iPod Nano

Manufacturer: Apple
System requirements: Macintosh computer running Mac OS X 10.3.4 or later, USB port; Windows PC running Windows 2000 SP4 or Windows XP SP2, USB port
Price: US$149(1GB) US$199(2GB), US$249(4GB)

As we all know, Apple's iPod has dominated the digital music player scene since its launch in 2001, much like an aardvark busting through a termite mound. As hard-drive-based players have gotten smaller and the price of flash-based players has dropped, Apple seized on the opportunity to dive into the flash-based market with the iPod shuffle. It was a wildly successful move for Apple, which has grabbed close to 46 percent of the flash-based player market since its inception. However, there were still many reasons for users not to get the shuffle—namely, the lack of a screen and sophisticated controls. The task for Apple was to create a music player that was somehow a marriage between the minute size of the iPod shuffle and the versatility of a regular iPod.

Apple's solution came in the form of the iPod Nano, a mini-mini-version of their current iPod color line. That's right, it's more miniature than the iPod mini, and the display is color! It's clear that these two superior elements are the reasons why Apple decided to do away with the original iPod mini line; however many consumers are upset that the iPod nano's storage capacity is smaller than what the iPod mini used to be. At 2GB and 4GB, though, the capacities are higher than the current iPod shuffle line and the pricing falls right in line in between shuffles and regular color iPods.

A brief word about sound quality: the iPod nano uses the same audio codec (the WM8975) as the 4G iPods. The first and second generation iPods used the WM8721, while the 3G iPods and iPod mini used the WM8731L. Since the iPod nano uses the same audio codech chip as the 4G, U2, and iPod photo players, its sound quality will be nearly identical to those other players.

When you take the iPod Nano out of the box that the true experience begins. That thing is really, really nano! Photos don't even convey how small and light the iPod nano really is. In fact at first, at 3.5" x 1.6" x 0.27" and 1.5 ounces, it almost seemed too small and too light for me in my hand. The thinness is marvelous from an aesthetic and engineering standpoint.

The iPod Nano is so thin that it slips effortlessly into the coin pocket on a pair of women's jeans, with room to spare. It certainly makes the "thousand songs right in your pocket" example a reality, especially to women who have very little pocket space and are much more adverse to carrying bulkier electronics in those pockets than men. The iPod nano barely shows a profile in the pocket and it's easy to forget about its presence after carrying it around for awhile.

The iPod nano comes with all of the standard accessories, including the standard white iPod headphones, a USB cable, and a dock adapter for use of your iPod nano with a standard iPod dock.

Apparently, Apple's formidable buying power may provide the company a coup in pressing manufacturers to drop the prices of flash memory low enough to allow for much higher capacity iPod nanos later this year. Effectively, Gartner Group predicting a 10 and 12GB nano launch for fall 2006.

The next thing you should do is researching songs on the net to fill up your ipod nano. The best software I found to download songs even movies is myipodownloads.com