Apple unveils iPod nano
Presenting on Wednesday to analysts and the media in San Francisco, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs introduced the iPod nano, a new full-featured iPod that holds 1,000 songs yet is thinner than a standard #2 pencil andÂ*less than half the size of competitive players.
The iPod nano featuresÂ*an ultra-portable, lightweight design with a color screen, AppleÂ?s patent pending Click Wheel and the ability to hold 1,000 songs orÂ*25,000 photos.
The player is available immediately in a 4GB model priced at $249 andÂ*a 2GB model priced at $199,Â*with both models available in white or black designs.
Â?iPod nano is the biggest revolution since the original iPod,Â? said Steve Jobs, AppleÂ?s CEO. Â?iPod nano is a full-featured iPod in an impossibly small size, and itÂ?s going to change the rules for the entire portable music market.Â?
Thinner than a standard #2 pencilÂ*andÂ*weighing only 1.5 ounces, iPod nano can hold up to 1,000 songs in its 4GB model and 500 songsÂ*in the configuration. It features optional accessories including lanyard headphones, whichÂ*integrate the headphone cablesÂ*into the lanyard, so users can wear their iPod nano around their neck without dangling headphone cables.Â*
For users looking to personalize their iPod nano with colors, an optional set of iPod nano Tubes in pink, purple, blue, green and clear offers fashionable protection in a sheer casing while enabling full operation of all functions including the player's Click Wheel. Meanwhile, optional armbands available in gray, pink, blue, red and green allow users to wear their iPod nano as the ultimate fashion and sports accessory.
iPod nano features the same 30-pin dock connector as the iPod and iPod mini, allowing it to work effortlessly with a wide range of over 1,000 accessories developed for iPod, including home stereo speakers and iPod car adapters.
Sporting integration with the iTunes Music Store and the iTunes digital music jukebox,Â*iPod nano includes AppleÂ?s Auto-Sync technology that automatically downloads a userÂ?s digital music collection, photos or Podcasts onto iPod nano and keeps it up-to-date whenever iPod nano is plugged into a Mac or Windows computer using USB 2.0.
The nano's high-resolution color screen allows users to display album art while playing music, view photo slideshows or play games in full color.Â*The iPod nano features up toÂ*14 hours battery life and completely skip-free playback, as well as new stopwatch, world clock and screen lock applications.
Pricing & Availability
The 4GB and 2GBÂ*white and blackÂ*models of iPod nano for Mac or Windows are available worldwide immediately for a suggested retail price of $249 (US) and $199 (US) respectively, through the Apple Store, AppleÂ?s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. All iPod nano models include earbud headphones, a USB 2.0 cable and a CD with iTunes for Mac and Windows computers.
The iPod nano featuresÂ*an ultra-portable, lightweight design with a color screen, AppleÂ?s patent pending Click Wheel and the ability to hold 1,000 songs orÂ*25,000 photos.
The player is available immediately in a 4GB model priced at $249 andÂ*a 2GB model priced at $199,Â*with both models available in white or black designs.
Â?iPod nano is the biggest revolution since the original iPod,Â? said Steve Jobs, AppleÂ?s CEO. Â?iPod nano is a full-featured iPod in an impossibly small size, and itÂ?s going to change the rules for the entire portable music market.Â?
Thinner than a standard #2 pencilÂ*andÂ*weighing only 1.5 ounces, iPod nano can hold up to 1,000 songs in its 4GB model and 500 songsÂ*in the configuration. It features optional accessories including lanyard headphones, whichÂ*integrate the headphone cablesÂ*into the lanyard, so users can wear their iPod nano around their neck without dangling headphone cables.Â*
For users looking to personalize their iPod nano with colors, an optional set of iPod nano Tubes in pink, purple, blue, green and clear offers fashionable protection in a sheer casing while enabling full operation of all functions including the player's Click Wheel. Meanwhile, optional armbands available in gray, pink, blue, red and green allow users to wear their iPod nano as the ultimate fashion and sports accessory.
iPod nano features the same 30-pin dock connector as the iPod and iPod mini, allowing it to work effortlessly with a wide range of over 1,000 accessories developed for iPod, including home stereo speakers and iPod car adapters.
Sporting integration with the iTunes Music Store and the iTunes digital music jukebox,Â*iPod nano includes AppleÂ?s Auto-Sync technology that automatically downloads a userÂ?s digital music collection, photos or Podcasts onto iPod nano and keeps it up-to-date whenever iPod nano is plugged into a Mac or Windows computer using USB 2.0.
The nano's high-resolution color screen allows users to display album art while playing music, view photo slideshows or play games in full color.Â*The iPod nano features up toÂ*14 hours battery life and completely skip-free playback, as well as new stopwatch, world clock and screen lock applications.
Pricing & Availability
The 4GB and 2GBÂ*white and blackÂ*models of iPod nano for Mac or Windows are available worldwide immediately for a suggested retail price of $249 (US) and $199 (US) respectively, through the Apple Store, AppleÂ?s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. All iPod nano models include earbud headphones, a USB 2.0 cable and a CD with iTunes for Mac and Windows computers.
Comments
I want both! a black one for night time use and a white for day!
no... black for day white for nite!
stu
Won't that get in the way? I guess I will have to check it out in person. Black looks cool though.
What about apples student/free ipod mini promo that was suppose to run until the 24th? Is that over now? Can you still get a free green ipod mini?
Originally posted by regan
but one thing that kinda bugs me i think...is the earphone connector is on the BOTTOM. What the Fuh?
With a case that thin and the screen that close to the top of the unit, there's probably not room inside for the the plug/jack.
GC
Still...could be a problem no? Especially for an active individual. Gonna have to check this one out up close and personal before i order online.
other than the earphone position, i'm sold.
Originally posted by regan
i figured that. makes logical sense.
Still...could be a problem no? Especially for an active individual. Gonna have to check this one out up close and personal before i order online.
other than the earphone position, i'm sold.
If you check out the lanyard headphones setup, the bottom-placed jack makes a bit more sense.
Originally posted by regan
...but one thing that kinda bugs me i think...is the earphone connector is on the BOTTOM. What the Fuh?
I thought the same thing, but then wondered what position you'd be using it in that would matter? In your pocket, who cares if the thing is right-side-up or not?
It seems as though everyone got it wrong except for the color screen.
No 2GB Shuffle, no 8GB Mini. Instead we get this compromise.
I would have prefered it to be a bit thicker and get at least 20 hours life. This is going backwards.
How will people react to less for the same? Color screen and size excepted.
Still the earphone thing bugs me. Could be a problem.
Originally posted by regan
...but one thing that kinda bugs me i think...is the earphone connector is on the BOTTOM.
I think I'd like it there. Less messy with lanyards and perfect in your pocket (now you can put your iPod in head down so the controls "feel" upside-right--and Skip is on the right!). Case designers will have to adapt to the new style of course--and they will. Other accessories like FM xmitters will now snap on the bottom, which sounds very convenient and easy to hold, to me. No more "top-heavy" add-ons.
And the jack on top has its advantages too--but bottom isn't a bad thing to me.
Re TV out--looks like a "no" from the specs. I bet the chip used in this doesn't support TV. Would have been cool, I agree. But they don't list the TV cable as an accessory so I don't think the feature is there. Photos are just an "extra" then.
Originally posted by melgross
How will people react to less for the same? Color screen and size excepted.
It'll be a hit. Shuffle sales are screwed. This is the ultimate definition of "upsell."
I like it. This is what I want for exercising and activity. I'll probably eventually get one, but another iPod is WAY down on the priority list of expenditures.
Originally posted by melgross
I'm disappointed.
Heheh, I don't think anyone is suprised by that.
Don't take this the wrong way, but almost all of your posts are negative. (Or at least that is the way it comes off to this non-new-yorker) Not that there is anything wrong with that... what else would we have to rile us up here.
Portable electronics are all about tradeoffs. I wouldn't characterize apple as "not getting it". All of the major electronics manufacturers have been trying their best to offer products with an appealing feature set. Yet none seem to come out with the "right" product like apple has with the iPod/iTunes.
I'm going to bet on Apple's track record with iPods and assert that the nano is exactly what millions of consumers want, even more so than the iPod mini.
Disappointed? Not me.
Originally posted by regan
Theres ALOT to like. I don't think its a compromise, because the extreme small size makes up for it in my mind. Kinda like they morphed the shuffle and mini into one with a color screen. So it is kinda huge.
Still the earphone thing bugs me. Could be a problem.
No room on the top. Look at how far up the screen is. As it's so thin, there's no room behind the screen for a jack.
I don't see it as a problem. If I put it in my pants pocket, I would put it in upside down. That way when I take it out it's facing the right way. Otherwise it has to be turned around.
It would be good if the software let you flip the screen so that either way was up. Maybe someone could write something to enable that.
Originally posted by dfiler
Heheh, I don't think anyone is suprised by that.
Don't take this the wrong way, but all of your posts are negative. (Or at least that is the way it comes off to this non-new-yorker) Not that there is anything wrong with that... what else would we have to rile us up here.
Portable electronics are all about tradeoffs. I wouldn't characterize apple as "not getting it". All of the major electronics manufacturers have been trying their best to offer products with an appealing feature set. Yet none seem to come out with the "right" product like apple has with the iPod/iTunes.
I'm going to bet on Apple's track record with iPods and assert that the nano is exactly what millions of consumers want, even more so than the iPod mini.
Disappointed? Not me.
Then you haven't read most of my posts. I'm just not automatically impressed with something. I suppose that after having designed electronics for a fair number of years, I expect that some things would be done slightly different.
I think the Mini's were (are) great. I like most Apple products, but not all. Some could have been easily made better with just a slight tweek. I think that this is one of them. I see all the posts that now say that 14 hours are enough. When we first heard about the flash Mini's, people were estatic about maybe getting 30 hours. I think 20 would have been great. Another 1/16" of depth would have achieved that. I know the battery size they're using.
Nothing's perfect.