iPod Nano 6th Gen: First Impressions

We got a short time with Apple’s new line of iPods yesterday afternoon. Of the lot, my interests were focused on the 4th generation iPod Touch and the totally re-invented iPod Nano which is already in its 6th generation.

When I first saw the 6th generation iPod Nano, I thought this was the most radical design overhaul Apple made in its entire history of iPods.

The Nano was originally just a smaller version of the legacy iPod MP3 player — smaller, thinner, lighter, less storage but with a very similar form factor. That’s why it was called iPod Nano. It has undergone so many iterations (6 to be exact) but this last one doesn’t resemble anything iPod Classic at all.

The new iPod Nano really looks very different and if you’re familiar with the iPod design history of Apple, you would actually name this iPod something else.

Here are three possible alternative names I’ve come up with:

iPod Touch Nano. Full touch screen with a smaller form factor. If the smaller version of the iPod Classic is called an iPod Nano, it makes sense to call a smaller version of the iPod Touch an iPod Touch Nano.
iPod Shuffle Touch. If you remember the 2nd generation iPod Shuffle and you saw this new iPod, you might say it’s like an iPod Shuffle Touch. Solid aluminum body, tiny control buttons on the sides and the belt clip is the signature of the Shuffle. Add a touch screen and you have an iPod Shuffle Touch.
iPod Nano Touch. This is different from the iPod Touch Nano. If you have an existing line of iPod Nanos and add a full touch screen to the next generation, then the logical way to call it is an iPod Nano Touch.

Of the 3 suggested names, I think Apple execs might have came close to the 3rd option (iPod Nano Touch) but I guess Steve Jobs didn’t want to split the Nano nomenclature anymore so they settled with the original and simple naming convention.

But that debate is over and the new design of the iPod Nano is a risk Apple is taking. It’s just a question if people will bite it or not.

The Nano used to be the best-selling player in the iPod line. Now, it has been taken over by the iPod Touch. Maybe a re-design will change all that and bring the Nano back to the top.

The interface of the new iPod Nano reminds me of the iOS (although Apple says it is not a trimmed-down iOS at all). Navigating the UI is very similar to how you’d do it with the iPod Touch or the iPhone except for one caveat — there’s no home button. So, in order to go back to the home screen, you’ll just have to scroll thru several windows and from my limited use, it doesn’t seem very intuitive.

Then, there are basic features that were introduced in previous versions of the iPod Nano which are no longer available on the new one. The Apple rep who showed these to us tells me they don’t want to talk about what was removed on the device but focus on what is added. Still, I miss some of the features of the old iPod Nano.

Video playback. Yes, it has a small screen but I loved playing my video podcasts in there as well as other smaller clips.
Camera. They added this only on the 5th generation and then removed it again. Perhaps Apple thinks people weren’t using the camera of the iPod Nano so they won’t miss it.

Of course, I also missed the click-wheel and the physical buttons. If you’ve been using the old iPod Nano as a gym buddy or running buddy, strapping it to your arms, I don’t think you’d be able to do that as easily with the new one any more.

I’d have to stop my first impression review right here or else this would end up as the full review. We’ve ordered the entire line of new iPods 2 weeks from the US and they should arrive this week-end. We’ll have to really play with it for some time and do a more thorough testing before we can post our final review. Watch out for that soon.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

32 Comments

kelkun says:

14 years ago

8000 to sa market if i recall. pinadalan ako ng ate ko ng 4 na ganito, ung isa gamet ko ung 3 sealed pa bka may gusto bumili 5000 na lang. hihi^^ just pm me sa ym michael_****@****.***
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Leyh says:

14 years ago

cool sya. bnilhan ako ng Kuya ko from Japan i think 12k pa sya sa philippine peso. :) very nice sya! :D
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Sam says:

14 years ago

It’s really awesome and epic. Kaya nga lng wlang video playback. S-A-D. And what if big yung hands ng user? a problem I guess? And the students would love it because it’s small, they can slip it into their pockets or even disguise it as a watch. They would surely lie to the Guidance Office. There are many schools with the “No Gadgets” Policy.

I think it’s very cool, but Apple still needs to think twice before releasing a gadget.
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mary says:

14 years ago

gadgets are becoming smaller and smaller… it can even break kapag nabagsak. LOL
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liquidsacuer says:

14 years ago

isn’t it too small for some, esp dun sa may mga malalaking daliri? how about the new ipod touch?
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schwabjec says:

14 years ago

i hate what they did to this one… u cant play movies here… damn…
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julian says:

14 years ago

it is a downgrade from apple.. the previous ipod nano still way much better… shame on them (apple).. they took out the camera and the control wheel replaced it with a tiny wheeny touch screen… who needs touch screen na parati naman sa bulsa mo ang player…
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Eliwood says:

14 years ago

Pros:
-its a touch screen
-has a clip
-…thats about it

Cons:
-the small screen makes it tedious to navigate
to find the song on your list so you’ll be
constantly swiping your finger on the screen
to find it.
-no video playback (yeah its a small screen but
at least have the option to play videos)
-no external speakers unlike the previous nano.

This should have been the next ipod shuffle instead.
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Justine says:

14 years ago

Jobs is running out of idea. ;)
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JKisaragi says:

14 years ago

I’m with Jamby with the sliced up 5th Gen Nano

“Where’d the other half of the Nano go?”

“Oh, there it is!” (picks up the new iPod Shuffle) >_<

But seriously, I was never really into the whole iPod Nano craze (more of an iPod Touch fan I guess), but I think the previous iteration of this "mess" is still better.
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junie asis says:

14 years ago

buy & sell your stuff now at bayansale[dot]com
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taksan says:

14 years ago

i tried using this too, its awkward holding it and my thumb can cover the whole screen. Probably one of coolest and worst apple product i have ever tried. obviously, apple fanboys still love this no matter what.
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Wakocoke says:

14 years ago

cool wrist watch! :)
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bogito says:

14 years ago

waste of money
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Joshua M says:

14 years ago

@poche 32gb?! sigurado ka?
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poche says:

14 years ago

available na daw ipod touch 4g sa digitalhub kaso naubusan ng stocks. 13k+ retail price ng 32gb dun.
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Joshua M says:

14 years ago

@abe “strapping it to your arms, I donâ€™t think youâ€™d be able to do that as easily with the new one any more.” hehe well you will be strapping it on your wrist this time.
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Abe Olandres says:

14 years ago

@calvin @joshua – exactly my point. most of the previous iPods don’t need a manual for you to know how to navigate it out of the box. This one surely does, that’s why I got the impression that it wasn’t intuitive.
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Calvin says:

14 years ago

abe… late ka kasi. press the screen a few seconds to go back to the home screen. :P
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surfmeister says:

14 years ago

you can use it as a watch though…

using this case:
http://www.myincipio.com/linq
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Joshua M says:

14 years ago

@abe ” thereâ€™s no home button. So, in order to go back to the home screen, youâ€™ll just have to scroll thru several windows and from my limited use, it doesnâ€™t seem very intuitive.”

you can scroll to the left to go back one step or hold anywhere on the screen to go back to home

“Video and Camera” – Well you can’t have a iPod Nano and an iPod Touch with both a camera right? iPod Touch has now HD 720p video so the camera on the Nano is not a big deal
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IC DeaDPiPoL says:

14 years ago

would be better off as a wristwatch coupled with a bluetooth interfaced headset.
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dj says:

14 years ago

i guess with the change in the screen real estate, it removed the capability to play and watch videos too eh?
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JeromeG says:

14 years ago

Honestly, this iPod is cool. But it SUCKS. Yeah, I think so. Nasanay ako sa iPod shuffle 3g, nasa headset ang buttons. Ok naman siya but since sira na yung headset at 1700 ang bago, hindi na ako bumili. Apple is crazy. Haha. They put their products in great risk for the sake of being eye candies.
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snpklsdmbldr says:

14 years ago

no video? BOO!
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Jamby says:

14 years ago

During their last launch,they should have skipped this product for a later release and name it iPod Shuffle Touch…

It’s the best upgrade to the shuffle line.

Come to think of it, they just “sliced” the old nano. The upper part was offered as the new nano and the lower part offered as the new shuffle…..

Come on try it,..combine the two, put the new nano on top and the new shuffle at the bottom..voila…old nano….
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Fleeb says:

14 years ago

May clip siya, pero walang physical buttons. So… dapat tanggalin mo muna siyang nakaclip para malaman kung ano yung pinipindot mo, tapos ibalik. Mas lalo siyang naging inconvenient.

I bet this was designed shouting: better buy my bigger brother iPod Touch instead.

Or it was a design decision? Di ko makuha kung ano ba ang goal para sa model na to.
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lawreas says:

14 years ago

parang d maganda.. is appler overhyping their touchscreen technology? the implementation here doesn’t sound practical to me..

sir include the prices of the products ha!
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