Usage & Testing
This iPod has a lot of other features besides just being able to play music, but that’s start with that. Just like with any iPod you can go ahead and sync it with your iTunes music library and select the songs / playlists you want to put on it. The main menu on the iPod is very easy to navigate, just click on music and you have all of the options of how to get to your music. This iPod also has Cover Flow, which actually looks pretty good on the screen.
Unlike other iPod Nano’s this one does have a speaker on it. That means you end up forgetting your ear buds you are still able to listen to music. The speaker is located on the bottom of the iPod and is nothing to really write home about, but it will allows you and your friends to listen to music if you don’t want to share ear buds.
Besides just music you can also watch movies on the iPod Nano. I put a few movies and music videos on there and they actually look pretty good, although anything would look pretty good on a 2.2-inch screen. I wouldn’t really watch a full movie on the iPod Nano, but it would be cool for video podcasts or small short videos.
Another thing that is new about this iPod Nano is it has a video camera on it. I really never understood why Apple added a video camera, but after taking a few videos it is pretty cool. It records H.264 video at 640 x 480 resolution, which isn’t that bad at all for how small of a device this is. It is weird recording at first, since the actual lens is on the bottom part of the iPod but once you get used to it it’s pretty easy. Here is a video I took with the iPod Nano.
One thing that has always been missing from iPod’s is a FM tuner. Listening to your favorite music is always good, but sometimes you just want to listen to the radio. Finally Apple has included a FM turner for the iPod Nano! This FM tuner has 2 really cool features too. First it has live pause which allows you to pause and resume live radio. Next is iTunes tagging, have you ever been listening to the radio and heard a song, but didn’t know what it was? With this features you can tag songs and preview them and purchase them.
This iPod also comes with 3 games that are nothing to really write home about but are good to have if you need some time to kill and all you have is your iPod. There are also alarms, calendars, clocks, and notes. Another cool thing you can do is sync your contact onto the iPod. If you are into fitness this iPod has a pedometer. You can use it with the iPod Sport Kit from Nike to set workouts and track calories burned. You can also create voice memos that can come in handy, or if you want to record an interview with someone all you need is your iPod.
