: Scratches easily
Form Factor
On the outside, the iPod nano looks like someone took an iPod Photo into Wayne Szalinski's "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" lab and zapped it with Szalinski's shrink ray. From the famous click-wheel to the Photo's beautiful crisp screen, the nano looks identical but just smaller and much thinner. Howerver during the shrinking process the earphone input somehow moved from the predictable top-center location to the bottom right on the nano. The reason Apple engineers moved this port is obvious. There is no possible way the hardware involved with the headphone input would have squeezed alongside, on top, or underneath the color display so they put it in the only other feasible location: the bottom. I doubt the engineers realized that this also causes a minor inconvenience to the user when unplugging the USB connector after synchronizing. The problem occurs when both the USB connector and the headphone plugs are both attached to the bottom of the nano. There isn't enough space between the headphone plug and the dock-connector port to squeeze the sides of the USB connector forcing the user to first unplug the headphones; a minor sacrifice for size.
The nano is 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.27 inches and 1.5 ounces, holds up to 1,000 songs with full-color album art that is displayed on a bright 1.5-inch color LCD. The battery life lasts for up to 14 hours according to Apple's web site and charges via USB. In addition, contacts, calendars and to-do lists from Microsoft's Outlook or Apple's iCal and Address Book can be optionally synchronized to the nano each time it connects to the desktop pc or laptop. So if your PDA isn't already in your mobile phone, why bother wasting pocket space; the nano knows who you know and where you need to be through out day without the added bulk of an additional handheld device.
iTunes Your Way
The most amazing part of "the iPod experience" is only with the devices themselves. Apple's iTunes has surprisingly turned into a simple and robust audio playing software package for both Mac OS X users and Windows 2000/XP. Beyond music, iTunes supports synchronizing with with iPhoto on the Mac OS and via a shared-photo folder on Windows based computers, as well as calendars, contacts and tasks. With the introduction to iTunes 5, support for Outlook has been added.
How does the calendars, contacts synchronization work? The basic setup for either a Windows or Mac OS iPod users is as simple as checking a box found in the iPod's preferences. These can be displayed by control-clicking (right-click on a PC or using Apple's Mighty Mouse) on the mounted iPod's icon within iTunes and then selecting "ipod options" from the contextual menu. A set of tabs are displayed that let you configure various synchronization aspects between the iPod and iTunes, including three tabs for calendar and contacts.
The Outlook environment is slightly different.
Usability
There hasn't been a hard to use iPod ever and the iPod nano is just as easy as all the rest. The overall appearance of the nano is a mirror image of the 4g and Photo models, as if Szalinski zapped it with his shrink ray gun from the movie "Hunny, I Shrunk the Kids". And, like the previous iPod's the nano is not immune to the common scratching problem.
Unfortunately as soon as you remove the nano from its packaging and peel off the thin plastic protector it will be a matter of seconds before the first scratch magically appears. It is surprising that Apple has not included a clear, adhesive cover similar to PalmOne screen protector's or HP's "tattoos" with each iPod considering how prone they are to scratching. In fact the nano, as well as the other iPods, is so susceptible to scratching that carrying it in a pocket will easily create a scratch-scribbles after just a few pocket exchanges. This has been an ongoing concern for many iPod users and even after 4 generations the problem still exists.
Outside of the scratching problem, the nano is super-small and anorexic thin when compared to the typical Photo or even Mini product lines. It's fun to hold, turn and look at because you're stunned at its size and paper thin and almost weightless. This makes the nano incredibly comfortable to take with you walking, running, between classes or just sitting in the office.
When it comes time to actually listen to music, the usability options and menu systems have remained consistently the same over the past 4 generations of iPod which makes it easy for legacy iPod users to upgrade without having to learn something new. The only learning curve will be for the new features introduced with the iPod, such as viewing calendars, contacts, tasks, podcasts and perhaps vodcasts in the future. To make this process simple for the user, Apple includes them as options in the current menu system. This has helped Apple maintain the ease of use of the iPod without having to drastically change how the iPod menu looks. This is because Apple lets the iPod user select the options available on their main screen.
 
iPod users can easily click into "settings" and change what options appear on the first main menu screen. For some people this might include playlists, photos, calendars, contacts, tasks, or just playists, artists and albums. And, since the nano screen is only 1.5-inches this is important.
Accessorizing
Like all iPods, the nano can be dressed up and accessorized. Currently Apple has a few "really neat" add-ons for the nano. These includes a lanyard headphone, elastic case, mini-dock and a few others. The nano is also compatible with many current accessories that use the dock-port connector, such as Griffin Technologies RoadTrip. Additionally, third-party after-market accessories are being announced at the time of this article going to press. Here are some URLs to those sites so that you keep yourself up-to-date.
- iSkin Duo for iPod nano - http://www.iskin.com
Coming October 2005 - you can sign up to be notified through their website.
- Griffin Technology - http://www.griffintechnology.com
Nothing new announced as of 9/23/05
- DLO (Digital Life Outfitters) - http://www.dlo.com
The Trans-Pod is nano ready.
- Belkin - http://www.belkin.com
Already has 3 different cases listed on their product page.
- Waterfield Cases - http://www.sfbags.com
They have the iPod nano case now shipping - The lightweight iPod nano Case is $22.00, and measures a slight 4" x 2" x .25". The case is available in Blue, Celeste, Checkers, Lead, Taxi. Also, the redesigned small iPod Gear Pouch is $29.00, and measures 7.7" x 3.25" x 1.3", and weighs two ounces. The case is available in Blue, Celeste, Checkers, Lead, Taxi.
If you have heard of any other iPod nano accessory please post a comment or drop us a note via the online contact form.
The price
Like most Apple products there is a small premium to pay to use an Apple product, and the iPod family is no exception. The nano is available in two memory configurations and two colors. Either memory configuration can be bought in traditional Apple white or modern black. The 2GB model, capable of storing about 500 songs (according to Apple's website) retails for $199 and the 4GB model capable of storing about 1,000 songs (again according to Apple's website) retails for $249. My recommendation is go for the 4GB model because it's only $50 more for double the memory and remember, iPods can be used for more than just music. You can add a few dozen photos of the kids and family, partition it for data and use it for basic PIM read-only functions. However, size does matter and with it is an obvious cost considering you can buy a 20GB iPOD Photo for $299, which is no surprise only $50 more.
Conclusion
Jobs has done it again, but disappointingly after 24 hours my nano looks like it's 2 months old; you might have thought my pockets were lined with steel-wool. Something needs to be done about this ultra-sensitive acrylic finnish.
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