The Incredible Shrinking Apple iPod Nano

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new nano

Today Apple announced 4 updated products. The iPod shuffle, AppleTV, iPod touch, and iPod nano. Of the bunch, the nano is the one that I want to try the most. I don’t need one, that’s for sure, but I can’t help but want one! It’s a matchboxed sized multi-touch music player. Who wouldn’t want one? They are available in 8 or 16GB capacities, 7 colors and even have a clip. Can you imagine running little apps on this puppy? Two things to be aware of though… this version of the nano doesn’t have a camera and apparently can’t play video. Kind of a bummer… but I still want one 🙂 They will ship in 1 week and will set you back $149 – $179 depending on the capacity.

11 thoughts on “The Incredible Shrinking Apple iPod Nano”




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  2. I think this is a horrible update to the nano. The screen is too small for touch control. Would have preferred them to keep the old form.

  3. As a (new) runner, I am bummed by the update. I have a hard enough time hitting the right areas on my 3rd gen nano. Touch screen is not very friendly to controlling w/out looking at the face. Also, the idea that i would just clip it on my shirt is laughable. How strong is that clip? And how waterproof is it if it is going to be exposed like that?

  4. I think this is a bad redesign. What apps? Apple says it isn’t iOS4, so there goes that possible benefit. Plus, no vid, no camera, no games, all for the same money? I love Apple, but I am glad I have a 4th gen.

  5. I agree with 3 ucfgrad93: tiny multitouch screen is not a good idea. I also agree with Bryan Sherman: I use my 2G nano in the car and had no problem play/pause/rewind using the buttons, but a touch screen is horrible for that purpose: I like to keep my eyes on the road and feel my way about the buttons.

    I appreciate Apple for coming up with clean, elegant designs, but I think they have gone to far eliminating the buttons. Case in point: buttons have made their way back to the latest Shuffle.

  6. If you want a tiny MP3 player…the Sansa Clip is fantastic and won’t cost you anywhere near the price of a Nano. It appears Apple is starting to choke on its own non-standard connector…as they’re now having to use a special cable for their smaller devices.

  7. Until someone has an actual Nano in their hands to play with, all this talk about poor usability is just pure speculation. We shall soon see, but I imagine it would be hard to press the wrong place on such a small screen.

    Anyway, the one thing excites me is the Nike+ integration, which was omitted from the previous generation Nano. That totally bummed me out since the Nano is the best iPod for running. Can’t wait to lay my hands on one.

  8. @chriszzz
    What are you referring to with Nike+ integration? Simply using Nike+, or using without the tiny transmitter? I have a 3rd gen that works fine with the transmitter (not sure of 2nd or 1st), as does the 4th, and the 5th (just prior to this release) worked without the transmitter. So no change there.

    It would be interesting if they could come out with a Nike + version of the Shuffle. That has physical buttons you can press without seeing, that would be great. It seems, given the relative sizes, that is something they could do. Of course nothing is impossible for the guy that doesn’t have to do it. 🙂

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