MP3 Insider

In recent statements, Apple reports 50 percent of new iPod sales are going to customers who are buying their very first iPod. That means millions of people are setting up an iPod for the first time. Personally, I'm a little scared for them.

The iPod celebrates its 8th birthday this month, and it has come a long way. What started out purely as a digital music player has evolved into a video-recording, movie-renting, fitness-tracking, do-everything device. For first-time users, I can imagine the experience of setting up a new iPod is as overwhelming as it is exciting.

To help make the most of your new iPod, I'm putting together a series of How-To guides for setting up each of the current iPod models (Nano, Touch, Shuffle, and Classic). I'm kicking things off with the iPod Nano--a deceptively simple-looking, candy-colored device loaded with more new features than any other iPod this season.

The video version of my iPod Nano setup guide is available for download from CNET TV, and an accompanying slideshow can be found below. If you have any other tips for first-time iPod Nano owners, feel free to share them in the comments section below.

How to set up an Apple iPod Nano--pictures

(Credit: CNET)

CNET Labs finished their panel of battery drain tests for the fifth-generation Apple iPod Nano, and the results are better than expected. Testing for continuous playback of audio and video, the Nano reached an average of 33.6 hours of audio or 5.3 hours of video.

Given Apple's own modest battery rating of 24 hours of audio or 5 hours of video, we expect Nano owners will be happy to know they have a little extra time to squeeze from their iPods.

When it comes to camcorders, I won't be abandoning my Flip anytime soon. But that doesn't make the iPod Nano any less attractive. The more camera-having gadgets, the merrier.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET)

The official CNET review of the fifth-generation iPod Nano is done, and I am officially exhausted. Someone please tell Apple to stop adding features to this thing. Remember when all an MP3 player to do was play music? CNET's first iPod review was only 600 words long. These days, you practically have to write a textbook to cover all the features that get crammed into a device like the iPod Nano.

An extra 0.2-inch really does make a noticeable difference when you're dealing with screens this small.

(Credit: Donald Bell/CNET)

Writer's exhaustion aside, the fifth-generation Nano is a fantastic little gadget that's one of the easiest-to-recommend stocking stuffers out there. The thing comes in a ton of colors, works with iTunes, helps you lose weight (pedometer), and might even get you to record the world's next completely unnecessary viral YouTube sensation. Sure, the earbuds are still garbage, but Sony seems to be the only manufacturer fighting that battle.

To prevent from boring you to tears, one area of the iPod Nano's performance I didn't go into exhaustive detail over is the video camera's image quality. If you're curious, I ran a few of tests over the weekend, shooting indoors and outdoors, and A/B testing the Nano against the Flip UltraHD. Aside from the obvious image quality differences, I also found problems with the Nano's tilt-sensor getting tripped-up on the camera's orientation and capturing videos sideways. ... Read More

Update: CNET's official review of the Apple iPod Nano (fifth-generation) is now available.

I'm holding Apple's fifth-generation iPod Nano, and it's feeling like deja vu. Here we are again with an 8GB and 16GB iPod Nano that bear the exact same shape and dimensions as last year's models, priced at $149 and a slightly more wallet-friendly $179, respectively. Sure, the aluminum is a little glossier, and the screen now stretches out to 2.2 inches (up from 2 inches), but most people would really need to have an Apple fanboy's eagle-eye to discern last year's model from today's.

But don't let looks fool you. Under the hood, Apple really juiced the fifth-gen iPod Nano up with a ton of tricks that serve to make the Nano better. I'm not convinced all of the Nano's new features were executed perfectly, but at least nothing about the fifth-gen Nano is a step backwards for Apple (unlike the third-gen Nano's awkward shape, or the button-less iPod Shuffle). For the sake of mentioning it, just know that everything found in last year's model is here as well, located in exactly the same place, with the same font, same everything. Music, photos, videos, podcasts, battery life, sound quality...same, same, same. Well, technically, rated battery life is up a little for video playback, clocking in a 5 hours instead of 4.

iPod Nano oddity No. 1: I can record video, but I can't snap a photo no matter how hard Antuan poses.

(Credit: CNET)

So what's new? Well, for starters, the iPod Nano now has a video camera. On the back of the Nano there's an eensy-teensy fixed-lens camera that runs flush with the body, capable of capturing 640x480 standard definition video at 30 frames per second. Files are recorded as iTunes-friendly .MP4 videos with h.264 formatted video with AAC audio. Video quality looks, well...decent. We'll have a better sense after more testing, but I think it's safe to say that it won't be crushing the Flip Mino HD anytime soon.

Part of the problem isn't so much the camera technology as it is the placement of the camera--located right behind the clickwheel where you can't help but rub your nasty hands across the lens each time you pick it up. After just a few minutes out of the box, video recordings became increasingly cloudy with screen grime.

Maybe I'm just filthy, but I have to think Apple would have done better to move the lens closer to the top and out of harm's ways.

Apple's dropping bombs all over CNET in the form of brand-new iPods and a freshly updated iTunes. You know what that means: harried editors scrambling to get you all the freshest details. This week's podcast has all you want to know about iTunes 9 and the updates to the iPod Shuffle, Nano, Classic, and Touch. Plus, we have plenty of video demonstrating the fifth-generation Nano's many new features.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Subscribe in iTunes audio |  Subscribe in iTunes video | Subscribe in RSS audio |  Subscribe in RSS video

... Read More

Today is the last day we will ever see the triple single-digit date repetition--and Apple sure is making a big deal about it. As I'm sure you've already heard, the company has announced a noticeably refreshed Apple iTunes along with updates to all of the iPods in its line. We have a cadre of editors and photographers at the show who will be bringing you a feast of photos, videos, and info throughout the day. In the meantime, you can see some up-close-and-personal shots of the new hardware and software below.

2009 Apple iPods--photos

iTunes 9 photos

If you're to believe the rumors (and Apple's own job postings), there's a good chance that the next generation of iPods will be outfitted with basic cameras. There's no telling which iPods will be affected (though the Shuffle seems unlikely), but the folks at iLounge are banking on the Nano.

An artist's rendition of what the iPod Nano would look like with a camera.

(Credit: iLounge)

Personally, I'm not thrilled about the idea of a camera on the Nano. Sure, a Nano cam would be fun, and Apple could have a field day marketing it as one of the thinnest cameras ever made. In most cases, however, the camera on your mobile phone is going to be a lot more useful--allowing you to e-mail, MMS, or upload photos on the go.

Now, putting a camera on the iPod Touch seems more practical. On the Touch, you'd get the benefit of open-ended development from the App store, a larger-screen size than you'll find on most cameras, zooming and editing features, and the capability to e-mail or upload your photos over Wi-Fi.

But just because a camera-equipped Touch makes sense, doesn't mean we'll see one. After all, Apple is laser-focused on upselling people on the iPhone and has historically gone out of its way to give the iPhone the lead when it comes to features (remember when you couldn't even get e-mail on the Touch?). A camera-equipped third-generation Touch would also potentially benefit from the video-recording capabilities included in the upcoming iPhone 3.0 operating system. Somehow, it seems un-Apple-like to jump from an iPod Touch with no camera at all to one with photo and video capture...but I'll try not to jinx it.

An iPod Touch or Nano with a camera still won't benefit from the GPS-tagging capabilities or MMS messaging of the iPhone. One thing an iPod Touch camera could do, which cell phone carriers would never allow on something like the iPhone, is video chat. An iPod Touch with a forward-facing Webcam capable of iChat/Skype-style video communication over Wi-Fi would certainly turn heads and fill an untapped niche in the portable device market.

What do you think? If your iPod had a camera, do you think you'd use it?

Sorry to hit you with a one-day-only deal two days in a row, but this is too good to pass up: Woot has the fourth-gen iPod Nano (8GB) for $99.99, plus $5 for shipping. Yes, fourth-gen: the latest and greatest model.

These are refurbished units available in your choice of colors: black, blue, green, orange, pink, purple, silver, and yellow.

I don't own this particular model, but CNET had lots of good things to say about it. Standout features include sleek design, a tilt sensor, and a Genius playlist builder. I particularly like the shake-to-shuffle capability.

So, here's the bad news: Woot's refurbs come with only a 90-day warranty. If you buy the same model from Apple's online store (scroll down a bit to find the fourth-gen Nano), you get a one-year warranty. Plus free shipping. You'll have to decide if that's worth an extra $25.

Personally, I think there's so little chance of anything breaking on this model, you might as well pocket the extra cash. But I'd definitely act fast: Woot tends to sell out quickly, and once the iPods are gone, they're gone. (They'll definitely be gone at midnight.)

I might just have another deal for you later today (yep, a two-fer!), so be sure to check back.

If you're visually impaired or legally blind, living in the age of the MP3 player can be frustrating. Small screens, tiny fonts, complicated menus, and imprecise controls make the majority of MP3 players very difficult to use. Until now, visually impaired users often resorted to counting scroll wheel clicks and memorizing menus, or installing and configuring third-party firmware, such as the open source Rockbox (a project not recommended for the technologically timid).

By adding a Spoken Menus feature to their fourth-generation iPod Nano, Apple is one of the first manufacturers to dramatically improve the usability of their MP3 players for vision-impaired users. The iPod Nano's "spoken menus" option literally speaks menu and song selections to you in a synthesized voice, making it possible to navigate your iPod completely by sound. For this MP3 Insider tip, we'll go step-by-step through the process of activating the iPod Nano's spoken menus and tweaking them to your taste. There's also a video version of this how-to offered to the right of this paragraph.

Here are the steps involved for setting up your fourth-generation iPod Nano for spoken menus.

1. Setting up iTunes
Connect your iPod to your computer, launch iTunes 8, and select your iPod from the left pane. The main iTunes window should now be a summary page for your iPod with a few checkbox options near the bottom of the window. Check off the last option, marked "Enable spoken menus", then hit the Apply button in the lower right corner of iTunes.

It will take a few minutes for your computer to read the contents of your iPod, generate the necessary voice cues, and sync those cues back to your iPod.

2. Tweaking your voice settings
If you're not happy with the sound of the voice used for spoken menus you can change the character and the speed of the voice. To change the default voice on Windows XP, go to Settings in the Start Menu, select Control Panel and then select Speech. By default, Windows users only have one voice, called Microsoft Sam, but additional voices can be installed. Under voice type, there's a bar to define the speed of the voice.

Mac users have over 20 voices included by default under Mac OS 10. You can find your Mac's voice settings by going to System Preferences from the Apple menu, and locating the Speech icon. Same as Windows, you can adjust the type of voice and the playback speed.

In theory, iTunes should detect when you've made changes to your system's speech settings and reload your iPod Nano with new voice files the next time it's connected, however, in Windows XP, we could only get the new voice settings to take after doing an iPod firmware restore through iTunes. Under Mac, system-voice changes seemed to take immediately.

3. Check your iPod settings
After enabling spoken menus through iTunes, you should be able to hear the voice cues on your iPod right away. If you don't, check the Settings menu of your iPod, click on General, and you should find an option for turning spoken menus on and off.

That's all there is to it. For those of you who've already configured your computer's voice to suit your taste, step one may be all it takes to get the desired result. If you have any other tips on improving MP3 player accessibility, please share them in the comments section below.