iPod Nano - The Apple of Apple's Eye

I remember in the 80's when Apple computers were the symbol of counter-culture coolness in the computer world. But after giving their creator and mastermind Steve Jobs the boot, they started to lose their way and nearly fell victim to the Microsoft juggernaught. With 20/20 hindsight, they begged Mr. Jobs to come back and save them, and he has, in a big way. So Apple is now back to being a company that thinks different and comes up with innovative and cool products. And it would appear that the flagship of Apple's rebirth is the iPod, a small portable music device that plays MP3 format music.

The iPod Nano is the next generation of the iPod, and as implied by the name, it is even smaller (in size) to the original iPod. It is also capable of storing and viewing pictures as well as music.

I was fortunate enough to win a 1 GB iPod Nano Black at a raffle at work. Since I have never had an iPod, I was genuinely excited and could not wait to bring the hip gadget home to show off to my kids.

PACKAGING

The packaging is the first thing most people see on any product, yet oftentimes the most overlooked. In the case of the iPod Nano Black, I could not help but notice how cool the packaging was. The box was finished in silky black with an actual size photo of the Nano on the front. The coolest shot of the nano is on the back, it's easy to miss because it is the sideways profile shot, which goes to show how thin this device is. After sliding off the cover, the box opened up like a book, and there in the center is the iPod Nano. My first thought was "I knew it was going to be small, but that really IS small!" It's smaller than my cell phone, and probably about the same size as 5 credit cards stacked on top of each other.

HEADPHONES

The Nano comes with a set of white in-the-ear headphones (earbuds). I was a little annoyed they didn't match the black player, but I think the white headphones are an iPod trademark and they don't want to deviate from that. I generally dislike any of the in-the-ear style headphones because they push on my ears in a way I don't find comfortable. The earphones did come with 2 pairs of earpads that soften the earbuds up a little bit. The sound quality from these headphones is not spectacular, but good enough that it doesn't detract from the music.

ACCESSORIES

Also included in the box was the USB cable, software CD for the iTunes music player (required to load music on the iPod), abbreviated user guide, suede carry pouch, and an adapter bracket for mounting your iPod to other accessories that can be purchased separately. Apple also threw in some white decals with the Apple logo on them in case I wanted to show off how cool and hip I am as I am driving in my car (maybe because it would be illegal to drive with headphones on).

I noted that there was no formal user manual provided. The user guide was intended to get me started without any problems, but as a new iPod user I soon got confused and found that the instructions in the guide were too short to answer my questions. Therefore, I had to log onto the Apple website to get the full instructions in order to start using my new iPod.

Also of note is that there are no batteries included; the iPod Nano doesn't need any, it has a built-in lithium-ion battery that is recharged by your computer through the USB cable.

CONSTRUCTION

The iPod Nano is very well constructed for a small little player. The back half of the unit is polished stainless steel with the Apple logo, model, and assorted information etched on the back. The front is glossy black plastic. One complaint a friend of mine has about his Nano is how easily scratched the front plate is, so I have left the thin plastic sheet on the front in place to protect it. One small complaint I have about the construction is that the surfaces are so smooth that the iPod Nano slides around in my pocket too easily, meaning it can slide out of my pocket and onto the floor if I'm not careful. Also, the unit is constructed such that the unit cannot be opened, meaning after your warranty expires if iPod breaks or the internal battery wears out, your iPod is trash.

OPERATION/USE

The iPod Nano uses a drop down menu interface to use its different functions. The color screen is clear and easy to read, and the menu is organized logically so that things are pretty easy to find. Music can be organized and found by artist, song title, composer, album, and playlist. The iPod can also shuffle all the songs in the player (One minor complaint I have is that you cannot shuffle just the songs on a playlist or an album, the shuffle function only works for the entire list of songs loaded on the player).

The controls of the iPod Nano are somewhat hit & miss as far as their effectiveness. The player has a circular pad with 4 directions for 4 functions (Menu, Rewind, Forward, & Play/Pause). The controls are labeled well and work well. There is a "Hold" switch at the top of the player to disable the controls while the iPod is sitting in your pocket playing music so that you don't change the song or volume by accident.

Finally, there is the center button/wheel control, which is not labeled in any way but is the pivotal controller of the iPod's functions. Unfortunately, this control is the single largest source of frustration I have found with my iPod. From a technological standpoint the button is actually quite cool, it is a multi-function button that, when depressed, acts like a standard button, but if you slide your finger up or down the right side of it, it acts like a wheel even though nothing is turning. Apple must have thought this was the coolest thing, since almost all iPod functions are controlled by the wheel. However, the wheel is touchy; sometimes it doesn't respond to your finger and other times it responds too much. This is especially annoying when controlling the volume of the iPod; when you think you are scrolling through a menu you end up cranking up the volume to the maximum. It was also very frustrating because the very first time you start up your iPod it asks you what language to set your iPod to, and since I was just learning to use that frustrating wheel button, I ended up accidentally selecting Korean. I ended up having to reset the iPod to get the language back to English.

CAPACITY

The version of the iPod Nano I have contains 1 GB of storage space. That equates to about 240 songs, or about 20 full length CDs. Pictures will take up space on the iPod as well. If you need more space than that, there are currently 2 GB and 4 GB versions of the iPod Nano available as well.

MUSIC PLAYBACK

From a technological standpoint, the music playback for a device this small is phenomenal. While the sound quality coming from the iPod Nano may be slightly lower than my CD player, it is hard to believe that tiny little iPod puts out such good sound. The maximum volume of the player is not as high as a standard Walkman, but plenty loud for my ears. In fact, I am actually glad the iPod doesn't get any louder; if I let my kids use it they won't be able to blow their eardrums out as easily. The iPod also has about 15 preset equalizer settings you can use to tune the player so as to compliment your music. Unfortunately, there are no manual equalizers built into the iPod Nano.

The iPod Nano comes with a standard headphone jack (which is incredible since the jack is nearly as large as the iPod is wide!) Therefore, if you want better sound or more comfortable headphones, you can use any standard headphones.

Viewing images on the iPod is a neat function, although the screen is so small that it is like looking at pictures on your cell phone.

PRICE

Since I won my iPod Nano in a raffle, I didn't have to pay for it myself. If I did, I might not have bought one, since they currently run about $200 for the 1 GB version. I think overall they are worth the money, but I personally didn't need one badly enough to justify spending that kind of money, so I'm glad I won the raffle!

SOFTWARE (iTunes)

A review of the iPod would not be complete without mentioning iTunes, since the iPod cannot work without it. After learning how to use it, I would have to say it is not the must intuitive or user friendly programs out there. I was able to figure it out, but I consider myself generally knowledgable when it comes to computers. Someone like my mother who does not spend much time around computers I think would have a difficult time figuring out how to import and manage music on the iPod through iTunes.

OVERALL

Despite its few flaws, the iPod is a cool music device that is currently like none other. Now that I have one of my own, I see why it has reached iconic status in the technology world. It is definitely a cool little music player that works great and makes your friends and kids jealous.