iPod Nano
Posted by admin | Filed under Random
I have given in to the dark(white) side and bought a 2gb iPod Nano a few weeks ago. Previous to the iPod, I had a Sony MP3 player which had fantastic battery life, but getting music onto it was a pain. The only drm-protected audio it would play was from Sony’s music store  which was only open to the US. So you can see why I had to escape.
Apple’s music store is one of the best out there, and has opened my ears to podcasts. It’s one thing to read a tech story at work while you’re supposed to be working, but it’s so much easier to hear the tech news on the commute there, with commentary. Cnet’s buzz out loud is my favorite, mainly because it’s daily and the people involved keep it entertaining. I’ll break down my experience in bullets:
Pros:
- It only takes 1 click in Apple’s music store and it’s downloading to my computer and already charged.
- Upgradable through many add-ons such as FM tuners/transmitters, voice recorders, camera connectors, etc.
- After putting up with 512mb, I’m liking this 2gb of space. This is the perfect size for me: its big enough to get a good selection on it without spending an arm and a leg.
- Nice color screen which even shows photos and album art.
- Some basic organizer functions for displaying notes, contacts, and calendar info. I’ve used the notes and contacts functions a couple times.
- Automatic syncing & downloading of podcasts to the iPod. Just plug it in when you get up and unplug it on your way out the door.
Cons:
- It only takes 1 click in Apple’s music store and it’s downloading to my computer and already charged.
- Battery life can’t come close to Sony’s 50 hours, but it still lasts me a few days without a charge.
- The usb cable provided is only 4ft. For something that’s supposed to be a high-quality product, why skimp on the cable? If you have a hub on your desk, the cord is too long. If you have a pc under the desk, it’s too short. Arg.
- All the add-ons out there aren’t cheap, especially anything made by Apple. Look at the nano dock – $40 for a piece of heavy plastic and you don’t even get the agrivatingly short cable. What is with that?
- The plastic finish on the front makes a case of some sort required. Tack on another $20 to the price. The case I’m using is silicon that came with a screen protector and the silicon covers the rest of the body including the click wheel.
- I want a random selection to be downloaded every time I sync. But it appears iTunes is not going to play nice and do the same as the shuffle. If your music collection doesn’t fit on the iPod, it switches to creating a playlist, filling that playlist at random, and never updating the list again. You have to manually change the playlist, or delete it and fiddle with options to get it to re-create another list. At least this is something that a newer version of iTunes could fix, as opposed to a firmware update.
Imagine there is a picture to the right of a shiney Nano. I’d show one, but don’t want to violate copyright with the latest antics in America. They’re proposing that even attempting to backup a DVD you own should land you in prison for 10 years – longer than assault or child pornography. But that’s another storry.
Tags: Gadgets
