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iPod Nano 6th Gen: First Impressions

We got a short time with Apple’s new line of iPods yesterday afternoon. Of the lot, my interests were focused on the 4th generation iPod Touch and the totally re-invented iPod Nano which is already in its 6th generation.

Yugatech 728x90 Reno7 Series

When I first saw the 6th generation iPod Nano, I thought this was the most radical design overhaul Apple made in its entire history of iPods.

The Nano was originally just a smaller version of the legacy iPod MP3 player — smaller, thinner, lighter, less storage but with a very similar form factor. That’s why it was called iPod Nano. It has undergone so many iterations (6 to be exact) but this last one doesn’t resemble anything iPod Classic at all.

The new iPod Nano really looks very different and if you’re familiar with the iPod design history of Apple, you would actually name this iPod something else.

Here are three possible alternative names I’ve come up with:

  1. iPod Touch Nano. Full touch screen with a smaller form factor. If the smaller version of the iPod Classic is called an iPod Nano, it makes sense to call a smaller version of the iPod Touch an iPod Touch Nano.
  2. iPod Shuffle Touch. If you remember the 2nd generation iPod Shuffle and you saw this new iPod, you might say it’s like an iPod Shuffle Touch. Solid aluminum body, tiny control buttons on the sides and the belt clip is the signature of the Shuffle. Add a touch screen and you have an iPod Shuffle Touch.
  3. iPod Nano Touch. This is different from the iPod Touch Nano. If you have an existing line of iPod Nanos and add a full touch screen to the next generation, then the logical way to call it is an iPod Nano Touch.

Of the 3 suggested names, I think Apple execs might have came close to the 3rd option (iPod Nano Touch) but I guess Steve Jobs didn’t want to split the Nano nomenclature anymore so they settled with the original and simple naming convention.

But that debate is over and the new design of the iPod Nano is a risk Apple is taking. It’s just a question if people will bite it or not.

The Nano used to be the best-selling player in the iPod line. Now, it has been taken over by the iPod Touch. Maybe a re-design will change all that and bring the Nano back to the top.

The interface of the new iPod Nano reminds me of the iOS (although Apple says it is not a trimmed-down iOS at all). Navigating the UI is very similar to how you’d do it with the iPod Touch or the iPhone except for one caveat — there’s no home button. So, in order to go back to the home screen, you’ll just have to scroll thru several windows and from my limited use, it doesn’t seem very intuitive.

Then, there are basic features that were introduced in previous versions of the iPod Nano which are no longer available on the new one. The Apple rep who showed these to us tells me they don’t want to talk about what was removed on the device but focus on what is added. Still, I miss some of the features of the old iPod Nano.

  • Video playback. Yes, it has a small screen but I loved playing my video podcasts in there as well as other smaller clips.
  • Camera. They added this only on the 5th generation and then removed it again. Perhaps Apple thinks people weren’t using the camera of the iPod Nano so they won’t miss it.

Of course, I also missed the click-wheel and the physical buttons. If you’ve been using the old iPod Nano as a gym buddy or running buddy, strapping it to your arms, I don’t think you’d be able to do that as easily with the new one any more.

I’d have to stop my first impression review right here or else this would end up as the full review. We’ve ordered the entire line of new iPods 2 weeks from the US and they should arrive this week-end. We’ll have to really play with it for some time and do a more thorough testing before we can post our final review. Watch out for that soon.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

32 Responses

  1. Avatar for kelkun kelkun says:

    8000 to sa market if i recall. pinadalan ako ng ate ko ng 4 na ganito, ung isa gamet ko ung 3 sealed pa bka may gusto bumili 5000 na lang. hihi^^ just pm me sa ym michael_****@****.***

  2. Avatar for Leyh Leyh says:

    cool sya. bnilhan ako ng Kuya ko from Japan i think 12k pa sya sa philippine peso. :) very nice sya! :D

  3. Avatar for Sam Sam says:

    It’s really awesome and epic. Kaya nga lng wlang video playback. S-A-D. And what if big yung hands ng user? a problem I guess? And the students would love it because it’s small, they can slip it into their pockets or even disguise it as a watch. They would surely lie to the Guidance Office. There are many schools with the “No Gadgets” Policy.

    I think it’s very cool, but Apple still needs to think twice before releasing a gadget.

  4. Avatar for mary mary says:

    gadgets are becoming smaller and smaller… it can even break kapag nabagsak. LOL

  5. Avatar for liquidsacuer liquidsacuer says:

    isn’t it too small for some, esp dun sa may mga malalaking daliri? how about the new ipod touch?

  6. Avatar for schwabjec schwabjec says:

    i hate what they did to this one… u cant play movies here… damn…

  7. Avatar for julian julian says:

    it is a downgrade from apple.. the previous ipod nano still way much better… shame on them (apple).. they took out the camera and the control wheel replaced it with a tiny wheeny touch screen… who needs touch screen na parati naman sa bulsa mo ang player…

  8. Avatar for Eliwood Eliwood says:

    Pros:
    -its a touch screen
    -has a clip
    -…thats about it

    Cons:
    -the small screen makes it tedious to navigate
    to find the song on your list so you’ll be
    constantly swiping your finger on the screen
    to find it.
    -no video playback (yeah its a small screen but
    at least have the option to play videos)
    -no external speakers unlike the previous nano.

    This should have been the next ipod shuffle instead.

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