There ’s no getting around the fact : Apple ’s iPod contrast — last updated a yr ago — was in fearful need of a refresh gallery into this week ’s jam upshot in San Francisco . And Apple provided that refresh in spade , updating all its subsist iPod offerings and add a new music player to the mix .
That newcomer , the iPod Touch , is the capable ofits own visibility elsewhere on this situation . In this clause , we ’ll take a closer aspect at the changes and enhancements to the live iPod assembly line — the redesigned nano , the renamed iPod classic , and the more coloured iPod shuffle .
The shuffle
My colleague Christopher Breen summarize up the changes to the shuffle thusly :
Indeed , the iPod shamble find out the fewest change of any existing role model . The only remainder is a spattering of colour — while the silverish version introduced a twelvemonth ago is still around , the colorsintroduced last Januaryhave been replaced .
The shuffle now descend in a lighter shade of blue and green as well as light purpleness and a new(PRODUCT)REDversion . All 1 GB models betray for $ 79 , with issue on the red version go tocharity .
The iPod nano and iPod classic
If premature versions of the full - size and nano iPods were specify largely by how they differed , the new iPod nano and iPod classic — Apple ’s official new name for the full - size iPod line — are perhaps most notable for the ways in which they are similar .
The newiPod classicgains the nano ’s grim or silvery anodized - metal casing — at least on the front ; the back is still shining metal . This should make the classic ’s face less scratch - prostrate , although the combination of anodized metal on the front and shiny metallic element on the back looking a piece queer at first . ( The classic ’s headphone knave remains on the top edge . However , it appears that you may no longer output composite picture through this jack using Apple ’s iPod AV cable ; you require to go through the dock - connection port using Apple ’s new $ 49Component AV CableorComposite AV Cable , or a dock cradle that supports picture . )
The iPod classic fuck off a whit thinner than its harbinger , despite sport well more storage capacity : the new 80 GB model is .41 inches thickset ( down from .43 inches for the premature 30 GB translation ) and the ginormous 160 GB version is just .53 inches loggerheaded ( compare to .55 column inch for the honest-to-goodness 80 GB manakin ) . On the other hand , the new iPod classic models are unnoticeably heavier , at 4.9 and 5.7 ounces , respectively ( up from 4.8 and 5.5 ounces ) .
The iPod classic ’s silver screen is the same 2.5 - in , 320 - by-240 - pixel translation found on the previous model , but bombardment life history is improved significantly . The small mannequin ’s bombardment life jump from 14 60 minutes of medicine playback or 3.5 hour of video to 30 hours of audio or 5 hours of video ; the erectile 160 GB model gets 40 hours of audio playback or 7 hour of video ( equate to 20 or 6 , respectively , for the previous 80 GB iPod ) . Apple also now includes three games — Vortex , iQuiz , and Klondike — with every iPod classic .
The newiPod nanois wide ( 2.06 inch versus 1.6 inch ) and shorter ( 2.75 inches vs. 3.5 inches ) than the previous nano ; the nano remains 0.26 in duncish . Gone is the 2 GB simulation of the late lineup , lead a argent 4 GB version and an 8 GB interlingual rendition uncommitted in the same colors as the new shuffle , although with bootleg replacing purpleness .
But in many way of life the Modern nano look more like a scaled down adaptation of the iPod classic than an updated nano . For good example , instead of using anodized metal all around , the newfangled nano has a lustrous chrome - look back , just like its large sibling . The new nano ’s 2 - inch covert ( now half an inch larger , 65 percentage bright , and using the same 320 - by-240 - pixel dimensions as that of the iPod classic ) can also play TV , and the nano now supports the same iPod game as the iPod classic . ( The same three plot advert above are also included with the nano . )
The new nano provides the same 24 hours of audio playback as its predecessor , or 5 hours of TV . In addition , it also gains the classic ’s power to output television ( television shows , motion picture , video podcasts , or exposure ) to a goggle box or projector via the dock - connector larboard , crap the nano — as far as we can tell — the little gadget ever for transporting video and playing it back on a TV . ( you’re able to use the same video cable television service or dock mentioned above for the iPod classic , and the end product is a full 640 - by-480 pixels , like that of the classic . )
For those who worried that the iPhone ’s recessed headphone diddly-squat was a sign of things to add up , both the iPod classic and iPod nano have earpiece old salt that can be used with third - party headphones without requiring an adapter .
The new nano and Greco-Roman both feature an improved iPod user interface that retains the familiar iPod carte system of rules but bring some fancy visuals . For starters , iTunes ’ Cover Flow feature is now available via a new Cover Flow item in the Music card . pick out this item and the iPod ’s Click Wheel allow you bike through record album concealment . When you notice the album you want , fall into place the Center button bring up a list of tracks on that album ; pick out a track to begin playback .
A young Now play screen count much like the one you ’ll see on the Apple TV — except with a ashen background — and expose more entropy : artist , track , record album , evaluation , and track issue . Cover Flow felt quite a fleck dim to me on the newfangled iPods than it does in iTunes , and I suspect it will have a similar making love / hate following , but it ’s an interesting feature of speech nonetheless .
Another new visual can be seen on the main menu and in many submenus : the display is carve up in half with the menu ’s items on the left over side and a preview of the selected card item ’s contents — medicine , podcasts , playlists , creative person , etc.—shown on the other . When a music- , photo- , or telecasting - bear on family is selected , the iPod practice the album art of tracks or videos , or the photos , in that family for this display , and you even get a soft “ Ken Burns ” panning effect . ( Does this signify the new iPods no longer have an option in iTunes tonotsync record album art ? We ’ll find out once the equipment extend to retail shelf this weekend . ) However , once you voyage down to the actual list of items , the split - screenland perspective is supplant by a full - screen listing that makes it easy to read longer names . A similar preview is shown when navigate the Extras carte du jour ; a preview of the selected spear carrier — for good example , the clock or calendar — is shown ; when you choose an Extra , you get a full - screen view of that spear carrier . ( The Extras also have more - attractive visuals on the new iPod mannikin . )
The new iPod software package also includes a long - requested feature of speech for video - observation : closed captioning . With this choice enable and you flirt a picture that admit closed - captioning information , the text edition is expose on the screenland . I did n’t get to see this feature in legal action during my circumscribed time with the Modern iPods ; we ’ll provide our impressions in our full review of the new modelling . You also get more options for customizing menus ; we ’ll have more on that in our full reviews .
Final thoughts
My hired man - on clip with these unexampled models left me with a largely - positive feeling . Although the new nano appears a bit squat in pictures , it looks much better in person , and the shorter , wide-eyed size feels more practical than the shape of the late nano — it fits in a pocket better and the wider shape has a better feel in your handwriting . Thanks to the gamey pixel denseness of any display Apple has ever released , the new screen is stunningly well-defined and makes it easy to read even very small eccentric . My only initial electronegative chemical reaction was that the young glistening - metal back will likely be more susceptible to scratching than the all - over anodized - metal finish of the previous nano .
The new iPod classic was less exciting in terms of its novel show and few major feature upgrades . However , two of those improvements — considerably better battery life-time and a major boost in reposition capability — are welcome changes and should make the classic peculiarly attractive to those who require to mind to big music libraries on the go and away from outlet . I ’m looking forrad to testing both new model .
reckon for our full follow-up to appear on the Web shortly .
[ Dan Frakes is Playlist ’s senior reviews editor . ]
UPDATE 9/7/2007 : Corrected the location of the iPod classic ’s earpiece diddley .
