Summary

Apple recently released its third generation iPod nano. Unlike the standard iPod (now callediPod Classic), the nano has been subject to major revisions and design improvements since it was first released in 2005. The most recent iteration reveals a new, tighter shape and size, a bigger LCD screen, video playback and more. The 8GB version sells for $199 USD while the 4GB can be had for just $149 USD. All the iPod hype and iconic status aside, any media player has to produce excellent sound, render quality video and it must remain easy to use. We gave the iPod nano a thorough drubbing to see how it stood up to our scrutiny. Check out our review to find out if the new nano is right for you or for someone on your gift list.

Full Review

Features and Design

The main attractions toward the new 3rd generation iPod nano form a sort of techie troika: the reduced size of the iPod body, the enlarged widescreen LCD and the introduction of video playback to the nano family. Apple, as one could expect, paid very close attention to their customer base – including compliments, critiques or wishes - and delivered exactly what the mass market desires.

The body of the nano has been completely revamped. Instead of the tall, thin design of the 1st and 2nd gen iPod nanos, the 3rd gen has been widened just a little and cut down to almost half the height. Some first impressions led it to be referred to as the "fat nano", but once the 3rd gen nano was released to retail stores, all the jokes turned to fervent praise. Few people expected the "fat nano" to wind up so incredibly thin and light. It makes sense though - the nano is only 2.75" x 2.06" x 0.26" and weighs 1.74 oz.

The new LCD screen is also a great improvement - nearly 40% larger LCD, with a 320x240 pixel screen res. The colors are extra bright and lively. Photos look impressive. Album art looks very nice and is more visible, thanks to the increased screen size.

Video playback on this 3rd gen iPod nano is arguably the best feature of them all. While the iPod nano is not and never will be the exclusive video player for consumers, it is a fantastic way to enjoy videos, TV shows, home movies and funny YouTube clips (converted, of course) when on the road, stuck in mass transit, etc. The inclusion of the new "Cover Flow" user interface just adds a thick layer of icing to an already delicious cake.

Even with all the new features - video, Cover Flow, etc. - the new nano gets upwards of 24 hours of battery time for audio and 5 hours of video playback time. The tiny battery can quickly charge to 80% in about 90 minutes. The remaining 20% takes an additional 90 minutes.

The nano itself is very lightweight, as mentioned above, but it doesn't feel flimsy at all. In fact, the metal body adds a sensation of strong durability. The glass screen is scratch resistant. The anodized aluminum front is also resistant to scratches and will survive well in a pocket full of loose change, keys, etc. It shouldn't be abused - duh - but you can at least rest assured that it won't get utterly thrashed in a matter of a few days (or weeks, months, ad infinitum). The shiny metal back of the nano, however, is much more sensitive to scratches and fingerprints - egads, the fingerprints. (Most of us don't mind fingerprints on our MP3 players, but we do occasionally freak out when the iPod shows us how much icky oils our bodies can produce! Blech.)

The nano has a single 1/8" (3.5mm) audio jack and comes with a set of earbuds. Those earbuds sound good (much better than most low-cost earbuds on the market today), but to get the full effect of the nano's sound production, you'll need a higher quality pair of headphones. Trust us on this. The beauty and rockin' awesomeness of your music is hidden behind mediocre Apple earbuds.

As with all iPods these days, the nano has a 30-pin dock connector on the bottom. Apple includes a dock adapter so you can connect the 3rd gen nano to an unlimited number of iPod speaker systems. Also on the bottom of the nano is the lock button. Slide the button to the right (exposing the orange marking) and the buttons on the front of the iPod are disabled. It's a feature common to all iPods.

The 3rd gen iPod nano comes in five colors - silver, blue, green, black and red. Apple includes the following with the iPod nano: earphones, USB 2.0 sync/charging cable, universal dock adapter, quick start guide.

 

The Apple iPod nano

Setup and Use

The iPod nano is easy to set up, much more so than the iPod Touch or iPhone. Remove the iPod nano and accessories from the packaging and connect the iPod to your computer via the included USB charging/sync cable. If you have a wall charger for your iPod (wall chargers for earlier iPod models will work fine), plug it in to the wall and let it charge up. Eventually, however, you'll need to connect the iPod nano to your computer so you can set it all up, connect it to iTunes and get music and videos transferred over.

Make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed. The latest software is required to properly communicate with the nano.

Upon connecting the iPod nano to your computer, you'll see its screen light up. You may be asked to select the language you want to use the iPod in. A moment later, the iPod will automatically configure itself to best work with your PC or Mac system. Follow the on-screen instructions and in less than a minute, your iPod nano will be fully set up and ready for music. You can register your new iPod with Apple (again, part of the automatic setup process) or chose not to. It's best to register, that way Apple will have your contact info tied to the iPod serial number in case the iPod is ever lost (and then found by an ethical person).

In iTunes, make sure that the iPod nano has the newest firmware installed. If it doesn't (and iTunes makes it obvious for you), updating is as easy as clicking the button that says "update".

Once the iPod nano is set up within iTunes, transfer music by one of two ways: 1) allow iTunes to automatically sync your music library with the nano, or 2) manually select music from your library and drag it onto the the nano. You can also ease the process by creating multiple playlists and dragging the single playlist to your nano.

While files are being transferred to the nano, check out the gorgeous color widescreen on the nano itself. The animated transfer graphics are a nice touch. While you're admiring the tiny wonder, you'll probably notice that there isn't an on/off button on the nano. Use the scroll wheel (press anywhere) to turn the iPod on, and hold the play/pause button down for about 5 seconds to turn it off.

In addition to using the iPod nano as a music and video player, you can set it up to hold copies of your photos in iPhoto. The iPod nano will also hold contact lists, calendars, notes and games. It does so much!

Once the sync is done, disconnect the iPod nano from your computer. On Mac systems, you'll need to click the "eject" button in iTunes to properly disconnect the nano. Then disconnect the dock connector cable from the bottom of the nano. Plug in the headphone jack and don the trendy white headphones. (Better yet, find yourself a nice set of super high quality headphones like the Bose Triport or iMuffs model MB210. Those headsets will take full advantage of all the power the nano has to offer.)

On the nano's screen, you'll see that the new iPod menu is a little different than before. The screen is split in half - half menu, half album art. The album art floats around in a Ken Burns way, which is neat at first, but it gets a little old after the first few hundred rotations. Scroll through the menus to familiarize yourself with the placement of options, photo albums, videos and, of course, your music library. Find a song and press the play button. Enjoy!

Testing

One of the very first impressions we get from the iPod nano is that the tiny size must sacrifice some audio quality. There's only partial truth to that assumption. The nano itself produces amazing sound quality. Its digital sound and modern electronics manufacturing processes allow for better and better sound systems to be placed on smaller and smaller chips. The real weakness comes from the included headphones. They're "ok" at best. If you really want to enjoy your music, you'll stuff those white earbuds in a drawer somewhere and never look at them again. To use them is to sacrifice 50% or more of the true audio you could be enjoying. Find an alternate set, like the Bose Triport, the MB210 iMuffs or even some high-quality Sennheiser headphones. Then you'll really get the full effect of your music. The experience can almost be life changing, especially if you consider yourself a music lover.

The new 3rd gen iPod nano also plays videos on its little 2" 320x240 pixel screen. Understandably, the nano has received some ribbing and teasing about the small LCD. It's true that the LCD is small and video is equally small. It does make one squint or pull the nano close in for a better view. That said, the actual quality of the video playback is nothing short of impressive. The colors are rich and vibrant, the motion is clean and the black to white contrast is praiseworthy. Watching an episode of the TV show Shark was fun and engaging, but I tired of the screen after a short while. For kids and teens riding busses, for those on BART or any other metro transportation, the nano screen will clearly suffice for temporary entertainment purposes.

Needless to say, photos display very well on the nano. Still image quality is just as good as video quality; perhaps a little better.

The size of the nano is a very positive feature for many consumers. No one wants a big, clunky, heavy audio/video player making their pockets bulge or their backpacks laden down. The nano measures 2.75 by 2.06 by 0.26 inches and weighs a feathery 1.74 ounces. It is almost unnoticeable in the front or rear pocket of a pair of jeans. In fact, one could pocket 4 or 5 iPod nanos before space began to be an issue.

 

Conclusion

The 3rd generation iPod nano is one of the most enticing iPods Apple has ever produced. It's thin, sexy, easy to use, holds plenty of music, videos and photos. The sound quality is impressive - seemingly better than earlier iPod nanos. Video quality is great, too.

Downsides? The headphone connector is on the bottom of the iPod nano, making it a total pain in the rear to use on treadmills, in the car or in a pocket (the nano usually ends up being used upside-down, making the controls harder to manage though clothing). The included headphones are less than fantastic and should be replaced by a more powerful set.

Overall, the nano is awesome and would make a fantastic gift for techies and non-techies alike. It's unlikely that you'd ever hear any complaint from someone given a new iPod nano. Conversely, you're apt to hear lots of happy thank-yous.


Pros:

• Super slim and lightweight
• Very impressive audio and video
• Holds up to 2,000 songs or 8 hours of video
• 24 hour battery for music
• Easy to set up and use

Cons:

• Included headphones are "ok" at best
• Headphone jack on bottom of player

Specs

Model Number: MB261LL/A
Capacity: 8 GB flash drive
Song capacity: Up to 2,000 (128-Kbps AAC format)
Photo capacity: Up to 7,000 iPod-viewable photos
Video playback: Up to 8 hours
Display: 2-inch color LCD with blue-white LED backlight, 320 x 240 pixels
Audio frequency response: 20 to 20000 Hz
Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
Video formats supported: H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640x480 pixels, 30 fps, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48 kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640x480 pixels, 30 fps, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48 kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640x480 pixels, 30 fps, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48 kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats
Earphone frequency response: 20 to 20000 Hz
Earphone impedance: 32 ohms
Battery: Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery; charging via USB or power adapter (not included)
Battery life for audio playback: Up to 24 hours with full charge
Battery life for video playback: Up to 5 hours with full charge
Battery charging time: Fast-charge time: about 1.5 hours (charges up to 80% of battery capacity); full-charge time: about 3 hours
Interface: Dock connector, 3.5-millimeter earphone jack
System requirements (Mac): Mac OS X v10.4.8 or later; available USB 2.0 port; iTunes 7.4 or later installed
System requirements (Windows): Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional with SP2 or later; available USB 2.0 port; iTunes 7.4 or later installed
Operating temperature: 32 to 95 degrees F / 0 to 35 degrees C
Non-operating temperature: -4 to 113 degrees F / -20 to 45 degrees C
Relative humidity: 5 to 95 percent non-condensing
Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet / 3,000 meters
Dimensions: 2.06 x 2.75 x 0.26 inches / 52.3 x 69.8 x 6.5 millimeters (W x H x D)
Weight: 1.74 ounces / 49.2 grams
Color: Black
Warranty: 1-year limited warranty, 90-day single-incident telephone support
What's in the Box: 8 GB iPod nano, earphones, USB 2.0 cable, dock adapter, quick start guide

Copyright © 2009 Digital Trends
http://www.digitaltrends.com/