iTunes for Everything - Though you can still use the Nano like an external hard drive to transfer files between one computer and another, you cannot play any songs copied to the Nano in this manner. The Nano will ignore any music or picture file not transferred with the iTunes Music Suite. Not that iTunes is horrible, it's just I rather enjoyed being able to quickly copy and paste music using Windows Explorer.

No WMA Support - It's no surprise that Apple has chosen to support the same formats as it has in the past, but I still consider the lack of Windows Media Support extremely limiting. I know Apple wants everyone to shop at the iTunes Music Store, but what if I want to pay 12 cents less per song at the Wal-Mart Music Store? I like to have variety in where I can buy music, and I don't get that with Apple. Oh yeah... where the heck is native support for OGG? I guess it doesn't matter anymore, now that I'm forced to use iTunes for all music transfers.

Worthless Headphones - When will Apple finally listen to their customers and package better headphones with their music players. I can't think of anyone who doesn't hate the included headphones. Could this be another of Apple's attempts to make you buy more accessories?

Glossy Finish - The Nano's new glossy finish and mirrored back may be handy for helping you pick food scraps out of your teeth while on the go, but it does make it nearly impossible to keep the Nano looking new. It shows every fingerprint, and everything (I mean everything) scratches it.



Even after a week of gentile and loving use, the Nano (especially the gloss black version) looks like it's been through hell and

back. No doubt Apple and their legion of third party accessory makers will have an infinite amount of cases for you to plop 10 to 25 dollars on.

Too Small? - I also feel that the Nano's size will be cursed just as much as it's praised. It's just so small you tend to forget about it, which means you won't notice if it falls out of your shirt pocket, and I'm sure more than a few people are going to find a broken iPod when they pull their jeans out of the dryer. Though the build quality is durable, I can't help but feel that it could snap in two if you sit the wrong way while it's in your pocket.

Final Verdict

For some reason, the iPod has never been able to truly impress me the way it has with so many others. Yes, it's a good audio player, but I don't consider the iPod series to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. In fact, despite the major advances in hardware, I'm finding I like the iPods less each time a new one is released, mostly in part to the "Apple dictates how I use my product" approach they've been taking lately. I understood why protected AAC content had to be transferred with iTunes, but I should be able to transfer unprotected AAC and MP3 files without it.

The Nano is another great hardware release from Apple; one that truly lives up to the performance of the iPod name. No one will argue that Apple's iPod music players have set a standard on how an MP3 player should work (Shuffle excluded). In the end, by stripping out conveniences and limiting consumer choice, it seems that Apple is focusing more on turning people into revenue streams than happy customers.

I give the Nano a 7.5 out of 10.

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