Ok, we know we've been calling it the fatty, but we'll be straight up with you guys: the third gen iPod nano is friggin' tiny. It's maybe not the most beautifully proportioned iPod we've ever seen, but its tapered edges and ridiculously thin frame make up for the squatness going on here.
Why don't we just change the site to www.iGadget.com?
JK. But seriously... i realize that all this Apple news is, well, big news... but maybe consolidate some of these threads! the last un-apple related thread is about to fall off onto page 2! lol
lmao at Ryan's damage limitation "but its tapered edges and ridiculously thin frame make up for the squatness going on here" Would he do that for anyone else :D
they should have just put a taller screen on the old nano shape. then you could just flip the thing sideways when you need to view widscreen stuff. when used tall, you'd also have more screen space for song titles, as well as keeping the original form factor.
I depends on where you look at this, in my opinion. I love the nano, the size & horsepower, Now it comes with video, how bad is that, now don't get me wrong the "iPod Classic" kills me, but the "Phatty" is in my eyes. The Power of the iPod 5th Gen in the body of a nano. I Like It.
I think what you mean is "do we really have to be entertained by the same thing everywhere?"
Personally, I have never owned a portable music player and do not intend to. A multi-function device is nice to carry around on a long / boring / noisy plane ride, but if I am going for a walk or the like, I see absolutely no reason to shut myself off from the outside world. Movies and music are both fun, but they are not the only kind of fun. There is enjoyable ambiance everywhere; not just in your MP3 player. (The sound quality is great, too).
I may be the only one here so far that thinks this doesn't look that bad, but I will agree that the ZEN will give the nano a run for a it's money. My vote right now is for the ZEN, but nice try apple...
Haven't they done that deliberately to drive up accessory sales? Chrome back = more skins sales, No radio = more radio attachement sales etc. Those sales then convince manufacturers to build more accessories. Consumers then see a certain product has lots of accessories so leans towards buying that product and the aforementioned extras.
If Ryan is reading this, I'd be interested to hear more about what you said earlier concerning cover flow. How sluggish/choppy is it and is it enough of a detraction to make it less of a viable alternative to the text browser?
I think ergonomically it's a tad worse than the g2 model, but it's more functional and better value.
Just looked on the Nike+iPod gear page on Apple.com, and it shows the new fatty nano. Doesnt say anything about the Touch, so I guess its still a nano thing. Thats weird, I thought they didnt make this compatible with the regular iPod because of the spinning hdd. Oh well, Im gonna grab a 2G nano now that they are cheaper and use that. I dont need to (read: can't) watch video while running anyways.
Unless you absolutely need the smallest possible player, the ZEN appears to beat this by far in the specs department considering prices are the same for 4 and 8 GB. The ZEN also has a 16 GB version, is expandable with SD cards, plays more video formats, bigger screen, and I would assume more colors but I don't see the specs for colors on the nano.
looks nice except for the chrome back... WHY??? just when i thought apple was moving away from it (iphone and 2g nano). i really hate having to baby my ipod...
So, the current video's screen, on a smaller machine, with a new UI. sounds good, but man does it look bad. The nano's scroll wheel was small,but that looks tiny and kinda uncomfortabke to hold and use.
i saw the nano in person today at my apple store, and when its in your hand... wow it sure is nice. The thinness is absolutely amazing, and in person it doesnt seem as fat as it looks. Kinda want one... haha!
Is it just me or is Apple's pricing strategy high? I make plenty of money to get one of Apple's products, regardless of price, but DAMN WOMAN! this is ridiculous. The cost is in no way worth the 'cool' factor.
And, Engadget, I know you probably hear this a lot, but how do Steve's balls taste? As stated above, change the name to iGadget. I'm sure iYahoo will iLove it.
They can price it high, at least initially. Look at the iPhone. It could have easily came out at $400 for the 8GB. If they sold ~1million so far (I think i saw something close to that somewhere) that's an extra $200,000,000 that iDiots gladly lined apple's pockets with.
Well, Dave, for every jerk like me there's an honest consumer such as yourself. I was a fan but have moved away; Apple seems to me to be the new M$, milking the cash cow too often. I'd rather see Apple work to decrease the cost of their stuff than to come out with a new iPod every six months or so...
You buy a Music Player to play music. If you want an all-in-one device that handles it all, then get a cell phone (maybe the iPhone, oh wait, THAT DOESNT PLAY ANY GAMES!!!).
The ZEN is better in every single way imaginable then this device.
Its just a damn shame that websites like this and Gizmodo have not given it the coverage it deserves, the praise it is warranted, yet gives such an ugly device like the 3G nano with lack-luster features and no future expandability a greater than passing grade, while the Zen gets at most average, yet trumps this device in all ways.
My gosh people...You haven't even seen it in person yet. I don't understand why people go nuts over these Apple products, it isn't like they slapped your Grandma.... Yes it does have a bit of a fatty look to it, but honestly it looks much better to me than the spy photos (maybe due to how thin it is?). Anyways, if El-Job-so had the right numbers and this is the highest selling iPod, it makes sense that they would want to put video on it as that gives the video part of iTunes more exposure, and probably a lot more money. I guess they could have gotten around all of this by going wide-screen for the nano and getting rid of the click-wheel, but that would probably eat into the special-ness of the one more thing. I'm just saying it makes sense business-wise that they add video capabilities to their most popular player.
No it does not make sense video capabilities to their most popular player. I bought the Nano to listen to music and audio books, not to stare it wile I'm driving down the road. More storage would had me cheering for the Nano and going down to the Apple store to buy one. I'll stick to the one I have.
FYI Apple, the 2nd gen nano is the best ipod ever. I was really hoping to see the wrap around aluminum design of the shuffle and nano migrate up the product line. The smudgy chrome back landing on the nano and the new form factor are a step backwards. The best thing to come out of today is the price drop of the iphone making it much more compelling to more "average" users.
It's ugly, but it's not going to affect sales. Apple has smartly marketed their products as status symbols. Think about the automobile market, it's all about status.
Overpriced - yes
A bit ugly compared to previous models - yes
Not as many features as samsung/zune/creative/etc? - yes
Apple does not usually differenciate when it deliver's upgraded software to similiar devices. My hunch is that they will deliver this coverflow to all the Video iPods after the initial surge... Just my opinion.
I'd like to see them add the new UI to the 5.5G ipod. But as has been said, apple want the money so are not going to give use the better firmware are they. And, the person who says that the menu runs slower with music. Not really, but games are badly effected, so coverflow would be a no-no really.
This looks a lot like the Creative Zen V series (although substantially thinner). I have a Zen, screens this small are absolutely useless for videos - trying to watch something leaves you looking cross eyed.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
eww that looks like crap
Agreed...!
Why don't we just change the site to www.iGadget.com?
JK. But seriously... i realize that all this Apple news is, well, big news... but maybe consolidate some of these threads! the last un-apple related thread is about to fall off onto page 2! lol
lmao at Ryan's damage limitation "but its tapered edges and ridiculously thin frame make up for the squatness going on here" Would he do that for anyone else :D
Store is up!
Creative's ZEN still beats this in my opinion.
they should have just put a taller screen on the old nano shape. then you could just flip the thing sideways when you need to view widscreen stuff. when used tall, you'd also have more screen space for song titles, as well as keeping the original form factor.
hey steve, you should have hired ME!
The new iPod nano is kind of like the fat kid...
I still think it looks like Apple is keepin' it real fake... with their own products
I agree with dj-kenpo, the new nano would of looked better on the side..
here is a mock of it...
http://tinyurl.com/3d4fml
but if it was on its side... what would the left handed person do?
Dude...
Step backwards from the old nano. Booo.
Man thats ugly! I feel like poking my own eyes out!
I depends on where you look at this, in my opinion. I love the nano, the size & horsepower, Now it comes with video, how bad is that, now don't get me wrong the "iPod Classic" kills me, but the "Phatty" is in my eyes. The Power of the iPod 5th Gen in the body of a nano. I Like It.
horsepower? Preliminary reviews suggest its sluggish as hell, and that's before you start you using coverflow!
I don't know, I suppose I could get behind that. I just wish the prices would go down farther.
it might look better if the whole front of that thing was a screen with no scroll wheel.
sorry im just saying i was the first post for once
Why?
Wow, Engadget is swift with their coverage. I went to the bathroom and I came back to find the iPod touch already covered.
Damn, what'd you eat? It too a while for Steve to get around to the iPod Touch
Does everything really have to have a little TV on it? This is why American are so fat. Do we really have to be entertained everywhere we go??
I think what you mean is "do we really have to be entertained by the same thing everywhere?"
Personally, I have never owned a portable music player and do not intend to. A multi-function device is nice to carry around on a long / boring / noisy plane ride, but if I am going for a walk or the like, I see absolutely no reason to shut myself off from the outside world.
Movies and music are both fun, but they are not the only kind of fun.
There is enjoyable ambiance everywhere; not just in your MP3 player. (The sound quality is great, too).
Will be interesting to compare it to your first hand on with the new ZEN
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/31/hands-on-with-creatives-zen/
I may be the only one here so far that thinks this doesn't look that bad, but I will agree that the ZEN will give the nano a run for a it's money. My vote right now is for the ZEN, but nice try apple...
darn it beaten by apple fanboys :(
no the 1st to comment
What a waste of a lunch break...
Looks ugly but I guess they needed it to be wider to accomodate the screen.
gayness
makes me wanna play minesweeper
One word: VIDEO
One word: WHY??
the screen is smaller than my phone', and that's crap for video.
Is this(and the others) compatible with the universal docks???
Hell Yes.
The screen is also vastly denser than your cell phone.
did they have to use the chrome back... thats what i liked about the 2nd gen, it was brushed aluminum so it wouldnt get scratched or fingerprinted up.
Haven't they done that deliberately to drive up accessory sales? Chrome back = more skins sales, No radio = more radio attachement sales etc. Those sales then convince manufacturers to build more accessories. Consumers then see a certain product has lots of accessories so leans towards buying that product and the aforementioned extras.
Not everything is a conspiracy.
5.3 gb used space plus 2 gb free equals only 7.3 gb available space...way to go jobs?
great! Now I'll buy one!
If Ryan is reading this, I'd be interested to hear more about what you said earlier concerning cover flow. How sluggish/choppy is it and is it enough of a detraction to make it less of a viable alternative to the text browser?
I think ergonomically it's a tad worse than the g2 model, but it's more functional and better value.
I wonder what they're going to to about the nike running chips?
Yeah, which new iPods will work with it? The Touch is flash based, so maybe it will be Nike compatible as well.
That will be fun to run around with...the swinging cables annoy me enough.
But good question which if any will be compatible...? I'd love to see the graph charts given on nike.com on the new nano
Just looked on the Nike+iPod gear page on Apple.com, and it shows the new fatty nano. Doesnt say anything about the Touch, so I guess its still a nano thing. Thats weird, I thought they didnt make this compatible with the regular iPod because of the spinning hdd. Oh well, Im gonna grab a 2G nano now that they are cheaper and use that. I dont need to (read: can't) watch video while running anyways.
If that thing gets any thinner, they are going to have to widen it just for the headphone jack.
The new iPod line up is a dud. I am so freakin' disappointed.
Read my rant at:
http://digg.com/apple/The_new_iPod_line_up_is_a_dud
I buried your Digg post.
I also buried your Digg post.
Jim walked down the street with a "fatty" in his pants. lol.
Ugly. The scroll wheel has run it's course. No thanks.
Maybe a Samsung player for me this year, Bluetooth 2.0 support will be nice.
Looks a bit ugly, but I don't want to judge until I get my hands on one.
after staring at it for like a half an hour, i kinda like it, (although at first glance, it reminded me of the zen V....... wierd)
Está chulisimo. Yo quiero uno.
Unless you absolutely need the smallest possible player, the ZEN appears to beat this by far in the specs department considering prices are the same for 4 and 8 GB. The ZEN also has a 16 GB version, is expandable with SD cards, plays more video formats, bigger screen, and I would assume more colors but I don't see the specs for colors on the nano.
looks nice except for the chrome back... WHY??? just when i thought apple was moving away from it (iphone and 2g nano). i really hate having to baby my ipod...
still the same ole ipod but there's always a sucker out there that buys everything
Yeah like Zune owners.
what zune owners?
Pleeease Apple give me the new firmware on my 5G puhleeeeeze!!!
So, the current video's screen, on a smaller machine, with a new UI. sounds good, but man does it look bad. The nano's scroll wheel was small,but that looks tiny and kinda uncomfortabke to hold and use.
i saw the nano in person today at my apple store, and when its in your hand... wow it sure is nice. The thinness is absolutely amazing, and in person it doesnt seem as fat as it looks. Kinda want one... haha!
Why, oh, why is AAPL down $5? Um, iPod Nano perhaps?
10 years ago that $5 you lose in hours would have gotten you majority stock holder for apple.
Is it just me or is Apple's pricing strategy high? I make plenty of money to get one of Apple's products, regardless of price, but DAMN WOMAN! this is ridiculous. The cost is in no way worth the 'cool' factor.
And, Engadget, I know you probably hear this a lot, but how do Steve's balls taste? As stated above, change the name to iGadget. I'm sure iYahoo will iLove it.
They can price it high, at least initially. Look at the iPhone. It could have easily came out at $400 for the 8GB. If they sold ~1million so far (I think i saw something close to that somewhere) that's an extra $200,000,000 that iDiots gladly lined apple's pockets with.
I see this going the route of the 4gig iPhone. One release, and gone.
It's bit on the ugly side too.
I really like this new nano... The beveled edges are a nice touch and its freaking slim. I'm giving it a two thumbs up!
(and this from a guy who hates apple!)
Well, Dave, for every jerk like me there's an honest consumer such as yourself. I was a fan but have moved away; Apple seems to me to be the new M$, milking the cash cow too often. I'd rather see Apple work to decrease the cost of their stuff than to come out with a new iPod every six months or so...
I'm glad there are some that like it.
they have lowered the price AND come out with a new version!
the 8gb is considerably less than the old version.
stop moaning, better features, and less money. even if you dont use /like video its still a smaller player and does a better job. so gota be a winner.
personally i dont care what it looks like, i listen to MP3's, not stare at it admiring it.
Wait 2 months and it will be cheaper
I'll take the ZEN
My wife loves playing the games on her brother's iPod. Now that this one has games, I'm thinking this is perfect for her.
But after all this talk about how much better the ZEN is, can someone tell me which games are on the ZEN?
Thanks.
Who the hell buys an MP3 player to play games?
You buy a Music Player to play music. If you want an all-in-one device that handles it all, then get a cell phone (maybe the iPhone, oh wait, THAT DOESNT PLAY ANY GAMES!!!).
The ZEN is better in every single way imaginable then this device.
Its just a damn shame that websites like this and Gizmodo have not given it the coverage it deserves, the praise it is warranted, yet gives such an ugly device like the 3G nano with lack-luster features and no future expandability a greater than passing grade, while the Zen gets at most average, yet trumps this device in all ways.
This is absolute garbage compared to the new Zen.
My gosh people...You haven't even seen it in person yet. I don't understand why people go nuts over these Apple products, it isn't like they slapped your Grandma.... Yes it does have a bit of a fatty look to it, but honestly it looks much better to me than the spy photos (maybe due to how thin it is?). Anyways, if El-Job-so had the right numbers and this is the highest selling iPod, it makes sense that they would want to put video on it as that gives the video part of iTunes more exposure, and probably a lot more money. I guess they could have gotten around all of this by going wide-screen for the nano and getting rid of the click-wheel, but that would probably eat into the special-ness of the one more thing. I'm just saying it makes sense business-wise that they add video capabilities to their most popular player.
No it does not make sense video capabilities to their most popular player. I bought the Nano to listen to music and audio books, not to stare it wile I'm driving down the road. More storage would had me cheering for the Nano and going down to the Apple store to buy one. I'll stick to the one I have.
Rex
I wonder if the Coverflow software will work on all the old Video iPods when it comes out?
no
Jason,
What makes you so sure about no cover flow on the old iPod Video's.
The new Nano shows the wheel operating the flow not a touch screen.
Tom
Because they're *old*.
They're not *new*, so they don't get the *new* stuff.
Not only that, considering that the menu on the iPod Video is noticably slower when music is playing, I doubt it's got the processing power anyway.
13/15 stories on the first page about iSomethings... why why why does engadget have such a boner for Apple?
FYI Apple, the 2nd gen nano is the best ipod ever. I was really hoping to see the wrap around aluminum design of the shuffle and nano migrate up the product line. The smudgy chrome back landing on the nano and the new form factor are a step backwards. The best thing to come out of today is the price drop of the iphone making it much more compelling to more "average" users.
It's ugly, but it's not going to affect sales. Apple has smartly marketed their products as status symbols. Think about the automobile market, it's all about status.
Overpriced - yes
A bit ugly compared to previous models - yes
Not as many features as samsung/zune/creative/etc? - yes
Will people still want it? - yes yes yes
"It's ugly, but it's not going to affect sales"
It might have affected their share price though, down $7 and counting today (at time of post)
No incentive here to buy new devices.
iPod Touch: Pretty and wifi is cool, but too little memory for a video library. 16GB C'mon!
New Nano's: Why no memory bump? Different form, maybe better software and a little smaller are all nice, but make it 16GB and I would buy it today.
iPhone price cut: Wasn't buying at $600 (plus $1500 in AT&T 2 year plan) but it is supposed to be a bargain at $400.
New iPod Classics: Probably the most compelling of the lot. 160GB is enough for a lot of video library, but still not enough new here.
I liked them all, but they all fall short.
looks ugly.
also, blatant IPHONE RIP-OFF.
Apple does not usually differenciate when it deliver's upgraded software to similiar devices.
My hunch is that they will deliver this coverflow to all the Video iPods after the initial surge...
Just my opinion.
it gets uglier with every iteration!
1g was really really a great looking device, apart from the scratchiness.
damn and i hoped for a nice player :(
Is there a way to buy the old one with the engraving still?
Yes, Someone with my mind's intension completely, I Agree, The "Phatty" is here to stay, the Power of the iPod in the body of the Nano.
yuck. anyone else getting sick of the same old ipod look?
iChode!
everyone is still hung up on the concept photos.
This thing, IMO, will be the new fad. I think its awesome-- going to pick it up (in black) on Friday!
I gotta make sure my ubuntu can access and send songs to it though...no way am i getting itunes
It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't pick such lousy colors.
I prefer (until I have one of these on my hands) the old one, but this new iPod looks pretty to me.
I'd like to see them add the new UI to the 5.5G ipod. But as has been said, apple want the money so are not going to give use the better firmware are they. And, the person who says that the menu runs slower with music. Not really, but games are badly effected, so coverflow would be a no-no really.
my nex ipod nano :-)
thats it... Im a huge mac fan but now I'll go for a SonyEricsson Walkman phone
This looks a lot like the Creative Zen V series (although substantially thinner). I have a Zen, screens this small are absolutely useless for videos - trying to watch something leaves you looking cross eyed.
but do you wanna know why you're gay?
eh
yep there fuck ugly and zunes are better then this fucking thing