5th gen iPod nano
Photo by mightykenny, used under CC licence
When I first saw Apple’s new iPod nanos, the first thing that came to mind was shiny. Literally. The new finish of the iPod is very shiny, and the colours are very sharp. Year on year the colours get better, and year on year the products are looking even more impressive.
Other than the slightly taller screen, there isn’t much more difference to the overall look of the nano. It seems that Apple have finally settled on a design for this range of iPod, as once more the nano is long and thin, with most of the front containing the screen.
A video camera is the biggest new addition, which appears to be of high quality. Although probably due to the difficulty of fitting a camera behind a screen on such a thin device, it is located at the bottom of the iPod, right where you’d place your fingers when shooting video. As great as it is to have a camera in your iPod, the location is a very bad decision. If you want to use the camera you need to hold the iPod quite awkwardly ensuring your hand covers neither the screen or the lens, and considering the thinness of the thing it’s not an easy thing to do.
I’ve never been a fan of the iPod scroll wheels, and this new nano is no different. I’ve always found them awkward to use and would much rather use a click wheel or touch screen. But this is me, and I’m certain that most other people have no issues at all.
I like the fact that the 5th generation design is similar to the 4th generation design, it works well and provides a nice big screen in relation to the iPod size. I love the new colours but as a whole it’s not for me simply because of the scrollwheel. As a camera, even though it’s good quality again I’m not a fan, the lens position makes for very awkward handling which might make for shaky videos.