Birthday Stuff – new Nano
Quick post, but I wanted to share some info about a few gifts I got for my birthday on Tuesday. The two “gadgety” things I got this year were a new iPod Nano, and a juicer – let’s talk briefly about the iPod now and the juicer later (though I am really starting to like them both a lot)
The iPod Nano 3G is shorter, but wider than the Nano 1G (with a Motorola Razor thrown in for perspective). The amazing thing to me is that it is even thinner than the Nano 1G(and significantly thinner than the Razor (you could almost stack three high to get to the razor – Nano 1G + Nano 3G are thinner than the Razor.
I won’t bother trying to show you the great screen resolution in a photo because it is really something you need to see in person. Squeezing a full QVGA screen into this little guy is just amazing. I have transferred a few videos from the TiVo to the Nano now and they play back very nice. There is a little app called Videora iPod Nano Converter that does a great job taking just about any video source and transcoding and scaling it to fit the Nano.
The problem is that, for me, video is almost useless on this device. First, I generally listen to music – at work, mowing the lawn, etc.). Also, if I were to watch a show or a movie I would to it on my TV which is much better suited for this purpose. I added a few YouTube videos (Numa Numa, Miss Teen USA 2007 – South Carolina) just for “demo” purposes. I am trying to see what it would take to hook it up to a TV – might be nice for taking videos of the children when we go to see the relatives. I guess if you had a long commute on a train, or had an hour between college classes, etc. that the video would be interesting. I added the “Make” video podcasts (instructions on how to do cool weekend projects) but haven’t tried using it “in action” yet.
One unexpected benefit of the new Nano is that it works with all my 1G Nano accessories (even ones the 2G Nano wouldn’t use). So the lanyard (fits around your neck and holds the Nano with built-in headphones) works just fine, and the remote (that adds FM radio capability) also works very well (though makes the cord very, very long).
Nano tip – if you want to photograph the Nano (or any backlit device) and have someone see the screen – turn the brightness waaay down.
Overall I am very impressed with the device – I think they will sell every one they make this Christmas. 8Gb is just about perfect for holding a good selection of music, podcasts, and some sample video.
More on the juicer soon (we’ve juiced just about every vegetable and fruit we can find one of – pick one of each at Meijer and see how it juices – beets are messy)
