Apple iPod nano review

Unless you were hiding in a cave last week, you will no doubt have heard about Apple’s latest addition to the iPod range. Gone is the iPod mini, which on the surface seemed like a strange decision. The mini seemed to enjoy a fanatical reception from the millions of style conscious consumers who realised that they’d never fill a 20GB iPod no matter how hard they tried, while the smaller dimensions made it even cooler than the original white icon. In fact when Benny reviewed the second generation iPod mini, both he and I were won over by its small but perfectly formed design, despite the fact that it offered less than a third of the capacity that our 20GB iPods did. However, when it comes to dimensions, the iPod mini looks positively obese compared to its replacement.



The iPod nano is a triumph of design and functionality. I remember looking at the iPod mini and thinking that Apple couldn’t shrink it any further without losing that legendary iPod usability, but I was clearly wrong. With the nano, Apple has managed to create a positively anorexic form factor, while maintaining the industry leading Click Wheel navigation method. To give you an indication of just how desirable this new iPod is – I still haven’t received a review sample from the PR company, but I was so desperate to review the nano that I actually nipped over to the Apple Store yesterday and bought one!

Let’s cover the most obvious aspect first, the size. According to the trusty TrustedReviews ruler the nano measures 89 x 39 x 7mm (HxWxD), which I’m sure you’ll agree is very small. With a complementing weight of only 42g I can testify that you really don’t even notice it in your pocket – pretty much exactly what Apple was shooting for.



Fans of the rainbow coloured minis will be disappointed to hear that the nano only comes in black and white (sorry Wil, no green for you). Personally I was never a huge fan of the multi-coloured minis, but I did decide to go for the black, rather than the traditional white. The black really does look superb, although I’m sure there are many iPod purists who would only have a white one. That said, at the Apple store yesterday, sales of the black nano were outstripping the white by a huge margin. Of course I wouldn’t rule out Apple launching a few “special edition” colours in the future – there are bound to be enough fanatics out there who would buy another one just for the colour!