The Little Digital Media Player That Could

Any company with a category-leading product, such as the iPod nano has to look ahead to the always coming product improvement hurdle. Time the jump wrong and another product takes the lead. Apple is keenly aware the track is lined with one hit wonder gadgets and updates their products just often enough to keep them relevant.

Last years follow up to the original nano was genius. The entire body except the end caps is scratch resistant anodized aluminum, it was thin as an Italian fashion model, and as beautiful too. It was light, but still had the perfect “heft” to give it that quality feel. In short, it was more perfect than the original. How could Apple better perfect?

Unbelievably even after all that improvement Apple had a few ideas to make the nano even better: clean up the user interface to make it more readable, add in a larger and higher resolution 2” screen, and as crazy as it seems, include video display capabilities. Surely that is a recipe for a winning product. Well, yes, and no.

Physical differences between the 2nd and 3rd generation nanos

The 3rd generation is a fantastic media player to be sure, well worth the $149 and $199 list price for the 4 and 8GB models. The new features are mostly great. But the new “fat,” “wide,” “chunky,” form factor is something to get use to. This is a big change from the 1st and 2nd gen nanos that fit so naturally in the hand, especially the 2nd gen with it’s curved edges. In contrast the 3rd gen model’s face sits on top of a beveled back which creates a blunt edge where your hold it. It’s a touch awkward and uncomfortable, like a remote control just a few inches too wide. But while it’s a bit weird in hand, it’s great in the pocket. It’s short squarish size means you can put this nano in your jeans pocket and not worry if it’s going to crack in half when you sit down like with the longer Gen 2 model.

One thing I’ve always hated about the iPod and the 1st gen nano was the shiny metal back that invited scratches like ants to a picnic. Apple “fixed” this design in the 2nd gen nano by making the entire body anodized aluminum. For some unknown reason Apple reverted to the shiny back with this 3rd generation. It’s a step back in my opinion, but I would not base a buying decision on it even still. Put it in a case and forget about it.

Oddly this new wider, larger screened nano has a smaller click wheel than previous models. I did not even realize it until I did a side-by-side comparison. In my own unscientific tests though. the smaller scrolling surface did not make it more difficult to navigate.

The screen is stunning, if a 2” screen qualifies for such praise. When I first heard the nano would play video I had a chuckle, but because Apple built in a screen with nearly as much resolution in the nano’s screen as it’s bigger brother iPod Classic it’s entirely watchable for a 30 minute TV show or Podcast. I would not want to watch a feature length movie on this however, nor would I encourage anyone too.

Video aside though where the new screen really shines is with the larger album art now, which was barely recognizable on the previous nanos. Also improved is the quality of the text, which is vastly crisper and more readable than previous models.

Like the previous nanos the headphone jack remains on the bottom of the player next to the iPod dock connector. What is new, however, is the hold switch is also on the bottom of the case as well. I’m positive there is a technical reason for this move, however, it’s very odd just the same. When the hold button it on a top corner it’s easy to just flick a thumb over it with just one hand. With the switch now on the bottom though you have to two hand it: one to hold the player and the other to flick the switch. That gets negative points. Surely they could have put the switch on the side, but knowing Apple as I do, I’m sure their designers were “form over function” all the way. Usually they are right. They were not here.

Functional Differences Between the 2nd and 3rd Generation nano

The entire 2008 iPod line up, except for the screen-less shuffle, got a hefty user interface overhaul. The iPods still work like they always have, they’ve just been prettied up. The first change you will notice is the split-screen menu that shows your function options (music, video, settings,etc) on one side, and a visual representation on the other. For example if you select music it will show album art; extras will show a clock icon, and so on. (Cool feature about the clock icon – it shows the real time.)

When you click on “music” all the usual view options are there such as “Artists,” “Genre,” “Playlists,” etc. But the 3rd gen. nano brings Apple’s “coverflow,” to the party for the first time. Based on my use though it’s not one you’ll want to stay long at. It works just like in iTunes, but unlike iTunes that has a fast processor to power it, it’s slow and choppy on the nano. The problem is the nano just doesn’t have the horsepower to constantly redraw all that album art that fast. So what you usually get is a bunch of gray placeholders where album art should be. If you wait a few seconds it will pop up but what’s the point. It’s faster to just search by album or artist name, which also shows you a thumbnail of the album art, just not in 3D.

Speaking of search if you want to get to an album or song quick there is a new “search” feature brought over from the iPod video. Just type in the first few letters of a song, artist or albums name and voila! It will pop up and you can go to it instantly.

Another minor improvement in the “songs” search feature is the listing of the artist underneath each song. No longer to you have to wonder who sung a song who’s title is unfamiliar to you (say a b-side type song on an album. I don’t know about you but I don’t really bother to memorize song titles on every CD I buy, so this is helpful in that regard).

The previous nano (and full sized iPod) were able to port pictures to a TV via the headphone jack with a standard $8 A/V to mini jack cable. For whatever reason, Apple has stripped this feature out. You can still view pictures (and video) on a TV, however you will now need a special $50 cable only available from Apple and it's "Made for iPod" partners. (Apple's cable includes a USB charger). If you are planning to use the iPod this way you might want to figure this into your "total cost."

Sound Quality

I tried as best I could to see if there were any noticeable differences in the sound quality between the new and the old. Here is what I did, I insured that the volume limiter was off on both players and then set each one’s volume to mid-point. I then selected the same 160kbps encoded MP3 on each player and started them off. In test one I switched headphones from one player to the next. In test two I took two pair of low end Sony earbuds and put one bud from one player in the left and a bud from the other player in the right. In both tests the 2nd gen nano appeared to be cleaner and brighter. I tested out different types of music and the gen 2 came out the winner every time. This is not to say the sound from the 3rd gen nano is bad, it’s not. It’s just that the gen 2 player sounded better. If I had to describe the weak point of the 3rd gen nano’s sound it would be that it w as muted. Another back step unfortunately.

Conclusion

It’s a “Jack of all Trade” world. Increasingly we want our gadgets to do everything if only so we don’t have to carry so many around. And the 3rd gen nano certainly packs in the features, if in an odd shaped package. But as the saying goes, a jack-of-all-trades is a master of none, and that is the 3rd gen nano. It feels OK, but not great in the hand; it does video; but the screen is too small for serious viewing; and it does audio as always, but not as cleanly.

In the end though the 3rd gen nano is a neat little package, especially when you realize it’s $50 less than the previous generation. So what I would say to prospective buyers is this: if you want an all around player or a player for a tween or teen then the 3rd gen nano is a sure hit. But if what you really want is a great music player then go find a 2nd gen nano quick or take a look at Apple’s refurbished product page for one (Apple refurbs have a one year warranty and are AppleCare eligible). Either way you’ll have one of the best mini players you can buy.

On the other hand if size is not entirely important the new iPod Touch is worthy of consideration and much easier to view longer video with plus includes Wi-Fi so you can surf the web at any Wi-Fi hotspot. The 8GB version is just $100 more than the 8GB nano, which isn’t that much considering all the extras goodies it includes.


What’s in the Box

- iPod nano (4GB comes in silver only, 8GB comes in black, silver, red, green, and light blue.
- USB to iPod dock connector
- Apple earbuds
- Universal dock adapter
- Set-up guide