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Release Date: August 05, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: May 22, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: August 29, 2009
Genre: Games
Release Date: March 27, 2009
Release Date: August 07, 2009

iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: September 20, 2009
Release Date: September 15, 2009
Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Rock
Release Date: August 25, 2009

Top 5 Paid Apps

Release Date: April 22, 2009
StickWars $0.99
Release Date: March 31, 2009
Genre: Games
Bloons $0.99
Release Date: April 05, 2009
Genre: Games

Discover New Music

  • Plans

    • 8 out of 10
    • Death Cab for Cutie
    • With the introduction of Plans, Death Cab for Cutie became a new addition to many user's Artist list after the single "Soul Meets Body" became a hit on iTunes. Offering a fresh alternativ

  • Zooropa

    • 10 out of 10
    • U2
    • This record is perhaps U2's finest hour, yet it has been forgotten as a strange by-product of the ZooTV tour's overload, and is generally regarded by most fans as a poor effort. It is this sentiment t
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Once More, with Feeling

    • 10 out of 10
    • Various Artists
    • Most musical episodes of TV shows frankly stink. They are usually little more than ill-conceived vehicles intended to let the stars show off what musical talent they have. Once More, With Feeling,

  • The Stooges

    • 8 out of 10
    • The Stooges
    • Another pillar of my musical foundations, The Stooges' first album is one those records whose influence far outweighed its popularity. Like The Velvet Underground & Nico, hordes of people wh

  • Spanks for the Memories

    • 8 out of 10
    • Asylum Street Spankers
    • The Asylum Street Spankers are...well...The Spankers. Hailing from Austin, where I saw them live dozens of times, the band played entirely acousti

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News

C|Net: New iPod nano Excellent, Rich User Experience

The new third generation iPod nano is one of the smallest, thinnest and most exquisitely designed MP3 players on the market, according to C|Net.

C|Net loved the crisp, bright video and thin metal body, above average battery life, games and user interface. They didn’t like the wider body, small scroll wheel and average sound. The overall rating, however, was "excellent," and the reviewer, Donald Bell, thought the iPod nano delivers the most bang for the buck of any of the iPods.

"The Nano’s most dramatic design change is, of course, its larger, brighter screen. The 2-inch color screen packs a dense, crisp 320x240 video resolution that looks richer and brighter than that of any iPod to date. It’s not often that we deem a screen smaller than 2.5 inches worthy of video playback, but with a tightly packed 204 pixels per inch, the Nano looks incredibly sharp," Mr. Bell wrote. He did note, however, that the screen is covered with a plastic, not glass, than can show some wear.

A host of minor improvements in video playback were mentioned including the ability to recognize chapter markers in QuickTime movie files and properly recognize video podcasts. The author also noted that Apple has made it easier to engage and disengage shuffle mode than before.

Despite the minor technical improvements, and comments about the perceived average quality of the audio (which he said will still please everyone), what amazed the reviewer was the video performance. "Much to our surprise, the Nano’s video performance stole the show. We were highly skeptical that we’d enjoy watching video on a 2-inch screen, yet the Nano’s superfine 204 ppi screen looked refreshingly sharp and bright. We still prefer the video experience of a larger player such as the affordable Archos 405, but it’s not far-fetched to imagine watching a full-length movie on the Nano," he said.

Not everyone is pleased with the "fat" look of the new iPod nano, but the overall assessment was that this new nano has more going for it than against it. "At less than $200, the Nano offers one of the richest user experiences we’ve seen on an MP3 player," Mr. Bell concluded.

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