No other Apple product has been lavished with such attention and received so many design changes as the iPod Nano. Call it continuos innovative refinement or call it uncertainty as to what direction to take this intrepid little media player, regardless, the 7th generation edition marks a dramatic evolution over its predecessor. Gone is the square 1.5-inch display that could double as a wristwatch and in is the 2.5-inch display with home button, Lighting connector, Bluetooth and the welcome return of video playback. In many ways this new Nano bears many resemblances to the 5th gen model except for the the absence of the click-wheel and the fact that the display features multitouch support. Unfortunately Apple have also omitted a camera on this model.
Available in a selection of 7 colours and now shipping with Apple’s brand new EarPods, the 7th gen Nano provides a rich multimedia experience in a svelte package that measures 76.5mm x 39.6mm x 5.4mm. The operating system resembles iOS in many ways but is in fact just proprietary software designed specifically for the Nano, so don’t expect to have access to the App Store. The device comes with 16GB of internal storage and a price point of €169.
Thus far, most reviews have been positive, Tim Stevens of Engadget said “the seventh-gen iPod nano is absolutely the best yet,” and Nilay Patel of The Verge called it “the best dedicated music player on the market.” However there has been some criticism leveled at the absence of wireless iTunes connectivity. Although we weren’t expecting to see web surfing capabilities included, at least having Wi-Fi access to the iTunes music and movie store would have made this a much more attractive and complete package. With Apple pushing iCloud services more and more across their product line, it seems rather odd that they neglected to include these features for the Nano. Instead the Nano remains a companion device that is still entirely dependent on the user having a computer to sync with. For users who want a more complete iPod experience, the 4th gen Touch is available for just €50 more.
