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viewing photos. * BETTER BATTERY: A fully charged battery will power the nano for up to 24 hours, compared to only 12 for the 1st
generation nano. (These tests are done under artificial conditions, actual battery life is shorter - but it
remains true that the new nano has double the battery life of the old one.)
* BETTER CASING: The casing of the first generation nano was soft plastic, which accumulated scratches very
quickly and didn't hide them well. The second generation nano has an andonized aluminum casing - the same
material used to make the tough-as-nails iPod mini, which Apple discontinued when the first generation nano
came out last year. This material is very scratch-resistant and durable.
* COLORS: The new nano comes in a variety of colors (though not all capacities have all color options;
the high-end 8 gigabyte nano comes only in black). The first generation nano came in two colors - black
and white. The pink ipod mini has been fetching a high price on eBay since it was discontinued last fall;
I think that will change, now that you can get a new 4 gigabyte nano in the same pink for only $200.
* BETTER SEARCHING: The menu structure on the new nano allows for more convenient searching.
* BETTER EARPHONES: Most reviews of previous ipods complain about the earbuds. Starting now, Apple is
shipping improved earbuds with all nanos and video ipods. They are not AWESOME, and you still may want
to buy some nicer earphones. But they are better than the previous ones, and for most folks, they will
probably be just fine.
* BIGGER CAPACITY FOR THE MONEY: At each price point, the new nano provides DOUBLE the capacity as the
first generation nano. For example, the first generation nano cost $200 for 2 gigabytes of storage;
the second generation is $200 for 4 gigabytes of storage.
* ACCESSORIES: The new nano has the same dock connector that all ipods have (except the ipod shuffle),
so it will work with virtually all accessories with a dock connector. The placement of the dock
connector and headphone jack is SLIGHTLY different from the previous ipod nano, so certain accessories
designed for the first generation nano may not work with the new one. For example, a case that has an
opening on the bottom for the headphone jack - the opening will be in the wrong place.
THE NANO COMPARED TO THE LARGER IPOD WITH VIDEO
The nano stores your music and photos in flash memory, while the larger ipods use a hard drive for storage.
Flash memory is more expensive per gigabyte, which is why the top-of-the-line 8 gigabyte nano costs the
same ($250) as the 30 gigabyte ipod with video.
But flash memory has two advantages: It's much smaller, which is how the nano can be so tiny. And there
are no moving parts to be damaged when you're jogging or when your nano accidentally gets nudged off the
desk and falls onto the floor. In contrast, sharp, sudden movements are not good for hard drive-based
MP3 players, and might even damage them.
The larger ipod has other advantages: it can play video, such as movies and music videos and episodes
of your favorite TV shows. It has a larger screen, which is nicer for viewing photos, and makes it
easier to see the album artwork that displays when your songs are playing. And if you're willing to
pay a few extra dollars, you can download games from iTunes for $5 each and play them on the larger
ipod, but not on the nano.
If you already have a larger ipod, the nano makes a great second ipod - you can slip it in your purse,
backpack, or briefcase and take up to 2000 songs with you to school, work, or while traveling.
THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE ABOUT THE NEW NANO
The nano does not come with an FM radio or the ability to record. No ipod does, not even the $350 80
gigabyte ipod with video. However, you can buy accessories that add FM radio or recording capabilities,
but they cost extra. In contrast, some MP3 players made by other companies have built-in FM radios
and the ability to record (either via microphone, or line-in jack, or from the FM radio).
ITUNES:
The new nano will only work with the latest version of iTunes (version 7), which you will have to
download from apple's website - the nano no longer comes with a CD-ROM containing the iTunes software.
This will be inconvenient for people with a dial-up connection to the internet. But if you have DSL,
cable modem, or other high-speed internet access, this will be no problem at all. In fact, it's better,
because you'll be getting the latest version of iTunes rather than the one that was current at the
time the CD-ROMs were manufactured.
I think the new version of iTunes is a nice improvement over the previous version. It can scan your
library and download the album art for most of your music, which it then transfers to your nano
(or any ipod with a color display). It offers different ways of viewing your library which are VERY cool.
And, despite what I read on a user forum somewhere, the new version of iTunes is not any more resource-hungry
than previous versions. My laptop is not very fast, and yet the new iTunes works as well on it as the last version.
If you're new to ipod and itunes, itunes is the software that manages your music library and transfers
music to the ipod. It is totally free (even if you don't own an ipod). It is well-designed and easy to
use. You can use it to transfer music from your CD collection to your computer (and, if you have one,
to your ipod). You can easily make playlists and burn them to CDs or transfer them to your ipod. And,
through itunes, you can visit Apple's online store and purchase songs (99 cents each), episodes of
TV shows (1.99 each), and now movies (9.99 - 14.99), all of which you can play on your computer or
a video ipod. I like itunes' music store, but please be assured that the software will never push
you or nag you to visit the itunes store and buy stuff you don't want. iTunes is NOT "ad-ware."
But in the event you don't like itunes, a company called red chair software makes an alternative
for windows computers called anapod explorer, which you might check out.
CONCLUSION
The new ipod nano is a great product at a reasonable price (compared to flash-based players on the
market now). It has great battery life, a small but bright and readable color display, excellent
sound quality, a very durable and scratch-resistant casing, and comes in a nice selection of
colors and capacities. And like all ipods, it has a high "cool factor", it's intuitively
designed and a real pleasure to use.
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