Apple iPod Nano...

apple-ipod-nano

Apple’s popular portable media player has had a facelift and some new features added, including a new lower price.

The 8G version is better value at just $199, but not everything is improved. The nano still delivers 24 hours of battery life for audio, but video playback has dropped from five hours to four.

Apple has gone back to the slender design of older nanos and reorientated the screen from landscape back to portrait. The major new feature is the accelerometer, a component that enables the player to measure movement. It’s also used in the iPod touch and the iPhone and it allows you to use a feature called ’shake to shuffle’. To get a new song playing, just shake the player and it will choose a song randomly from your playlist.

Another useful feature available for users of Windows Vista or Mac OS X Leopard is a spoken-word interface, allowing the visually impaired to use an iPod by listening to the menu options.

The nano comes with Apple’s standard - but still excellent - in-ear phones, but you need to download the latest version of iTunes to make it work with your Windows XP, Vista or Mac OS X Leopard computer or notebook. I give the nano a 4.5/5.

Apple iPod Touch...

apple ipod touch

The new iPod touch comes with more memory and a new curvy one-piece back shell. And for those on a tight budget, Apple has dropped the price on the 8G model from $399 to $329.

You can basically think of it as an iPhone without the phone, so you will still get access to Apple’s app store, and its built-in Wi-Fi wireless networking means you can connect to your wireless network at home and download music, games and other files straight to the touch.

The screen is a large 3.5in and 480 by 320 pixels, which is ideal for movies, although the player comes with no video conversion software for this task. Battery life has improved significantly – up from 24 to 36 hours for audio, and up to six hours for video.

It also has the accelerometer feature – you’ve probably seen the TV ads where someone is playing a car racing game and turning the touch like a steering wheel to change direction.

The touchscreen interface is as simple to use as I’ve seen from a media player, but as a result of the fancy extras, it’s not brilliant value in terms of storage per dollar.

Still, it’s an excellent player for those who have the cash to spare. It gest a 4.5/5 from me.