Home > Reviews > Apple

Apple iPod Nano 8GB MP3 Player Review - Tour & Design

Advertisement



Published on September 15, 2008
Comment on this



Front
The front of the iPod Nano has changed a bit since the last iteration: instead of a stout little device, the new Nano is tall and sleek. Also,  the front (and back) are convex so the device is fatter in the middle and tapers off towards the left and right edges. Other than the volumetric tweaks, the Nano retains the same basic layout: screen in the top half, scroll wheel and select button on the bottom half.

 

Left
The left is far too skinny to contain any features.

Right
There aren't any features on the right side.

 

Top
The top of the iPod Nano is white (on all case colors). On the left side is a hold switch.

 

Bottom
The bottom of the Nano has the data/charging port. It's also where the Nano keeps its 1/8-inch headphone jack, as opposed to the top of the device. 

Back
The back of the devide has no interesting features. 

Battery Out  
You can't take out the battery without special black market hacker equipment (sold separately).

In Box
The iPod Nano's box is a bit light on extras: other than the device itself, you're only getting Apple's proprietary USB cord and a set of white iPod headphones.

Durability     (7.50)
Our durability tests attempt to see how rugged the device is when faced with typical use. We found that the screen was far more resiliant than the case, standing up to an onslaught of pocket change without so much as a scuff. We were able to get a bit of a scratch on it with a set of keys, but it wasn't particularly visible. The case, on the other hand, gets carved up quite easily by virtually anything. Fortunately for all parties involved, none of these scratches are particularly visible. The device also has no moving parts that would easily break. 

Aesthetics     (9.00)
If the iPod Nano has anything, it's good looks. While it might not be gadget-sexy, it's most definitely gadet-cute. The device manages to be tiny and retain a good-sized screen; it has a simple, clean layout; it comes in a full ROYGBIV rainbow of colors as well as two shades of gray. Apple was the first company to really make aesthetics important in media players, and they're certainly continuing the tradition.

Portability     (13.72)
The Nano, true to its name, is quite small. It's only slightly bigger than the average thumb drive. Not only that, but the thing is light too. Although all modern media players are highly portable, the Nano manages to be notable for its inconspicuous size. Not only that, but it's curved design means even the tightest jeans won't have an overly noticeable bump.

Supported File Types     (8.88)
This is the final stop of our tour of the iPod Nano: what files it'll actually play. The Nano can play back audio files in AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, WAV, and AIFF formats. In terms of video, your H.264, .m4v, .mp4, and .mov files should be fine. Picture files that'll work include JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, PSD (Mac only), and PNG.

This array of supported files is standard across all iPod devices, with the exception of the iPod Shuffle since it doesn't have a screen for videos/pictures.

Report an Error
Reviews   |   About   |   Advertising   |   Ethics   |   Sitemap
© Copyright 2010 MediaPlayerInfo.com, all rights reserved. All trademarks and product names are property of their respective owners. MediaPlayerInfo.com makes no guarantees regarding any of the advice offered on this web site or by its staff or users. All user comments and postings are not the responsibility of MediaPlayerInfo.com.