Apple iPod nano 16 GB Silver (6th Generation) NEWEST MODEL - get the cheapest ipod

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Steve H “books911″ (U.S.) –

  

  

  

The iPod Nano update on September 1, 2010 is arguably the most dramatic since the iPod Nano moniker was introduced by Apple five years ago.

Several colors are being offered in both 8 GB & 16 GB capacities.

More than an update, this is a new product that simply retains the iPod Nano name. It gains a significant feature, but loses several others.

The big deal is the touch interface on the newest iPod Nano. iPod Nano users will now be “touching,” their music as iPod Touch and iPhone users have before them. The click wheel is gone. To find your music, you select a category from the Nano’s menu such as “Playlists,” or “Artists,” and select from there. Less convenient or more convenient than a click wheel? Honestly, about equal. The screen is indeed small, but not unusable.

FM Radio has been retained as well as the Fitness aspects with the ability to use Nike + or simply the built in pedometer. However, the form factor will be a major benefit for those working out with the Nano. The previous Nano required an armband to keep it on you while working out, jogging, or the like. Not always comfortable, an additional expense, etc. However, with this new small, square form factor that need is gone. Now, we can simply “clip,” the Nano onto us, with the built in clip, and run to our listening content. A bigger deal than you might think.

The downside? Features have been removed from Nano. The screen is much smaller than the previous generation. Therefore, playback of video content from iTunes is gone. Nano no longer plays video, which was a feature added three years ago. Secondly, last year, Nano added a small video camera to record low quality video, which could be played back on the Nano’s screen or synced with iTunes and viewed on your computer. That feature is gone too. The device is too small now for a camera or to watch video. This new generation iPod Nano has many exciting new features, but buyers must be aware that it is no longer a video player. It is something new. Those wishing to play video on an iPod must choose an iPod Touch.

My opinion on this change? Honestly, did I ever watch video on the iPod Nano’s screen? No. For me, while they kept trying to make the screen larger, it was simply too small to enjoy more than a once a year video. Likewise, the camera was simply not high enough quality to keep yourself entertained by using on a regular basis. It became a feature unused by many.

The iPod Nano has changed and gone back to being an exceptional music player. There is nothing here you do not need to enjoy music. However, the display and touch interface brings the 21st century “touch,” that Apple has made so popular to a more affordable device. The touch function will be limited here to simply selecting songs or bringing up the clock, but nevertheless, touch has made its way to the Nano.

I’m most thankful that the Nano has indeed retained the DOCK CONNECTOR. The dock connector is key to use with iPod accessories such as docks, speaker docks, and built in car iPod connectors. The nano is so diminutive that if you plug it into the factory iPod kit of an automobile, the cable’s dock connector will look nearly bigger than the Nano itself. Not a negative, just amusing. Nevertheless, the dock connector is there, and you will be able to use the device in such applications, and that was a significant decision by Apple. Users want and need the dock connector. It is there on this iPod Nano, but still missing from the Shuffle due to its even more diminutive size.

This 16 GB version is the largest size Apple offers in the Nano. It offers no additional functionality over the 8GB, but features twice the storage. Choose the one best for you. 16 GB is great if you have a large music collection. We should all remember though that with Nano no longer doing Video or Storing Pictures, the storage is exclusively for music. This makes 8 GB and 16 GB more appropriate size offerings as music takes up much less storage than video.

Overall, Apple has removed video (both playback and recording) from this iPod Nano. However, it’s an equalling good music player. Navigation of music is now completed via touch, which works effectively despite the small screen. It’s really hard to believe so much can fit into such a small device and I believe everyone will be a bit shocked when they open up the Nano the first time and see it’s size yet primary function as an effective music player retained. The newest Nano brings a nearly Shuffle like size, but yet retains the functionality (touch, clip, dock connector) that serious music lovers and those who use the Nano while working out, demand.

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But it’s not a Nano. Once you get that, the rest is easy. It’s also a mixed bag.

***UPDATE*** Apple apparently heard the complaints, and has released a Version 1.1 Software Update that

1) Now allows users to turn the Nano COMPLETELY OFF by holding down the Wake/Sleep button for several seconds.

2) Sets the Wake/Sleep button as a ‘Next Song’ button- double-click to advance songs (that’s the default; it can also be set so that double-clicking Plays/Pauses instead, or you can turn off double-click functionality altogether). It’ll also advance through your radio station presets via double-click.

This change should improve the Nano’s battery life as well- from awful to merely bad- as you’ll be less reliant on the power-gobbling touchscreen to advance songs/stations.

Due to these improvements, I’m provisionally upping my review rating to three stars (battery life and pricing/value-for-money remain issues). End update. ***

A lot of ppl are confused about the radical re-invention of the Nano, not realizing that the Nano is, essentially, dead. The Nano’s mission was to be a compact iPod that still did some higher-end stuff such as video and picture-taking- a nice portable ‘media’ player. No more.

The new Nano, aka Super Shuffle, is focused on a different task entirely, and much the same one as the regular Shuffle- the gym. To that end, Apple radically reduced the size and gave it an integrated clip a la the regular Shuffle. It is now ‘wearable’, aka the ‘Shuffle with a screen’ that some have wanted for a long time.

The downside is that others loved the ‘true’ Nano, and now they can’t have one, unless they go running for the old 5th gen models before they’re gone. Some will wonder why it was an ‘either/or’ thing for Apple, i.e. couldn’t the Super Shuffle and ‘true Nano’ exist side-by-side?

Others will say the Super Shuffle is inadequate even for the gym. “I don’t want to look at a SCREEN to switch songs or change the volume. Lame!”, they’ll say.

To be fair though, you usually don’t HAVE to look at the screen, because

- The Super Shuffle has physical volume buttons. They’re small, but still easy to use. And as of Software Update 1.1, you can now double-click the Wake/Sleep button to advance songs- a much needed improvement.
- It has the ‘Shake To Shuffle’ feature- literally shake it to shuffle to another song. But, as implemented, StS is inconvenient to use- see notes @end of review.
- It supports VoiceOver. But to use *all* VO features requires the Apple Earphones With Remote & Mic, which are NOT included (Apple either wants another $30, or still hasn’t solved the sweat/moisture issues those ‘phones have had in the past).

So, a few issues aside, the 6G Nano/SS now works fine in its role as a ‘gym’ Shuffle with a screen.

Features-wise, it does photo-viewing (but not taking), audiobooks, podcasts (minus any video), voice memos (w/the optional ‘phones w/Remote & Mic), is a pedometer, and does FM radio besides. And radio stations do sound surprisingly clear in any halfway decent reception area. Even low-power college stations usually come in cleanly- a definite plus, since they often have more innovative music programming than commercial FM.

It also retains the 30-pin dock connector, so you have access to the universe of iPod accessories (for a few examples, see ‘iPod Nano 6G Docking Options’ on YouTube). This is all well and good.

So MY BEEF with the Super Shuffle isn’t that it killed the ‘true’ Nano (enough demand = they’ll bring it back), but rather the level of ‘milking it’ Apple’s gone with here. Specifically, while I own and use one, it just isn’t worth an additional $100-130 MORE than a regular Shuffle.

They do much the same thing, after all- the additional features are fairly minor (for example, ever try to get consistent FM reception inside a large concrete building, aka your typical gym? Best be near a window.)

Sure, you do get the touchscreen, which is sharp/clear, fun to use, and almost eerily resistant to smudges/fingerprints (nice). But said T-screen is also *really* small (going larger would’ve made it less ‘wearable’), which compromises both readability and ease-of-use. Worst of all, it scarfs WAY too much battery juice (see notes @end of review).

On the plus side, you do get 6GB more storage than the Shuffle (though that cost Apple < $10 to put in there). But a ‘gym’ Shuffle doesn’t really need to hold 2,000 songs (4,000 if you opt for the 16GB), nor does the tiny screen lend itself well to navving through all that. The capacity and price points are really Nano legacies, but as we know, this ain’t a Nano.

All in all, the advantages don’t add up to the price charged, in terms of value provided. You can buy THREE regular Shuffles for the same…

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With the announcement of the new Apple TV, and now the release of the drastically revised iPod Nano, it would appear that Apple is in the process of re-evaluating its product line and re-tooling the entries to match what it perceives to be the needs of the consumer.

With the Apple TV, they have correctly, I believe, simplified the complexity of the original offering, removed any notion of storage, which tended to confuse the average user, and prepared it for an app driven iOS future. They claimed these changes resulted from a close look at the usage of the current Apple TV, and that they made the changes they felt were needed to more closely match what was desired.

The Nano, I believe, follows the same path.

I have an iPhone and and the new Nano. I also have the previous generation Nano. I tend to agree with Apple: I never the older Nano once to watch a video. I never used the contacts, the calendar, nor did I play a game on the Nano. I bought it for jogging, I only used it for jogging.

All those things removed from the new Nano I currently do on my iPhone. These removed features were worthless to me and will not be missed.

But the Nano did do exactly what I wanted it to do: become smaller, and be easier to use. Though I am getting used to a virtual pause button vs. a physical button on the older model, I find the new Nano to sound a little better and is less intrusive during running.

Apple has apparently moved away from the “same feature set, different design” view and has moved to “what’s best for the intended useage?” model. They now have a mature line of music players, each with a clear and intended purpose.

The Classic is for those who wish to carry their entire music collection with them.

The Touch is the top of the line universal player and application machine. Not intended for exercise, but rather for those who don’t have an iPhone but want its best features.

The iPhone, a Touch with a phone built in. Same positioning as the Touch, but replaces your phone if you are in the market for a phone.

The Shuffle: the low cost entry point into the Apple ecosystem. Probably the only way Apple could offer any product under $100. With its small storage, and lack of screen, it appears to be essentially a gateway device for some to enter the Apple world.

And finally the Nano. Not the universal player anymore. Not the smaller iPod Classic, like its predecessors were. The Nano seems to be targeted to the highly mobile exercise crowd. The Nano is really only good for playing music, which, along with the Shuffle, make it the only “pure” iPod left. If you want a music player, and you want more than 2GB or storage, but you don’t need apps or video or games because all you want to do is listen to music, than the Nano seems ideal. It fails when we try to make it something is clearly not intended to be. And for those who grieve at the loss of the features, I am sure Apple’s answer is that “you really want a Touch.” They’re right, too. The days of the Nano needing to be a stripped down Touch or Classic vanished the day the Touch was released.

So, though not perfect, I think the design and intended use of the Nano fits in nicely into the Apple music player offerings.

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