Apple iPod Nano: Must Have Gadget for Serious Audiophiles

The iPod is the most famous MP3 player known to date. If a person knows what an mp3 player is they will most likely know what an iPod is. This fame is well earned by Apple and its designers and engineers. The iPod Nano is among the best Mp3 players available in the market. It has all the bells and whistles but they come at a premium.

Description:

The model that I reviewed was the Apple iPod Nano (8GB). It is the second generation of the iPod Nano and most notable features added in this version which are different from the first generation are a brighter screen, longer battery life, and a favorite among many-gapless playback.

Other models include the 2GB model and the 4 GB model. The 2GB model comes in silver only while the 4GB model comes in variety of different colors including are silver, green, blue, and pink. The owners of 8GB model will have to settle with black only. The 1GB model has been dropped by the company. This generation of the iPod Nano comes in an anodized aluminum casing. The black version attracts finger prints like a magnet but the lighter colored models don't make them quite obvious.

The firmware of the IPod Nano is really great because of the search feature which is a new addition. The navigation system is the best in the business. The main menu is customizable. The games on the iPod Nano are the same which were on the previous version. As with all MP3 players you can drag and drop computer files into the memory of the Nano but music, photos, and audio books must be loaded using iTunes. ITunes is known to be very user friendly software and makes the Nano very easy to maintain and update. The firmware of the Nano can be updated by using the iTunes software instead of the separate utility used before.

The iPod Nano supports many different kinds of file formats including AAC, protected AAC, Apple Lossless, MP3, AIFF, WAV, and Audible formats. It also supports JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG, and GIF photos, as well as PSD files (Mac only), all of which are optimized in iTunes before they are transferred to the iPod Nano.

Although the Nano is a great product, the earphones are not up to the mark. They lack suppression of ambient sounds and one size does not fit all.

The new Nano comes with new packaging, a tiny clear-plastic box, and new ear buds, There's also a dock adapter and a USB charge/sync cable in the box.

Pros:

1. Very slim and eye catching design

2. Beefy memory size as compared to other models of similar size

3. Large color display which is 40 percent brighter

4. Charging via USB or FireWire and faster charge times

5. Skip-free playback

6. Optional recording capability using an optional microphone

7. Syncs with Microsoft Outlook (2003 or later) contacts

Cons:

1. Hefty price tag only for loyal Apple customers

2. Rather delicate design

3. Earphones don't justify the overall quality of the product

4. Inability to play videos

5. Cannot transfer data via Fire-wire

6. Lacks an FM tuner and a voice recorder

Conclusion:

The Nano is a pretty nifty piece of equipment which you can carry in your pocket and not even know it's there.

It has exceptional sound quality and is a must have gadget for serious audiophiles, but it is a bit expensive ranging from $238 - $250