iPod Nano | September 15, 2005
I bought my girlfriend an iPod a couple of Christmases ago to make her commute up to London a bit more pleasant. I though about getting an iPod myself, but I never really listened to that much music on the go, so felt it would be a bit of a waste.
I thought about getting an iPod mini, but the same thing applied. It looked good but probably wouldn’t get that much use. By the time the iPod shuffle came out, Apple had wore me down. It was the perfect size and weight to have in my pocket all the time, and was great for the occasional trip to London, or the increasingly occasional trip to the gym. Perfect for filling up dead space.
I’ve been doing a lot more travelling the last couple of months, going up to London for meetings, training sessions and events. The last few trips I’ve started to feel the limits of the iPod shuffle. First off my shuffle is limited to about 150 songs, so you do end up getting repeats over the course of a day, especially if you skip over songs you don’t fancy listening to. Secondly there is no way to tell what a song is, so if a song comes on that you like, you can’t find out what it is or rate it.
The iPod shuffle is an excellent entry product. You get a very cheap product that shows you the benefits of having a portable mp3 player, but is limited so that after 6 months, you want to upgrade. Very smart. And what happens around 6 months after the iPod shuffle is launched?
That’s right, the iPod Nano.
The pictures of the iPod Nano look pretty impressive, but you honestly can’t get a feel for how small and compact these things are unless you see them. I went up to the Apple store on Sunday to have a look and I have to say I was blown away. Now the iPod classics are by no means bulky and the mini’s are, as their name suggests, pretty small. However the iPod Nano is tiny. Just like the Shuffle, the Nano is an MP3 player that you’ll just slip into your jacket pocket or bag and carry everywhere with you. However unlike the Shuffle, it has all the features, and more, of the iPod classic.
The visual styling is fantastic, looking like you’ve left your iPod classic in the washing machine and it’s shrunk. The colour screen is crisp and clear, making me wonder how people ever managed with a black and white screen. They just look so dated in comparison. The only problem is that it looks so small you feel it would snap in half if you forgot to take it out of your back pocket when you sat down. Not to fear however because the new Nano’s have been thoroughly stress tested and seem to be pretty robust. Just don’t expect them to work properly after you’ve dropped them out of your car at 50mph and then driven over them.
Posted at September 15, 2005 8:44 AM
Gordon said on September 15, 2005 9:52 AM
“looking like you’ve left your iPod classic in the washing machine and it’s shrunk”
HAHAHAA, spot on!
Got one yesterday, it’s just sooooo “TOUCH ME PLAY WITH ME” that it’s hard to describe. In the office today and most people just reach right out and take it from my hand.. sounds good too!