Apple iPod Nano (4GB, white)

Pros: Clickwheel (of course!)

Cons: Sound quality not appreciably improved; lack of other colors

Summary: Apple has marginally blown it with this one. Listened to several nanos at the nearby Apple Store last night, and you know what? The sound quality has *not* significantly improved. Bass is still anemic. Very disappointing insofar as the shuffle was a step in the right direction sonically. Storage is the next problem. As an iPod mini owner, I'm feeling the squeeze with only 4GB of space, but I can make do. The ideal unit would double it to 8GB. (I don't want, nor need my entire CD collection on an iPod. Sue me.)

The clickwheel is fantastic (as always).

Glossy black is a fingerprint magnet big time. All the black nanos have been on display three days tops, and they had smudges all over them. (Okay, this one is not important, I know.)

There was a noticeable lag when switching from menu to menu.

All in all, I'm very underwhelmed. Here's hoping they revive the mini as a larger capacity choice. (Hey, if the Dodge Charger can be brought back, so can the mini.)

Apple, please . . .shore up the bottom end of the sound in future iterations. This is really the iPod's Achilles heel. (Extra colors wouldn't hurt, either.)