Customer Reviews

Apple iPod nano 4 GB White (1st generation) OLD MODEL

5 star:		(88)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

First off, let me just say that the nano was my fourth iPod; I have a second-generation 40GB iPod, as well as two minis (1st gen 4GB and 2nd gen 6GB), and was happy with all three until the batteries died. A side note--don't ever store your iPod in a third-party speaker set that also charges. Mine lasted not quite a year and now the battery dies after 20 minutes of play time.

Here is the problem with the nano. It looks cool, is lightweight, and for all intents and purposes, promises to be a great piece of technology. But it is just way too easy to break. My other iPods had taken some abuse over the years, but never showed any signs of considerable wear (except for a scratched screen on the 40GB). I managed to break the Nano two days after purchase on its first use, without any significant trauma to the casing. (I dropped it while sitting on the couch, and it fell two feet.) The screen cracked and the display is ruined, at a cost of over $100 to replace. Even after giving a polite explanation, producing a receipt, and enduring condescension from the manager ("Sometimes things break"), Apple wouldn't take it back.

I really can't recommend this product. There are better iPods out there, namely the Minis, which are more tightly crafted and likely to withstand the pressures of everyday use. Don't waste your money on the nano. It is flimsy and poorly constructed, and you're better off looking elsewhere until they improve their product.

This was my first iPod, and I had wanted a mini for a long time. But unfortunately, the mini got replaced by the nano as soon as I was about to buy it. I was very unsure about the nano at first, but I've become very happy with it. But, as with any iPod, there are some downsides.

Pros:
-Small, so it fits basically anywhere.
-Brighter screen than the mini.
-One of my friends has a mini, and the volume on the nano seems to go louder than the mini.
-It's able to store pictures and contacts, among others.
-The screen is colored, unlike the black-and-white mini.
-I've read many reviews saying it's very fragile, but I've dropped it quite a few times and it hasn't broken (yet).

Cons:
-The headphones plug in at the bottom, which is kinda stupid and takes some getting used to.
-It's almost TOO small. It's very easy to lose.
-Fingerprints show up very easily on the back chrome side, as well as the front.
-It comes in limited colors.
-The acessories it comes with does not include a charger that plugs into the wall, only one that plugs into the computer.
-It scratches very easily.

Overall, I think this is worth 4 stars. It's a good first iPod for people who have not had another different iPod, because this would probably take a while to get used to after having a different one.

This gaget is a great way to take your entire library out with you when you exercise. Most people are aware of the plusses... I thought I'd write up what I think are negatives.

-- I didn't like how you have to purchase a sleeve to carry the ipod in. Most mp3 players come with this accessory. (You also have to purchase other accessories, which I think is a racket)

-- Choosing which songs or playlist you listen to is difficult when you're on the move. My other players have buttons that are easy to feel and navigate once you learn where they are.

--For the same reason, it's also difficult to change the volume.

When running, I actually prefer my older mp3 player that doesn't hold as many songs as my ipod. I think if I had known it was so difficult to search and change the settings while running I'd have chosen a different player.

I had an iPod shuffle I was pretty happy with, but a couple weeks after Apple released the iPod nano, I finished a job and got a chunk of money for it. To celebrate, I went out and purchased a nano.

The nano looks fairly unexciting on this page, but once you see one in person--most electronics stores will have one--you'll understand the appeal. This device is incredibly small; I don't think they could've made it any smaller without making the screen too small to read, the click wheel too small to use, and the ports too small to connect to. It feels practically weightless, and fits in the tightest pockets. If you've ever seen the iPod shuffle, the nano is about half as thick and twice as wide.

The screen is beautiful, with sharp text and vivid color. The click wheel has a slightly different texture from the surrounding plastic, which helps when using the device in the dark. The click wheel-based interface is very intuitive: when I took it out of the box it took about ten seconds to get used to the circular motion used to navigate the menus; after that, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. The menus are clear and well-designed, although not quite perfect; the placement of "repeat" and "shuffle" on the settings screen is particularly jarring.

By the way, the packaging is a work of art; you may not want to throw it away.

The nano was clearly designed for exercise; besides its size, it uses completely skip-proof flash memory and is the first iPod to include a stopwatch program. If you're using the iPod for this, Apple has several accessories that may be handy, like lanyard headphones and armbands.

The nano model shown here has 4 gigabytes of internal memory. As a rule of thumb, 1 minute of MP3 music takes up about 1 megabyte; since a gigabyte is 1000 megabytes, the iPod should contain about 4000 minutes of music. Apple advertises it as carrying 1000 songs, which is about right. Serious music fans with 10,000-album collections ripped at 320 kbps might scoff at that capacity, but the average person should be satisified with this--after loading mine up with every song I might conceivably listen to, it's barely half full.

The nano isn't perfect. Like other iPods, it has an internal battery that wears out after 500 recharges. (Apple estimates that'll last 18 months, but it depends on how much you use it.) When the battery wears out, the iPod has to be sent back to the factory for a replacement, which costs a significant fraction of the iPod's original price. iPods as a whole also lack a few features other players have, such as FM tuners--although with FM radios costing only a few bucks, that doesn't seem like much of a loss. Uniquely to the nano, the case seems to be very susceptible to scratching; the little scratches aren't very noticable on the white model (the one I have), but I understand that many owners of black iPod nanos are very upset about this. The standard Apple earbuds are too big for many ears and don't have very good bass; I use replacement "In-Ear Headphones" ($40) which are much better.

But bear in mind that there isn't really a comparable player on the market right now. There are plenty of flash-based MP3 players, but they typically have either smaller capacities or larger dimensions, and usually black-and-white screens; there are plenty of higher-capacity MP3 players, but most use mechanical hard drives (which are prone to failure and skipping) and are much larger than the nano. The nano's 14-hour battery life is a bit short for a flash-based player, but increasing the battery life would require Apple to make the nano larger, and 14 hours is more than most people will use in several days. There is nothing else available with such a good combination of size, reliability, features, and price.

The iPod nano is designed to work with iTunes and the iTunes Music Store. iTunes is a wonderful piece of software for acquiring, organizing, and playing music; my computer's (unusual) configuration doesn't support it, but I really miss it. iTMS, which is built into iTunes, is a pretty good bargain for music--you can buy songs for $0.99 and albums for $9.99 (prices vary by country, though), and the selection is quite good. I'd be happy to use both of them.

Despite the battery and the scratching, I'm extremely happy with my iPod nano. It has more than enough capacity to carry the portion of my music collection I actually listen to; it fits anywhere I might want to stuff it; it's very easy to use; and it keeps going for hours and hours.

I've been using my 20 Gigabyte Ipod 4G for a while now and been quietly watching Apple unveil one after another, upgrades to my now defunct Ipod. The Ipod photo which is now standard on the 20 gigabyte and higher models comes in color, longer battery life, and it allows users to view photos. The Ipod shuffle was pretty much a low end flop. Although with its flash memory and relatively small size/price, Jobs even admitted he didn't quite get the same response out as he was expecting.

But enter Ipod Nano- the response has already been tremendous. People I know who want one now have been calling stores nearby to find one and most of the 4GB ones are sold out. I can imagine it'll be like that for a while.

Pros:

What I like about the 4GB model is exactly what I didn't like about my Ipod 20GB model. I didn't use the space at all. I have in rotation about 1000+ songs and I rarely listen to all of them. In fact, I mostly rely on my playlists of about 50+ songs. So really, I was only using about 1/5th the space on the Ipod 20GB model. With the Nano, you get the best of both worlds. Realistically, the most space a typical music listener will ever need is about 4GB or about 1000 songs. I've discovered this with my 20GB Ipod and now unfortunately regret buying the larger model. So Nano to me, fits what I think most music listeners would need in terms of space.

What immediately knocks my socks off with this new Ipod Nano model is the size and weight. When I was going over the product description, it was listed as 1.5 Ounces. I was thinking oh that's only 1/4th the weight of my Ipod 20GB. But then I took the Nano and compared it to household items I have. To put it in perspective: if you were to take eight quarters and place them in the palm of your hand, the Nano would be lighter than that. Just test it out, if you have a dress shirt or pants pocket, put 8 quarters into it. Jump up and down. The Nano is about five sticks of gum. Nothing. 1.5 Ounces is truly amazing. Regarding size, its width is smaller than a number two pencil. The Nano is like six credit cards together.

What I think makes this a simple no brainer awesome product are the capabilities the Nano has. It puts to shame the Ipod mini. It is functionally equivalent to the Ipod photo. Other than the no Firewire capability (yet, probably soon) or bluetooth capability, you can listen to songs, store and show photos, and sync up with a calendar. It has a clickwheel just like its larger brothers (20, 60 GB models). The monitor display is crisp and magnificent for its size. You can't zoom into photos or play with them as you would on a camera or computer but they come out clearly. The color is amazing.

The battery range is more than what they advertise. I've clocked it at going more than 14 hours and 13 minutes. This is on shuffle without the backlight on of course.

Cons:

Limit of colors- I liked the minis because you had the option of choosing what color suited you. I'm more a blue person so neither black or white fits me. The black model is a nice start but I've heard it scratches and shows finger prints too visibly. I hope Apple can release colored ones soon to sorta tie in with the Mini idea.

The earplug connection is on the bottom- why o why would you do that? I understand that if you get the lanyard headphones, it would make sense to have them placed that way so if the Nano was hanging like a necklace, you could see it right side up. But, I plan on using the Nano as a portable music player in my dress shirt pocket because of its light weight and tiny size. So the placement of the earphone plug bugs me.

I'm starting to notice that Apple skimp on accessories for their products. At first they gave with their Ipods, chargers. But with the Nano, the only accessories you get are the Ipod earphones, a dock, and a USB cord. You'll need to buy a power charger separate, which is another 30 dollars if you don't have one already. I had one already from my 20GB model. (This is an aside but people here are falsely posting here on reviews, saying that you can only charge it using the USB connection so you would need a laptop or computer to charge the Nano. This is not true. I've been charging it fine using my regular standard Ipod power charger that came with the 20GB model.)

Overall- If you're not a fanatic music listener and need to have like 4000 songs on one music player, if you're like me, a typical joe who has at most 1000 songs and would never fully use a Ipod 20GB, you'll like the Nano.

I'm not a computer genius and I really hate spending hours going through instruction manuals, so I was a little reluctant getting an ipod. But when I held the ipod nano in my hands at the Apple store I thought I'd give it a try. My primary purpose in getting one of these was not to download music off the net but to listen to songs from the 500 + cd's that I have wasted so much money on over the years. The first thing I liked was that the manual was just a few pages long - everything you need to get started and actually use the nano. Very simple and easy to understand, unlike my digital camera instruction manual, which is the same size as a Stephen King novel. The advanced features are all explained on the website - which was also pretty informative and simple. You simply load the itunes disc that came with the nano. If you select the recommended option of automatically updating - your ipod will mirror exactly what is in itunes. Once itunes is loaded on your pc you will want to get your cd's onto the nano. You simply put in a cd. If you are on the internet itunes will "read" the cd and come up with all the information - song title, artist, album. You select the songs from the cd that you want to transfer. This is what I like about the ipod - I'm listening to the 1 or 2 great songs from cd's that I haven't heard in years. It took me about 1 minute per song to transfer to itunes. This is the time consuming part (you do the math on 1000 songs) but it is unavoidable and you don't have to do it all at once. Once you have enough songs for now you connect the ipod to your pc's 2.0 usb port with the included connector. The entire contents of itunes will automatically transfer to your nano in an incredibly short time. Once your ipod is charged (a couple/few hours connected to the same usb port) you're ready to play with your new toy. And this is the coolest toy you've gotten in quite a long time. The songs are easily accessible by song title or artist, or shuffle through everything (like a radio station programmed by you). Very easy to understand controls and menus. The sound from the nano is wonderful, clearer and louder than any portable cd player I've ever owned. I've had it for a couple weeks and have not experienced any problems at all. Recommened even for the technically challenged.

I don't know what all the fuss is about. I've had mine a week and do not have a single scratch on it. I've had it in my (otherwise empty) pockets, dropped it a couple of times (from a short height onto carpet), and it still looks as good as new.

OK, I am paranoid about scratches until the nanotubes ship, so I handle mine as carefully as possible. But I fully expect it to be in great condition when the tubes ship next month.

Black will show scratches more easily than white, so think about that before you get a black one. I chose a white one for that reason.

I feel it should have come with a dock for $250, but I knew it wouldn't and I was OK buying it without. I'll get a dock later.

Some folks are leaving the plastic protective sheet on the front until the tubes ship. Great idea, you'll have a perfect condition nano!

Replacing the iPod mini in the middle of Apple's iPod line, the nano fills the spot nicely, bringing a lot of nice features and a few compromises.

The nano uses flash memory chips for storing the music and data, unlike the 1" hard drive found in the mini and 1.8" drive in the full-size iPods. The benefits of the flash memory are multifold - battery life is very good, there's no skipping, and no chance of damage to moving parts from shock. An added benefit is that songs load up instantly, unlike on hard drive based iPods where there would be a slight delay as the hard drive spun up if the song requested wasn't in the memory buffer.

The nano also takes cues from its bigger brothers, with a very bright color screen with higher resolution than the mini's (176x132 vs. 138x110), photo viewing capability, and the signature white and silver body. It also has a few exclusive features, including a nifty Stopwatch, a Screen Lock feature styled after a combination lock, and an enhanced Clock. Unfortunately like the mini, you can't install Mac OS X on it and use it as a boot disk.

In usage, the nano works like a charm, though the bottom-mounted headphone jack takes a little getting used to after four years of it being on top. Battery life ranges from 12-15 hours in mixed usage, with it coming in on the low side if I listen to high-bitrate files (probably has to read from more memory). The screen is wonderful when the backlight is on, but visibility outside isn't as good as the old monochrome screens.

Despite its positives, the nano has some things that aren't so great. The headphone jack is located on the bottom and has no additional connector like on past non-Shuffle iPods, so the remote control no longer has a place to plug in. This also means that accessories that use the remote port like FM transmitters will not work. It goes without saying the accessory manufacturers will produce a ton of goodies for the nano by virtue of it being an iPod, so the concern is mainly for iPod owners with existing accessories or things on the market currently that won't work with the nano.

In going with a clear plastic/stainless steel design like the big iPods, the nano is more scratch and dent prone, unlike the mini, which was a tank with its rugged aluminum casing. I've already scuffed the back of the nano after only five days of usage, while my 18-month old mini looks virtually new. The nano also features a miniaturized version of the excellent Click Wheel, which can be a little tough to work for those with big fingers. It doesn't depress as far and the center portion is flush with the unit, which makes selecting things a bit tough occasionally.

Of note is that the nano cannot connect to your computer over FireWire, though it will charge. USB is the only way to sync, and users with the older USB spec will be waiting a while to fill up the nano. Even with photo viewing abilities, the nano cannot output it to a TV like big color iPods, so the implementation is halfway since the screen is too small for any extended viewing. On this initial firmware revision (1.0), navigating back and forth through menus can get a little laggy at times, with the menus not coming on smoothly if you press the buttons too fast.

After countless iPods Apple still has not included an easily-replaceable battery, so when it eventually dies you'll either have to send it back to Apple or attempt to crack the nano open. The lithium-polymer battery Apple uses will last anywhere from 18 months to 3 years depending on how often it's recharged and how it's used. Running your iPod until it's completely dead (total discharge) is bad for the battery, and will cut down on its lifespan.

Apple's been bringing the price of iPods down steadily, but has been accomplishing this partly by cutting down on accessories packed in the box. My 3G iPod came with a wealth of goodies, but the nano only comes with the omnipresent white earbuds, a CD, USB cable, and a piece of plastic to enable the nano to fit into future docking accessories. The buds look neat, but the sound quality leaves much to be desired. Picking up a quality pair of headphones will do wonders for your auditory experience.

I've owned every iPod since the original 5GB unit all the way back in 2001. For its greater capacity and use as a backup drive I'm keeping my 60GB iPod photo around, but for daily use the nano is where it's at. It deftly combines the advantages of the flash-based Shuffle with the perks of the full-sized iPods and adds its own unique tricks to the bag. Packing 4GB of flash memory with all of its advantages at a decent price is no small feat, and the smallness of the the design has to be held to be believed. Not many reservations, and definitely recommended.

The iPod's USB interface recharges from a computer USB connection only. This means if you want to go anywhere that does not have a PC available for recharging then you are left with a dead hunk of metal until you find a computer to power it up again. It takes about four hours to do a full recharge (and half a day to charge when out of the box, not 4 hours like it says in the manual), so I am not sure how you will feel about leaving your $300 iPod with an Internet Café while on holiday or away from home. You need to buy a USB power adaptor if you want to plug your iPod into the mains. Without the power adaptor, which costs an extra $30, you are limited to PC recharging only. So be prepared to pay more than just the cost of the iPod for these nitpicky add-ons.

The iPod is an amazing device on two counts. One is that there is absolutely nothing on the market that is this size and holds so much data. Palms can not compete for storage size, end of story. Even the low-end 4GB iPods are overkill for MP3 playback. The clickwheel at the front of the iPod is genius. You move your thumb in a circle to scroll everything in the menu or volume. It has an amazing blue ambient backlight for night viewing. There is a top switch for locking the menu buttons so you can't accidentally adjust volume. If the headphones jack out by mistake the unit pauses automatically. The iPod mini series can easily go undetected in your jeans' pocket. The full version is a little bulkier but not by much more than already stated. The Nano series is nearly invisible. If you read the manual properly you can even store data files on the unit (in the notes folder etc.), so you can also use the iPod as a mass storage device for transporting files. As for extras, well it is quite smart. The software is updated by Apple over the internet, so you have calendars, address books, time-zones and an assortment of other extras that give the unit more class. However the alarm clock is just garbage because the device has a very limited internal speaker that is designed for just low-level `clicking' sounds. The iPod is both PC and Apple compatible. The earphones are really well designed; the white cord plastic even feels nice with a respectable length that does not tangle. However the universal white nature and shape of the earphones makes it easier to identify you as an iPod user. Although there are claims that the iPod is scratchproof, this is absolutely not the case. My metal is already starting to show scratches after a month of use. The screen, for all intents and purposes, scratches the same as a mobile phone does. Whoever programmed the sound software deserves a Gold Medal. The only sound system that even comes close to matching the iPod's sound quality is DOLBY DIGITAL or THX. The iPod is in that league. An expensive hi-fi system will not even sound as good as it.

The iPod file loading is not as easy as it seems. You must start working on your MP3 files before you can use it. This means right clicking the MP3 file (or group select) going into the file's properties and inputting genre, artists, albums, so that the naming systems work when in the iPod. You load the MP3 files into the Library of the iTunes software and see if you have the lists alright before finally dumping the chosen library selections onto the iPod's hard drive and taking your whole music collection for a walk on your hip. This could well be the FIRST MUST-HAVE APPLE PRODUCT that a PC user should own.

*Note - There is one major downside to the way the iPod plays files. You can not have continuous play of an album without breaks between tracks. If you want to solve this you need to join up your album into one giant MP3 track using external MP3 software. However Apple updates their software and firmware so maybe in the future they will solve this issue.

Pros:
- THX, DOLBY DIGITAL quality music centre that fits in your palm.
- Cosmos sized tiny hard drive.
- Design and Clickwheel.
- Apple support

Cons:
- Mains Power Adaptor Costs extra.
- Tracks pause between each other.
- MP3 files must be annotated.
- Recharging time is a bit long.

I love the iPod. Always have. At home, we have five, including this one: the 4GB iPod nano.

Before you leap, realize two things: (1) this iPod is extremely fragile compared to other iPods, particularly the tough-as-nails iPod mini (a drop of a couple of feet onto a linoleum floor took out the screen); and (2) the black version gets scratched very easily, and shows scratches far more than any white iPod I've owned (after a day and before dropping the damn thing, it already looked awful from scratching -- and it was treated with kid gloves).

Okay, if you can live with those caveats, and invest in a durable protector (we bought the arm-band holder, which does a lousy job of protecting the iPod nano)--none of which are out yet--then this new iPod is truly an amazing bit of technology. It's tiny (it feels even smaller than the photos suggest), has great sound quality (better, I think, than any other iPod I've owned), and the display is gorgeous (even though tiny).

For me, the mini (now defunct, but bargains still abound) is the better choice given its sturdiness. I'm not up for museum-relic care for my electronics, which would certainly help if you own one of these.

Another beautiful, functional gizmo from Apple. Just know what you're getting. Some websites claim the nano is sturdy. I can tell you, from first hand experience, it isn't. So, you be the judge. (Sure, the thing still played, but replacing the screen will set you back at least $90, and, even on the web sites in question, the screen broke.)

(Oh, and if you see someone taking shots at the iTunes software, don't believe it. It's the best music software out there, and its integration with this--or any--iPod is a joy.)