iPod Nano 2 GB Product Review
I know, I know.. it is so so late to write a product review about iPod Nano. The product has been around in the market for more than 3 years already. But what can I do? I only managed to try one today guys! So be patient with me and just read the review if you want to.
iPod MP3 player has been a very interesting international buzz for several years. So much so until some people generally call MP3 player as “iPod”. I remember exactly two years ago when I just bought an Apacer MP3 player to record a one-day seminar. There was this guy who asked me, “Wow, cool iPod you have there? What brand is it?”. I said, “WHAT !? you just said it was an iPod and then you asked what brand is it?” (No, I didn’t said it in front of him actually…)
There were several reasons why I didn’t buy iPod when I decided to have an MP3 player:
- Price. No discussion about this, I simply didn’t have enough money.
- Features. I needed an MP3 player that has microphone to record sounds and line-in jack that can record input from other devices. None of these two features were offered by iPod back then, and even until now as far as I know.
- Battery type. For me it was one very important part to consider before buying electronics. I hate propietary batteries, cause it means when I need a spare battery, I should buy it ONLY from them, and with their own price as well. The Apacer MP3 player that I bought uses one AAA battery, simple enough to find it in convenience stores anywhere.
So those were the reasons why I didn’t buy iPod back then, although I was very interested on what actually made iPod such an international icon of MP3.
The iPod that I got now is a gift from my sister for my brother. But since he is still in Bandung until next week, I have the “right” to test drive it first. Sorry bro! Hehehe! ;D
Allright, let’s go straight to the review.
| Sound: | 8.5 |
|---|---|
| Features: | 5 – 9 |
| Price: | 7 |
| Design: | 9 |
| Ease of use: | 7 |
| Total: | 7 – 8 |
Sound
The sound is sure marvelous! It has 22 preset equalizers that are significantly different and can give the great sound settings for any of your music type. It doesn’t have manual equalizer capability though. The standard earphone that comes with it does its job well. It is not the best earphone out there, but it surely good enough to give sound that is pleasing to your ear. However for some of you who demand more sound, like me, I suggest you to spare some money for better earphone or headphone brands such as Philips or Sennheiser.
For the sound I give it the score of 8.5. The preset equalizers are really really good at their job, you should really try them out and choose appropriate presets depending on your music type. Unfortunately I actually expect manual equalizer from this lil’ machine, since I’ve paid quite sum of money for it (oops, actually my sister did…) so I really expect something more.
Features
What can I say? Honestly, I’m really confused with this gadget. I mean… it was supposed to be an MP3 player and deals only with sounds. But it also have calendars, photo gallery, games, clocks, contacts, notes, and stopwatch. WHAT??? I just don’t get it, instead putting a microphone to record sounds or line in jack to record input from other device, it gives you contacts, and stopwatch. Well, I understand that sometimes this features would be useful. But I leave them to be taken care by cellphones or PDAs, not by an MP3 player…
I give score in range from 5 to 9 because it really depends on what kind of features you need from an MP3 player. It really cool actually for an MP3 player to have photo gallery, games, and contacts. Unfortunately, for me who doesn’t need any of the features, it’s a 5.
Price
It’s $150 in the U.S. and about the same price in Indonesia as well. It’s still the most expensive MP3 player out there as far as I know. There are so much cheaper MP3 player around with more or less the same features with iPod nano, but I haven’t seen any with the same very thin shape. If my eyes are still ok, it measures around 5mm thin. Now that’s thin! And I wonder how can the $150 become this
Design
Now, this is surely one unbeatable point of an iPod nano. It is way coooolll and sexy! And I believe by having one, you can certainly look cool and sexy like the iPod as well. Trust me, I’m not exaggerating things here and Apple didn’t pay me anything for saying this. Guys, if you want an easy reason for girls to get near you and have a topic to talk about, get an iPod (either buy it or borrow it..). Hahaha!
I give it total 9 in score because it is really beautifully designed. So much so until I think most of the people out there buy iPod for coolness and fashion sake.
Ease of use
I don’t know what others are saying about the ease of use of an iPod. But for me, it’s far from easy at first.
First, they don’t come with the iTunes CD anymore so you gotta download the it from the internet. Who needs iTunes anyway, I said. But you DO NEED iTunes before able to use the iPod. Without it you cannot do anything with the empty iPod. Unlike other MP3 player out there that can be used immediately by copying the music files directly to the device in Windows, you just can’t do that with an iPod.
Second, one very irritating thing is I can’t change the song volume while I’m browsing the options in iPod. To change the volume I must wait until the song menu that appear after left idle for a few seconds. I can’t wait several seconds if the volume is too loud and damaging my ears. My Apacer MP3 player have dedicated volume button so I can adjust the volume anytime.
I give it a score of 7 in terms of easiness of use. It’s not intuitive to use at first, although once used to it, I guess it’s just plain easy. I think it’s like using Apple computer for the first time. You must adjust a lot of things, but after that, it will run smoothly and predictable.
Conclusion
I should say that I love the iPod nano and get irritated with it at the same time. For me, I can compare it like having a beautiful and sexy girlfriend but sometimes hard to talk with… Get it? I mean the gadget is so beautiful and sexy, both the hardware and also the software. But sometimes it’s hard to understand why it’s kinda not so user friendly and the features are limited when it comes to handling sound. So, in the end, should you buy an iPod nano if you are looking for an MP3 player?
– If you want a very very cool and sexy MP3 player that can make you look the same, it’s a sure yes!
– If you need features, you may want to look for other MP3 player with more features.
But if you ask me if I still love the iPod nano? Yeah baby yeah…. and bring that sexy back!