I submit for the consideration of Gizmodo commenters everywhere (and for my own personal need to be flogged for straying ever-so-slightly from the story at hand) that the fifth generation Nano is proof that Apple desperately needs Steve Jobs. The genius of Cupertino steps out for a few months and now we need a first-gen iPod Shuffle stand to be able to avoid having a video of our pretty index finger.
The complaints about the new Nano (no "camera" - only video, placement of the video camera, a toss-in of an FM tuner that could have been added generations ago) not to mention the complaints about the other product upgrades really has me questioning whether Apple is really just an average company when Jobs is not at the helm. Not that the upgrades are not a good start, but I cannot help but wonder if we would really need a Kickster stand for an otherwise excellent product had there been one additional employee in the office.
Note to Giz: See how I managed to bring the conversation back to the product being discussed right at the end to avoid the ban-hammer? Some would say that was a C.M.A. move, but I prefer to interpret it as pure genius.
@tacomstng: Well, it is a camera stand. If you are like me, you would only use the camera in your bedroom anyway, so you wouldn't actually have to carry the stand around.
Sorry, just like Apple's tech spec page, you forgot to mention the FM radio regions. I was anxiously searching for what regions the FM radio would work in since I travel quite a bit, and couldn't find anything other than a bunch of Belkin/Griffin FM transmitters etc. So here I am at an Apple Store in SF to check out for myself. I was pleasantly surprised to find a Radio Regions section in the Settings menu, capable of Americas, Australia, Europe, Asia, and Japan. Yey!
"It's really nice addition, and you can even fast forward through the cached content, though you can't truly record and save radio. (That would mean instant RIAA lawsuit.)"
the sansas have been able to record off the air radio for some time now, and i dont think they've encountered any legal problems - it's no different that using a cassette tape to record of the radio.
It didn't need a camera, it didn't need a pedometer, it didn't really need an FM tuner, and the speaker is kinda ridiculous. The mic is of marginal use but if you have a music collection of any size recorded at a decent bit rate you won't have much room for recordings. And does anyone actually watch video on this? And I don't mean once or twice, I mean regularly. Tell the truth now! There were three things Apple could have done to really enhance the value and they failed to do any of them. 32gb, Internal Nike+, or FRICKING STEREO BLUETOOTH! Sheesh, Apple! My 3 year old free Sony phone has it, why is it still missing from the Nano? And that camera. Again my phone still has a better one. And it can actually send pics and videos to people instantly over that cutting edge tech MMS thing that the iPhone still cannot do. Why would I ever use a Nano for this function? And don't forget they actually made the click wheel harder to use - especially while it's encased in a armband while you are out jogging and want to skip a song. This revision is weak beyond belief. If you have a 16gb 4th gen there is nothing in this that would make you interested in buying a new one.
@SidneyElpenor: Bluetooth would literally kill the battery in the Nano if used often.
As far as the other items, I agree that the Nano has way too much "crap" going on. I would have been happy with more space, a smaller form factor, cheaper, and screw the other stuff.
I don't know why recording radio would lead to a lawsuit from the RIAA. My six year old Rio Forge that works on a AAA battery, and is great for the gym, can record FM radio.
@Jimmy1: Ya, several mp3 players had the ability of recording radio as well as some current ones. off the top of my head. Some mp3 Walkman's and creative Zen micro's. So I don't think that's the issue.
If they made a 32GB I'd strongly consider buying it, but my music collection is too big to fit on a 16GB. So now I'm forced to get a 160GB classic? Can't there be some middle ground?
@NeoAkira: I need buttons! I want to be able to reach into my pocket and skip a track without taking the whole thing out. And as it's been said, the Touch is a lot more expensive. Right now I have an Archos 605 30GB but the battery is dying, I may just buy the same model again.
The Flip's video looks a lot nicer. Crisp. But I mean, if apple is going to throw people a bone they could have at least put the camera in a better place.
@Shini: R.O.A.C.H.: The iPod is thiner and has more memory. Plus on top of it all it's an iPod too. That said if Steve Jobs wasn't so keen to keep it thin they would have been able to place the camera in a better place that could take good stills to but if you are going to try to keep the current users you need to try to not change it too much.
@George P. Burdell: off topic: how the HELL do i lose this red band commenting thing?!
i thank the starred commenters who approved my comments twice, but i'd like a bit more than that from one of my favorite places on the internet. i don't want a star or anything so fancy like that, but it'd be nice, after years of following gizmodo daily and getting to know the commenting community, to at least have the privilege of having my comments show up, even in the un-featured section.
It just doesn't make sense that the iPod Nano couldn't have at least included a basic still camera function, even if it is low quality. It wouldn't be too terrible, comparable to cell phones.
@van_line: Well, no. See, what it does is allow you to open up the top, turn it upside down, and shake all those pesky music bits out so that you have more room for your video. AND! It creates remixes of your old songs while you're at it!
This is what makes Apple such an amazingly innovative company!
I mean look what happened when I had T-Pain and a Slapchop commercial on my nano!
09/28/09
09/28/09
09/14/09
The complaints about the new Nano (no "camera" - only video, placement of the video camera, a toss-in of an FM tuner that could have been added generations ago) not to mention the complaints about the other product upgrades really has me questioning whether Apple is really just an average company when Jobs is not at the helm. Not that the upgrades are not a good start, but I cannot help but wonder if we would really need a Kickster stand for an otherwise excellent product had there been one additional employee in the office.
Note to Giz: See how I managed to bring the conversation back to the product being discussed right at the end to avoid the ban-hammer? Some would say that was a C.M.A. move, but I prefer to interpret it as pure genius.
09/14/09
It's kinda ironic that the stand section resembles a first generation iPod shuffle!
09/14/09
09/14/09
09/12/09
09/11/09
the sansas have been able to record off the air radio for some time now, and i dont think they've encountered any legal problems - it's no different that using a cassette tape to record of the radio.
09/11/09
09/11/09
1) They can charge extra for it
2) The transmitter is easier to lose than the nano.
The nano is great for the gym and for running - better than an iPhone or iTouch because you're out less money if you break it while working out.
Apple doesn't need to give added value when it can still charge for accessories.
09/12/09
As far as the other items, I agree that the Nano has way too much "crap" going on. I would have been happy with more space, a smaller form factor, cheaper, and screw the other stuff.
09/11/09
09/11/09
09/11/09
09/11/09
iPod Touch?
09/11/09
09/10/09
09/10/09
09/10/09
09/09/09
09/09/09
i thank the starred commenters who approved my comments twice, but i'd like a bit more than that from one of my favorite places on the internet. i don't want a star or anything so fancy like that, but it'd be nice, after years of following gizmodo daily and getting to know the commenting community, to at least have the privilege of having my comments show up, even in the un-featured section.
09/09/09
09/09/09
09/09/09
This is what makes Apple such an amazingly innovative company!
I mean look what happened when I had T-Pain and a Slapchop commercial on my nano!
09/09/09