Misc. Ramblings

Some random notes on my new 1GB iPod nano. These may change over time as I get more familiar with the nano. What ever happens, don't get all bent out of shape if you don't like my comments. If you don't want to hear them, skip what I have to say. It's a big world out there, so why waste your time here. YMMV. Insert disclaimer here.

• The box includes just the nano, a USB cable, headphones, and a small vinyl case (not counting a short getting started page and CD with software and longer "Features Guide" user manual). Missing is an AC adapter, dock, or real case. All three of these are expensive accessories. Buying just these three will set you back around $100 USD. No wonder Apple is profiting more from the iPod series than their PCs.

• The nano is very thin. So thin that you wonder how strong it is and whether it can survive in the pocket of your favorite pair of jeans. I do not recommend you find out. Still, part of the coolness factor of the nano is how thin it is.

• The 1GB model I got holds about 150 to 200 songs (depending on the length of each song). For me, this is more than enough as it would take about 10 hours to listen to all these songs. When I get tired of these songs, I can delete some and add others. While this is not as convenient as having every single song that I own always available, it's good enough for me.

• The instructions are kind of vague on using the Click Wheel. The instructions say to "Move your thumb lightly around the click Wheel to select a menu item." What this means is you move your finger in a circular motion around the circumference of the wheel. This is not intuitive. When most people see a click wheel you think of the four compass points and that's all. No where in my experience have I seen something where I glide my finger in a circular motion along the circumference of the wheel to move the cursor.

  In any case, going in a clockwise direction causes the cursor to move down. Reversing direction (counter-clockwise, or anti-clockwise to some people across the pond) causes the cursor to move upwards. Likewise, when you are playing a song and you want to change the volume, which you will unless all your songs have had their volumes normalized, just glide your finger in a counter-clockwise direction to lower the volume.

• To turn off the nano, press and hold the play/pause button for a few seconds.

• I wish the nano would overlap songs so that as one was ending it would fade out and automatically fade into the next song. As it is, there are sometimes long pauses between songs. It may be just me, but I find that annoying.

• To remove the USB cable from the nano, press the two buttons; one on each side of the cable connector. Do not just yank on the cable as this may cause serious damage to the nano, your hand, or whatever the cable is connected to.

• Since Apple doesn't include an AC adapter, you have to use the USB cable to charge the battery. This, of course, involves attaching the other end to a USB 2.x compliant PC. This is not very convenient unless you are using it at work and therefore your PC is on, which it has to be to provide the current for a charge, for extended periods and you don't mind leaving the nano attached for the three hours it takes to fully charge the battery. Then there's the problem of not being able to change the battery yourself. I don't know when I'll have to do that nor how much it will cost, but I wonder if it won't be cheaper to buy a new iPod when that happens (which may be the whole point of the exercise).

• I bought the leather case and overlay protector from Martin Fields. The case is thicker than I thought it would be. However, its very thickness probably does a good job of protecting the nano from scratches. Although, I don't think it would help that much if you dropped the nano on to a concrete floor. The thickness of the case also, to a small extent, makes it more difficult to use the Click Wheel. It's not that hard to reach the wheel but I was kind of surprised that Martin Fields didn't provide a wider cutout to reach the wheel.

  The case also interferes with using the Dock. If you slide the case up five or ten millimeters you can insert the nano into the Dock. Otherwise, the case is too wide/thick to fit. However, the case is so tight that sliding the case is easier said than done.

• The overly plus protector works as advertised and I have no problems with it (other than I had heck of a time peeling the backing paper away from the protector). If you have smaller fingers than I (or sharper finger nails) you may not have as much of a problem as I did.

• The headphones are the in-the-ear bud type that looks like the kind that you can buy at the drug store for $5.00. Hence, you can't expect much from them. They produce sound and that's about all I can say. On the downside, the two buds get tangled up very easily because the wires are of such a narrow gauge. I also fear that the wire will, eventually, pull out of the connector that goes into the nano. The ear buds are, to me, also uncomfortable to use for long periods. I can use them when I go walking for exercise but if I'm at work, I switch to regular headphones rather than ear buds.

As you can probably tell, I'm impressed with the nano's thin size and its ability to hold enough songs to keep me happy. I am not so happy with accessories that should come with the nano but aren't included and the non-intuitive Click Wheel operation. Still, I don't regret getting the nano and hope it lasts a long time (or until cell phones can store at least as many songs so I can use it instead).

Aloha!