I love my black Apple iPod Nano 8GB (3rd gen.)

My wife surprised me with a Black 8 GB iPod Nano this past Christmas, and I was quite happy to get it. I had previously used a Creative Zen Micro MP3 player, but it didn’t work all that well with Windows Vista and I think my vocal frustrations with it are what inspired my wife to get me this new third generation iPod Nano. For the money, these are great little devices that play music, audiobooks, movies, and even display photos.

Apple makes the iPod Nano in a variety of different colors, and mine is the black one. I’m glad I got the black over the bright colors, because the black helps to hide little smudges and scratches that inevitably collect on these type devices. The backside of this unit is a shiny reflective metal that shows fingerprints very easily. Apple makes these models in sizes of 4 or 8 gigabytes, but I think the 4 GB model is a waste of money when you can twice that much space for just $50 more. At the time of this writing, Apple sells the 4 GB model for $149 and the 8 GB model for $199.

Apple has locked down the iPods so that you need to use their iTunes software in order to put music or videos on it. iTunes will let you manage all the content, which is kind of nice once you get used to it. Initial transferring of your MP3’s may take a little while to do, but it’s a one-time thing. Copying music to this device is a simple drag-and-drop. As for the iTunes service, I must say that you can waste a lot of money on there if you aren’t careful. I think the 99 cent songs are great, but I feel that they overcharge for audiobooks and movies, especially when they have no resale value.

The sound quality on this Nano is great, and I use mine primarily in my truck since I spend a little over an hour every day driving back and forth to work. I have an adapter that I bought from Crutchfield.com, and it makes my factory stereo think the iPod is a CD changer. There are a ton of accessories available for connecting an iPod to a car stereo, with some of them being very affordable to others costing as much as the iPod. You can buy accessories directly from Apple, but you’ll pay top dollar if you do. I suggest you shop around before you buy, because prices on everything from cases to cables vary greatly between retailers.

The little two-inch screen on this Nano is amazing! It only has a 320 x 240 resolution, but the picture is incredibly sharp. My only complaint is that the video is in a 4:3 aspect ratio while most all movies nowadays come in widescreen. Maybe the next generation iPod will have a wider screen. I’ve actually watched a couple of movies on this thing and the screen is so bright and clear that I quickly forgot how small it was. This would be a great device for taking on road trips or airplane rides.

The interface for this iPod Nano is all touch-based, and it takes a little getting used to. It uses a wheel type menu where you move your finger around in a circle to navigate all the menus. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll see that it works pretty well for quickly browsing through items. Sometimes I do still wish it was all push-button, because it can be a little touchy to work with when you are driving down the road. It’s unsafe to play with these things while driving, so please be careful if you do so.

I’ve had pretty good luck with the batteries on my Nano, and I only recharge it about twice a month even though it gets used at least 3 or 4 hours a week. It comes with a USB cable so you can recharge from your computer, but there are also a variety of after-market power adapters to let you recharge when you don’t have a PC available. I got one from Nexxtech that works pretty well.

If you do get an iPod Nano like this one, I strongly suggest you get some kind of case for it. It’s a very solid little device, but it is also very small and I don’t think it would take a shock very well. I went to Wal-Mart and bought a three-pack collection of silicon cases made by Samsonite, and they were less than ten dollars. The case helps protect the body of the unit, which I really need since I let it rest in a little space in the center console of my truck. You should get something to protect the screen if you plan on carrying your iPod around in your pocket or purse, because I guarantee you that it will get scratched.

I’m not particularly fond of the earbud headphones that Apple includes with the iPods. It’s not so much the Apple brand earbuds, but just earbuds in general. I’ve read that they can actually cause damage to your hearing because they sit so close to your eardrum, as opposed to a pair of over-the-head headphones that rest outside of your ear. The earbuds do at least help block outside noise from coming in, but to me that can be a safety concern. Perhaps it isn’t such a wise thing to be out walking around oblivious to your surroundings. I’ve also heard of people getting mugged while listening to their iPods because the telltale white headphones give them away. Just something to think about next time you go out for a jog at night.

One good reason to buy an Apple iPod over some other kind of MP3 player is resale value. Sure, you might save a few bucks getting a different band player with basically the same features, but if you decide to sell it a couple years down the road, you won’t get nearly as much money for it as you would a real iPod. If you don’t believe me, go look on eBay at what iPods sell for compared to other brands. The iPod is the best known and most desired of all these portable devices, so their value holds quite well. I’m big on resale value for bigger ticket items. That’s why I drive a Toyota.

If you’re going to get an MP3 player, you can’t go wrong with the Apple iPod Nano. This 8 gig model has plenty of storage space for music, videos, or whatever you like. It’s also small enough to easily conceal inside your pocket or vehicle, and there are a slew of accessories for connecting it to your car stereo. On top of that, it will hold its value in case you decide to upgrade somewhere down the road.

For those of you who just gotta know, here’s the A/V tech specs direct from Apple.com:

Audio
- Skip-free playback
- Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
- Audio formats supported: AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), Protected AAC (from iTunes Store), MP3 (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV
- User-configurable maximum volume limit

Video
- H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Low-Complexity version of the H.264 Baseline Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; H.264 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 3.0 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats