Drop, charge, and lose the cords
- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 239 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
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34 out of 43 people found this review helpful
4.5 stars
"Full, Unbiased/Fair/Honest Review of this Tiny Little Device"
Pros: Compact, Lightweight, Color Screen, All the Features of an iPod, Comes in Black
Cons: No More Pink, Blue, Green, or Silver Colors! No Firewire Support
Summary: Apple comes out with something new every few months, so it was natural to expect that they'd eventually overhaul the Mini in some way. Let's start out with looks. Gone are the stylish individual colors that, in my opinion, have made the iPod Mini the most popular of the iPods to date. That was the reason for me buying my green Mini. Now, the Mini has been made to look similar to its bigger brother. You'll find that the Nano has a high gloss finish to it, and the back is now chrome. This can be either a plus or a minus depending on if you're concerned about scratches. Personally, worries about scratches were what made me buy a Mini, with its brushed metal facade. But no more. The Nano comes in either white or black. But let me tell you, go for the black Nano. Not only is it cool and stylish, you'll be sure to stand out in the crowd.
The Nano is also smaller than the Mini- a lot smaller. Indeed, the Nano is only as thick as a pencil, and it is truely dazzeling to hold it in your hand. It?s very light, very compact. The screen is 1.5 inches, which is even smaller than the Mini. I'm not sure why Apple didn't make it a bit larger, especially since there seems to be a lot of empty space between the screen and the click wheel. The Nano's height is a bit shorter than the Mini as well, so overall the size difference is astounding. There is a tiny Hold Button (same shape) on top, and the USB port and headphone jack are located on the bottom. Some people have made issues with the placement of the headphone jack on the bottom, but lets back up a minute. If you think about it, having the headphone jack on the bottom makes a lot more sense than the top. Ergonomically too. Apple will be releasing a lanyard/headphone ensemble that will go with the Nano, meaning you'll be able to wear it around your neck, ala the Shuffle. It?s very cool, and very smart too. It also means that when you have the Nano in your pants pocket listening to it, it'll be right side up (as opposed to up side down) when you take it out, holding it in your hand.
The Nano is flash-based. This means there is no hard drive. No spinning parts that can skip while running, or hiccups between songs. It?s nice stuff. Like the Shuffle, Nano sounds clear and audible, better than the Mini or iPod. The battery is, well, a lithium ion battery. Apple says 14 hours, but expect about 7-10 if you listen on loud, use the click wheel constantly, or look at pictures. That's obvious. And even though the 4 gig Nano is $249 (as opposed to the 6 gig Mini for the same price), we're talking about flash technology. That's a GOOD price people! Also consider that as of today, new flash chip technology was just annouced by Samsung, so expect 6 or 8 Gig'ers by the Holiday Season or soon after. Note also, the Nano is only ********** with USB. This means your Firewire plugs will not do a thing when connected it. A minor inconvenience for now, but I'd expect Apple to remedy this soon, so all you Firewire users can be happy. The interface is the same as the iPod, color screen, games, extras, etc. The clock setting did receive a makeover, which I think is nice. Other than that, the funtionality is all the same.
Highly Recommended. My suggestion: gawk at it for now, buy it/ask for it at Christmas, so Apple has time to refine/adjust/improve any technical issues that all new products are prone to have. A must have 4-6 months from now. Also, the Mini is being retired. You might want to keep yours for nostalgia!
- 5 replies to this review
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Future Shop is pushing a 3-year warranty. Do you think it is needed? (Thanks for your detailed review.
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QA JL is testing profanity filtering: you son of the *****, you idiot, ******* stupid, ******.
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Well Written article, good job.
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I'm no Apple basher - I like their products, and own them. But I have been nothing but dissapointed with the Nano. Technically, it's great - the sound quality of the Shuffle, but drop-dead gorgeous.
The problem is that in the real world you have to put this sucker in plexiglass in order to not scratch the screen. Sure, scratches on the surface are to be expected, but the screen on mine scratched BEFORE I could get a PDA coverlet on it. NOT ACCEPTABLE!
Your review pretty much says not to buy this product because it's a beta. How can you then turn around and give it a 9? -
Don't expect firewire to appear on the Nano anytime soon. The chipset that is required for Firewire support is a lot larger than that for comparable USB 2.0 support. There's not a lot of room in the Nano, so USB is it. This will probably be the same trend for everything else as well.
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