8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
All the basic info about this Outstanding MP3 Player.
Date of Review: Jun 1, 2006
The Bottom Line: It is a good buy for commuting and casual listening. The limited memory prevents other uses.
I got a iPod Nano for my birthday. After almost 3 weeks I am now confident I can write a consistent Review.
* IT LOOKS GOOD
The iPod looks are perfect. It is a State of Art piece of equipment. The looks are only rivaled by the solid feeling you get holding one. This is a common feature of almost all the iPod family (except for the Shuffle). The Nano is the simply smallest of the family.
* IT SOUNDS GOOD!
As far as I can say the Nano sounds really good - I would like to say that it is superb :D Previously I was listening mp3 from my mobile phone (Nokia 6630) but the sound quality of the Nano is way better. It also has a equalizer for sound quality.
I used the iPod with various headphones ranges and it had the power to drive them all (even the closed hear studio equipment) I won't write much more for the audio part. It is almost perfect.
* BATTERY LIFE
I found the battery life to be satisfying 12 hrs are a reasonable estimate with normal use (no picture viewing)
* The best interface on the market
The line above should be enough. I just can't explain how easy and natural the interface looks and feel. Apple's ClickWeel it is a dream come true. We will have soon aliens back engineering iPods trying to copy their ease of use :D
* 1Gb for songs AND data
The memory size imposes some limitations on this iPod. If you encode your music at a high bitrate then there is a problem. This iPod won't hold all your music library (even if it is just 10CD).
The right way to use the 1Gb Nano is to listen to a selected playlist of favorites albums/songs and switch them while at home.
On the bright side you can use the supplied memory also for data - The iPod appears on the OS like a portable hard drive - you can store small files and possibly some utility.
I found extremely useful to store on the iPod a copy of Yamipod http://www.yamipod.com - It is a small free program alternative to iTunes! With it you are free of the one way copy limitation imposed by apple! (keep reading to the iTunes section). Another possible use is to keep portable apps on it (see http://portableapps.com/ )
The iPod Nano can be also used to display miniature of your favorite pictures. The slide show is very nice and can be used for occasional bragging with friends. Please notice that the screen is very small so it won't be possible to see the detail of the photos.
* PROBLEMS JUST WITH iTUNES
I had some problems with iTunes. These can be summarized in two categories: Technical Problems and DRM alias CRAP (Content Restriction Annulment Protection). If you have an iPod you HAVE TO GET also iTunes. Using iTunes is in fact the only way to use iPod's full potential.
* iTunes Technical Problems
iTunes on windows is really a slow program - it installs system drivers for accessing the iPod (taking memory and resources from the processor) - Playing videos on iTunes is really slow even if you have a new pc - You can't choose the pictures to put on the iPod but have to give a directory - iTunes does not make it possible to add notes to the iPod - My iTunes failed to copy outlook contact on the iPod.
* iTunes DRM alias CRAP
If you connect your iPod to another PC running iTunes you are kindly asked to erase its contents! This is one facet of the CRAP problem. You are not supposed to transfer your MP3 anywhere - so you are stopped even before you try.
The iPod/iTunes are the only legit combination to play songs purchased from the iTunes store - I don't mind buying music BUT you are actually buying fresh air and I can't stand it.
iPod's warranty is ONE year - with technical standards you are supposed to change your PC every 5 years. So actually the "air" you pay for will expire in 5 years or less (much less if you do have a hard drive crash). I won't go into any detail. The only way to avoid this problems is buying real CDs and then ripping them in a free open format (MP3) just in case you want to listen on other portable players!
WORKAROUND - If you really want to buy your music online then there is a workaround. You are allowed to get a copy on CD - do it ASAP! In case of a disaster it will be possible to re-encode your tracks from the CD (At a slight loss of quality)
