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New Nano, or old Nano?


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New Nano, or old Nano?
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Windowsrookie
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2010-09-06, 20:07

Quick question for you guys. After seeing the new nano, I'm wondering if I should pick up the old model while I still can? I mainly use my current iPod (4th gen 20GB) for when I'm exercising. This new model really seems like a step backwards from the old nano. It lost video playback, the camera, the clickwheel..... The clickwheel seems like it would work much better while exercising than the touchscreen. Plus they're selling them $20 cheaper than the new models. Have any of you guys seen the new nano in person yet?

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Brad
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2010-09-06, 20:23

Long time no see, WR!

Personally, I think I'd prefer the older model, if nothing else than for the clickwheel and for having a shape that's easily grippable. I haven't seen the new nano in person, but even Apple's demo video seems to make it look unwieldy to navigate unless it's clipped on to some surface.

The quality of this board depends on the quality of the posts. The only way to guarantee thoughtful, informative discussion is to write thoughtful, informative posts. AppleNova is not a real-time chat forum. You have time to compose messages and edit them before and after posting.
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Windowsrookie
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2010-09-06, 20:49

Yeah, I think I'll just pick up the old model. The new nano doesn't really appeal to me at all. Haven't been by the forum in a while, and figured I'd ask you guys your opinion.

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Luca
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2010-09-06, 20:59

Yeah, the new Nano doesn't seem to be that much of an improvement over the old one. It's just... different. Not necessarily better. No physical buttons means it's going to be impossible to control without looking at it. That wouldn't be an issue if it had controls on the headphones like the old Shuffle, but it doesn't say anything about that on the tech specs page.

Almost seems more like a "super iPod Shuffle" to me.
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Eugene
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2010-09-06, 21:03

New nano for the built-in pedometer and reduced heft. Perfect for outdoor acvities. When I go runnin I have nothing on except a t-shirt and running shorts. I don't even carry my ID/wallet.
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Brave Ulysses
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2010-09-06, 21:47

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugene View Post
New nano for the built-in pedometer and reduced heft. Perfect for outdoor acvities. When I go runnin I have nothing on except a t-shirt and running shorts. I don't even carry my ID/wallet.
The old one had a built-in pedometer too.

Not sure what makes the new one more perfect for outdoor activities. As far as I can tell, other than size, there is no advantage to the new nano at all. Where as the mechanical buttons, camera, and video playback can all be considered advantages for the old.
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zippy
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2010-09-06, 21:52

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brave Ulysses View Post
Reduced theft? How? The old one had a built-in pedometer too.

Not sure what makes the new one more perfect for outdoor activities. As far as I can tell, other than size, there is no advantage to the new nano at all. Where as the mechanical buttons, camera, and video playback can all be considered advantages for the old.
He said reduced heft, as in weight/size, not theft.
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Brave Ulysses
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2010-09-06, 21:55

Quote:
Originally Posted by zippy View Post
He said reduced heft, as in weight/size, not theft.
haha... good point... oops.

the eyes aren't what they use to be.

All the more reason the new nano isn't as good.

and as for heft.... not sure if I ever got the feeling that even my first generation nano was heavy or "hefty" and a hindrance to running
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psmith2.0
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2010-09-06, 22:04

If I was in the market for an iPod nano, I believe I'd have to go with the previous-generation. This new "soda cracker" model - with its "is it iOS or not?" guts, removed features/capabilities, etc. - doesn't do a thing for me. It honestly feels like they went backwards, somehow.
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Eugene
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2010-09-06, 22:05

Quote:
Originally Posted by Brave Ulysses View Post
and as for heft.... not sure if I ever got the feeling that even my first generation nano was heavy or "hefty" and a hindrance to running
You either have to stick it in a pocket or wear an armband. The new nano I would just clip to the outside of my shorts pocket. Running around with even keys swinging around in your pocket is annoying as hell....I'm glad I don't have to use keys to open my front door!
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torifile
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2010-09-06, 22:10

All this talk about "needing to look at the screen". I don't get it. What can you do without looking at the screen on any iPod? Change tracks and volume? It has hard buttons for the volume and the other functions take .1 second to look down and hit the soft buttons. It's really a non-issue, IMHO, and it's more than made up by the infinitely better navigability of the touch screen iPod interface.

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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Eugene
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2010-09-06, 22:16

As far as blind controls go, the click-wheel is better than the touchscreen sure, but inline remotes on headphones do everything I want when I can't look down at my iPod.
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Robo
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2010-09-06, 22:19

Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0 View Post
It honestly feels like they went backwards, somehow.
Well, it would be a side-grade...from the iPod nano 4. But then they added a bunch of stuff — larger screen, camera, built-in Nike+ receiver — to the iPod nano 5, only to take all of that out for the iPod nano 6. It's a bit strange.

I mean, I like the new form factor, but were normal people really asking for a smaller nano? I could see it being super popular, or I could see it being another iPod squat. It's kind of hard to tell, which is unusual for Apple.

I will say that the new iPod nanos feel like a worse value. I mean, it's the third year running that an 8GB iPod nano is $149.

Amazon has "old" 16GB iPod nanos for $159. And they come in purple.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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Mac+
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2010-09-06, 22:24

I just went back to my first gen nano for listening to music and I'd forgotten what a good little unit that was. With the Nike+ system it was an awesome exercise buddy.

That said, I do agree with Eugene. The new model would be perfect for walking in the morning with the built in pedometer. I presume you still require the Nike+ add on for running or use with compatible gym equipment.

As for the design, I like that the new nano has been distilled back to its essence. I'm more than fine with it being dedicated to music and losing the camera and video playback - the iPhone can handle those duties.
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Mac+
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2010-09-06, 22:30

Whoah - I didn't realize that the previous model had Nike+ receiver built in. That's a bummer it wasn't maintained for the new nano, although I expect the diminished size posed the problem/trade off.
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torifile
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2010-09-06, 22:30

Smaller screen, but higher PPI. It's that age old argument about PPI vs. size. I believe that most of us prefer higher pixel density.

The Nike+ is still there. The only real loss is the camera, but I wonder how many people actually used it. TBH, it seemed like a weird addition for the nano in the first place.

We bought my father in law a nano a couple months after the 5th gen was released and we opted for the 4th gen because the camera seemed superfluous. I'm sure Apple had good data backing up the decision to drop it.

So the new nano gains multitouch, higher PPI, half the weight, adds a really useful clip, and gets the same battery life. Loses the click wheel, video and camera. Seems like a win to me, to be perfectly honest.

Now, I wouldn't get one because I'm not in the market for a new music device but if I were, it'd probably be the nano.

edit: I'm really confused about the Nike+ integration. It *looks like* it doesn't have it any more. That would suck. Still, even with the attached receiver, it's smaller than the old nano. And it has a durable clip rather than having to find a case to use it with. Personally, I have always hated those armband cases.

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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Robo
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2010-09-06, 22:45

Quote:
Originally Posted by torifile View Post
edit: I'm really confused about the Nike+ integration. It *looks like* it doesn't have it any more. That would suck. Still, even with the attached receiver, it's smaller than the old nano. And it has a durable clip rather than having to find a case to use it with. Personally, I have always hated those armband cases.
Yeah, in all the pictures they show it next to (but not plugged into) the little white receiver. But good point about the size. And yeah, the clip is nice — like I said, I like the new design (though I miss Teh Purple). I'm just not sure if most people will care that it's smaller, or touchable, at the cost of everything else.

But I like it. To be honest, if you bought an iPod nano to watch video on, you probably had other problems.

and i guess i've known it all along / the truth is, you have to be soft to be strong
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SpecMode
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2010-09-06, 23:01

Steve did mention during the presentation that Nike+ is built-in. It'd be a pretty odd regression to pull it out after, what...two, three generations now?

I know I was using it a fair bit in Japan, where it's actually safe to walk around at night, which was usually the only time I had the chance other than at work. Here, not quite so much (though I might start keeping track of how much I walk around on campus between classes. Could rack up a few miles a week doing that, easily).
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Brad
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2010-09-06, 23:23

Whoops! Forgot to move this to Purchasing Advice. Moving now…
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Satchmo
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2010-09-12, 22:15

A bit late to the discussion, but if heft is an issue when running, why not save $100 and get the new Shuffle?
I just don't get the new Nano's new form factor. It creeps into Shuffle territory when it didn't need to.

Apple should have kept the Nano at the previous size, remove the wheel and made the screen a touch interface.
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Bryson
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2010-09-12, 23:21

I'm not sure where you guys are getting the idea that the old Nano has Nike+ built in. I have one here, and it really doesn't. It supports Nike+, but you still need to plug in the receiver module.

So, if you need the receiver for the new one, that's a shame, but not a backwards step.
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torifile
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2010-09-13, 06:34

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bryson View Post
I'm not sure where you guys are getting the idea that the old Nano has Nike+ built in. I have one here, and it really doesn't. It supports Nike+, but you still need to plug in the receiver module.

So, if you need the receiver for the new one, that's a shame, but not a backwards step.
It was very confusing and unclear from both the keynote and the new nano pages about whether it needed the receiver or not. The confusion came in because the old nano did without the dongle and Jobs said that the new one has a pedometer built in.

If it's not red and showing substantial musculature, you're wearing it wrong.
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Mac+
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2010-09-13, 07:22

tori - I don't think Bryson is asking about how we were confused about the new nano; he's telling us that the old nano he has does not have the Nike+ receiver built in, so the fact that the 2010 nano does not have the receiver built in is not a backwards step.

My whoah statement was based on Robo's comment
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robo
Well, it would be a side-grade...from the iPod nano 4. But then they added a bunch of stuff — larger screen, camera, built-in Nike+ receiver — to the iPod nano 5, only to take all of that out for the iPod nano 6. It's a bit strange.
... I just took it for granted that it was correct.

If the nano has never had an inbuilt receiver, then no biggie - at least the 2010 edition is not a step backward, as Bryson writes, from previous editions in this regard.

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torifile
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2010-09-13, 08:20

What? Really? I could have *sworn* the old nano had the receiver built in. I would have put money on it.
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Robo
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2010-09-13, 08:32

Quote:
Originally Posted by torifile View Post
What? Really? I could have *sworn* the old nano had the receiver built in. I would have put money on it.
Me too, but I guess I was wrong. Wikipedia mentions nothing of the sort.
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SpecMode
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2010-09-13, 10:33

The fourth and fifth generation Nanos had Nike+ built-in; I actually used it on my 4th-gen model a few times. No dongle was required.
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Bryson
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2010-09-13, 12:07

No Specmode, it doesn't. I have one right here, and it does not have the receiver built in. It does have a pedometer, but you need a dongle to use the Nike+ shoe sensor. You were probably using the pedometer. (Which is all the shoe sensor is, really, when you get right down to it.)

Edit:


Page 5 of http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/...User_Guide.pdf

Edit again:

Except, of course, the 4th Gen didn't have a pedometer: Source So I have no idea what you were using...strange.

I know this all too well because I bought my girlfriend a 5th Gen Nano, and I bought the Nike+ sensor only kit - only to find it wouldn't work. She then got a iPhone 3GS, so all was well, but I looked into this very closely.

Last edited by Bryson : 2010-09-13 at 12:18.
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Yontsey
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2010-09-19, 00:49

Ok, I came to this thread for some clarity but now am officially more confused about the Nike+ issue, haha.

Does the 5th gen have Nike+ built in? I believe no, from how I understand it.

Does the new nano touches have Nike+ built in does it need the dongle? I know it has the pedometer, but I'm looking for something for a serious runner.

Die young and save yourself....
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Bryson
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2010-09-19, 03:03

No iPod Nano has Nike+ built-in.

Every iPod Nano needs the sensor - including the 5th and 6th editions.
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SpecMode
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2010-09-19, 04:04

I stand corrected: it was my iPhone I was using, not my Nano. I have no idea how I got the two confused; I must have taken my Nano on a walk at some point while I was out in Japan, but only used it for music.

Carry on, nothing more to see here...
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