A Pocket Full of Brilliant Video and Audio Entertainment

The Third Generation iPod Nano is my third iPod. My first ipod, the second gen. original iPod has a whopping 15 gig of hard drive, but was a bulky dinosaur in comparison to the thin slender Nano. Then about 2 weeks ago, I came to the end of my rope with my second generation (4 GB) Nano. It kept acting up every other time I used it, and I would have to resuscitate it with a re-boot. Mind you, this Nano was also bought re-conditioned for $50 less. So, on our last trip to Costco, there they were near the front door, a big row of the new 3rd Gen Nanos for less than the cost from Apple. The 8 gig was $187 ($12 cheaper than Apple). After a very quick scan of hard-drive and color, I picked out a blue 8 gigabyte, my favorite color and twice the capacity that I previously had.

The first noticeable difference is the size. The new Nano is wider (for the video) and shorter (2.75” high x 2” wide x 0.25 thick). The other changes are as follows:

What is Great About the Third Generation iPod Nano

Display (320 x 240 pixel resolution, 204 pixels per inch), which translates to a sharp picture:

Video: The size of the new nano screen is 2” (diagonal) – the extra half an inch in size compared to the previous generation Nano makes a big difference - and, according to the Apple website, is 65% brighter than before. After registering on-line with Apple, I received a download to my iTunes account of three free videos: “Jack Jack Attack” (a Pixar animated short from “The Incredibles”), a music video from Maroon 5 and a television episode of “How I Met Your Mother.” When the video ipods first came out, I dismissed it as a silly luxury. However, now that I have one, the clarity of picture is great, as well as the sound, although I don’t see myself buying any videos because of the prices (1.99 for a TV show episode, $14.99 for a movie, $4.99 for a game, and $1.99 for most music videos). Of course, you can get video podcasts for FREE, for example, “The Best of YouTube,” “Cook’s Illustrated,” or “Ellen In a Minute.” As I said, picture quality on the Nano is excellent, but I would imagine some eye strain after a while. I prefer to watch the video on my Apple laptop instead (this cannot be done with the games, though).

According to Apple specs, the battery will last for 5 hours of video viewing (24 hours for audio listening), although I haven’t tested this out.

It comes with the following games: iQuiz (trivia quiz on music, movies and TV shows), Klondike (a card game), and Vortex (sort of a very updated version of the old “Pong” game). The graphics on these games are vividly colorful and sophisticated – great for waiting rooms or mini brain vacations. You can buy other games through the iTunes Music Store.

Cover Flow

On the new Nano, the menu is on the left half of the screen with a white background. On the right side is the “cover flow,” with pictures of different album covers that alternate with the “Ken Burns effect.” In case you’re not familiar with Apple’s imovie or iphoto slide shows, the Kens Burns effect is named after the Documentary maker Ken Burns, in which still photos slightly zoom in and out or slowly move around on the screen – a much more interesting way of viewing photos.

The Cover Flow is also an option for searching for a song or album on your iTunes by using the scroll to flip through the almost 3-D looking albums covers with the Titles shown underneath.

Photos and Slide Shows

You can store high resolution photos which can be viewed as slide shows by simply clicking “play” on the bottom of the scroll. Photos can be downloaded to the Nano via iPhoto or through Photo Sync in iTunes, but they cannot be downloaded directly from your camera. I want to save most of my gigabytes for music and podcasts, but I keep a few “albums” of sentimental pictures to look at and share with friends. If you did just want to store photos, the 8 gig Nano could store 7,000 of them.

Music, Music, Music

If you only stored music, the 8 gig Nano can store up to 2,000 songs. Since I have more songs and podcasts in my iTunes than my Nano can hold, I have my iTunes set to only download “selected” playlists and podcasts. This is still plenty for me, plus I think it’s better to not use up the entire hard drive space.

Music can be organized according to: Playlists, Artists, Albums, Compilations, Songs, or Composers. In “Settings,” you can also select which categories will show on your menu to save time when selecting a song or playlist.

**A note about hearing health: Irreversible ear damage is a real possibility from listening to cranked up music using earphones. In your ipod’s settings, you can set the maximum volume level. This is also helpful in case you accidentally scroll up the volume and blast your eardrums.

Personalized Playlists Now back to listening pleasure. This is the best thing about the ipod. I love being able to select just the right kind of music according to my mood or circumstances. I have made some playlists with titles like “Energy,” “Cool Down,” “Worship,” “Old School,” “Love and Romance,” “Lindeisha’s Favorites,” etc., as well as the regular album titles. You can also use the Smart Playlist feature to have the ipod make a playlist from the music you have using the criteria you set. If. you want to be totally spontaneous or play random songs for a party, you can set your ipod on Shuffle.

Natural Tranquilizer When I got my first root canal last year, my previous ipod came in very handy in containing my anxiety. I listened to soothing classical music while the endodontist did his thing for the hour and a half that I sat with my mouth jacked open.

The sound quality is consistently good. The new ipod’s earphones have an improved design along with a thin band of soft rubber around each ear piece to help hold it in your ear. I’m no earphone connoisseur, but I think the ipod earphones are fine. However, when I walk outside, especially near traffic, I prefer to use my other brand of “noise canceling” earphones.

Podcasts

I am surprised at the number of people I’ve met who own an ipod, but don’t know about podcasts. Podcasts are FREE shows or broadcasts that you can subscribe to on iTunes. They range from mainstream news and media to amateurish home-made shows. There are podcasts in almost any category you can imagine, such as News, Comedy, Education, TV shows, etc. Some podcasts I listen to are “Pottercast” (for Harry Potter fans), “Coffee Break Spanish” and “This American Life” (an NPR show of strange and funny stories about real people).

One more valuable audio possibility is the audio-book. You can download books on CD or you can purchase audio books through iTunes.

Extras

Under “Extras,” on the Nano are: Clocks (different times for time zones around the world), Calendars (can be synced with iCal – this also includes “To Do’s” and “Alarms”), Contacts (to correspond with your Apple Address Book), Alarms, Games (as mentioned previously), Notes (text has to somehow be transferred to iTunes), Screenlock (for security) and Stopwatch.

I am very happy with my 3rd gen ipod Nano, although I had to get used to the different wider shape. It is still small, thin, and light enough to fit into my pants pocket. When you pick your playlist or podcast, simply push the “lock” switch so that the music/podcast or volume doesn’t change while you’re walking or running.

Last, what I really love about the ipod and about Apple products in general is that they are designed for intuitive users – in other words, people like me who don’t have the patience to read instruction manuals.

From the Apple Website:

The 3rd Generation iPod Nano comes with the following: earphones, USB cable,, dock adapter and a Quick Start Guide.
Mac system requirements:
- Mac computer with USB 2.0 port
- Mac OS X v10.4.9 or later
- iTunes 7.6 or later5
Windows system requirements
- PC with USB 2.0 port
- Windows Vista or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
- iTunes 7.6 or later