Apple iPod nano

The iPod nano is one of the newest and hottest tech toys on the market. Teens everywhere are saving up their pennies to buy this sleek and stylish portable music. The product is fantastic overall, but it has its ups and downs. This quick guide will help you determine whether to invest in this portable music.

LOOKS –

This portable music is designed to see and be seen. The slim, sleek design grabs attention. It’s small enough to slip into your change pocket, yet big enough for easy handling. Although the shiny front and chrome back promote its good looks, it’s a fingerprint death-trap, so be sure you have something to clean it with handy at all times.

FUNCTIONALITY –

The iPod’s famous click-wheel returns for more easy maneuvering (Figure 1). It easily moves you around the easy-to-navigate menus while eliminating the need for bulky buttons. The center button in the middle of the click wheel is sleek and discreet to keep its simple and stylish look. The menus are very easy to navigate and well organized to prevent music file clutter. One drawback of the click-wheel is its hypersensitivity, which can mean unexpected volume levels when it gets jostled in your pocket.

Figure 1: The famous iPod Navigation Wheel

CONNECTIVITY –

The iPod nano is connected to your computer by a USB cable which is convenient to some, but it can also get in the way. When plugged in, the iTunes program (which is required to add/remove songs, but is included in your iPod purchase) automatically starts up (Figure 2). At first use, it will automatically start uploading all your songs to your nano, but you can change this in Preferences and un-checking “Update Automatically.” iTunes is easy to use and very efficient. Once all your songs are uploaded and converted to iTunes, all you need to do is drag and drop your songs from your library to your iPod. Once your songs are uploaded (with surprising speed), just eject and go.

Figure 2: Apple iTunes is used to transfer your music to your iPod non

MUSIC QUALITY –

For the most part, the nano gets high quality music feedback, but some feel that the freebie ear buds don’t cut it. If you feel the need for deeper bass or cleaner sound, I recommend buying separate earphones. There’s no skipping with the nano, so you can exercise with it, dance to it, air guitar with it, whatever, with skip-free feedback. There are 22 Equalizer settings to fit your music preference, including a “spoken word” setting for audio books. Overall, sound quality on the nano is high-quality, but for the hard rockers out there, a little boost in headset quality might be needed.

WEAR & TEAR –

You may have heard the complaints about the nano’s scratch of doom. Well…for the most part, it’s true. The nano’s soft plastic and chrome exterior scratch a lot easier than a portable music should. But once you get a protective cover for it, it should be perfectly fine. Without one, however, the only way to keep your nano scratch-free is to leave it on your desk and never move it. Ever. Even the inside of your pants pocket will scratch it. Get a protective cover and you’re good to go.

GOODIES –

The nano boasts many goodies. In the games section, you’ll find some of the usual cell-phone games, but one uber-cool game is the music quiz. It takes short music clips from your playlists and has you guess which song it is. Tons of fun. The nano also boasts photo-viewer, but if you’re like me, there’s so much music crammed on your iPod that there’s not room for even one photo. Although these are fun features, that advertised 14 hours of music playback is cut down to about 3 when you use these. They suck battery life like no other. More fun features are address book, notebook, and calendar, but these, like photo-viewer, take up so much space that it’s not even worth it.

CONCLUSION -

It’s a great choice for a portable music player, but be aware of its bonuses and short-comings. One you get your nano, check out all its extra stuff like the nano armband ($29.00 US in multiple colors) and nano tubes ($29.00 US for a set of 5). Go crazy.

COST -

Apple sells the 2GB unit for $199 and the 4GB one for $299. The 2GB iPod holds 500 songs and the 4GB is double that at 1,000 songs. For more information, visit the Apple iPod website at http://www.apple.com/ipod.

So…yeah.

Catherine Fitch
Reviewer - Mobile Teens
Clinton Fitch (Dot) Com! (http://www.clintonfitch.com)