ipod
09/15/2006, 12:15pm, EDT
Friday, September 15th
8GB Nano earns PC Mag Editors' Choice
PC Magazine has reviewed Apple's new 8GB iPod nano, and honored the tiny player with its Editor's Choice award. Noting the new Nano's thickness, aluminum enclosure, brighter screen, search functionality, and extended battery life, the new Nano is still "trumped" on features when compared to the Sansa e200 -- which offers an FM tuner, a voice recorder, and video playback capability. Nevertheless, Apple's new 8GB Nano offers features unavailable with Sansa's e200, such as gapless playback and lossless compression. "It's a good bet that this will be Apple's most popular iPod yet, and with good reason." While the matte black finish "picks up tons of fingerprints," the new Nano feels smaller in-hand and features a slightly concave center select button. "The iPod's navigation system is still the best in the business," according to PC Magazine, and aside from the "Scrub problem" which can cause various glitches, the new Nano "is another solid digital audio player from Apple."
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FM tuner and a voice recorder
There's simply no good reason to not include these. Competers like the Sansa e200 and many others, including cell phones, have these now "basic features"
I have two iPods right now and want to upgrade to a new player but decided that I will get either a cell phone (Sony Ericsson W800) or an iPod that has these features first.
The Sony W800 is a perfect example but it is not currently available from any US carriers (Asian and European markets get all the cool phones)
Just an example of why I think it's needed is going to the gym. You need your iPod for music, FM tuner to hear the game or news, etc, and phone so you don't miss a call.
Apple was ahead of the trend then, and it is now.
If you needed a floppy for your iMac, you could purchase an external; if you need FM or voice recording for your iPod, you can purchase an external.
In regards to FM and voice recording. I WANT THEM. Voice recording,even with a micro external mic would be great in class. But a built-in mic would work since there are no moving parts to produce noise - HD noise. FM radio would be nice since I could record NPR talk radio wherever I am and record it to the nano's memory too.
Of course Apple will NEVER include these features since they want a simple player.
/sigh
So that's smart. For the majority that do not want those features, the size and cost of the nano is reduced. For those who want FM and voice recording, just get the accessory you want, just like runner who get the Nike kit.