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(More customer reviews)When Steve Jobs announced the newest generation iPod nano, he suggested that with its new video capability the nano would easily compete with the Flip Video camcorder. While someday down the line this may be a serious contender in the pocket video camera market, it's not there yet. I took some comparison footage with the iPod nano and the standard definition Flip Mino to show why. My point in all this is not to suggest that you go buy a Flip instead of an iPod nano, but that you ask yourself what it is you really want. If you want to make videos you can upload to Youtube and you want them to look pretty decent, and you don't care much about music or you already have an mp3 player, I wouldn't buy this iPod just because now it has video. On the other hand, having some video capability might be enough to give this the edge over most other music players; if games are more important to you than video, though, you'd be better off with an iPod touch.
One thing you'll notice in the footage, where I shot the same things back to back with both camcorders, is that where the Flip really shines is in low light. I shot the hamster moments at night, in a room illuminated only by a lamp. Not only did the iPod nano take grainy video, it also didn't do any kind of white balancing and the indoor lightbulb added an orange tint to the clip; I'm not sure exactly how the Flip is designed to address this (whether it automatically adjusts white balance or just has a better average setting), but the footage shows that it captured light correctly both outdoors and indoors. If you compare the hamster shots with the Flip and with the nano, I think it's clear that for indoor and lowlight there's no comparison and the Flip has the nano beat hands down. The outdoor images are closer, but I think even this small video shows greater detail in the Flip video. When you blow the images up bigger there's no comparison -- the Flip looks decent even on a big screen TV, the iPod nano footage looks like it was shot with, well, a toy camera. In all fairness, that's all it is at this point. (Note, by the way, that, like the Flip, the nano will only take video and doesn't take photos. You can manually add photos to the nano from your computer, but you can't use the onboard camera to capture stills.)
Another thing that bugs me a bit about the new iPod nano is the bizarre placement of the camera lens. It's nestled down in the corner of the backside below the screen -- exactly where it is most natural to hold this thing if you are shooting with it. Even if you just grasp the thing at the corners, there's a tendency for some part of a finger to accidentally edge into the camera frame. In fact, I found that even after I was aware of this fact I kept doing it anyways -- the way this thing fits in my hands just makes it likely I'll catch an edge of a finger in my shots unless I'm conscientious about avoiding it, and that detracts from the spontaneity this is designed to take advantage of. (I even noticed I'd done it on most of the iPod nano footage for this video comparison -- and I thought about doing it over, but then decided to leave it in just to show how easily it can happen.)
So, to sum up: what you really get with the iPod nano is a toy camera, fun to have in the pocket and very cool to have just in case there's something you want to shoot, but not quite the quality we've come to expect from the handy pocket camcorders like the Flip Mino and the Creative Vado and the Kodak Zi8, that keep getting better and better. Video is a nice new feature on the Nano, but not really a radical innovation and not a game changer.
What makes the iPod Nano worth it is that in addition to video on the fly, you get to listen to music, you get an FM radio that works quite well and even tells you what song you are listening to, you get a voice recorder (a VERY nice feature, excellent for students who can listen to music on their way to class and then record a lecture), a decent quality mini speaker, a somewhat useful pedometer, decent game options for killing time. You don't get any of that with the Flip! Sure, the new iPod nano is a toy ... but it's a very cool toy.
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iPod nano now has a built-in video camera that lets you spontaneously shoot video wherever you are. And that's just the beginning. It has a dramatic, polished anodized aluminum finish and a larger screen. The new Genius Mixes feature acts as your personal DJ, automatically searching your iTunes library, then making mixes you'll love. Take iPod nano anywhere and the new Pedometer counts your steps. Also making its debut: a built-in FM radio with two amazing features--iTunes Tagging and Live Pause. So the world's most popular music player now has more to play with.
nano Shoots Video
Video a-Go-Go iPod nano now has a built-in video camera that lets you record fun as it happens. Then share it with friends on the Internet. It's the video camera that's small enough to take with you everywhere.
Video Recording--a Whole New Way to nano A quick scroll through the menu takes you to the video camera. Then you're ready to record video in portrait or landscape--perfect for emailing or posting on Facebook or MobileMe. A built-in mic lets you capture audio, too. And when you play back your video on iPod nano, you'll hear the recorded audio with it. All of which means your indispensable music player is now your indispensable video camera.
Special Effects Department Included Fifteen fun video effects let you add a little Hollywood to your video. Just scroll through, choose the effect you want--such as film grain or motion blur--and start recording. When you're done, sync iPod nano to your computer and iPhoto (or your favorite photo software) opens. Then email your miniblockbuster or post on YouTube or Facebook.
Sync, Share, and Put More You in YouTube Connect iPod nano to your Mac, and iPhoto opens and syncs all the video you shot on iPod nano to your computer. It's just as easy on a PC when you use your favorite photo software. On a Mac, you can browse and edit your videos in iPhoto, too. The video file sizes are perfect for sharing on YouTube or emailing to friends.
Design Makes Rock More Glam iPod nano now has a polished anodized aluminum finish in nine electrifying colors. And a larger 2.2-inch color display for your viewing pleasure.
This Is Genius Control your Genius. Or leave it to its own devices. Either way, Genius explores your library and finds songs that go great together.
Genius Playlists Say you have one song you really love and want to hear other tracks that go great with it. A few clicks on iPod nano, and Genius uses that song to find other songs in your library and makes a Genius playlist for you. You can listen to the playlist right away, save it for later, or even refresh and give it another go. Count on Genius to create combinations you wouldn't have thought of yourself.
Genius Mixes Now there's another great way to get a customized set of songs on iPod nano--have Genius do all the work. Introducing Genius Mixes. All you do is sync your iPod nano to iTunes, and Genius automatically searches your library and finds songs that sound great together to create up to 12 Genius Mixes. These mixes are like channels programmed entirely with your music. It's a great way to rediscover songs you haven't listened to in forever, and some you even forgot you had.
Go with the Cover Flow View your album art in Cover Flow for a faster way to find the song you want to hear. Or just press and hold the center button to flip the album cover art over so you can see the songs. When you find the right song, press the center button to add it to your on-the-go playlist.
Shake to Shuffle Your Music Hear songs in a totally random way. Just turn on Shake to Shuffle, then give iPod nano a shake and it shuffles to a different song in your music library. You never know what iPod nano will spin for you next.
Don't Just Listen to the Radio, Pause it and Tag it, Too The new FM tuner lets you see the names of songs and artists. And two amazing features--iTunes Tagging and Live Pause--make listening to the radio nothing like listening to the radio.
FM Radio--it Gives You Yet Another Way to Rock There's always something great on the FM dial. And now the FM tuner lets you hear your favorite morning shows on your commute and discover new music while you work out. It even shows you what and who you're listening to.1
With Live Pause, You'll Never Miss a Beat Say you need to take a quick break from listening to your favorite radio station. iPod nano lets you pause it with a click. Another click and you're listening to your station again. You can even rewind as far back as 15 minutes, then fast-forward to catch up to the live broadcast.
iTunes Tagging--the New-Fashioned Way to Discover Music It's quite a dilemma: You're listening to the radio and you hear a song you like, but when you go to iTunes, you can't remember the name or even who sings it. Enter iTunes Tagging. Now, you can use the Click Wheel on iPod nano to tag the song. iTunes creates a list of all your tagged songs so you can easily preview or purchase them when you sync iPod nano to iTunes.
VoiceOver--the Talk of the Music World VoiceOver tells you the title and artist of the songs you listen to. And does it so seamlessly, you'll be surprised at how brilliant it is.
Let's Talk VoiceOver What if you're listening to a song and want to know the title or the artist? Just use the Click Wheel or the controls on the optional Apple Earphones with Remote and Mic and VoiceOver tells you the song name and who's performing it without interrupting your music. So you're never distracted from your ride or run by looking down at your screen.
How it Works You'll notice how smoothly and easily VoiceOver works. A lot of thought went into creating an iPod nano that not only talks, but says the right things. It all begins with iTunes and its seamless integration with iPod nano. First, iTunes reads your song information, then uses the VoiceOver Kit to generate the announcements for the songs, artists, and playlists. Just sync your iPod nano to your computer and it really speaks to you.
It Speaks Multiple Languages Your music library has songs from all over the world--a love song from France, a bolero from Spain, a pop tune from Japan. Luckily, VoiceOver speaks fluent song.
iTunes selects the language and best voice for your song titles and artist names. It looks at song data, like the title, artist, and album information, then applies intelligent algorithms to choose the right language. For example, iTunes recognizes the song "Ya Viene el Sol� by Ozomatli as a Spanish song, so your iPod nano will automatically speak that song title and artist in Spanish. If you prefer to hear that information spoken in another language, you can change the designated VoiceOver language for that song in iTunes.
Hit the Ground Running--Or Walking With the Nike + iPod Sport Kit (sold separately) and a built-in pedometer to help keep you motivated and track your fitness progress, iPod nano makes working out less routine.
Step it up with the New Pedometer You take your iPod nano with you everywhere. Why not use it to stay fit? iPod nano now doubles as a Pedometer. It uses the built-in accelerometer to keep track of your steps and help you meet your fitness goals. You can create a daily step goal or set it to Always On so it counts all the steps you take, all the time. Which makes iPod nano the ideal exercise partner.
Rock and Run Your shoes and your iPod nano team up to maximize your run. See the minutes tick by. Watch the miles unfold. Hear real-time voice feedback. All to your favorite music, including your chosen Power Song--that one song that always gets you through the home stretch.
Rock the Gym Take Nike + iPod to the gym and minute by minute, mile by mile, you're motivated by more than music. Connect your iPod nano to a Nike + iPod compatible cardio machine. Record your pace, time, and distance as you work out. With iPod nano, every trip to the gym becomes a new challenge.
Sync When you're finished, connect your iPod nano to your Mac or PC. iTunes automatically sends your workout data to nikeplus.com. Every workout and every run is there, ready for you to review. Get pumped for your next run with recommended challenges, custom training programs, and maps of new routes to try. Or share motivation with runners across the world.
Note to Self: Voice Memos Are Here The built-in mic lets you capture a thought, a reminder, a class lecture, or any audio recording you want with Voice Memos.
iTunes: Your Greatest Hits It's even easier to organize, browse, grow, and share your digital music and video collection with the new iTunes. And now you can save items with a wish list and enjoy iTunes extras--bonus features on select albums and movies--like lyrics, photos, interviews, and behind-the-scenes media.
What's in the Box Apple iPod nano 16 GB Silver (5th Generation), Earphones, USB 2.0 cable, Dock adapter, Quick Start guide
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