A Music Listener's Dream
Pros:
Small and Compact, New and Improved Earbuds, Easily Operated, More Durable than past Nano
Cons:
Earbuds are average, Must hook up to computer to charge, A bit Expensive
The Bottom Line:
Get the new iPod Nano if you don't have a huge collection or if you don't feel like watching movies on the tiny screen of the iPod Video.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
As my music collection got bigger and bigger, I realized my 512 MB MP3 player was becoming obsolete. I decided to search around on Epinions for reviews on various MP3 players. I lowered it down to The Ipod Nano 4 GB, the Ipod Video 30 GB and the Sandisk 4 GB. I decided against the Ipod Video because I don't feel like watching videos on such a small screen, and the battery life is terrible. I decided against the Sandisk because I read a lot of reviews claiming it breaks easily. With some research, I discovered the New Remastered Ipod Nano is a charm. I decided to buy it.
It was a rainy Saturday and I headed to my local Walmart, where I picked it up for about 250$ CAD. I chose green because I loved the colour and I thought the other colours didn't suit me. I thought, oh cool a small box. I didn't realize it would get better and better.
As I got in the car, I just had to open the box and check it out. Getting it out of the bendable plastic thing took some effort, and finding out how to open the box took some effort. But eventually, all that patience paid off.
First Impressions:
-Very nice metallic Green colour
-Back is hard aluminum and isn't that cheap plastic used on the First Generation Nanos
-Fingerprints don't show up as easily as the First Generation Nano
-Very lightweight
-Tiny Box
-The new iPod Nano is about .1 inches smaller than the First Generation one
Hooking it up:
I didn't originally have iTunes, so I eagerly downloaded/installed it. Putting music on my iPod was remarkably simpler than I thought it would be. Since I use Limewire, I had to drag from the "Shared" folder onto a playlist I made. I also wondered why my iPod wouldn't turn on. It turns out it turns on when you plug it in and you have to charge the battery. After I figured that out, I plugged my iPod in and what amazed me the most: It automatically updated my iPod! That's right folks, iTunes automatically syncs any new music that you put on your playlist. If you take anything off the playlist, it takes it off for you. No dumb drag and drop or deleting process here!
Playing around with it:
I have decent experience with iPods, and I have played around with the one at the store and my friend's iPod. It has a very uniquely designed Click-Wheel, in which you can change volume just with the simple sliding motion of your hand. I absolutely adore the clickwheel. The only thing I don't like about it is that sometimes it changes volume if you accidentally brush up against it. The hold button should do the trick. The new iPod Nano doesn't have a power button like the Mini. A new feature is "search." It's not particularly useful because it's not going to be that hard to find songs on a 4 GB iPod. You scroll through letters and the songs appear to what letter you're scrolling through.
The Battery is quite different from other MP3 Players. Like a ll other iPods, the battery is built in and you must hook it up to a computer or use a charger to charge it. The new battery lasts for 24 hours. It has been tested and works.
Some other features are Audiobooks, Games, World Clocks and Screenlock. Not many people use the Audiobooks feature, but you can buy some off of iTunes and listen to books on your iPod. The games aren't too fancy, but are enough to keep you hooked if your taking a very boring plane/train/car trip. Solitaire is pretty fun, Brick is fun when you're bored but quite boring sometimes, Music Quiz is fun if you have lots of music on your iPod and Parachute to me is just plain boring. You can also set World Clocks so that you will know the time no matter where you go! The screenlock feature is somewhat useful, if you are afraid of you're iPod being stolen. The downside is, that you have to enter a code everytime you turn on your iPod.
Durability
I don't know much about the durability, but all I know is it's much more durable than the First Generation Nano. It probably won't snap in half if you sit on it, unless you weigh over 250 pounds. It will probably be unusable if you drop it from a height over 2-3 metres. This stuff is common sense, and I don't think people would drop an iPod on purpose. It's not that scratchable, but I do advise getting a case. (Leather or Rubber)
Facts
-The battery lasts for 24 hours
-The earphones are the classic white, with new rubber linings to help it stay in your ear
-It claims that it is a 4 GB player, but it's actually 3.6 GB
-3.6 GB=Roughly 750-850 Songs
-2 GB comes only in Silver, 4 GB comes in Silver, Blue, Pink and Green(Also red in limited Apple Site edition) and 8 GB comes only in Black
-The brightness is increased by about 40% from the past Nano
-The length and width of the Nano are 3.5" tall and 1.6", the same as the past Nano
Final Words
The iPod Nano Second Generation is for people who want a step up from the previous Nano, with more features. It's for people who don't really want to watch movies on a tiny screen and want a great battery life.
