We take a long look at the tiny new Apple iPod nano 4G in our hands-on preview. Is this shiny new Nano the one to revive Apple's iPod lineup?
| Apple iPod nano 4G |
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 We won't miss the older, square, postage stamp-shaped iPod nano 3G; we definitely welcome the return to Nano form in the new Apple iPod nano 4G. This iPod nano is sharp, almost in a literal way, the edges are so tapered and tightly constructed. We're not huge fans of video on the iPod nano, the screen is a bit small for our taste, but this new Nano has a rich screen with a good contrast level. Better to show off the improved iPod UI, which seems to get some incremental bit of polish with every new iPod release. Apple is clearly keeping competitors in mind with an interface that now divides the screen between menu choices and album artwork or photo galleries.
We won't dote over the new colors, except to say that in person, the iPods are much more vibrant and sparkling than they appear in advertisements. The new iPod nano 4G also gets an accelerometer, which is put to short use in activating Apple's Cover Flow interface. Cover Flow looks great, but it isn't the most functional interface, and we've had trouble recently getting iTunes to import our album artwork from MP3 files, so Cover Flow only reminds us of our trouble. Perhaps more interesting will be the new music recommendation Genius feature, which recommends music based on the libraries of other folks with similar taste. Release: September 2008. Price: $150.
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