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Review

Review - iPod nano (2G)

Tuesday, September 19th, 2006 at 4:00 PM - by

Take away the pretty new packaging, and Apple's new iPod nano is very similar to the original. Not that that's a bad thing, of course, when you consider what a home-run Apple hit with the first nano, and that the price remains the same despite beefier specs.

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New iPod nano (8GB)

In a tribute to the iPod mini, which the first iPod nano killed off, version 2.0 finds the nano sheathed in a similar aluminum skin that its brother of yesteryear wore so well, colors included. In a curious marketing twist, surely intended to capitalize off the popularity of the black iPods, the new nano is available only in black with the high-end, $249 8GB model, while the low-end $149 2GB version is available only in silver. In between, the $199 4GB nanos are available in silver, green, blue, or pink.

nano nano
iPod nano vs. iPod nano

Disappointingly, despite an almost complete omission of the color white, the black iPod nano continues to ship with the same white cable and earphones that the others do.

Apple did at least upgrade the earphones with this round of iPod revisions, the first time it has done so in nearly four years. The new buds are not only slightly smaller and sit more securely in your ear, but also sound noticeably better. Music sounds richer across the entire spectrum, meaning fewer iPod nano owners will find themselves tossing the stock earphones aside for an upgrade.

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The new nano (right) features a brighter display and improved battery life—up to 24 hours.

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New, smaller earphones (right) fit more comfortably, look sleeker, and sound better.

What Apple is more quiet about, however, is that despite retaining almost the identical dimensions of its predecessor (the new nano is a hair thinner, but also hair longer), most iPod nano accessories on the market are not compatible with the new player because of repositioned ports. While the dock connector cable and earphones continue to plug in through the bottom, they have been moved farther to the edges. This means that fancy dock you might already own from your first nano or that caught your eye on a store shelf simply won't work with the new nano. Similarly, many cases currently on the market have cut-outs that won't line up with the new positioning of the dock connector and earphone plug.

The Bottom Line

Apple's advertisements call the new iPod nano "remastered", a fitting descriptor for the recent revision. The iPod nano is essentially the same as it was, but with a bit more polish. The case is inherently more scratch resistant, it comes available in more colors, sounds better with the new earphones, and sports double the capacity across the board without a change in price.

While it would have been a nice courtesy to consumers to keep the connectors positioned the same as the previous model, or to include matching colored accessories, it's next to impossible to find any fault with the new nano.

nano

nano
iPod mini vs. iPod nano

Just The Facts

iPod nano (2G) from Apple Computer, Inc.

MSRP US$149-$249

Pros: same great size, same good price; improved case design, earphones, and battery life

Cons: colors are back, but accessories remain only in white; dock connector and earphone are positioned differently, rendering most current nano accessories incompatible

26 comments from the community.

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A guest said: (hide)

Tue Sep 19, 2006 8:21 pm

Its a nice upgrade, and it does get rid of the 1G Nano's most serious flaw: how easily scratched it was.

BUT, the fact that your old accessories WON'T FIT on the 2G Nano?!?!? INEXCUSABLE. Just comes off as needlessly greedy on Apple's part, or a gross oversight (haha, yeah right). It also nullifies one of Apple's biggest advantages in the space, the 'universe' of accessories that the iPod has that other mp3 players don't.

But who cares about that 'universe' if you have to buy all new accessories every time you upgrade? And how many potential 2G Nano buyers are going to pass due to the fact that their accessories won't work with the new one? One very serious DUMB move on Apple's part, amid what was otherwise a nice little set of upgrades.

One hopes Apple learns from the mistake, but at this point, they are becoming arrogant and may choose not to, with few consequences (yet).

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macsavageg4 said:

member since 02 Oct 2002 with 5 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Tue Sep 19, 2006 11:00 pm

Guest wrote:
Its a nice upgrade, and it does get rid of the 1G Nano's most serious flaw: how easily scratched it was.

BUT, the fact that your old accessories WON'T FIT on the 2G Nano?!?!? INEXCUSABLE. Just comes off as needlessly greedy on Apple's part, or a gross oversight (haha, yeah right). It also nullifies one of Apple's biggest advantages in the space, the 'universe' of accessories that the iPod has that other mp3 players don't.

But who cares about that 'universe' if you have to buy all new accessories every time you upgrade? And how many potential 2G Nano buyers are going to pass due to the fact that their accessories won't work with the new one? One very serious DUMB move on Apple's part, amid what was otherwise a nice little set of upgrades.

One hopes Apple learns from the mistake, but at this point, they are becoming arrogant and may choose not to, with few consequences (yet).

You can't have it both ways though.

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Jonkun227 said:

member since 02 Mar 2004 with 238 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Sep 20, 2006 4:18 am

Why not? The connectors are the same. Only the spacing has changed. Why would it not have been possible for Apple to keep the spacing for the sake of compatibility? It all goes back to their "Industrial Design is more important than ANYTHING else" that we've seen with the persistent 1 button trackpad, lack of interchangeable batteries, etc. They liked the look of the wider spacing. Period. Couldn't stand how it would have looked if one or both of the connectors had been set in from the edge a bit.

It's crap like this that keeps me from buying an iPod. I'd love one, but since my laptop is with me 90% of the time I just use it. I'd rather buy a couple gigs of RAM than an iPod, the accessories for which won't fit the next model.

Now most vendors will have to develop and distribute adapters for their devices, because they will want to support both generations, knowing that not everyone is going to upgrade and discard the old model. This hurts the 3rd party vendors and the consumers. Apple is the only party that benefits from choices like this.

But, as always, I can choose to not support it.

- Jon

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Sep 20, 2006 9:09 am

Jon:

My new 4G nano works with countless devices I purchased for my original nano -- from my i-deck speakers to my Nike+. How does Apple benefit -- their add-ons all work with this nano, I believe. I'd love it if ipodobserver ran a chart showing us what accessories do work with the new nanos.

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Sep 20, 2006 12:29 pm

Guest wrote:
Jon:

My new 4G nano works with countless devices I purchased for my original nano -- from my i-deck speakers to my Nike+. How does Apple benefit -- their add-ons all work with this nano, I believe. I'd love it if ipodobserver ran a chart showing us what accessories do work with the new nanos.

4G Nano? Do you have a time machine or something? They're only on 2G with the Nano.

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Sep 20, 2006 1:19 pm

Guest wrote:
Guest wrote:
Jon:

My new 4G nano works with countless devices I purchased for my original nano -- from my i-deck speakers to my Nike+. How does Apple benefit -- their add-ons all work with this nano, I believe. I'd love it if ipodobserver ran a chart showing us what accessories do work with the new nanos.

4G Nano? Do you have a time machine or something? They're only on 2G with the Nano.

'4G Nano' guy is probably a marketing drone. Defends Apple's greedhead decision on the connector yet doesn't know the product. You get the idea.

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Sep 20, 2006 2:24 pm

4G Nano guy is most likely refering to the capacity of his Nano. Must be an Apple newbie. Cut the guy some slack. My 2nd Generation 8gig Nano works just fine w/ my Belkin car adapter. I have one of the felt spacers in the iPod Mini clip and it plugs right up. I would like black cables for the ear buds, but I use a third party set of sound blocking earphones that are black anyway.

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Sep 20, 2006 3:11 pm

Or Apple could've just left the ports where they were instead of moving them a micron and making a bunch of stuff incompatible for no good reason other than $$$.

Boo Apple.

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Intruder said:

member since 07 Jul 2004 with 3149 posts, TMO Mac Specialist, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Sep 20, 2006 6:56 pm

Anonymous wrote:
Or Apple could've just left the ports where they were instead of moving them a micron and making a bunch of stuff incompatible for no good reason other than $$$.

Boo Apple.

Because, of course, we were all sitting in the meetings at Apple when they said "let's move the connector and screw everybody."

Glad to see everybody has such irrefutable knowledge of their engineering.

/sarcasm

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A guest said: (hide)

Thu Sep 21, 2006 12:21 pm

Intruder wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Or Apple could've just left the ports where they were instead of moving them a micron and making a bunch of stuff incompatible for no good reason other than $$$.

Boo Apple.

Because, of course, we were all sitting in the meetings at Apple when they said "let's move the connector and screw everybody."

Glad to see everybody has such irrefutable knowledge of their engineering.

/sarcasm

Yeah, that micron must've been so hard to overcome. There's just no way Apple could've had the connectors in the same place. That would've been logistically more difficult than cold fusion.

Don't be naive.

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Sep 27, 2006 1:43 pm

I bought the Pink Nano 4G recently (they come in 2G, 4G, and 8G). I didn't realize the accessories from the 1st generation nano don't fit. I even bought an ipod nano dock, assuming it would fit! I returned it the next day, after some confusion and research. Why give the 2nd generation nano the same name? It's confusing. To top it off, Apple claims this one is smaller! How? All hard plastic cases are TOO SMALL for the new nano??? I love the new nano, but it should have a different name, to make it clear to people that the same accessories will not fit! I've returned 2 cases and 1 dock (original Apple nano dock!) because they claimed to fit the nano. Someone smack apple for deceiving people into thinking both old and new nano's are the same size!

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Sep 27, 2006 1:51 pm

forgot to mention....what is up with a Universal Dock that costs $39.00? Wasn't my nano enough $$$$? $39 seems to omit all cables and a remote. So it's a more expensive charger??? Save your money!!!!

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Sep 29, 2006 1:53 pm

the new nanos are really a great upgrade from the original 1g nanos. They fix the previous generation's greatest complaints of how easily scratched they get. I am going to buy my ipod nano 2G this monday and I will post and let you know what out of the previous accessories I have fits and what doesn't.The prices on these nanos are also more reasonable, I mean we get 2 times as much space for the same price. That is a very good deal.

-Till later

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A guest said: (hide)

Mon Oct 09, 2006 1:08 pm

Do u guys have a life?

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Intruder said:

member since 07 Jul 2004 with 3149 posts, TMO Mac Specialist, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Oct 09, 2006 10:23 pm

Anonymous wrote:
Do u guys have a life?

How ironic that you took time out of yours to post that. Speaks volumes.

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A guest said: (hide)

Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:01 am

I have been given the runaround by sales people.

I guess this connector moving further to the edge has caught everyone by surprise.

Has anyone tried the Belkin (Black) TuneBaseFM for (1G) Nano with the new 2G Nano.

Does it fit??

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A guest said: (hide)

Sun Oct 22, 2006 9:21 pm

I have a Burton Amp backpack and just bought a new Nano 2gb. I know they make an adaptor for the old nano to fit the Burton Amp pack but do they have one that will fit the new Nano? Basically, I need to adapt the old mini plug to fit the new nano.

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Nov 03, 2006 11:49 pm

so what generation of ipod nano would you guys recommend for the time being?

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Nov 03, 2006 11:51 pm

i saw the advertisement of the 2g nano, does it really light up like the ones in the commercial?

http://images.apple.com/movies/us/apple/ipod_nano_20060912/apple-ipod_nano-colors_480x376.mov

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A guest said: (hide)

Sat Nov 11, 2006 6:14 am

Guest wrote:
I have been given the runaround by sales people.

I guess this connector moving further to the edge has caught everyone by surprise.

Has anyone tried the Belkin (Black) TuneBaseFM for (1G) Nano with the new 2G Nano.

Does it fit??

Purchased 2nd gen nano yesterday and Belkin FM tuner this morning, returned it this afternoon. The lads have done a fine marketing job on this one. Not a happy customer.

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A guest said: (hide)

Tue Dec 19, 2006 2:29 pm

Intruder wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Do u guys have a life?

How ironic that you took time out of yours to post that. Speaks volumes.

Yeah, that does speak volumes. To think you would read all the quotes and post something as idiotic as that means YOU don't have a life.

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Intruder said:

member since 07 Jul 2004 with 3149 posts, TMO Mac Specialist, send him a message or view his profile

Tue Dec 19, 2006 8:37 pm

Gee, a forum moderator who reads the posts! What a concept!

It appears irony is lost on you, though. Too bad.

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Dec 20, 2006 12:14 pm

WOW!!!!! wot an AMAZING product i just got it and wow it is 100% worth buying it looks and feels sssssssooooooooooo good

10/10

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A guest said: (hide)

Tue Dec 26, 2006 3:56 pm

You Guys have no life

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tbone1 said:

member since 13 Jul 2001 with 3981 posts, TMO Staff, send him a message or view his profile

Wed Dec 27, 2006 8:46 am

Anonymous wrote:
You Guys have no life

And if you take the time to respond to people with no lives, you imply that your time is worth even less. In fact, you have negative life. It's an undead! Get the holy water!

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A guest said: (hide)

Wed Dec 27, 2006 4:37 pm

My brand new nano 2g (black) is already the best apple product I have used. The screen didn't crack on christmas like my first nano (4 gig black) and has twice the memory. Boo hiss, the ports are farther apart. I can now unplug the cable without removing the headphones, a minor annoyance from the first version.

So old cases don't fit. You can't re-use your grungy beat up old case. Boo hoo.

Accessories don't fit. I can understand why this would bother a lot of people. I can also see where the people that bother to complain are the most likely to buy new ipod accessories.

I would be upset if my expensive accessory didn't work. Most work. Some aftermarket accessories might not line up properly. Everything Apple does though.

To the complainers, I ask you, why didn't the accessory designers take a cue from apple? You wanted a niche product, you paid for it. Your choice. Your responsibility when things change. Do you really need to buy the new ipod, if you already have a perfectly serviceable 1g?

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