Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20414 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Apple
• Model: MA107FB/A
• Released on: 2005-09-07
• Dimensions: .49 pounds

T3 Gold
This tiny iPod is great, but keep it in a protective case. December 2005

Manufacturer's Description

The 4GB iPod nano is a revolutionary full-featured iPod that holds 1,000 songs yet is thinner than a standard pencil and less than half the size of competitive players. The iPod nano features an ultra-portable, lightweight design with a gorgeous colour screen, Apple's patent pending Click Wheel and the ability to hold 1,000 songs or 25,000 photos. iPod nano works seamlessly with the iTunes® Music Store, the world's number one digital music service.

iPod nano is the perfect combination of innovative design, storage capacity and ease of use. iPod nano features Apple's innovative Click Wheel for precise, one-handed navigation, and its ultra-portable design fits into even the smallest pocket making it easy to take iPod nano to the gym, in the car, travelling, commuting or anywhere you go. The most fashionable and wearable iPod ever, the iPod nano features optional accessories including lanyard headphones, which integrate the headphone cables into the lanyard, so users can wear their iPod nano around their neck without dangling headphone cables. For customers looking to personalise their iPod nano with colours, an optional set of iPod nano Tubes in pink, purple, blue, green and clear offers fashionable protection in a sheer casing while enabling full operation of all functions including the Click Wheel. Optional armbands available in grey, pink, blue, red and green allow users to wear their iPod nano as the ultimate fashion and sports accessory.

Featuring seamless integration with the iTunes Music Store and the iTunes digital music jukebox, iPod nano includes Apple's patent pending Auto-Sync technology that automatically downloads a user's digital music collection, photos or Podcasts onto iPod nano and keeps it up-to-date whenever iPod nano is plugged into a Mac or Windows computer using USB 2.0. With its stunning, high-resolution colour screen, iPod nano allows users to display album art while playing music, view photo slideshows or play games in full colour. iPod nano features up to 14 hours battery life and completely skip-free playback, as well as new stopwatch, world clock and screen lock applications.

Pod nano features the same 30-pin dock connector as the iPod and iPod mini, allowing it to work effortlessly with a wide range of over 1,000 accessories developed for iPod, including home stereo speakers and iPod car adapters for an incredible music experience at home or in the car.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Nobody's perfect, but "nice one" will do me
I've resisted buying IPODs until now (I'm the happy owner of a Rio Karma), mainly because of the poor battery life and high cost, but a wafer thin 4gB player with solid state memory was too hard to resist, so I took the plunge...

Pros:
- Sexy good looks
- Lightweight
- Solid state memory, so doesn't skip & great for the gym (though I've heard from lots of people they're pretty fragile, so don't go dropping it!)
- ITunes software a doddle to use (even vs Rio Music Manager)

Cons:
- Battery life v. disappointing, esp vs the Rio - nowhere near the "up to 14 hrs" claimed!
- Having been spoiled by Rio DJ, I really miss the ability to choose recently played tracks/tracks that haven't been played in a while/see what track's coming up next
- I haven't worked out how to transfer encrypted WAV files to Ipod format - I resent the money down the drain

Top Tips:
- Buy a screen protector! (The ones for the Ipod Mini will fit)
- Buy a protective case (Guess what? I did & my nano doesn't have a scratch on it. Funny that...)
- Buy a mains charger - given low battery life, it's a must have

An amazing gadget- shame about the headphones.............
The 4GB iPod nano is the most amazing gadget I have owned in a long time. It is an aesthetically beautiful object and the functionality is also superb. The ease of use (screen, clickwheel, iTunes and PC connectivity) is remarkable. Scratches can be prevented by using the supplied case and with some care in handling. My main criticisms (hence the 4 star rating): (a)the battery playback life is more like 8 hours rather than the 14 hours claimed by apple and (b) the supplied headphones are cheap and truly awful and not worthy of such a classy gadget. The latter is relatively easily rectified (for an additional approximately £35-40) by getting a pair of Sennheiser CX300 in-ear headphones- they sound brilliant with the nano. Overall, however, I think the nano is a stunning product.

Great sound - when the battery works
I will soon be onto my third I-pod nano because the battery does not charge and runs out after less than four hours of use. The hassle I am having with to-ing and fro-ing and time without my I-pod is not worth it - buy a model that does not have battery problems! Apple claim the original battery problems covered by the media in America were sorted out but they are not!

I went to a high street shop for them to test my I-pod with a new usb cable because I was going to buy a wall charger and they told me about 30% of the I-pod Nanos they sell are returned. The fact I now need to change my second one for a third unit is more than just bad luck - it is a design fault that despite claims by Apple has not been corrected (or the units still for sale are the 'old' design before correction). Here is my experience:

I bought an I-pod nano 4 GB last November 2005 and couldn't wait to use it. Downloading songs was super simple...but the battery lasted about three hours before it needed recharging. When I used the usb cable it would not recharge (the I-pod nano does not come with a wall charger - that is £20-£25 extra!).

I called the technical help at Apple, who went through several operations from resetting my I-pod to suggesting it was the usb cable not working. When I insisted it wasn't the cable because I could still download songs he gave me my nearest sales office for Apple. As it was in the middle of an industrial estate and I don't have a car I had to wait a week to take it in. They immediately offered to take mine and get me a new unit. I was happy with the service. One week later we had to go back again and pick up the new one (they wanted to charge £10 to send it by courier even though they had sold a faulty unit!). We downloaded our music all over again and charged up the battery. The sound was fantastic...until four hours of use later the battery was right down...and would not recharge AGAIN!

I went to a high street shop who tried it out with the cable, then one of their cables. They advised me it was the unit and I would have to exchange it AGAIN! So, soon I will be onto my third I-pod Nano. Before that though, I have to wait another two weeks without using it because I have to go to the industrial estate, give mine back, wait a week and go and collect my third one.

In short, the great sound and ease of downloading do not compensate for the very poor battery. I had already ordered my nano when I heard about the battery problems Apple have been having. I wish I had got a better model with good battery now. I will update this entry when I get my third I-Pod nano and let you know if it works or if it is another of the 30% that have a fundamental design fault.