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iPod nano review (2010)
Apple's sixth generation of the iPod nano is essentially the first complete rethinking the product has had since its debut in 2005. The previous form factor -- slim and light with a decently sized display and clickwheel -- has been all but abandoned. The new design is a complete departure; a full touchscreen device that brings to mind something more like a large, living postage stamp than a portable music player. Along with the radical hardware redesign, Apple has infused the media player with a brand new operating system as well -- an interface that looks and plays more like iOS than iPod. We've spent the past week or so knocking the nano around to see if it's worth your hard-earned dollars, and we've got the answers inside -- so read on for our full review. %Gallery-101628%
Visualized: the Apple iWatch
Japanese freelance writer Kei Ogikubo was seemingly in attendance at Apple's fall event, and wasted no time affixing the new iPod nano to his black watch strap. This week, he's causing tech journalists around the globe to ask themselves the fatal question: "Why didn't I think of that?" Speaking of questions, it sounds like the answer to ours may well be "all of the above." Image copyright: ogikubokei.
LG LEX8 'Nano LED' TV eyes-on
While we admire the impulse to best your South Korean neighbor and build the world's thinnest X (in this case, the world's thinnest full LED LCD TV bezel), you can't help but notice the base at the bottom where all the components that used to be in the back have been crammed seems to grow ever larger with each passing tradeshow. Still, LG's LEX8 8.8mm thick LCD is impressively thin and the picture quality, thanks to that localized "Nano LED" dimming, is stellar. Hit up the gallery for a requisite thickness comparo with an iPhone -- next year we're just gonna pack some razor blades for comparison shots. %Gallery-101370%
iPod nano (2010) first hands-on! (update: video!)
Here it is, the new (and completely redesigned) iPod nano. Super thin, super light, and really, the capacitive multitouch works very well. The screen is crisp and top menu navigation is smooth, but can't say we have great feel for moving back out of sub menus (via swipe or holding down the screen). We're going back for seconds and thirds, peep the initial gallery below! Update: Okay, we've gotten much more quality time with the nano, and we'll admit that after some brief practice, the menu navigation is nice both going in and out of menus -- holding the middle will take some getting used to, if only because you gotta avoid any other on-screen items that beckon for your digits. Probably due to the small size of the screen, there is no pinch-to-zoom for photos. Instead, we're using a simple double-tap motion to a fixed zoom in / zoom out distance. The clock app has a very easy-to-read analog style to it, and swiping across the screen will give you a stopwatch and timer. There is no alarm clock, however, which as the Apple rep explained to us was a design decision given its lack of an external speaker. Bummer, as it's the perfect size to strap on a band and use as a wristwatch -- a fitting thought, too, given one of the settings will let us see the time every time we wake up the screen. Check out our video tour after the break. %Gallery-100970% %Gallery-100991%
New iPod nano dumps scroll wheel and video for square screen
It's hip to be square. Announced today, the newly introduced iPod nano finally dispenses with the wheel as a control surface -- because now the control surface is the iPod touch. The new model is so small that like the newly announced iPod shuffle, it has a clip that allows it to be worn and has a 24-hour battery life. What isn't there: the video camera that was included in the last release of the nano a year ago. Other features include: VoiceOver FM radio Nike+ and pedometer It comes in six colors, two more than the shuffle. It will cost $149 for 8GB and $179 for 16GB. The new nano can be preordered today, and will be released next week. Edit: The just-released tech specs show that not only is the camera gone, so is video playback entirely.
iPod nano redesigned: smaller, lighter, better and costing $149 for 8GB or $179 for 16GB
Apple has just revealed its 6th generation iPod nano, which has been outfitted with just about the boldest redesign the portable media player has experienced yet. Gone is the clickwheel, to be replaced with a touchscreen interface and a shuffle-esque square form factor. It's now 46 percent smaller and 42 percent lighter. Hard volume buttons on the side and a clip on the back provide the minimal hardware accouterments to that multitouch touchscreen, while the inside provides enough juice for 24 hours of audio playback. Seven total color variants will be up for grabs, including a Product RED option, with prices set at $149 for 8GB of storage or $179 for 16GB and pre-orders being taken today. P.S. -- If you were looking for that awesome camera the nano used to have, stop. It ain't there anymore. We've also noted that there's no video playback to be found anymore, either. %Gallery-100937%%Gallery-100966%
Next-generation iPod touch and nano accessories and rumors continue to surface
We're but a few days away from Apple's music-related "special event," and naturally the bloody rumors are being tossed into the water, frothing up into quite a feeding frenzy. Last week came talk of new iPod touch and nano models, and now we have even more cases and accessories that seem to back up the belief that there's a fourth-generation touch and a sixth-generation nano coming. The nano is rumored to have a 3 x 3cm touchscreen (presumably this one) and room on the bottom for a proper dock connector, ensuring compatibility with the millions of iPod cradles and whatnot out there. The new cases we're seeing certainly back up that idea, with a dock-sized cut-out along with room for what's said to be a headphone jack, volume controls, a hold button, and a clip 'round the back. At the moment we know rather less about the new touch, but we can hazard a guess as to what it'll look like. [Thanks, Hobbsy101]
LG to unveil LEX8 3DTV at IFA featuring 'Nano LED' backlighting
Now that LED backlighting has trickled down to nearly every HDTV lineup, it appears the big manufacturers will have to find new ways to differentiate their products, like LG's upcoming LEX8 television. Set to debut at IFA in Berlin before going on sale in Germany and Korea next month (no word on the US), LG claims that thanks to a 'thin film of miniscule dots positioned in front of a full array of LEDs' its Nano Lighting technology -- perhaps of the Nanosys variety it licensed earlier this year -- makes for a clearer, smoother picture, with the slimmest and narrowest outline of any LED TV, ever, at just .88cm thick with a 1.25cm bezel. Of course LG's NetCast widgets and Magic Motion remote are along for the ride as well, while we'll have to wait until the show opens later this week to get our eyes on this beauty, check after the break for a few more pictures.
Supposed next-gen iPod touch, nano / shuffle cases surface online
Stop us if you've heard this one before -- an Apple event is looming, and suddenly some cases turn up online that seem to nicely line up with the devices rumored to be announced. These latest examples come courtesy of Chinese case retailer X-Doria, and include a case for what appears to be a 4th-gen iPod touch with a camera, and one that's described as a case for a "nano 6G," but could seemingly also be for a new iPod shuffle with a touchscreen. Of particular note, the apparent iPod touch case seems to reveal a curved back more similar to the current model than the iPhone 4, while the nano / shuffle case looks to be a near perfect match for that 1.7-inch Apple touchscreen that mysteriously turned up in Taiwan last month. What does it all mean? There's less than a week until we know for sure.
Overheating iPod delays rush-hour train in Tokyo
Poor Apple. The company just can't catch a break these days. On Wednesday, Apple Japan began offering customers iPod nano replacements, giving in to local government demands to better address an overheating battery issue affecting Apple's first generation iPod nano players. Then Friday morning (making the English-language press only now) a busy rush-hour commuter train was stopped in Tokyo to investigate a smell. According to a spokesman, "When a member of staff went to investigate inside the train, a passenger came over showing him that the iPod she was listening to had burst apart." No injuries were reported and the exact iPod model is still unknown. However, we can be certain that the eight minute delay on Japan's notoriously timely railway system caused many commuters to question their ability to go on. [Image courtesy of Maruhachi-kotsu]
Apple ordered to make public iPod nano battery fix in Japan
We had an eerie feeling it'd come to this, and come it has. Nearly two full years to the day after the government of Japan began a thorough investigation into the spontaneous combusting of iPod nano devices, that same entity is now mandating that Apple publish an "easy to understand" statement on the web that explains how customers can "receive replacement batteries and obtain advice." So far, these volatile Li-ion cells have been blamed for four cases of minor burns in the Land of the Rising Sun, and while Apple has been replacing first-generation iPod nano batteries since 2008 for those that complained, it seems that Japan wants the company to make the option readily apparent to consumers. Be sure to keep an eye on Apple's Japanese site for more, but as of now, we're not seeing any such PSA posted.
Anarchy Online beats the heat with nano spreadsheets
We may be in the dog days of summer, but that doesn't mean that MMO factories close up shop. On the contrary, the team at Anarchy Online is faithfully hacking away at upcoming changes and additions to the game. Senior Designer Brad L. McAtee (no, he doesn't do virus checking) recently made the rounds to see what the staff was working on, and report back to us. The biggest news is that the keeper class is getting a host of new nano changes. This announcement is so vast that it took the power of a spreadsheet to contain it. Seriously, McAtee includes an Excel spreadsheet at the bottom of the article for number-crunchers to enjoy. The Anarchy Online team is juggling a number of other projects, including a new AI dungeon and a fresh PvP playfield. Daily missions are also slated for an upgrade, with mission scaling, new content and other adjustments heading our way. You can read the full team report over at Anarchy Online's site.
LG showing off even thinner production LCDs at IFA 2010?
LG's latest 3D LCDs have only just rolled out, but according to I4U it will have new Nano Full LED models to show off at the IFA tradeshow in September, that bring production HDTVs even closer to the 6.9mm thin concept we saw at CES (pictured above.) The 3D-capable TVs will feature LED backlighting with a "nano screen carrying micro lenses" that should be able to even more precisely control the light and eliminate problems like bloom, while making the panels just 7.8mm, with a 10mm bezel. Otherwise, we can expect Sharp to keep pushing its Quattron tech while Toshiba should finally be ready to show off production Cell TV models, so go ahead and get those tickets booked for Berlin on September 3, or at least check back here, we'll be on it. %Gallery-81725%
Medical devices could be powered by nanowire generators and the human heart
Researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology are getting to the heart of the matter, developing nanowire generators which could power medical devices inside a patient that are powered by the patient's own heart. The team -- led by Zhong Lin Wang --first demonstrated working nanowires back in 2005, and have since demo'd the wired generators being powered by a running hamster, tapping fingers, and piezoelectric solar cells. In the most recent and interesting turn of events Zhong and company have just demonstrated the nanowires functioning inside of a living animal (in this case, a rat). These zinc oxide nanogenerators could be ideally suited to as the power source for things like glucose level monitors and blood pressure in the somewhat near future. The ultimate goal, Zhong says, is to make what are essentially self-powered medical devices. Sounds a little creepy, if you ask us, but it's probably better than a hamster running in a wheel powering your pacemaker, right?
VIA reveals 1.6GHz Nano DC processor at Computex, shows it handling 720p (video)
Guess who showed up at Computex with an all-new dual-core processor? Nah, we're not referring to AMD or Intel (though they certainly did) -- we're talking about VIA. The company quietly (re)introduced a dual-core desktop chip here in Taipei, with the codename Nano DC being used to describe it for the time being. The device utilized a VN1000 Digital Media Chipset and fully supported dual-channel DDR3 memory. A Chrome 520 GPU was helping to push out a 720p movie trailer on the demo system, and the innate compatibility with HDMI and DisplayPort should keep home cinema owners happy. The 65nm chip was clocked at 1.6GHz, and we were told that it wouldn't be venturing into mobile machines in its current form. 'Course, this device has been a bit of unicorn for the past couple of years, but company representatives seemed certain that it would finally be ready to ship (using a different process technology, mind you) in around six months. We shall see. Live action video is just past the break. %Gallery-94153%
DNA used to build nanoscale assembly line, Arto Lindsay unavailable for comment
This is what they call in the blog biz a "DNA Two-fer." Earlier today we heard about self-assembling DNA circuits, and now what do we have? NYU chemistry professor Nadrian Seeman and his colleagues have developed what they call "DNA robot factories." Featuring a DNA track (like an assembly line), molecular forklifts for delivering parts, and a DNA "walker" that CNET describes as moving "like a car on an assembly line," the invention is currently being used to construct various types of gold nanoparticle chemical species (whatever that means), although it could eventually be used in processors or for building on the cellular level. Hit up the source link to see the Nature article for all the in-depth details of this nanoscale assembly line.
VIA Nano E-Series CPUs offer native 64-bit support, guaranteed longevity, and extreme energy efficiency
Oh, look who it is. The company that was supposed to give the Atom a good run for its money is back at it today with the announcement of a new E-Series of processors, operating at speeds between 800MHz and 1.8GHz. Bringing native 64-bit software and virtualization support, as well as a 7-year guarantee, these will certainly appeal to business types, while their minimal idle power consumption (as low as 100mW) and multimedia-accelerating promises should garner some interest from consumers as well. VIA is promising "exceptional hardware acceleration of the most demanding HD video codecs and industry leading 3D graphics capabilities" when these CPUs get dropped into integrated chipsets like the VN1000. Them's fighting words indeed, and we should be able to gauge their veracity in due course with samples available for interested parties right now and mass production sure to swiftly follow. Go past the break for the full PR.
Sorry your iPod nano got so scratched five years ago, here's your $37.50
Hey, remember five years ago when the first-gen iPod nano came out and everyone in the world (literally) was sad because it scratched so easily? And then Walt Mossberg was sad, too? And then, inevitably, there was a class-action lawsuit filed, even though the lead plaintiff was like, "no, really guys, I'm cool?" No? Well shake off those cobwebs and get ready to party in a moderate way, because your check for $37.50 is in the mail. Yep, that's all individual consumers get in the settlement, which first started processing claims in December -- we're guessing the plaintiff's attorneys managed to score themselves a little more than that, because they worked so hard defending our interests. But hey -- one thirteenth of an iPad ain't so bad, right? And you wonder why we rarely cover class-action lawsuits. [Thanks, Phil]
Microprocessor mega-shocker: self-assembling silicon chips could lead to ever smaller circuitry
Researchers have been hard at work for the past few years trying to build computer chips using self-assembling circuitry built of molecules -- meaning that they're incredibly teensy. Some researchers at MIT seem to have gotten the hang of this nano-business, according to a paper just published in Nature Nanotechnology (which also happens to be our favorite magazine after Offset Print Enthusiast). They've made a pretty good leap forward recently, by using electron-beam lithography to make patterns of nano-posts on a silicon chip, which are deposited with special polymers, resulting in a hookup between the polymer and the posts which arrange themselves into useful patterns all on their own. The MIT researchers have found the polymers they're testing capable of producing a wide variety of patterns that are useful in designing circuitry. In the short term, uses could include magnetic nanoscale patterns being stamped onto the surfaces of hard disks using the tech, but there's a lot more researching to be done before the self-assemblers get busy in consumer goods.
HyperMac Micro, Mini, and Nano hands-on
They're light, they're colorful, and with the exception of the Mini, HyperMac's new kandy-kolored iPhone / iPod batteries are easily pocketable. It's a shame the new style hasn't found its way to the MacBook-charging lineup -- let's hope that's in the cards -- but on the plus side, given it charges any USB-powered device, we can see this coming in pretty handy on an universal level. Like gazing upon rainbow-colored batteries? We've got you covered in the gallery below. %Gallery-85276%
