unk1911's Full Review: Apple iPod nano 1st Generation White (4 GB, MA005L...
I got the Nano as a gift in November of 2005. I have been using it for almost five months now therefore my review will be very helpful because I will not let my emotions interfere with the review. Why? Because it's obviously hard not to get emotional about iPod the nano.
* Capacity
The nano can hold 4GB of music/data: not bad for something that weighs a couple of ounces and can fit into any pocket. 4GB is roughly 67 hours of play time if the music is recorded at 128 kbps 44 khz stereo. That's more than sufficient I think for any mp3 player.
* Style
Goes without saying, the nano is hot. I got the black version with the classic white apple headphones. The controls are very simple to use. The classical Apple click-wheel(TM) allows one to control the volume or move around pull-down menus. The design is very minimalistic which is what I love about the nano. Steve Jobs's design team poured many hours into the Nano and it really payed off. The unit feels good to the touch and lends itself to being tenderly caressed.
* LCD
The display is rather small but that hasn't phased me all that much. One can see all the important pieces of information such as which song is playing. There's a cursor that shows how far into the song we are. There's even games that can be played stored inside the nano and the screen seems to be big enough to make playing them enjoyable. The LCD is not really all that important but it's nice to have it there in case one likes some song one is listening to and wants to recall which artist is performing it or which album it is on or what the song title is.
* Battery
The battery is surprisingly long lasting. A typical charge will last around 12 hours. Considering how small and loud the nano is, I find this to be the most amazing part about it. I've always hated little gadgets that would die in a couple of hours, it always seemed pointless but with 12 hours of play-time, one could really do something.
* Headphones
The nano comes with the classical stark-white Apple headphones, which are pretty decent for your average user. If you are an audiophile you should obviously get a set of etymotics but for the rest of us, the Apple headphones are cool, comfortable, sturdy/durable considering how cheaply constructed they are.
* Computer interface
The way nano talks with a PC is via a USB 2.0 connection. You need to install a copy of iTunes, there is no other way that I know of to load songs onto the nano. At first I was annoyed by this but then I started liking iTunes. I grew up on winamp - a free, powerful mp3 player with a very small foot-print however with iTunes I'm discovering various features that come handy, such as the ability to search through the song library as well as give various songs ratings.
Outside of iTunes, one can use the nano as a storage device simply by drag-dropping files onto special folders inside the nano. Not sure if folks realize but the nano could be an alternative to one of those ugly key-chain flash-memory drives. There is nothing stopping one from dropping any binary files onto the nano.
As a matter of fact, my friend has confided to me that he stores his Mozilla Firefox .profile on his nano so that when he's at a remote location he can "unfurl" it. Very smart, I thought.
* Issues
Everyone is aware of the single-issue that plagues the Nano: it's the fact that it scratches at the slightest touch. I have accepted this fact as a part of life and have moved on. There are others. Folks who dress up their nano in leather cases, who buy accessories. I was never a fan of doing that. The ipod case reminds me of S&M gear. I like my nano naked, thank you very much. So what that it scratches - nothing lasts forever. Besides these iPods are designed not to last very long, just like cellphones. There's always a new smaller iPod with more capacity and sleeker design waiting just around the corner.
Just to summarize. I am very happy with the nano iPod. I still like it after 5 months of use. I never thought I would join the iPod clan but it just sort of happened. When you get on the 6 train heading downtown during the morning rush, you will see me there. I will be just like every third person on the train: wearing the white headphones, listening to some obscure piece of music that you've never heard of. If you are still reading this I'm sure you want to join us. So why don't you join us?
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 250 Recommended for: Music Lovers - High Capacity Storage for an Entire Album Collection
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