Random Musings on Apple's iPod Nano

[MacBytes]

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Category: Opinion/Interviews
Link: Random Musings on Apple's iPod Nano (http://www.macbytes.com/link.php?sid=20050908063345)

Posted on MacBytes.com (http://www.macbytes.com)
Approved by arn

[OhEsTen]

I had no idea (until yesterday) that the mini was the best selling iPod. That being the case, that was an awefully gutsy move for Apple to wipe it out and replace it completely - but it's a move that makes sense, and will keep them on top for a long while.

Everyone else (creative, sony, iRiver etc.) is trying to compete with the mini, so now that they have invested millions into iPod mini-esque players - they just invested in old technology. By changing the name of the unit from "mini" to "nano" they even went further in setting the competition back. I think that it was a brilliant idea. These other companies still haven't got a clue. With the possible exception of Sony, they are all using Apple as the benchmark to attain and are not trying to "create" anything actually new. Not that it should surprise anyone, but these competitors will never beat Apple in the design and functionality department unless they think outisde the iPod.

I haven't touched one, so I can't say for sure, but from the video, and pics this thing looks pretty sleek. I am pretty sure I won't be buying one (unless it is for a friend) because I need at least 20 gigs of space - but who knows, maybe I'll change my mind after holding one.

Scratch the whole "exception of Sony" - I just found this: http://playlistmag.com/news/2005/09/08/sony/index.php

[AoWolf]

The mini is for sure for example in my high school aerospace class there are 3 minis and 1 photo(me).

[redAPPLE]

speaking of musings... why would i get the nano? imo, the mini was more like the iPod than the nano?

is it possible to create Accessoires that make use of the dock connector? something like the iTrip, iTalk or mini speakers?

[shamino]

I am pretty sure I won't be buying one (unless it is for a friend) because I need at least 20 gigs of space - but who knows, maybe I'll change my mind after holding one.
I said the same thing about the mini - before I ended up winning one in a contest.

Smart playlists change everything.

I have my entire music collection (about 40G) on my computer. I created a "Least recent" smart playlist set for:

All songs not played in the last 30 days
Limited to 3500 MB
Selected randomly
Live updating

Now, whenever I update the iPod, the songs that were played get deleted and replaced with songs I haven't heard in over a month. (Actually, I need to update it twice - the first time updates the last-played timestamps in iTunes, causing the smart playlist to change. The second time swaps out the songs in the iPod.)

This is pretty darn close to what Autofill gives you on the shuffle. (I still don't know why Apple doesn't allow Autofill on minis and full-size iPods. I think it's useful for anybody whose music collection is bigger than the iPod's capacity.)

It's not as nice as having everything your entire music collection on the iPod, but it works just fine most of the time, since my normal listening habit is to shuffle everything anyway.

If there's something particular I want to hear, I create a second playlist (smart or otherwise) containing that content and have iTunes sync that in addition to the "Least recent" playlist. (Reducing the MB size of the Least recent playlist if it looks like I'm going to exceed the iPod's capacity.)