The new iPod Nano

[KarthVader]

What are your thoughts on it?

Although I won't be buying one anytime soon, I think it's very cool. Apple should have included the FM radio early on, but this seems like a FM radio done right.

Anyone purchase one yet?

 

[sol92258]

it's about time they started catching on to more features, the other players have had FM radio for a long time, one of the many reasons I've picked other players over Ipoos

 

[KarthVader]

it's about time they started catching on to more features, the other players have had FM radio for a long time, one of the many reasons I've picked other players over Ipoos

I agree, but I guess better late than never. The new pause feature for the radio is neat, but I'm not sure if it's a new concept. I am by no means an Apple fan boy, just drooling over a shiny new toy

 

[sol92258]

well, when you've got the name marketing of a device ("Hey, cool Ipod!" "Thanks! It's a Sansa!"....in other words, people use 'ipod' generically for mp3 player), you can afford to only offer the minimum features, albeit they work rather well, and for a premium price. That's my biggest gripe with Ipods, why would I spend that much $$$, when I can spend less, get more features, and works just as good or better with another device?

I hadn't heard anything on the new ipods, I don't keep up with them, but it is good that they are doing so, I use the FM radio on my Sansa and Zune a lot, surprisingly.

 

[MoJoe]

I think the FM radio is a nice to have but no big deal. The camera, however, is the key addition. This makes it a more compelling product than simply something that plays music.

 

[KarthVader]

"...I use the FM radio on my Sansa and Zune a lot, surprisingly.

That's something that I don't use often enough. I think I just get impatient with all the commercials and random BS talk on the radio. I just wanna listen to music. What model Sansa do you own?

 

[KarthVader]

I think the FM radio is a nice to have but no big deal. The camera, however, is the key addition. This makes it a more compelling product than simply something that plays music.

I think the camera is a neat addition. For some reason I feel like the Nano might be too small for me to use as a camera, but I'm a klutz.

 

[sol92258]

That's something that I don't use often enough. I think I just get impatient with all the commercials and random BS talk on the radio. I just wanna listen to music. What model Sansa do you own?

e280R
it's awesome, I put a 2 GB micro SD card in it to bring it to 10 GBs. I love it. If I wasn't looking for the larger storage in a hard drive, I wouldn't even have a Zune, but I like it a lot, too.

And, to be fair, while vetting the various HD players, I did give the Ipod a serious consideration, but I like everything about the Zune better.

but the camera is a new feature to all the mainstream mp3 players, but my question is, why? I guess to give the kids whose parents won't give them cell phones or the top model ipods maybe?

 

[fidjit]

. Apple should have included the FM radio early on, but this seems like a FM radio done right.

Just yesterday I went out an bought a new MP3 player.

Why ?? Because NONE of my other MP3 players ever had FM radio.

Have had multiple Ipods ( since the mini ) and also have a Toshiba Gigabeat.

I've really missed the radio in all of them.

In the end........iRiver 4GB T6. Cheap and cheery and so far seems to be doing the job.

BTW I also hate Itunes both for its interface and it's restrictive syncing and have rockboxed what I can in the Ipod range.

BTW I like the Ipod for the amount of 3rd party perhiperals you can get....geez you can even get sex toy attachments for goodness sake

 

[DSB]

BTW I like the Ipod for the amount of 3rd party perhiperals you can get....geez you can even get sex toy attachments for goodness sake

Those are called headphones. You put them in your EARS.

 

[Aevum]

ipods are restrictive and usualy overpriced, "but apple is an american company", well, ipods are made in china by foxconn, i rather have a korean made cowon, its better quality and better value,

 

[pocketwatch]

Me... want....

 

[SRock]

I have a 32GB touch that serves as my primary and a new shuffle that I use for running/working out. The Touch is fantastic but too large to wear comfortably for running. I do like the idea of an FM tuner in the new Nano though.

 

[sol92258]

BTW I like the Ipod for the amount of 3rd party perhiperals you can get....geez you can even get sex toy attachments for goodness sake

Those are called headphones. You put them in your EARS.

 

[gerwen]

Quality of FM radio drove me to getting an iPod. Now I listen to what i want. Love love love my iPod Touch.

Anyone use smart playlists?

 

[mbrooks]

Good to see Apple finally acknowledging the features present in other players. I bought a Sansa e250 four years ago, with one of the reasons being the FM radio. Granted, it's kind of spotty, and being in a case can't be helping, but these ideas have been around for a while. Besides the radio, it also had expandable memory, which was nice back in the days when 4GB was considered a lot for flash-based memory.

At any rate, at the time I bought it, the nano was clearly inferior, yet it cost a good $30-40 more. Couple that with the fact that they were so thin they were liable to break, and the Sansa was an easy winner for me. A couple of years later I ended up cracking the screen in my backpack, but it was still usable. I eventually picked up an iPod touch because my needs had changed... I don't really like Apple, but they're the only ones I know of that make such a device that doesn't include a phone. Or at least they were last October; I haven't looked since.

 

[stobes21]

Quality of FM radio drove me to getting an iPod. Now I listen to what i want. Love love love my iPod Touch.

Anyone use smart playlists?

Heh, no kidding. There are two decent radio stations here: NPR and the local community radio station that plays a huge variety of great music. Other than that I pick what I want to listen to rather that have the same 6 songs forced down my throat.

When I want to listen to the two decent stations and I'm not in my car I have a great NPR app for my iPhone and can listen to the community station streaming over the internet.

 

[Vulcanus]

Well I currently have an iPhone 3GS, so the Nano really won't fit me. Plus the camera can't do stills so that'll be a major turn off to a lot of people I know.

 

[Confuzius]

iPods catch alot of flack for the price, but when I bought my 30gb 5th gen iPod it was the best $/gb ratio out there. Plus the 3rd party accessories are a huge bonus. I've got an fm transmitter for my car that also recharges the ipod. I don't think that there's many others out there that do the same. (Although that could also be different now)

EDIT: iTunes however is crap. When I had Windows I used anapod explorer and on Linux I can use pretty much any program I want.

EDIT again: The new nano is cool, but is now at an awkward point in between the touch (for full features) and shuffle (for portability), which is I think why they gave it FM and a camera.

 

[gerwen]

Accessories were a deciding factor in moving from a Sansa(great player) to an iPod.

A lot of folks bag on the iPods, and i think it has a lot to do with their dominance. It's easy to take pot shots at the popular player, even if what is said isn't really true.

They have an awesome UI that was years ahead of any competitor (some have caught up). They also have fantastic sound quality, despite what you have likely heard or read.

While I agree that iTunes on Windows has serious performance issues, i disagree that it is crap. I was a drag'n'drop devotee before i moved to an iPod. I had meticulously organized folder structure for my music. I hated iTunes when i first got my iPod, since it made it hard for me to do what i was previously doing. I gave up and let iTunes have control of my lossy library. I also found smart playlists.

Now i think iTunes is great. It is so much easier to handle what is on my iPod using iTunes than it ever was with another tool. Smart playlists allow me to constantly rotate what I listen to, while keeping my favourites at the top of the heap. It also doesn't heavily rely on any crappy shuffle algorithm. It really is a great music manager, you just have to get used to how it works, and let go of some control of the files.

Disclosure: I'm not an Apple fanboy, my iPod is the only Apple product I own, and I resisted going to an iPod until i was exasperated at availability of other players' accessories.