Apple iPod nano 2 GB Black (1st Generation) OLD MODEL
by Apple Computer
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Our Price: $278.22 Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Buy Used: from $55.00 (click here) Category: Network Media Player See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Apple iPod nano 2 GB Black (1st Generation) OLD MODEL
Customer Review: In a word - "Wow".
Summary: 4 Stars
As a Windows disciple, admittedly before I owned this Nano I thought the word "Apple" was a dirty word. My how my perspective has changed.
I had a Sony MiniDisc player where basically you could import mp3s onto these small cartridges (which would fit about 50 songs). While not perfect, it transitioned me from a portable CD player I had been using. Then reading all the reviews I have, I decided it was time to trade up to an iPOD. I don't have a huge music collection, so I didn't see the need for a $300 standard iPOD when a $200 nano which holds 500 songs would do just fine and in a smaller package. I bought the 2GB black Nano.
Once I brought it home, I discovered it was recommended that one charges it to full power before attempting to load any songs onto it. That took me a little over 3 hours since there was no charge in the Nano once I unpacked it - no problem. I waited this long, right?
Then when I loaded the CDROM software (iPOD and iTUNES), and hooked up the Nano to my PC (new within the last year), it was saying there were no drivers installed for the USB-connected hardware. Huh? I read the installation instructions a little closer and discovered you HAVE to have a USB 2.0 port. I discovered that my PC only has 1 of its 4 ports to that standard (unfortunately it was in the very back of my computer behind the heavy desk). Ok, connected to that port, then everything was gravy. I've used iTUNES for quite some time so all my songs were already loaded, and once I hooked up the Nano the rest was cake. It took about 5 minutes or so to load about 280 songs. Not too shabby.
The sound quality is excellent. I don't think the earphones are as uncomfortable as everybody seems to think they are. I bought the black nano figuring that if I were to switch out headphones, finding a comfortable pair in black would match better than with a white Nano. To be honest, I don't think the white earphones supplied look bad with the black nano either. Pretty stylish, actually.
I made sure that before I opened the box, that I had also purchased a nice case for the iPOD as well as I had read that they scratch easily. The Nano will never see the outside of its Belkin leather case ($18 at WalMart), so I'm not worried about scratches. The posts from individuals saying that they merely dropped their Nano a few feet and they literally "snapped in 2 pieces"? That's garbage. I've seen reviews online by professionals who ran them over with a car and it didn't break them. That is not to say I'm going to go out of my way to damage it either however.
Was a little disappointed that the Nano didn't come with an AC Adaptor charger. As it is, you can only recharge the Nano via USB to your desktop (won't work on laptop). You want an adaptor, you need to shell out another $30.
Anyway, am very happy so far with the Nano. I don't think you need anything more than a 2GB nano in terms of storage when you think about the fact that I loaded over 200 totally new songs today and that is 13.5 hours of music. The max charge you'll get on a fully charged Nano is 14 hours. Kind of puts things in perspective doesn't it?
Happy shopping...
kstagg
Customer Review: Once again amazed by Apple
Summary: 5 Stars
The ipod Nano is (in my opinion) the best ipod that Apple has ever made. It is also one of the smallest MP3 players so it's easy to hold. Also if you have an ipod mini, this is a good upgrade. Here's some stuff you should know before buying one.
The size: Impossibly small. Thats all there is to it. And the only way you'll truly understand is if you hold one.
The screen: Perfected but very small. But what can you expect, the ipod itself is small. Besides, a 2-inch screen is fine for music, a little too small for pictures, but at least its in color. Everything looks better on a color screen!
The sound: Awesome sound! (if it didn't have good sound I probably would have rated it 3 stars) Along with the screen, the sound is also perfected. No static, no skips. Nothing to mess up your songs. Its simple, you press play and you hear music, not static. Clean, sweet, music.
The games: A great, fun, waste of time. I especially like music trivia, where they play part of one of your songs and you have to try to guess what song it is. The other games are Brick (similar to pong), solitaire (you know, the card game), and parachute. All of the games are really fun ways to occupy your time, great for when your stuck in a terminal waiting for a plane.
The photos: The photo storage is one of the main reasons I bought this ipod. The 20 GB ipod photo may store more photos, but the Nano is smaller and less expensive. It holds enough pictures for any photography geek to be satisfied with. I also enjoy the slideshows with music feature, it's fun to mess around with. I'd say, this is the second best way to occupy your time (the games are a clear first place).
The headphones: No. I do not like the headphones at all. They have a weird shape that isn't that comfortable. I use the headphones from my old MP3 player because I simply do not like them.
Downloading music: Itunes is very easy and fast. The only problem with it is, if you are one who likes hundreds of songs, you'll end up spending enough money to buy an 60 GB ipod with video, and that wouldn't be very good, would it. If this is you, limewire is only fifty bucks away.
Here's a list of accessories you might want to consider buying.
1.) Some sort of ipod Nano armband for those of you who run. It isn't fun having to carry an MP3 player when your trying to run. Trust me.
2.) An ipod Nano dock so you can connect to a computer and get songs and photos easier and faster. It won't kill your bank account, only about $30.
3.) Any earphones or headphones from Bose are great, but if Bose isn't in your budget, still buy new headphones because like I said, the ipod headphones stink.
4.) An itrip FM transmitter to listen to the radio on your ipod. They dont have their own radios like most other MP3 players do.
Overall, the ipod Nano is Apple's best MP3 player with a great screen, great sound, and a great size. This MP3 player is for anyone, kids, adults, grandparents, makes a great gift and is somewhat affordable. I hope you take my advise and buy the Ipod Nano because you will be as amazed and satisfied as I am.
Customer Review: Expensive but a neat little toy
Summary: 4 Stars
I don't own the Apple Nano. My friend does and I used it enough to write an Amazon review about it.
Sound Quality: The sound quality was not as good as on my iRiver (my i had more clarity and a little more bass response), but the difference isn't even noticeable unless your obsessive-compuslive about sound. There is a custom EQ along with some presets to match what genre of music you like. I've never seen the Apple earbuds but most people say they are awful so you should probably pick up some better earbuds or headphones (the ones I have are the Panasonic RPHJE50's and my friend's are the cheaper Sony MDRJ10's if that helps you on your search).
Interface: Well, I must say I'm impressed. I will say that it's much easier to use than most MP3 players on the market (the iPod's interface is really the whole reason they are so popular). The artists, albums, genres, and titles are set up like most, in category forms so you can find your song. Note that 500 songs (128 kbps, trust me don't go any lower) is around 40 albums, so I would recommend stepping up to the 4 GB Nano which will hold 1,000 songs/80 albums. The software the Nano uses is iTunes (which most people are familiar with). It does pretty much any function Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, or MusicMatch would do. It's easy to create playlists on iTunes and send them into your player.
Features: The Apple Nano has some features, even though it's somewhat lacking. One of the best features is it's size. This thing is small, only 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.27 inches and only weighs 1.5 ounces. The player does display album art, most MP3 players will not do that. It has a nice 1.5-inch color display and a photo viewer. It works with most OSs, even my friend got it to work on Windows 98. Some websites will podcast and you can put casts on your Nano. The Nano has some nice features, however, some of the features are lacking. The battery life is only 14 hours while most MP3 players are more than this. It charges and syncs with one USB, which means you have to take both along if you have to charge it. Hopefully your computer has a USB port in the front like me, that way you won't have much of a hassle. There is no FM tuner/recording but most people don't need that feature, however I think it should be deserved for the high cost.
Durability: The durability is much better than an iPod. I've heard batterys are fine on the Nano unlike iPods. It seems pretty durable, though I would highly recommend getting a case AND a rubber thing for it for two reasons. 1) It scratches very easily, both the plastic and the LCD. 2) The Nano will probably break if you drop it on concrete or the road.
Price: Just in my opinion, the price is way too high for just a 2 GB MP3 player. I think Apple is just asking for too much. I know it's small, but that still doesn't balance the price.
Overall: The Apple 2 GB Nano is a treat anyone would enjoy. Though the price is high and it doesn't have a radio or a record feature, it's good because of its size and its ease of use. 4 stars.
Customer Review: Very cool
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had a chance to play around with this for a few days now, and while I am a huge fan of the iPod Nano, it will not be replacing my 20GB iPod Photo anytime soon. It's Apple's own fault, really; they gave me 20GB (or 40, or 60) of space first, and now they want to take 90% of it away? Don't think so. I've come to believe what Apple's been telling me for a few years now: I NEED to take my entire music collection around with me everywhere I go. It's as essential as my cell phone and Metro Card. So for the storage reason alone, I can't chuck my 20GB model just yet. But the Nano really is a cool machine, and I imagine it will overtake the higher capacity iPods in popularity shortly because of its size, price, and cool factor.
Here's what I consider the improvements to be:
1. First and foremost, the transition to flash memory. This enables the Nano to be smaller and operate quieter than iPods that are hard drive-based. Make no mistake, flash memory is the future of digital music players;
2. The size, duh. Apple has made the Nano smaller without compromising much of the bright colorful screen. As we all now by now, it is thinner than a number two pencil (my 20GB iPod Photo, on the other hand, is probably three pencils thick). But it's still too large and delicate to jog with, without an optional accessory or two (arm band, lanyard headphones); and
3. The Apple-brand accessories that have been released concurrently with the Nano are affordable and well-designed.
...And what's not-so-great:
1. The price drop isn't that substantial, especially for what you get. For an extra $100, you can upgrade to a Photo that has ten times the capacity;
2. The headphone jack is on the bottom of the Nano. I'm not sure what the logic behind this is-it seems like making a change for the sake of making a change to me; and
3. For those who use(d) iPod Minis and who will be making the switch, the transition from five colors to two probably won't be a popular one.
Some wonderful things about the color iPods in general: they're very easy to use; their demure size could hardly be improved upon; the color screen is beyond adequate for viewing photos and album art; the battery life is exceptional; making playlists and controlling iTunes are simple tasks; all are compatible with Mac or Windows; and if you use a Mac, you can sync your iPod with your address book, to do list, and calendar (this has come in handy for me a number of times when I'm traveling). Also, if you're a college student or an educator at any level, the Apple Store (both the b&m and online versions) gives discounts on just about everything. For iPods it's about $20, but for computers it's up to $300
The bottom line on the Nano: it's a great entry-level MP3 player that will probably suffice for most listeners. However, if you're a music warrior who listens for many hours a day, many days a week, then 2-4GB is just too small to suit you--but of course you've had an iPod for three years now, and you already knew that.
Customer Review: The iPod will change the way you listen to music
Summary: 5 Stars
How anybody would not love an iPod is simply unbelieveable to me. Not only can it hold one's entire music library in their pocket, but the sound is amazingly crisp, and is far superior to any mp3 player on the market. On top of all that, you can customize your own playlists without having to burn a CD, and unlike burned CDs, you can edit the playlist again after it's already been made. All of this considered, the iPod is a far superior teachnology to compact disks.
As I don't have a very extensive music library, the 2 GB model was the way to go for me. It holds roughly 500 4 minute songs, and at the moment I only have about 190 songs on it. That being said, if you are a person who has the huge crate full of Cds in your closet, I would advise you to either go with the 4 GB model or the 30 GB model with video capability.
A couple of common misconceptions about the iPod nano need to be cleared up. First off, you do NOT have to buy all of the music from the iTunes store at a dollar a pop. All you have to do is pop the Cd into the computer and transfer it into iTunes. This means you can even just borrow that Cd you've been wanting from the library and put it on your iPod, and not even have to pay a dime! iTunes also converts nearly every type of audio imaginable. So if you have a huge collection on music on Winmap, Windows Media player, Musicmatch Jukebox etc., iTunes will automattically convert your entire music library to the correct format. iTunes is capable of converting wma, wav, and mp3 files, just to name a few.
Also, iPod nano CAN hold photos. I haven't any on mine, but it does have the capablity.
Reccomneded accessories:
1. Kensington Stereo Dock - Docking station that charges your ipod and can play it through a home stereo system. It even has a remote control, batteries and all of the connections needed. THIS IS MUCH BETTER THAN THE APPLE MODEL. It may be exactly the same price ($39.99), but Apple makes you go out and buy YET ANOTHER connector to hook it up to your home stereo, so you end up spending $70 instead of $40. The Apple one doesn't even a remote for that price! I use this all the time to play my iPod through my guitar amp!
2. Different headphones - Many people fins the "earbud" headphones that the iPod comes with to be comfortable, but I absolutely hate them. I ended up getting a pair of Stenheiser headphones that go over the top of your head.
All in all, The iPod is the best portable music player on the market today, and besides the headphones, there are really no drawbacks. Just remeber not to buy Apple branded accesories. They are overpriced, and not as good as what you can get from 3rd parties.
Sound 11/10
Portability 11/10
Headphones 1/10 AUGHH!!! Do I hate those earbuds! Headphones are cheap though, so it's not a big deal.
Ease of user interface 10/10
Value 8/10
Overall 9.5/10