Alos Blog

Apple ipods Measuring 3.6 by 1.5 by 0.24 inches and bearing a 2.2-inch display, the 1.3-ounce fithgen Nano comes in a rainbow of colours, encased in polished anodized aluminium. The finish is attractive, but susceptible to smudges and fingerprints.
Among the new features is an FM radio tuner (at last!). Though the FM radio isn’t particularly innovative (we saw this feature on the first-gen Zune), it can pause and play radio, and it works well.

Thanks to its integration with iTunes, the Nano has unbeatable audio and video features. Genius Mixes, which group your music by a common characteristic, generate directly on the Nano when you sync from iTunes.

Audio sounded clean but come what tinny through the included earbuds. In the PC World Labs’ audio-quality tests, this Nano scored simiarly to its predecessor, reeiving a rating of Superior.

The video camera is a posiive addition. The lens placement is awkward, however, and I found that holding the liver-thin Nano by its edges was difficult. Gripping it at the bottom doesn’t work well either, as the lens sits at the bottom of the device when you hold it vertically.

Video shot outside was bright and sharp. But since the Nano has no contrast or brightness controls, my indoor clips were fuzzy, dark, and grainy. The mic-picked up sound adequately. The 640-by-480-pixel VGA footage is compatible with streaming-video sites, and it works natively in iTunes.

Watching video on the Nano itself is surprisingly enjoyable. Still, viewing videos on a device this small takes some getting used to, and the rounded screen attracts quite a bit of glare.