The iPod nano 5th generation

This past Christmas I purchased an iPod nano (Apple, 2009) for my twenty year old nephew who happens to be a great kid in general. He’s made the dean’s list for the past two years, and runs track at the University of Akron, in Akron, Ohio. After buying the iPod, the case, the product replacement plan, and an iPod armband so my nephew can enjoy his music while jogging, I had paid out well over two-hundred dollars. Well great kids are worth spoiling.

I can see the appeal of Apple’s newest model the iPod nano 5th generation. This is an all in one music player, movie player, and then some. It features a larger 2.2 inch display with 240-by-376 resolution and a built-in microphone and speaker. It’s small, easy to carry, has a glossy finish and comes in a variety of colors. It holds up to 4,000 songs or up to 16 hours of video. It features a built in video camera, FM radio with Live Pause (Live Pause allows you to pause your favorite radio station and tune back in - even rewinding as far back as fifteen minutes, then fast forward to catch up to the live broadcast) and iTunes Tagging (allows you to tag songs you like on the radio but do not know the name of the song or artist who sings it), built in pedometer, and a spoken menu that allow listeners to hear many of the names of menus, song titles, and artists without viewing the screen. It supports twenty voice-over languages ranging from Chinese to Polish. It’s even environmentally friendly as it is mercury-free, has arsenic-free glass, and it’s highly recyclable.

Being that I base many of my purchases on customer ratings and reviews, I felt at ease making the purchase. One review by Rob Mead (TechRadar, 2009) concluded that “the iPod nano is a ragbag of features. Its strengths as a small, compact and user-friendly portable media player shine through, but the video camera and FM radio are plain daft”. Another review by Bob LeVitus (the Mac Observer, 2009) concluded that “the 5th generation iPod nano is easily the best and most feature-packed iteration yet. I'm disappointed that it can't shoot still photos but my only real complaint is the same one I have had for every iPod I've ever reviewed -- the included earphones are still uncomfortable and mediocre. This otherwise excellent little device deserves better”. My nephew made it clear that while he appreciated all the bells and whistles, he primarily wanted to see his music list and the music that was playing. So based on my nephews’ preference, the iPod nano passed my test.

In the article Fads (Browne, 2005), the author states that “America is a nation of faddists…we are therefore dedicated to having and enjoying fads, even being controlled by them, those generally short-lived crazes in which we pour our unconscious and conscious attention for a while before moving on to another”. Surely time will tell if the iPod nano is just another fad. I predict that some version of the iPod will be around for years to come only to be improved upon.

References

Apple (2009). Don’t just listen to the radio. Pause it and tag it, too. Retrieved January 22, 2010 from http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/features/fm-radio.html

Apple iPod nano 8GB 5th Generation Newest Model (2009) Retrieved January 22, 2010 from http://www.walmart.com


Rob Meade (2009). Apple iPod nano 5th Gen.16GB review. Retrieved January 22, 2010 from http://www.techradar.com/reviews/gadgets/ipods-and-portable-audio/ipod-and-mp3-players/apple-ipod-nano-5th-gen-16gb--636187/review

Bob LeVitus (2009). iPod nano (5G) In-Depth Review. Retrieved January 22, 2010http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/review/ipod_nano_5g/

Browne, R. (2005), Profiles of Popular Culture. Popular Press.