News
Apple intros fourth-generation iPod nano
By Charles Starrett
Senior Editor, iLounge
Published: Tuesday, September 9, 2008
News Category: iPod nano
Apple today introduced the fourth-generation iPod nano. Touted by Apple as the thinnest iPod ever made, the new nano sports a curved aluminum design with curved glass, and looks very similar to previous reports. In addition to the new form factor, the new iPod nano features an accelerometer that allows the user to shake the device to enter shuffle mode. A new user interface also appears on the device, offering Genius playlist creation right from the nano, a Cover Flow mode that appears when the device is in landscape orientation, a built-in voice recording app, album art that appears at the bottom as the user scrolls through the traditional interface, and battery life of 24 hours for music and 4 hours for video. The new iPod nano will be available in nine colors — silver, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red, black and pink, and will be priced at $149 for the 8GB model and $199 for the new 16GB model.
“The iPod nano is the world’s most popular music player and we’ve made it even better for this holiday season,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think users are going to love the amazing new design, the automatic Genius playlist creation, as well as automatically going into Cover Flow with just a turn of the wrist.”
Apple also announced new accessories for the iPod nano. New standard headphones will offer in-line play, pause, track skip, and volume control, plus a microphone to work with the nano’s built-in voice recording app. They will be available in October for $29. In addition, new In-Ear Headphones will offer dual drivers, and will sell for $79 when they go on sale in October.
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1
This is exactly what I’ve been waiting for in the Nano - return to long form factor, better colors (the 3G color palette was awful), and most importantly 16GB storage to make it seriously useful for viewing videos. Sold.
Posted by Michael Portuesi on September 9, 2008 at 11:47 AM (PDT)
2
Mark me down for a pair of the new in-ear headphones,
Posted by Galley in Greenville, SC on September 9, 2008 at 11:56 AM (PDT)
3
Very nice changes. I am so glad the 3G colors are gone!
Posted by youngjm on September 9, 2008 at 1:46 PM (PDT)
4
They totally missed the ball with the other iPod updates, but the new Nano is absolutely ace. Beautiful exterior both in material as in colors, great functional updates and the only sensible form factor. Nano 3 was a total failure, this is perfect. Now why the hell can’t we get a Touch or iPhone with a backside in this wonderful finish :(
Posted by Ericc B on September 9, 2008 at 2:01 PM (PDT)
5
Is the headphone jack for the new Nano on the top - where it should always have been?
Posted by chris on September 9, 2008 at 2:21 PM (PDT)
6
@ Ericc B - we can’t have touches or iPhones in that finish because the radios won’t work effectively!
Posted by Richard Hudson on September 9, 2008 at 3:42 PM (PDT)
7
The only thing that would interest me in this is the inbuilt recording feature, which I would find very useful. Otherwise, it doesn’t seem to do anything much extra. I am very happy with my 3G nano; I don’t use it much for photos and videos, so the bigger screen doesn’t really interest me. As for the colours, I must be the only person in the world, who liked the pale ones—there just weren’t enough of them, so in that sense the new range is superior. I do quite like the orange colour though. My shuffle is that colour, and I was sad when it disappeared so quickly.
Posted by Queen Dragon on September 9, 2008 at 4:46 PM (PDT)
8
nano nano: not to be TOO condescending, but voice recording and glass LCD fronts…a total (copycat) slam dunk would’ve included built-in FM radio. Thought it was supposed to be Redmond who did things like that…well, at least there’s LOTS of colors to pick from…oh, wait…Creative did that before, too…
Would’ve been kewler if Apple did it in carbon fiber…but then that probably wouldn’t have been as GREEN, right? Just like their old partner factories in China were supposed to have NOT been? Seems Apple’s been listening to all the past COMPLAINTS and trying to pick each of them off. At least I should given them credit for that…(‘bout time).
Posted by flatline response on September 9, 2008 at 9:47 PM (PDT)
9
The accelerometer means we can have games on the nano utilizing it.
Posted by tarZen on September 10, 2008 at 7:45 AM (PDT)