September 2009 Apple Music Updates, Part 1: iPods, iPods, iPods

This is the first of a three-part series about Apple's new iPods and the newest version of iTunes. Part 1 focuses on the iPods, while Part 2 will talk about the new iPhone/iPod Touch OS, and Part 3 will talk about the new iTunes. Please either check back later to see the other two parts of the series or subscribe to keep updated on all Apple news.

Every year in September, Apple hosts a conference where they update their iPods, talk about their new ideas, and generally have fun with music. This year's conference was no different, as Apple not only showed that they love the number ‘9’ (hosted on 9/9/9, of course), but released tons of new products. Among these releases were several new and updated models of iPods:

iPod Nano

The iPod Nano is, more or less, the main iPod these days. Small enough to fit into any pocket, yet with a big enough screen to watch movies, the Nano is the versatile MP3 player that everybody wants. As it is clearly the mainstream iPod, Apple worked hard to make sure that it stays in the limelight. To do this, Apple made sure that it got the most changes:

• Camera – Becoming the first iPod with a camera of any sort, the iPod Nano got a new video camera. While this sounds cool, and means that you no longer need that digital camera, the video camera really isn’t that great. Not only is the quality sub-par, but the placement is in the worst place ever – right where you hold it.
• FM radio – While the Zune does have HD Radio, the new Nano has regular old-fashioned FM. This should help relieve the boredom when you run out of songs, or it will just allow you to listen to the game. Oh, and a little known fact: you can pause and rewind the radio shows.
• Microphone and speaker – While these seem stupid to add to the Nano (who would take audio notes on it?), once you realize that they are needed for the video camera it makes perfect sense. Plus, you can now play your obnoxious music for everybody to hear.
• Pedometer – One of the pluses of the Nano’s size is how often people use it when they walk or jog – the new pedometer should help these people keep track of their fitness goals.
• Coloring – While the previous Nanos were colored brightly, Apple outdid themselves this year. They have released several stunning and vibrant colors.
• Battery life – While life for standby and music remained the same, the battery life for playing movies jumped from 4 hours to 5.
• Capacity and pricing – At either 8GB ($149) or 16GB ($179), the new Nano should be able to hold all of your music, plus a few movies.

While the new Nano looks all pretty and cool, there are also a few odd changes that Apple made. For starters, while it utilizes voice speech over music (similar to how the Shuffle tells you what songs are playing), there are no current headphones that support this system. Additionally, Apple moved around the placement of the headphone and adapter sockets, which means that current peripherals might not work with the new model.

Article Author: Robert M. Barga

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