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Development of the iPod nano

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Apr 12, 2001
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Time Magazine profiles the recently released iPod nano. The article provides some minor hints and details surrounding the development of the iPod nano.

The Nano's development reportedly began only nine months ago even while the iPod mini was having fantastic sales. "Jobs was proposing to fix something that decidedly was not broken."

While on the exterior the Nano appears to be an iPod, every internal component was re-engineered.

We use every fraction of a millimeter of space to get things in there," says Apple senior vice president Phil Schiller. "It's like a puzzle to fit all that stuff together. It has the tightest tolerances of anything we've ever made in the history of this company.
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The iPod nano also displays the influence of designer Jonathan Ive, who reportedly spent months on the minute details of Apple's latest iPod.

Ive fondles a tiny Nano affectionately, pointing out all the things that nobody will ever notice but that he sacrificed months of his life for--things like the laser etching of the logo on the back or the surface's being slightly rougher on the click wheel than on the rest of the front. "I know you're not going to consciously find these details particularly appealing," he concedes, "but I think it's the fact that we've worried about all of them that makes the product so precious."
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Apple has been tight lipped about recent projects, and the article reveals that "only a small group at Apple even knew about the Nano before it launched."
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2005/09/12/development-of-the-ipod-nano/
good article.....but i hope apple doesnt get too involved with dvr's and tvs liek they were saying.......unless they are all involved in some t ype of apple media center, but even still i dotn see the market prime for those yet......maybe in 3 years so to speak...still a little too nerdy and too involved for the average user.....but leave it to apple...........
 
Hold a meeting to discuss a risky new product... and then 9 months later ship in volume! I like this Apple :) Put those people on Intel hardware projects now :)
 
Now Apple needs to make an even smaller nano that's the thinness of a business card, and we might have the next great thing.
 
This passionate attention to detail and elegance is what has always set Apple apart from the the mainstream, stamped out manufacturer. Virtually any Apple product I've owned I've been proud to display. The garden variety PC I have (for those exceedingly rare uses) is as aesthetic as a toaster and lives in a semi-dark corner of the floor as far under my office furniture as it will fit. A position worthy of its charm.

I hope Apple never loses this.
 
Sirus The Virus said:
Ineresting article. Thats amazing that only a small part of Apple knew about the Nano.
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Well, the 'small group' who was in the know didn't do a very good job keeping it quiet. There were all kinds of rumors and accounts of the nano that ended up being pretty accuracy in terms of looks, size, capacity, and price. I wonder if they have ID the learker(s) yet...
 
nagromme said:
Hold a meeting to discuss a risky new product... and then 9 months later ship in volume! I like this Apple :) Put those people on Intel hardware projects now :)
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No.
Those people need in the spaceship projekt to destroy Bill Gates and Microsoft.

They are going to film that, and release a movie of it:
Pirates of the SiliconValley II -Jobs strikes back
 
Went to Apple Tyson's today to look at the nano. Guess what? It was a buy at first sight! It is charging as I type!

Apple and Ives deserve great praise for this one. In some ways this is what the Shuffle should have been. I now have my tunes when I go out for an evening on the town, riding the Metrorail. My iPod mini will now see more duty as a backup and a work tunes player.
 
Only if...

Only if they put that much effort to bring up the computer end of Apple to be in line with the rest of the market.... :D
 
I went to look at Nano at Yorkdale Apple Store on Sunday. They at sold out of black 4 gigers, but had plenty of white.

Absolutely beautiful device. The quality of the display is excellent. It really isn't too small. You can see photos just fine.

Apple deserve to sell this by the bucket load.
 
FlyNolJ said:
Only if they put that much effort to bring up the computer end of Apple to be in line with the rest of the market.... :D
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If only Apple had the processors to do so... :-D
 
shompa said:
No.
Those people need in the spaceship projekt to destroy Bill Gates and Microsoft.

They are going to film that, and release a movie of it:
Pirates of the SiliconValley II -Jobs strikes back
Click to expand...

And during the keynote, Steve says to Bill... "Who's your daddy". Finally a third installment is planned called "Silicon Valley - Return of Steve Jobs".
 
I saw the nano on Saturday at the Apple Store...and then again when I was at Best Buy on Sunday. I thought that was good that it's in stock right away at resellers too.

For those that haven't held one, they are even better in person.

Nice article too!
 
FlyNolJ said:
Memory, GPUs, Ports, Displays.....
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The GPUs, displays et al are available, of course, but apple just choose to use 2nd rate crap to cut costs which are non replaceable ( especially graphic cards in iMacs and Minis).
 
Firewire Sync

Too bad Apple forgot to include the ability to sync music via firewire or I'd buy one today!!
 
Stella said:
The GPUs, displays et al are available, of course, but apple just choose to use 2nd rate crap to cut costs which are non replaceable ( especially graphic cards in iMacs and Minis).
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I believe the GPUs in consumer Macs are non-replaceable for SIZE reasons above all. The iMac and Mini can't fit a card slot. (And the GPUs in Macs actually ARE competitive with consumer PCs--many of which have lower capabilities in fact. As for the quality of components... again I'd say Apple's on top of the pack, and reliability surveys say the same.)
 
rwmoore said:
Too bad Apple forgot to include the ability to sync music via firewire or I'd buy one today!!
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I was bummed about that too. After reading the Time story, I wonder if they had to eliminate firewire support due to space issues inside the iPod? Not really sure if it would impact space inside the iPod, but just a thought...
 
derajfast said:
unless they are all involved in some t ype of apple media center, but even still i dotn see the market prime for those yet......maybe in 3 years so to speak...still a little too nerdy and too involved for the average user.....but leave it to apple...........
Click to expand...
Digital Music Players were nerdy before iPods :p
 
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