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Apple iPod nano 4GB (2nd Generation)
Introduction
Apple is number one in the world when it comes to portable MP3 players. What started out as a niche industry by a company named Rio in the late 90s (who almost got sued out of business by the RIAA trying to convince the judge that we didn't have the right to place-shift our music from CDs to MP3s), has exploded in the past 8 years. Apple leads the digital music industry with over 1.5 billion songs downloaded from the iTunes store. Apple now ranks as #5 on the list of music sellers, behind Wal-mart, Best Buy, Target and Amazon. The iPod nano is the single best selling portable MP3 player in the world and Apple's price point has had much to do with its success. By selling a reasonably sized player (previously 1, 2 and 4GB, and now 2, 4 and 8GB) at prices that appeals to kids, their parents, and college students alike, the nano is perfectly positioned in the market. It has been about a year since this product was last updated, and this refresh not only doubles the storage capacity at the same price points but Apple has also brought back something their iPod Mini line was very popular for. Color! Once again we have a variety of colors to choose from in an iPod, this time in a nano. This will likely serve as a compelling reason for folks to upgrade from their old iPod Minis. I fully expect the new iPod nanos to fly off the shelves this holiday season. So what improvements did Apple make for the second generation nano? Apple has made a number of improvements over the first generation iPod nano - most notably the anodized aluminum case and the different colors, but also longer battery life, a brighter LCD and new UI features like quickscroll and search. I've got a first generation iPod, a first generation iPod nano, and my new second generation iPod nano here to see how things have evolved the past 5 years.  
Page 1: Introduction
Page 2: First Impressions Page 3: Taking a Closer Look Page 4: Testing Page 5: Conclusion 
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Add Comment
18 User Comments 1 - Posted by
tony3010
on September 19, 2006 - 11:56 pm Very informative article. Thanks for all the pictures (especially the ones showing the new and old earphones side by side... I was wondering what they looked like!).
2 - Posted by
Nathan
on September 20, 2006 - 7:25 am "The placement of the hold switch, 30-pin connector and headphone jack have not changed between the first and second generation iPod nano." Sort of incorrect, depending how you read the above. The 30-pin connector HAS CHANGED in location (placement). It has been moved to the outside of the unit ... making some accessories for the 1st gen not usable for the 2nd gen. And the placement of the headphone jack has also changed. Just look at this picture to see the difference: http://images.appleinsider.com/ipod-second-gen-sho... 3 - Posted by
Nathan
on September 20, 2006 - 7:36 am Another comment (my last, I promise). I see another improvement. The earbuds are improved in the area of sound quality. Personally, they sound A LOT better than the earbuds that came with the first gen nano. Some further reading in this area: http://www.maccast.com/2006/09/19/sleek-yet-still-... 4 - Posted by
handrail
on September 20, 2006 - 8:03 am yep, great review anthony. i was sad to see that you didn't have any pictures of yourself dancing in the dark with the nano though.
5 - Posted by
edoug
on September 20, 2006 - 9:23 am Another key improvment in my opinion is the button in the center of the scroll wheel. It is not convex to the touch and provides a much clearer press and keeps you better aligned on the wheel when you're not working than the old, basically flat, button did.
6 - Posted by
edoug
on September 20, 2006 - 9:25 am excuse me...i meant NOW as opposed to NOT: Another key improvment in my opinion is the button in the center of the scroll wheel. It is NOW convex to the touch and provides a much clearer press and keeps you better aligned on the wheel when you're not working than the old, basically flat, button did. 7 - Posted by
Nick
on September 20, 2006 - 11:48 am Please brad, dont encourage the ipod dancing thing. It doesn't really apply to the nano being flash, but imagine the marketing stupidity behind those commercials showing people swinging their HARD DRIVE based ipods around. Anyone who finds themselves with a dead drive should call in and say, i was just dancing with it like in the commercials!!!
8 - Posted by
handrail
on September 22, 2006 - 1:39 pm maybe i want all the iPod drives to crash....you ever think of that, nick? evil pods. look how they've invaded TTL! three articles in a row of iPod related reviews... they all say i'm crazy...you'll all see! wait for the sign. then all prisoners will be released. you will perish in flame!!! 9 - Posted by
Kurtis
on September 22, 2006 - 1:44 pm don't anger them brad. they may see it fit to silence you.
10 - Posted by
handrail
on September 22, 2006 - 2:01 pm they've gotten to you too, kurtis!!!
11 - Posted by
BCSchnei
on September 22, 2006 - 3:26 pm The review mentions that the new Nano is a slightly different size. Has anyone tried to put it in an aftermarket protective case? -- Ben 12 - Posted by
Kurtis
on September 22, 2006 - 3:34 pm it's almost exactly the same size. just a hair difference. shouldn't be a problem but i didn't have any cases to verify.
13 - Posted by
blackjet
on September 26, 2006 - 9:12 am they look pretty sweet, good article! Will they ever put a radio in the dam thing? That is one reason y I still haven’t bought an i pod, that and I’m broke..... 14 - Posted by
Michelle10607
on December 26, 2006 - 7:16 pm The new one does fit into the case that I had. It was a little snug but it was ok. It does not however fit into the speaker & charger thing that I had for my old one because of the headphone jack movement. That made me a little angry.
15 - Posted by
herbus
on August 1, 2007 - 5:50 pm should i buy and ipod nano now... or will they just get updated???
16 - Posted by
Kurtis
on August 2, 2007 - 12:49 am There should be a new iPod or iPhone coming out this fall. I'm guessing it will be a slimmed down version of the iPhone with just iPod capabilities, maybe some OS X stuff too. But it could just be another, cheaper, iPhone. If you'll be severely disappointed if there is a new model released in a few months, I'd wait just to be safe, otherwise I'm sure you'll be happy with the iPod nano current version, it's a great little player. 17 - Posted by
Pepsi Man
on January 3, 2009 - 12:23 am yeah, i waited for the new nanos to come out. it was worth it!
18 - Posted by
MrMolezz
on October 3, 2009 - 8:08 am The iPod Touch Is Almost Exactly The iPhone Just Without The Phone Part Im Getting One At Crimbo!!!!!
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