Reviews for Apple iPod Nano 4GB MP3 Player

Finally, they get it right

Strengths: Size..but ofcourse! Color screen. Same IPOD styling (unlike the Mini). FLASH drive!

Weakness: Price. But isn't it always :)

Apple finally got it right, and it's about time! The 20GB+ IPODs are great, but they have one inherent flaw. They are hard drive based, which makes them weak, delicate, large and not things you want to run with. You can, but it shortens the life of your IPOD. The Shuffle on the other end, uses flash drive technology, but it's basically a very boring, feature-less gadget. You cannot choose what song to switch to, you cannot see what's playing (or going to play next), how much time left, etc. What a waste of good technology.

But with the Nano, Apple finally hit the spot. They got rid of the clunky hard drive, bumped up the flash drive space to 4GB, threw in a beautiful color display, and made it unbelievably thin. Brilliant!
They should call it the IPOD Wafer or IPOD Biscuit.

What's really nice about the Nano are the features that come with it. A beautiful display which is small yet very readable. It has World Time (set your favorite time from all around the world), Alarm, Screen Lock, Color games, Picture Viewer, Various EQ settings and more. And they did all this without compromising any sound quality.

Charge times are less then even the 4GB Mini. They say a full charge takes about 3 hours, but mine did it in about 2 hours 15 minutes! Not too shabby at all.

What will really get your juices flowing is the artilce on the Ars Technica website (www.arstechnica.com) about the tests they did on the Nano. They threw it from moving cars at 50 mph, dropped it from various heights, ran over it with a car, and even sat on it. The nano kept on rockin'.
That's my kind of gadget. If it can survive that, it might just survive me.

The bottom line is - the Nano is a great buy. Really well thought out and well designed. When you finally hold it in your hands, the feeling is really great. This is by far the BEST IPOD ever!

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iPod Nano ROCKS !!

Strengths: Micro-sized with loud, quality output.

Weakness: Overly sensitive control wheel.

One sweet mp3 player. All the features on the iPod photo but in micro size. I love using this while doing outside yard work, etc. Battery lasts all day and the hold button (to prevent accidental button/volume adjustmens is a good feature. The only gripe I have is that the control wheel is overly sensitive and very touchy. Sometimes if I lay it face down the volume will jump up or down, but it's really not that big of a deal. The fact that it is flash based and not a hard drive this baby should last forever (or at least I hope so) I even sat on it and this thing is like a rock.

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Oh So Portable

Strengths: compact size, color screen, beautiful design

Weakness: easily scratched, limited storage size (4GB max)

This little wonder packs a punch. It delivers the same (or better) quality than the other ipods at a much smaller size. You should definitely buy a form of protection to prevent scratches and damage. I bought an "incase wallet" which works great.

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Love It!

Strengths: Color screen, 14 hours battery life, 1000 songs, flash memory, album cover picture, 25,000 photos, and more!

Weakness: Hard to find a good case for, headphone socket in the bottom, can't play picture slideshows through the TV.

Apple has come through. I am a person who loves music, but I don't need 15,000 songs. I also love to take pictures, so being able to hold 25,000 of them on my iPod is great. I love this product. I definitely suggest getting a Nano over the regular iPod, unless you are a DJ or somehting. I like the video feature of the other iPod, but I really can't picture myself walking around having to look at my iPod the whole time. Nano is #1, and definitely worth the money. The Nano also has a more reliable form of memory, called flash memory, which if you drop you iPod, is much less likely to malfunction than the hard drives of all of the other MP3's. I still, after a month, can't get over how small it is!

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iPod nano 4GB

Strengths: Form-factor, User Interface, Design, Flash Memory

Weakness: Scratches easily, Lack of Firewire support

The iPod nano is a welcome addition to the iPod family. This device is the first iPod to offer flash memory with the fabulous click wheel and color screen. Apple got most things right with this device. The debate regarding how easy it is to scratch is justified. What makes this more of an issue for nano verses its larger 30/60GB bigger brother is that the device's form-factor begs for it to be stored in the pocket. That being said you should consider purchasing some form of protection. I decided to use some left over plastic film, that covered a new cell phone display, to cover the nano's display. My other issue is with this device is lack of Firewire support. You can charge the device with Firewire, but it no longer supports uploads. So be sure your computer has USB 2.0 ports.
If you don't plan to use the device for running, I can recommend Apple's Lanyard headphones. Same sound as the stock buds, but nicely incorporated in neck cord.

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Definite Hit - Current Ipod owners and non-Ipod...

Strengths: Flash memory (no skipping!), Size, Vibrant Screen, Easy to Navigate Menu, iTunes Software, Great battery life

Weakness: Storage size (Compared to my 15gb 3rd gen), Lack of accessories

I am coming from a 15gb 3rd gen iPod (back when they were packaged/priced with all accessories). I have to say that Apple has come a long way.

Pros

Size: Size is what sold me - thin and compact. Perfect for traveling - the days of lugging my bulky iPod are gone

Battery Life: Only run it down once,that was after approximately 10 hours of usage. Great!

Flash memory: No more worrying about the music skipping when using the iPod while excercising.

Screen: Vibrant Color screen. Easy to read.


Cons

Storage Size: Double edged sword. I have to really choose which music I will put on the player. However, I will actually listen to all the songs in my collection (versus listening to 50% of those on my 15gb)

Lack of accessories: The nano comes with only 3 accessories - headphones, usb transfer/charging cable, adapter to use nano with current Ipod dock. Must have accessories IMO - skin with screen protection and armband (if you're using it to work out)

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Stylish MP3 player with mixed reaction

Strengths: 4GB flash storage. Small and compact. Color LCD screen capable of displaying pictures. Looks, looks, looks. Artificial scarcity. Click wheel.

Weakness: Possible screen defects. Easy to scratch. Headphone connector at bottom. iTunes restrictions. Pricey. Click wheel.

I was one of the first to buy one of these. In that time of about 2 to 3 months, MP3 players in general - and even the iPod line - had advanced again.

First, this MP3 player has 4GB flash memory. At the time, that was the most by far among flash players.

Flash memory, by the way, is solid state with no moving parts. This contrasts with hard drive-based players which do have moving parts (the spinning hard drive). No moving parts means no "CD player effect" of skipping during activities like running or jogging. It also means it won't develop hard drive problems, like bad or corrupt sectors. However, flash memory does have a lifespan of how many times it can be rewritten, though I believe that lifespan should be long enough to outlast this item's usefulness.

Back to the review, while 4GB of flash memory made the iPod Nano unique in those early days, there are now competitors in that space (and at lower prices), so this older benefit has to be taken with a grain of salt now.

The iPod Nano is quite small, flat and light. This is great for guys, since we don't usually carry purses or pocketbooks for carrying things and the iPod Nano will slip into a shirt or jacket pocket without looking or feeling too conspicuous. Also, it might be difficult to have shrunk the iPod Nano any more and still have a decent screen size and have the click wheel be useful.

Speaking of the screen, the iPod Nano has a color LCD display for displaying the menus, song names, and pictures. This (and the storage sizes) are the main components that separate iPod's Nano line from iPod's Shuffle line (plus the Nano, because it has a display screen, has more available play features, etc.) The screen is not that big, but it's still useable. Actually, it's quite like a cellphone display. I'm not a big fan of storing and displaying pictures, so I haven't played around with this a lot and it's not a very big deal to me. It's there, if you like it.

The iPod's main benefit is its looks and styling. It looks like an iPod. Everyone who looks at it will know it's an iPod. Basically, it looks pretty good from a minimalist point of view.

It has also been selling out everywhere since it's debut and throughout the holiday season. However, throughout all that time, it was still readily available through Apple's own website. People who have been trying to buy it everywhere else will think you have something rare. People who know you could have just gotten it from Apple's website at any time know otherwise. That seemed like an odd practice to me, but I'm sure limiting quantities to all other suppliers and thus driving customers to order directly from their website can only help Apple's bottomline by cutting out middlemen.

Now, you'll notice I listed the click wheel as both a strength and a weakness. A lot of people out there consider the click wheel to be a miracle in intuitive design. Therefore, the click wheel is a strength. However, I am not one of those people. Therefore, it is also a weakness. Sorry, but moving your thumb in a clockwise direction to move down on menus and moving your thumb in a counter-clockwise direction to move up on menus seemed a little odd to me and took some getting used to. Perhaps it's because I had grown accustomed to the little lever on the Creative Muvo (you pushed up on the lever to go forwards and back on the lever to go backwards). We're all coming from different places and perspectives. Different strokes for different folks, right?

As for the negatives, it bears mentioning again that I was one of the first to order an iPod Nano. This, as often it does with rollouts of the latest and greatest technology gadgets (as early adopters of PSP's and Gameboy's with dead pixels know), turned out to be a bad thing. It turns out that a small but significant number of earlier iPod Nano's had a manufacturing defect that could result in cracked displays from simple bending stresses. Since I've babied my iPod Nano, I still can't really tell if I'm an unfortunate owner of one of these from the bad batches, but Apple claims that it will repair or replace iPod Nano's that have that problem. In my opinion, this shouldn't have happened at all and, for the premium paid on Apple products, the problems should have been picked up by the quality assurance department before any of these ended up in consumers' hands.

All iPod Nano owners will run into the fact that all iPod Nano's scratch easily. If you do not want your iPod Nano to get all scratched up really fast, you have to buy a case or some sort of protection for it. Make sure you get one that will also protect the display, because that can get scratched, and, if it does, your iPod Nano is almost useless.

I'm running out of review space, so final comments. iTunes imposes restrictions. If you don't like those restrictions, look into an open source software called "ephpod". For 4GB flash players w/o the color LCD, Sandisk has one for about $100 less when on sale.

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Love it !

iPod nano is fun to have !
When excercising on cardio machines,i always wear iPod nano(with arm band). Sound is clear,easy to use,light to carry, just great! I just want for longer battery life.

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Great Digital Audio Player !

Strengths: Color screen, Small size, Additional Features (world clock, lap times, screen lock), Nice design, Supports iTunes.

Weakness: High Price, Limited storage GB, Scratches easily, Screen is very delicate.

iPod nano is amazing. it's so small and stylish, making you want to buy one when you see it. it comes both white and black color, with full color screen and scroll wheel. supports iTunes, and many ipod accesories that works with dock connector. shiny backside looks cool, but it easy to get scratched. i recommend to get a case soon as possible. the sound qulity is great like all the ipod models, but price is little high considering 2gb for $199 and 4gb for $249. but it's worth the money and if you need mp3 player, this is it.

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sleek and sexy iPod Nano

Strengths: Sleek and sexy, small, nice interface and most importantly - flash storage

Weakness: requires iTunes to upload music instead of drag and drop

The iPod nano turned me into a mac convert! It is sleek and sexy with the intuitive wheel interface. Just go to an Apple store and you will see what I mean.

It's flash-based, so you don't have to worry about skipping or dead hard drives. A 4 GB flash drive retails for around $220 and it is just another $30 to get one that couples as a music player.

A definite must-have.

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Excellent product

Strengths: It is very very thin, sleek and light. It has the photo feature.

Weakness: I wish the lcd was bigger. No other complaints.

I never thought that the nano was so small and light. It difficult to keep track where u have put it. I had a 40 GB ipod earlier and the nano is timy compared to it. I haven't recieved the nano tubes yet. I use the nano armband or put it in my shirt pocket. And yes it does fit into the small pocket of my jeans. its undoubtably an awesome product.

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Apple Does It Again

Strengths: Thin, Light, Portable, Color Screen, Flash Memory

Weakness: Scratches Easily, Fragile, Expensive

The iPod Nano is the 3rd iPod that I have purchased either for myself or as a gift. The iPod Nano replaces the iPod Mini line, taking some of its positive aspects and replacing the negative ones.

The iPod Nano is smaller, thinner and lighter than the iPod Mini. It has a beautiful color screen and the hard drive from its predecessor has been replaced with Flash memory, which is less likely to skip or fail.

However, the iPod Mini offered better value (+2 GB for the same price) and also better battery life. Unlike the scratch-resistant iPod Mini, the Nano is a scratch magnet. I strongly recommend purchasing a set of the Nano Tubes along with a screen protector.

Overall, the iPod Nano is a great product which I strongly recommend.

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neat and colorful

Strengths: small size, extremely light, scratches not seen, elegant design

Weakness: expensive, back still scratches easily, wheel not tactile enough, disk space small

I got a 2GB for my wife and a 4GB for myself, and I love this thing. You really can't go wrong with itunes, it's really the best way to organize your mp3 collection. The file based players don't really compare. You can view ipod subway maps on this too which is neat. The battery life is a bit better than the other ipods, and I love that it's skip free.

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The ideal best X'mas gift

Strengths: Wonderful looking, compact and light design, can fit almost every kind of pocket. Reasonable price.

Weakness: The surface is not strong enough. the front plastic surface is so weak..., and the back steel surface is not so stong either.

I bought this iPod nano for my girl friend as the X'mas gift. She love it. I think its' design can catch almost every body's eye. Nice gadget-gift for Xmas.

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Fabulous design

Strengths: Small size, colorful screen and easy to use menu for ipod users

Weakness: Maybe the capacity however for a flash drive it is all right

I just receieved the ipod nano and it has an outstanding design and size. Flash drive also prevents the hard drive problems and noise. Colorful Screen for this thing is a perfect thing. Moreover ipod wheel still useful. All ipod adtantages with great design. But I prefer at least 8 GB. :)

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iPod nano 4 GB MP3 player

Strengths: Size, color screen

Weakness: price

I am a sucker for great new products. Even though this costs way too much, and they will be having a new ipod next year even better, I can't resist.

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iPod nano 4GB MP3

Strengths: it's so small and thin

Weakness: it's made in China

this is my first mac product, i love it. nice colorful screen. nice size. very nice design. approximately 10 hours of usage each charge. It doesn't come with many accessories - you'll have to buy them separately.

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it alright

Strengths: small, color screen

Weakness: scratch easily, no wall charger comes with it, for $50 dollars more you can get 26 more gigabytes

The ipod nano was a great idea by apple but the product is overpriced by $50-$100. This thing should cost $150 to $200. Especially since it doesn't come with really any accesories.

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GREAT JOB APPLE

Strengths: SIZE, FITS IN THE SMALLEST POCKETS OF YOUR JEANS

Weakness: SCRATCHES WAY TOO EASY!! ITUNES=ISUCK,SUCKS HARD, WILL NOT SYNCRONIZE ALL THE FORMATS OF MUSIC, WICH MEANS IF YOU DOWNLOAD FROM MORPHEUS YOU ARE DOOMED,PAIN IN THE A. TO ORGANIZE MUSIC AND PLAYLISTS

THE HARDWARE ITSELF IS REALLY DELICATE BUT STILL IF YOU WANNA EXPEND 260$ YOU MAY WANNA TAKE REALLY GOOD CARE OF IT. DLO HAVE SOME REALLY GOOD ACCESORIES FOR IT, LIKE SILICONE, RUBBER, AND PLASTIC CASES, I HAVE A RUBBER CASE (WILL NOT SCRATCH YOUR IPOD WHILE IN IT) UNLIKE THE PLASTIC ONES, THE DO SCRATCH IT.

ITUNES=ISUCK ITUNES=ISUCK, I REALLY WISH YOU COULD JUST SYNCRONYZED WITH WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER BUT I GUESS WE CAN'T HAVE IT TOO EASY.

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Horrible, WAY to pricey, WAY to small, WAY to...

Strengths: NOTHING! If i could give this product NO stars, I would with NO hesitation!

Weakness: Everything about the ipod nano is horrible. Its the worst thing ipod has come out with.EVER.

I got an ipod nano for my couisin. within about 3 days of using it, the ipod nano broke, and by the way, my cosin is 30 years old. Shes not like a kid or anything! The screen scraches, just by running your finger over it, it gets all dented up even if you drop it from 2 inches off the ground onto a rug! I thing the nano is the most horrible product ipod has come out with yet! *DO NOT BUY THE IPOD NANO! BUY THE IPOD VIDIO OR PHOTO!* those two are the bomb! I could write an exact opposit review on the vidio or photo! DO NOT BUY THE NANO! your wasting your money!

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Hot gift for 10+ year olds

Strengths: Opens a world of music and technical options for your youngster.

Weakness: Can create an expensive addiction to i-Tunes

For those challenged for what to buy a special kid in your life, the iPod nano is guaranteed to be a hit. This little gadget offers admission to the school kid club of "MP3 Users", and that's a big deal for socialization, music swapping and cool factor. Best of all, it requires little space in the already overcrowded bedroom, plays privately through externally noiseless headphones, and promotes responsibility for maintaining small and somewhat delicate things (check your pockets before washing the jeans.) A bit pricey for you average birthday party, this gift definitely is perfect for admiring grandparents or pleased parents for a school graduation or big event.

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Perfect!

Strengths: Small! Flash drive,you can run with it, color screen,thin.

Weakness: Cannot play vidio. No wall chargers.

It is the perfect. Perfect size, battery life. I was amazed at how skinny it is. My brother has a Shuffle and the Nano is 10 times thinner than the already tiny shuffle.

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dont waste your money on this !

Apple had to replace my daughters Ipod 3 times, first the screen went blank,2nd no sounds and third time it just went blank again. All 3 Ipods was replace with brand new one by Apple manufacture, no questions ask. Probably this happens to a lot of customer who dont purchase from stores. We order it from internet Apple site.

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Finally a store that has it in stock! and it's super...

Strengths: Small compact size, super thin and light. Color screen, hi-res, and plastic doesn't show scratches that easily

Weakness: Battery life is still subpar, no case included, click wheel flimsy

Finally bestbuy got this in stock. I've tested both the smaller and the larger versions now. This is definitely much better than the ipod mini that I have since it doesn't skip when I take it to the gym. The users are right, the white doesn't show the scratches as easily as the black one, so I'd definitely recommend this if you're worried about it.

The software sync on this is the best with itunes as it compatible with foreign languages. You won't get that with other mp3 player software.

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Ipod nano 4gb

Strengths: incredible design, decent price for the features, compatible with ipod accesories

Weakness: mediocre battery life

As mentioned above, the design of the controls and user interface is superb as on all ipods. I was surprised at how well the click-wheel control scaled down to the smaller size.

Sound is spectacular. Better than full-sized ipods and equal in quality to the shuffle. The sound characteristics are beyond the scope of this review, but the stock earbuds are definitely the weak link. A good pair of headphones is necessary (e.g., Shure, Etymotic canalphone models) to experience its potential.

Battery life is only so-so. The rated life is inaccurate...I imagine 8hrs of regular use is more like it. Of course, you're trading battery life for the amazingly compact design.

Price is quite reasonable...esp if you qualify for the $20 educational discount. To put it into perspective, consider the fact that 4gb of flash ram would run you around $200.

As mentioned above, the regular docking port means the nano is compatible with most ipod accessories.

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Apple iPod Nano 1G 1GB / 2GB / 4GB

TestSeek.com has collected 52 expert reviews for Apple iPod Nano 1G 1GB / 2GB / 4GB and the average expert rating is 84 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use TestSeek.com to find all ratings, product awards and conclusions.

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Nano Nano

Apple tops itself again with the Ipod Nano. This is the coolest Ipod to date.

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