iPod Random thoughts: iTunes 5, Shuffle, Nano

Just a couple of things I've noticed recently, apologies if they've already been mentioned:

1. iTunes 5 now sets "last played" times for stuff which you listened to on your Shuffle - the is good news for people like me who want to build playlists based on "recently played" or "least recently played". The played time is set to the sync time so it's not perfect but it's a lot better than nothing. The Shuffle doesn't appear to have an internal clock so I think this is the best they can do.

2. My brand new black 4Gb Nano (bought from the Regent St. store on Monday so they have stock in, or did then) has significantly better sound quality than my Shuffle - surprisingly good, actually (the Shuffle wasn't too bad to start with). I've read from a few people that the sound quality is the same between the two - not on my two devices it isn't, and a colleague at work who has both Shuffle and Nano made the same comment as well, that the Nano was noticeably better. This is without any EQ settings enabled on the Nano.

E.

Steve: the Shuffle always did update playcounts but it never set the last played time - the play count is not always quite as useful for making playlists (at least I haven't found it so..)

Loge: That site is interesting - it certainly looks that the Shuffle is technically a bit better but the difference to my ears between the two is quite significant - the Nano sounds brighter, sharper and clearer. The shuffle is relatively muffled in comparison. I wonder if the type of headphones makes a difference? I use Sony earbuds which may have a different impedance to the stock white iPod phones.. Maybe it's all just subjective

E.