In reviewing the new Nano more closely it's almost too small and I wonder how difficult it will be to navigate songs without actually looking at the screen. It's only 1.5w x 1.6h. That's crazy small! And it would appear the Shuffle exists as a price point only but to John's point I am curious as to why there is no 4gb model? I would guess it is a reflection of sales of the last gen Shuffle 4gb. Seems the stores I visit rarely stocked the 4gb as was the case with the 2nd gen 2gb Shuffle.
I think before I jump or drop more large hints to the family referencing my upcoming birthday and the need for my daughters to be kind to old people by buying them expensive electronics, I’ll drop by a Best Buy and fondle, er, inspect one then make up my mind.
Bringing back an old topic...
This past weekend, while visiting Atlanta, I "elbowed" my way into an Apple store for the sole purpose of fondling these new iPods.
I won't deny that I spent a bit of time playing with a MacBook and iPad. Some very cool stuff in those stores! It appears my fears were correct. The new Nano is too small and by eliminating the "click wheel" makes it nearly impossible to navigate through songs, artists, playlists, etc. without actually looking at the screen. Maybe I'm wrong but I think one would have to be very good, or lucky, to know exactly where to touch the screen to pause/stop/advance and otherwise navigate in this manner.
Don't get me wrong. It's a very neat device and is really tiny. The screen is incredibly sharp and scrolls just like it's larger, Apple stablemates. But for this user's needs, it just won't do. Whether it be kiting or running, I want to be able to navigate without worry. I believe this is the first time that I've felt Apple lost the plot with an iPod product and won't be surprised if they feel it in their sales numbers.
IMO if they'd just go back to the 3rd gen Nano and bump it to 16 gb that'd be a perfect blend of size for both the unit and memory. But that's just me.
As for the new Shuffle, not much to report other than when depressing the clip to clip it to your shirt, pocket, etc. I can't see how one would do so without hitting the advance song portion of the click wheel. The old Shuffle of a similar layout had the click wheel set to one side eliminating that from happening. Maybe I'm being picky.
So it appears I've saved myself some dough for once.
