iPod Nano, Now with Touchscreen. My Review!

Yes, I bought one.  I probably shouldn't have though.   Apple has updated their iPod Nano and the new one has considerably fewer features than the last version for the same price.  I think they should have come up with a different product name, since this Nano is more like a previous generation Shuffle with a touchscreen. Something in-between, perhaps. Apple isn't the first to add a touchscreen to a small device either. They've also made it smaller.  Small seems to be somewhat of an obsession with them.

Apple is the best there is at touchscreen tech, and it seemed natural to me that the Nano would eventually lose the click wheel in favor of multi-touch.  Now that I've played with my new Nano I think they are on the right track. 

Pros:   - Finding individual songs is much easier with the touchscreen. You can tap on any letter to get to that section of the alphabetic list instantly. You then only have to swipe the screen once or twice depending on how large your collection is. 

- You can set the screen to display a watch face when turned on, which makes the Nano very usable as a watch. 

- The clip seems well made, and although it require leaving a fingerprint on the screen to use, it makes this Nano very easy to attach to yourself . . . almost anywhere. - FM Pause.  TIVO for the radio! 

- Any album cover art you have associated with a song will nicely fill the whole screen when playing. 

Cons:   -Small and light.  Almost too small. It is easy to forget it is clipped to you. Compare to the new Touch in the photo above. - In the music song lists, it is nearly impossible to tap on a specific letter for searching. 

- No user equalizer. - Limited music codec support. It won't play your FLAC, OGG, or even WMA files.
- Far too expensive relative to competing devices.  You can get a 16gb Zune HD for the same price as the 16gb Nano.As for what is CAN do, check out Apple.com for the specifications.  No Video playback like last year's model.  No camera for taking video either. If you want those features you'll have to find last year's Nano model, or maybe consider the new Touch.   

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So should you get one?  In my opinion it is overpriced.  If the price doesn't phase you, then it is an impressive little player with some unique features of its own. I'm wearing mine as a watch with it clipped to an inexpensive watch band. I have it set to display the clock face when turned on, and I always have it with me when I want a little music or radio to listen to. The pedometer tells me I walk way too much each day.  Throw away the stock earbuds though.  You'll get a much nicer experience with anything of higher quality.  

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