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Nano or Yes? A Look at the New Video iPod
iPod Nano courtesy Apple
Man — and woman — cannot watch TV alone. We need gadgets, gizmos, and stuff to help us do that. So we at TV Guide thought that we'd, well, give you your own guide for TV-related (mostly*) technology and gadgets. The bloggy guide will come out every Thursday, written each week by one of the Gadget Guide team members, with a review of whatever we think is cool or interesting or something you should know about. So keep reading to stay informed and (better) tuned in.
(*Spoiler alert: Sometimes we might write about things that don't totally relate to TV, but we just think are worth noting, like if there's a new iPod shuffle or something.)
So... I'm a little late to the iPod party. Embarrassing, I know. But, for various and silly reasons, I don't have one.
Now that's changing.
My colleague, Kevin, who does a smashing job in business development, was showing off his new iPod Nano at the office the other day. I totally want one. I played around with it and my friends' various versions of iPods, researched, soul-searched and came up with this review for you.
THE SCOOP This is the third generation of the iPod Nano, released a few weeks ago. This one has whole bunch of new features, including video, which is why we're including it here.
THE DESIGN It looks horrible on the website. Fat, stubby, like it's going to be thick as a notebook. It's not. Very slim and easy to carry around. At 2.8 by 2.1 by 0.3 inches, it fits in my palm. You can easily put it in your pocket and forget about it. It weighs 1.75 ounces. Both a good and a bad thing, for those of us who may have, in the past, just thrown our jeans in the wash without emptying out the pockets....
The back is stainless steel. It looks sleek but it does scratch, as Kevin sadly pointed out, so be careful.
WORKING IT This puppy has a scroll wheel — not the touch, which is part of what's making the iPhone so hot — so keep that in mind, in case you're a touchy kind of person. There are advantages to the wheel, however; for one, you don't have to be looking at it to change tunes, say if the iPod is in the aforementioned jeans pocket.
Menu-wise, this one comes with a split screen for a menu system. Because this Nano is so wide, this makes it more navigable. On the left is the iPod menu, on the right is an album cover. Everyone is all excited by the new Cover Flow, which is a graphics interface that lets you scroll through your music libraries via the album covers. A nice thing, I think, but nothing to go crazy about. (If I'm wrong, please let me know: TV-Now@tvguide.com)
THE VIDEO The screen may be just 2 inches (it is called a Nano, after all), but with the 320-by-240-pixel resolution, at 204 pixels per inch, the highest pixel-per-inch density of any iPod, the images look good. The screen is brighter and the colors come in looking very sharp.
Note that with wide video, it does get letterbox bars or, without it, in full screen, the sides of the video get cut off.
When the aforementioned Kevin was doing a demo, we watched parts of the pilot for the new Gordon Ramsey show, Kitchen Nightmares. (Fox is offering seven season premieres, including Gordo's show, through iTunes.) The video was compelling enough to make me want to watch more of that show and more video on the iPod. And when I saw a girl on the subway watching it today — with no fear of it being stolen (!) — I was further convinced.
PAINS It sometimes freezes up, but if you play around with it and hold the menu and the center button, that will take care of the problem.
Battery life is not great. I've heard when watching videos, we're talking under four hours.
THE COLORS All very fem for the most part. I was looking at them and thinking which would go best with my apartment decor. But for the most part, I think the black one is the sleekest. The black is part of the 8GB version, which also comes in silver, teal, red and lime. (Though the black one is the only one to have a black scroll wheel; the other ones have a white one.) The 4GB version comes only in silver.
THE PRICE It's totally cheap! Maybe that's why subway chickie didn't care. At $149 for the 4GB version and $199 for the 8GB version, it's not completely criminal if it gets taken. Well, OK, it's criminal, but you know what we mean.
THE TV AD Can't decide if it's cool or annoying. Check it out here. It does offer hipster goddess Feist and her cute song, "1234," so I guess I'm supposed to think it's cool.
Caroline, Team Gadget
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Sep 28, 2007 11:34 AM
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When I heard Apple was reworking their entire line of iPods, I finally decided to take the plunge- so last weekend I went out and bought my first iPod. I decided to go with the iPod Classic, though, because I felt like iPod Nano (both storage sizes) would fill up in no time. Nano = 4 and 8 GB and Classic = 80 and 160 GB. No contest in my mind, and I’m thrilled with my iPod!
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Sep 28, 2007 12:18 PM
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We are a hugh Ipod family. I started out with the 5th generation Ipod and my daughter the Ipod mini. My husband got a shuffle so he could listen to some songs at work (contruction) without worrying about getting a screen scratched.
Now I have the Ipod touch and my son is getting the IPod nano for christmas. My Daughter is getting the Ipod classic for Christmas.
We love our pods.
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Sep 28, 2007 3:37 PM
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I guess I am too old to understand why anyone would want to watch video on a 2" screen!
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Sep 28, 2007 4:30 PM
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I love iPod too! I have a touch my oldest has a video, my youngest has the video nano and my dad has a mini. We are an iPod family. My kids also have an iMac and a Mac Mini.
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Sep 28, 2007 4:31 PM
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You've got me beat. We only have 1 IMac. I love my IMac. We are getting a newer one next year..the 24" screen. It's going to be all mine.
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Sep 28, 2007 5:21 PM
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Ranger99, it's perfect for things like, say, Hell's Kitchen or sitcoms, where I don't care about the cinematography and a big screen view. Then I can watch TV where I want without being tied to my living room.
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Sep 28, 2007 5:44 PM
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I started with an IPOD, not realizing that in Canada you can't download videos from ITunes. Then after 13 months, my IPOD started crashing all the time. The helpful guy at the Apple store said it needed a whole new hard drive and the warrenty was expired.
So I switched to a Creative Zen Vision M and have been able to watch my favorite tv shows and movies on it! Great for when you are traveling, on the subway, or gym. Even can plug it into your tv to watch videos on the TV, I do that for some of the trainings I teach. For battery life for videos like the IPOD I have been able to squeeze just over 4 hours out of it, you get more time if you are not turning it on and off all the time. Been over a year now and have had no problems. The software is more user friendly. I can take it to any computer and add songs or files to it with out the danger of everything else being deleted. The sound and the quality of the video is better then anything I have seen. I just bought my Mom the Vision W, which has a bigger screen and is physically bigger but fits her needs. The controls are all buttons and not touch pad which she finds easier to use.
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Sep 29, 2007 9:56 AM
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In the U.S., the iPod is the only way to fly.
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Sep 29, 2007 1:04 PM
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anothercrazycanuck - I love my Zen, too! Not sure which model I have - but it has an 80G hard drive........
I've thought about getting an iPod, too, but it just doesn't seem worth it to switch.
I haven't tried to download video on my Zen - guess I should pay closer attention! Then I could watch TV while I go to the gym!
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Sep 30, 2007 2:10 PM
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tazzy It's so easy you'll love it! I have the 60 GB, and have yet to max out the space with all my songs, pictures and several hours of tv.
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Oct 4, 2007 9:32 AM
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