The new iPods look very tasty. Photos of the Nano 4G can be seen on a page put up by Macintouch… Thanks, guys!
I wrote a bit about the touch yesterday. It rocks, people. The Nano 16GB looks like a good buy too. Cnet ‘s review is very interesting.
The reviewer, Donald Bell, likes the colors, and says that “Apple has yet again raised the MP3 player bar”.
Design
The Nano 4G feels impossibly light and thin, with a seamless metal construction that prevents it from snapping like a twig. A slightly curved design gives the Nano 4G the essence of an airplane wing, repeating the rounded design themes of Apple’s iPhone 3G and second-generation iPod Touch. Compared with the short, squarish design of last year’s Nano, the long, tapered body of the fourth-generation Nano is more comfortable to grasp.
Curved glass now covers the iPod Nano’s screen, giving it better resilience against scratches–in theory. The curve of the glass screen lies flush with the slight curve of the Nano’s body, and although the glass is inherently glossy and reflective, we didn’t notice a diminished viewing quality compared with last year’s Nano.
Donald notes that the dimensions are virtually the same as the 2nd gen Nano. He says about the new form factor:
Headphone and dock connections are located on the bottom of the 4G Nano, and a sliding hold switch makes a reappearance on top of the player (another throwback to the second-generation design).
Because Apple has flipped the Nano’s screen on its side, menus and user interface get a dramatic overhaul from last year’s model. Menu text size has increased slightly and album cover art takes up less real estate on the main menu. In a bid to increase the accessibility of the Nano for people with impaired vision, Apple has included a font size setting on the fourth-generation Nano that makes its menus more legible–a nice feature even if you have 20/20 vision. The Nano’s music playback screen now presents full-screen album art by default, and Cover Flow view is zippier than before, offering alphabetization letters below the covers when you quickly flip through your collection.
Features
The previous Nano features have made it to the new model, and a few new ones that make the G4 not only new, but improved.
The Genius feature… meta-driven, so not really a genius, but it makes up an instant 25 song playlist based on the characteristics (based on human surveys) of a single song. I’m not yet impressed.
The addition of the same tilt-sensor used in the Touch and the iPhone is something else, tho. Give the Nano a good shake, and it goes into shuffle mode. Running and working out doesn’t seem enough to switch into Shuffle mode, and the feature is deactivated with the settings menu or with the hold switch.
Cover Flow works with the tilt sensor, so when the Nano is turned on its side, Cover Flow is invoked. The orientation of video playback depends on which direction you turn the screen.
It’s easier to make voice recordings. The new Nano can use a mike through the headphone jack, but you need to use an Apple-approved headset. Cnet tests indicate that even iPhone compatible headsets won’t work.
Users with impaired vision can hear menu, selection and playboack info read to them with voice synthesization. iTunes enables this feature, and creates the voice information and moves it onto the Nano.
Read the whole article for more info. The new Nano looks like a winner!
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