Apple 8 GB iPod Nano Black (2nd Generation)

Customer Reviews:

Small ipod, big rating
I bought this ipod a week ago, and have used it every moment after that, and it's great. I started off putting on my 2pac collection and the sound quality is great, just not on the ipod headphones. Yes, you may have heard it before, they are crappy quality and they hurt your ears. I am currently using them though, and in a few days my sony headphones will arrive. Well back to the actual ipod, the picture feature is good, I can view all my pics but of course its small so I guess for pics get a bigger screen player. The shuffle feature is great and is practically stutter free. I don't know if its me or what but seems as if my ipod screen is crooked, but I don't really care I guess but this and the phones bring it down a star. The click wheel took me a day or two to get used to but now its comfortable. The playlist feature is kind of tricky though. Overall, I'd recommend this, it's a great piece of electronics.
--2006-12-18

Heaven
When it comes to high tech toys.. I am lost. When I received my Nano yesterday I was a little concerned because there was no GIANT manual. It pretty much said.. hook up to your computer and go to the apple web site. Once I got there it was relatively easy. I am very happy with my NANO, the itunes site is very easy to use and convenient. Dont let previous reviews that are written by obvious frustration sway you away from this great device. I am a runner and I have found a whole new world of music and podcasts dedicated to runners. I am in heaven!
--2006-12-16

Bad Nano cost me 4 hours--now I've got to wait 5 days to receive a "repaired nano" back
So I get the Nano. Download itunes follow their brief instructions. Got my music arranged and started to synch. ERROR "The iPod " " cannot be updated the required file cannot be found." So I download iTunes and reinstall several times. Still same error message. Then I figure okay I'll try a restore (back to manufacturers settings). Okay that comes up with an error message The iPod "" could not be restored --unknown error (1418). Sunk. Try it several times same error what do I do now. Wade through all sorts of help options--still nothing the same error. Finally 3-4 hours later. Do they have a human I can talk to. Call talk to someone who could barely speak English and after wrestling around the guy finally says call back in 4-5 hours they will send you a "repaired nano" to replace the bad one you have. So now I get a repaired nano for the price of the new one and have to wait 5 business days to get it. I'm glad their sending me a "repaired" one (why not a new one). What a disaster. Tell me about Apple someone... what a joke. I hope the next one will work. If not i messed over as it is a gift for Christmas.
--2006-12-10

Major issues - Freezing and skipping songs!
Nowadays, it is very common to throw unfinished software on the market letting us, the users to beta- or even alpha-test the product. And the software is IPod's major issue, because the hardware is really sweet! I love the design and I love the handling too, but the firmware is total crap! Because, like I wrote in the title, my iPod having the firmware ver. 1.1.1 (which is not 1.0) installed, skips and freezes at songs that are ripped from original cd's or downloaded with iTunes. The forums on [...] are full with exactly this kind of complains - now, I'm asking myself, are there ANY developer tests in the Apple house before a bugfix is released?
Do we really have to wait before we buy ANY product that has software installed until the Service Pack 2 comes out?
Anyway thank you, Apple for providing me such a beautiful player, which skips so many songs!
--2006-12-08

Nicest upgrade so far.
I initially held off buying an ipod until the 3rd generation 30gb a few years ago, which I used every day, for most of the day (actually the battery would always die before my day was over & I could get home & recharge). I did have a problem with that one, but Apple replaced it & it's been fine since. I've tried using it at the gym & exercising, but found it cumbersome. Not long ago the battery died & I replaced it. It hasn't been until this model of the nano, that I've felt a need to buy a new one. I have a large (terrabytes) music/audio collection and so the smaller players just didn't have enough new features until now. This model is significantly lighter and smaller, while also being a bit sturdier & more scratch-resistant than the 1st nano. For me, 8GB is about the minimum I need (while syncing everyday) to store all the Podcasts I listen to, plus have music mixes for the gym, my calender & contact info. I don't have much need for watching video while away from the house, so having a flash mp3 player was more important than having a (video) player with greater storage capacity. The improvement in battery time is significant. Now I can use it all day & don't worry about when it'll run out.

I always used my 3G with the original case in my pocket to protect it from bangs or drops, so I bought a rubber case for this one, but found the case to be more annoying (the belkin model collects lots of dust and dirt & the button openings don't quite fit right, it also collects moisture if against your body) & so I usually keep it bare in my shirt pocket, where it's less likely to get banged around. It is very easy to take to the gym and use one of those arm band holders. So I use this one now for exercise (DJ mixes) & podcasts (which I listen to while working) and use my older 30 gb model for the car. One thing this ipod seems to do is collect moisture on the aluminum's exterior (from sweat/body heat) more easily than my older ipod, particularly if it is in a case. However it is much easier to take running. Not only does the flash-based player make things lighter, it doesn't skip (as my 3G has a tendency to do, particularly with large song files). I also bought a Nike + unit which is a nice add on (to be reviewed later).

While there are many features I also wanted to see in a new ipod (exercise aids, gps, voice recorder, radio, etc.) it is nice to see that Apple is keeping the iPod simple & maintaining a higher quality player, with the potential to add on the features. All-in-one might be more convenient, but I prefer something of quality & is durable over something that has every possible feature. I'll review the Nike add on under that product, but one disappointment is that there aren't more of these things. Come on Apple, where's the high-quality recording module? or the radio tuner?

The best new feature on this version is the ability to play full albums without any gap between songs (and without having to import the entire album as one track). I vowed to wait for this feature before buying another ipod & it looks like Apple finally heeded customers' complaints. The sound quality is significantly better than my 3G, but I can't say whether this is because of an improvement in components or the fact that there's no whirring hard drive to produce additional noise. The earbuds are also nicer (smoother) than those that came with my 3G (which developed an annoying buzz in one ear after only a few months), though whether or not they will last, I won't be able to tell, since I already lost them & have replaced with Sennheisers (which I find have a better sound quality, though not as nice of a fit).

The ipod seems to function more smoothly than my 3G for the most part. Screen selections flow more smoothly & quickly. The newer control (with buttons on the scroll wheel) is easier to use without having to look at it than the 4 separate buttons + scroll wheel on my 3rd gen. However, turning off the iPod by pressing the play button is more difficult. I have to try many more times than on my 3G. I also have a more difficult time trying to do the Menu + select button combination to restore the nano than the combo on my older ipod. However, the lock/unlock switch seems to work better on this nano than the one on my 3G I also don't like the fact that the earphone jack is right next to the connector opening, which means you can't recharge/sync your ipod with the earphones still attached (which I can do with my 3G). Another drawback is that this model syncs/charges by USB 2.0. My 3G was firewire based. Since I have a computer with only USB 1.0 & firewire, my older ipod syncs much more quickly. If there is one thing that Apple is doing wrong, it is dropping support for its Firewire standard, a much faster and efficient means of connection than USB. The last shortcoming is the screen. Since I don't view photos on my ipod or play games, I could care less about color. The screen on my 3G was much easier to view in daylight without the need for the backlight to go on. While this nano provides a significant increase in battery time, the backlight eats into that time much more significantly. The choices for the back light timing aren't very good (2 secods is too short, 5 too long) & are not customizable. It might not seem like much, but when you realize how much battery life it eats up when you use it more frequently, you realize how important this is.

Another drawback is that this model only comes with a USB 2.0 hot sync cord and a little adapter to put in older docks, but no dock or case or remote (all of which were included in with my 3rd gen. ipod). Ultimately I'd give this model 4 1/2 stars (knocking off for the shortcomings I've mentioned), however kudos to Apple on the packaging of this model. Very compact & more environmentally friendly than most consumer products. With this small packaging Apple removed the CD & all the packaging material, and instead used just a plastic container (ok we can still work on that) and crammed all the parts very efficiently into the plastic container with minimal use of plastic & paper. Apple can now ship more units while taking up less space (saving on fuel costs). Smart move & the reason why I rounded up rather than down on this one.
--2006-12-07

- Apple Computer