First Steps Toward Hacking the New iPod Nano

[aaarrrgggh]

While my Nano is pretty redundant to other devices, I am quite happy with it. Hacking it is one of those things that could turn it into an interesting, customized device for niche applications. Sure, it is niche... but might be fun for something with no external data access.

TCP over FM?

 

[nagromme]

Perhaps it's just me being narrow minded, but I don't see too much potential with the screen being so small and no blue tooth. To me, it's fine as shipped. We'll see.

It might not be front page news, but customizing gizmos that seem to be locked down is fun in a “because it’s there” kind of way. I hacked my old clickwheel iPod (gave it a red UI with my contact info on the time bar)—not for any real benefit, but just for fun! So stories like this are interesting to me. I’d never hack my primary phone or iPad, but I’d hack a less-important device if I were bored enough!

 

[currentinterest]

The only improvement in the current Nano that it needs is a price drop. If the entry model were priced at $99, it would be perfect.

 

[canucksfan88]

heres my thoughts

i think the current nano was supposed to be the new iPod shuffle, but production costs were too high to have it priced at the lower shuffle price point.

apple removed too many great features that were present in the last generation nano, and was a total step back.

 

[vertgo]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A306 Safari/6531.22.7)

Just got it to use as a watch, but I prefer digital watches (analog requires another step of processing left over from the days when we only had gears and springs and no transistors)

Currently there's no digital watch option.

Every piece of electronics has something we wish we could change about it, and I'm always indebted to the people willing to put in the work so that we can realize it's potential.

 

[Islandz]

heres my thoughts

i think the current nano was supposed to be the new iPod shuffle, but production costs were too high to have it priced at the lower shuffle price point.

apple removed too many great features that were present in the last generation nano, and was a total step back.

Someone is looking at where the puck is; not where it will be.

Apple is going to keep this design; it seems they wanted consumers to warm up to this device's form factor and for a large peripheral halo to exist for it before they beef it in the update and employ Apple's behind-the-screen camera patent to make this a FaceTime enabled device.

Hello Dick Tracy!

 

[KnightWRX]

Apple is going to keep this design; it seems they wanted consumers to warm up to this device's form factor and for a large peripheral halo to exist for it before they beef it in the update and employ Apple's behind-the-screen camera patent to make this a FaceTime enabled device.

Hello Dick Tracy!

It's going to need network access too before it can have facetime, not just a camera. Seriously, the new nano is what it is, an iPod with a touch screen. It's not meant to be much more, they just wanted a more compact form factor and as a workout iPod, it works much better what with the integrated clip and all. No need to fumble with an armband or other such nonsense.

And let's drop the "where the puck is going to be" Steve Jobs lunacy. If you always skate to where the puck is going to be, you're never going to actually touch the puck to make a goal. The analogy was dumb to begin with.

 

[Perrumpo]

Last generation Nano was the pinnacle of Nano design. I thought that they would bump the memory up to 32GB and then I would buy one. When I saw the new Nano I was in shock:

1) Video camera gone
2) Ability to play movies gone
3) Click wheel gone
4) Nice form factor gone
5) Bigger screen gone
6) Increase in capacity - NOPE

Chances are if the nano is your only iPod, you don't care much about those things. If you really did, you'd have an iPod Touch, iPhone, or similar device that is far more appropriate for taking and watching video than the 5th-gen nano.

It's a shuffle with a touch screen now, and that's a great device to offer. Should it have replaced the shuffle instead of that nano? No way Apple would give up an iPod that can be had for a cool $50. And again, get an iPod Touch if you're so concerned with video on your iPod.

Even more galling is that they realized that taking the click wheel off the shuffle was a mistake so they added it back, but then removed it from the Nano.

Seriously? So the absence of a click wheel on the iPod Touch is a mistake, too?? Obviously, you don't need a click wheel with a touch screen.

 

[Burger Thing]

Yet another obese whiner complaining about things being too small because HE is too big! Because it is Apple's fault you're fat. My God, give me a break- it isn't THAT hard to operate even for larger fingers! The icons are the exact same size as those on the iPod Touch. Nice exaggeration. By the way, do you even OWN one? It's easy to presume that it's a POS (as I did when it was announced), but it's different once you own one. I bought one and couldn't be happier (except a longer-lasting battery would be welcomed). If you want the functions you listed, get the iPod Touch- it's not that much more. I had the Touch and it was overkill. Any of the "missing features" you list my Macbook Pro can do 100 x better than any iPod. My preference - strip down the iPod to be a music/ audio device. That's what Apple did and I am happy for it. I'm about at my wit's end with every electronic device trying to do/ be everything in one. I like that the nano does ONE thing GREAT instead of 20 things HALF-ASSED. Keep it simple.

First time I saw the latest iPod Nano was in Best Buy in LA. I was watching a middle aged man, trying awkwardly to select a song on the nano. It was mix of a comical and a sad sight... You could only come to the conclusion, that this product was definitely not designed for the masses.

And by the way, I am 6'2", have big fingers, are not obese, have good eyesight and find that the user experience - or call it friendliness- on the Nano is definitely not in line with other Apple products.

And as a workout iPod, I want to know, how often one can successfully change a song or playlist with sweaty hands. Good luck, I say.

 

[KnightWRX]

And as a workout iPod, I want to know, how often one can successfully change a song or playlist with sweaty hands. Good luck, I say.

Why would you change songs with sweaty hands ? Wipe them off your towel first. You do have a towel with you right ? You know, the wipe off sweat from the equipment you're using and from yourself so it doesn't get in your eyes and distract you ? 🙄

And I want to know how one successfully changes a song period while running and keeping the iPod in an armband or clipped. I usually just prepare my playlist before starting to workout, so I set it and forget it.

 

[fsck-y dingo]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8A306 Safari/6531.22.7)

analog requires another step of processing left over from the days when we only had gears and springs and no transistors

I love my electronic stuff but I wear watches with springs and gears. 🙂

 

[Islandz]

I love my electronic stuff but I wear watches with springs and gears. 🙂

How steampunk of you 😀

 

[JAT]

The Nano is being compared to the Nano. Not to different product lines.

Look, you don't have to agree with people, but at least act like one.

 

[KnightWRX]

The Nano is being compared to the Nano. Not to different product lines.

Look, you don't have to agree with people, but at least act like one.

I'm sorry, but older nano, newer nano, you don't manipulate it with your sweaty hands. You wipe off on your workout towel first.

 

[rans0m00]

This is not huge news but its a step in the right direction. I enjoy my JB'd iPhone mainly for the appearance. The other features you gain were not my motivation. So if they eventually get a JB or even just a way to change the appearance of the icons or how they are arranged/size I will probably do this to my Nano. My knowledge of how a iPhone/iPod gets hacked is extremely limited but from what I understand the effort put into making a hack that is functional for the masses is very difficult and time consuming so considering this guy has made any progress that is noticeable then good for him. BTW the sweaty hand really? This is an easily problem to solve. Find a dry spot anywhere on the article of clothing you are wearing and wipe. It only needs to be large enough to dry one finger.

 

[vertgo]

How steampunk of you 😀

Good use for a jailbroken ipod nano:

Modify the watch graphics with steampunk graphics.

I like that Apple provides pretty, clean design for everything, but I also want to be able to personalize it outside of what they allow. If we always stayed in the lines, i can imagine a world like this:

 

[doctor-don]

Get a life!

Complain about things that REALLY matter.

 

[Burger Thing]

Why would you change songs with sweaty hands ? Wipe them off your towel first. You do have a towel with you right ? You know, the wipe off sweat from the equipment you're using and from yourself so it doesn't get in your eyes and distract you ? 🙄

And I want to know how one successfully changes a song period while running and keeping the iPod in an armband or clipped. I usually just prepare my playlist before starting to workout, so I set it and forget it.

No kidding 🙄 Point is, a tiny bit of sweat and the Nano is hard to control. The previous one, with had buttons was much more practical in that sense.

 

[twoodcc]

cool. i'm sure someone will take this much farther. hopefully next year's nano will have iOS

 

[emotion]

More progress:

http://blog.steventroughtonsmith.com/2010/12/ipod-nano-6g-irecovery.html

 

[tigress666]

No kidding 🙄 Point is, a tiny bit of sweat and the Nano is hard to control. The previous one, with had buttons was much more practical in that sense.

Why not just get the headphones with the remote and use that when working out? That is easier to use while working out/walking than the click wheel or touch screen.

 

[KnightWRX]

No kidding 🙄 Point is, a tiny bit of sweat and the Nano is hard to control. The previous one, with had buttons was much more practical in that sense.

Point is you have no point. You're grasping at straws. BTW, I rarely sweat from my hands working out. Head/arms/chest/back maybe, but hands ? Jesus, I'm not 12 and working up the courage to go ask a girl on a date, I'm running my daily routine and lifting weights.

The one with buttons was a bitch to swap songs on too, since it was in an armband and those don't exactly make it easy to manipulate the iPod in the first place. There isn't a con or anything.

Anyway, if you don't like it, don't buy it. I bought one, I find it's perfect with its integrated clip and small size.

Why not just get the headphones with the remote and use that when working out? That is easier to use while working out/walking than the click wheel or touch screen.

A very good point, as I have pointed out, changing songs on any device while running is quite the headache, just because of your body's movement and how the device is attached to your body. Unless you like carrying it in your hands the whole time. Of course, the best thing to do is to just have a playlist so you don't get distracted while doing your exercise. I swear people just want an excuse to not workout.

 

[Islandz]

This is so exciting.

No idea why this isn't getting more press.

If nothing else, the hidden files suggest what is to come for this platform.

 

[Burger Thing]

Why not just get the headphones with the remote and use that when working out? That is easier to use while working out/walking than the click wheel or touch screen.

Yes, good idea. I might have to look for a remote, which I can connect in between the iPod and the headphones. In regards to those, I am a bit of a Sound Quality Nazi 😛 and quite picky about Headphones and I don't like the Apple ones. Currently I am using a pair of Denons and quite happy about those.

I do like to have the ability to change in between songs or playlists - even in the gym - otherwise I could have probably just bought a Shuffle. I have my iPod in my pocket and I find the tactile feedback the old iPod provided, a bit more practical for my needs.

Anyway, not a big deal anyway - we are talking only about a MP3 player after all.

 

[kaielement]

So I have read many things about the new nano. And I have to say i like the redesign. First off I hated the video playback manly because the screen was to small and the camera didn't do anything for me (it didn't even take pics). I like it for working out. The clip is great. Anyway the one thing I hate is that you can't turn off the unit. It just goes into a sleep mode. At the Best Buy I work at my apple guy has been using his as a watch and now I am looking into using one as a watch too. My only fear is the battery. I mean really you can't turn it off? Why Apple, why?