Stack the iPod Nano against the ROKR and which would you take? My pocketbook is voting for the Nano right now. It’s thinner than a no. 2 pencil and weighs 1.5 ounces. But it’s also got a color screen for displaying photos. It uses the same 30-pin connector as my old iPod, which means it works with the absurd collection of accessories that seem to be breeding inside my bottom right desk drawer. There are some new add-ons, of course: A lanyard with integrated headphones, and Nano “tube” cases. The Nano comes in 2GB ($199) and 4GB ($249) capacity. The only question now is whether to choose black or white?
On the content side, the complete collection of Harry Potter audiobooks (all 99 hours and 11 minutes worth) are going to be available exclusively via iTunes. There is even a special Hogwarts crest you can get etched on the back of a 20GB model. Madonna’s catalog is also coming online (Jobs rang her via iChat AV to say hello during the press conference. Yeah, they talk daily about, you know, horseback riding).
There is also a new version of iTunes, the fifth Beatle shall we say, that allows you to change the randomness of your shuffles. What’s it called, Shuffle-Upagus? No, smart Shuffle.
