If you haven't heard of iPods by now, then you must have been living under a rock somewhere as these things mp3 players are hugely popular all over the world. The first one debuted in America in October 2001, and at the last count in October last year Apple has sold no less than 67,635,000 of the device.

As an early Christmas present last year I was treated to the 2nd generation 4GB iPod nano, which can hold up to 1000 tracks. I'm pleased to say that so far I'm delighted with it, and the above issues seemed to have been addressed.

What I like about this player is it's size and lightness, measuring in at 3.5 x 1.6x 0.26 inches and weighing in at a very light 1.41 oz. This means that it slips into my pocket comfortably, although being so light it has slipped out of my hands a couple of times!
"Oh No" I hear you cry, but never fear as it has survived although I wouldn't want to drop it too many times. Also and I quote from Apple's website "durable anodized aluminum says you won't let the rough and tumble of everyday life ruin your groove". After just over 5 months of use, I'm pleased to report it still looks as good as it did when it arrived.
If you are concerned about scratching it though if its going to be in a place with other items, then various protective skins and cases can be purchased. Seeing as I can barely see the computer screen due to smudges, I may very well purchase a screen protector for the player which will also keep it dust free.

Once fully charged you can then set up an account with the itunes store and begin to transfer songs to your player. This couldn't be simpler as once you've purchased a song or album, with a broadband connection I've found a single takes no longer than 10 seconds to appear on the player. If you have CDs that you wish to transfer over then again that's not a problem. Once the CD has loaded, itunes displays the list of songs and it's just a question of highlighting the ones you want and letting the software do the rest. These are the two music transfer methods I use, but other ways and an extended version of the user guide can be found at http://support.apple.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/ACSerialReceiver.woa/wa/manuals List?config=V8X along with other user manuals that you may find helpful to read. I found the manual available through this link very useful as the quick start guide is just that, although it's enough to get you set up and familiar some what with the functions of the player.

Navigation takes a little bit of practice, and I did spend the first couple of hours familiarising myself with the numerous menus. Once you've mastered this then you'll discover just how many things you can do and alter on this player. One of my favourite options on the player, is to be able to create playlists for different occasions. Basically you can group together dance tracks for example, and then listen to them while your working out. You can also rate each track out of 5 stars, which comes in useful when creating your playlists.

Listening to music however is just a small part of what this player offers, and although that's what I mainly use it for there are many other useful features. For a start you have the ability to load photos from your computer to the player, although I have yet to do this the online manual explains the process very clearly and it does look very simple to do. A clock which can be made available on the main screen is useful, as well as setting an alarm. You can also play games and these include Brick Parachute, solitaire and a music quiz which plays snippets of your songs and you have to guess as quickly as you can which it is out of a list. Also provided is a calender, contacts list, notes and stopwatch although I have know personal use for them I'm sure others would.
If you like to listen to audio books these too can be purchased as can podcasts of your favourite radio shows.
The player can also be used as an external disk to store data files, has the ability to display time zones for other countries as well as having the option to lock the screen to prevent others from using it without your consent.

The headphones provided aren't the best however as just recently they have been slipping out of my ears, and I'm pretty certain my earlobes aren't that peculiar in shape. I'm however impressed that the the sound doesn't leak from them like it does from some headphones, but due to them slipping out I've used my Sony ones off a CD player which fit more comfortably. If unlike me the sound quality mentioned above is below your standards then again purchasing higher quality headphones may be the answer, although as mentioned the fit was the problem and not the sound.

Beside a few minor niggles I can honestly say this is this this is one of the best Christmas presents I have ever had. The nano was perfect for me as I wanted one with a screen so that ruled out the shuffle, but I wasn't fussed about watching videos or downloading more games. I will however have to fork out on an AC adapter so that I can charge it if I'm away from my computer, but due to the new product coating I won't need to worry about buying a case for it, although I may do in the future just to personalise it more. Apple's site provides excellent support should I experience any problems with the player and need to reset it. It's very portable, looks great sounds great and has provided with me with hours of entertainment. Out of all the mp3 players currently on the market I'm very happy that I chose this one, and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for quality player at a decent price.

Windows System requirements

Mac System Requirements