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September 9, 2008

ipod

Getting handsy with the new iPod nano (video)

Posted Sep. 9, ’08, 5:45 PM PT by Dan Moren
Category | iPod

ipodcomparison.jpgTo nobody’s surprise—except perhaps the people wandering by Yerba Buena and wondering what the heck all the TV crews were for—Apple rolled out plenty of new shininess at today’s “Let’s Rock” event. I disguised myself as a legitimate member of the press and snuck into the post-event briefing, just so I could bring you every single last detail.

The most prominent product discussed today is, of course, the iPod nano, which sees a complete redesign from its shorter, wider predecessor. In fact, the new 4G nano is far more similar to its grandparent, the 2G iPod nano, sporting the same taller, narrower chassis, albeit with the 3G’s larger, brighter screen at a 90° angle.

As a longtime fan of the 2G nano (I once said that it was probably the best music-playing device that Apple had created), I’m glad to see the 4G returning to the narrower form factor. It feels good in the hand, comfortable. It’s almost the exact same height as the 2G nano (in truth, it’s a fraction of a millimeter taller), and, as you can see from the pictures, it’s tapered at the edges, making it noticeably thinner (which, as my colleague Dan Frakes points out, is actually a little bit painful—the corners are quite sharp and can dig into your palms if you hold it firmly). The screen, as you’d expect, is gorgeous, but if you’ve used the 3G iPod nano, you’re pretty familiar with it, and video in landscape mode is surprisingly watchable.

But, of course, the iPod’s more than just its hardware—Apple’s all about the softer side. With the introduction of the 3G iPod nano and the iPod classic, Apple made the most changes to the iPod’s software since the iPod came out. The new nano has a bunch of new features in software, including the ability menus to be spoken out loud (we couldn’t quite figure out how to get this feature to work, but suspect it might have to do with how accessibility is configured on your computer?).

The new pop-up menu and the ability to make Genius playlists on the fly is pretty cool, as is the shake to shuffle feature. To my amusement, the song that popped up when I shook up the iPod was “There’s a Whole Lot of Shaking Going On.” I’m a little suspicious though, since I saw at least two other people who got the same result—is Apple seeding the shuffle? Or am I just looking for conspiracies where none exist?

I also took a quick video of using the nano briefly—you can find it after the jump.


2 Comments

PT said:

Hey, shake it like the SanDisk Sansa Shaker.

September 9, 2008 11:34 PM
Anonymous said:

Is it fair to say that the changes are as small as the poster on the outside of the building was big?

Much ado about nothing, I'd say.

We took the technology in B and put it in A, and changed the color. Whoowee.

Apple is losing all perspective. This just in..Steve Jobs went to the bathroom. Special report at 11.

:-)

September 10, 2008 9:23 AM

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