iPod Nano 3rd Generation Review
The smallest, thinnest and elegantly designed iPod nano 3G is a well affordable portable MP3 player with a package of entertainment. Nano 3G is available in two models – 4GB and 8GB. While 4GB model comes only in silver colour, 8GB is in a variety of colours, silver, black red, mint green and turquoise blue. The front cover is made of aluminum and back cover is stainless steel. The 2” screen has the pixel count of 320 x 240.
iPod Nano 3rd Generation – Design Specifications
- Length – 2.75″
- Width – 2″
- Thickness – 0.25″
- Weight – 1.7 ounce
The spectacular display of the bright screen is the most distinctive feature of nano 3G. The USB port, headphone jack and hold switch are at the bottom of the device as a safety measure against accidental triggering of the buttons. The click wheel of this model is of just 1” diameter and is much thinner. The menu is displayed on the right half of the screen and a picture indicating the selected program appears on the left half.
iPod Nano 3G New Features
A Cover Flow for browsing songs of an album is an added feature of nano 3G. But, a more exciting new feature of nano 3G is that in spite of being the smallest model in size, nano 3G can provide playback of video and games. The nano 3G supports MPEG4 (H.264) video in following formats: MP4, M4 V and MOV.
At the rate of 30 frames per second, the maximum resolution will be 640 x 480 pixels. Videos can be either purchased from iTunes Store or imported into iTunes for conversion. Another new feature of nano 3G is the iTunes video games. The free games available are Vortex, iQuiz and Klondike. 3G nano provides the ‘shuffle’ facility to its users which enables them to easily select song, artist or album of their choice. Nano 3G supports the following audio files: MP3, AAC, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV & Audible.
The sound quality of nano 3G is undoubtedly up to the expectation of the users. It provides a choice of 20 presets between subtle enhancement and bass boost.
Battery life for nano 3G is 24 hours for audio and 5 hours for video. The 2” wide bright screen of nano 3G presents a stunning display of videos and photos with sharp and very clear images. In addition to the Cover Flow feature, the interface consists of a preview of the selected menu.
Distinguishing nano 3G
In order to identify the nano 3G model, the serial number of each of the device will be ending with either of the following 3 letter sets: YOP, YXR, YXT, YXV, YXX.
Capacity of nano 3G models
4GB – 1000 songs 3500 photos 4 hours of video
8GB - 2000 songs 7000 photos 8 hours of video
iPod nano 3G bears the distinction as the slimmest portable MP3 player model not only of the iPod family but whole of the portable MP3 player market. The display of iPod nano 3G is 2” LCD with LED backlight and the Aspect Ratio is 4:3.
The photo formats supported by nano 3G are: JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG, PSD & TIFF
The battery is of rechargeable lithium ion and the operating systems are Microsoft Windows XP Professional, XP Home, Microsoft Windows and Mac Os X 10.4.8 or later.
While the iPod nano 3G provides a wide range of free videos and podcasts, TV shows and movies can be purchased from iTunes store. Conversion of other formats is effected automatically and very quickly. The most amazing aspect of iPod nano 3G is its crystal clear video display.
It is really marvelous that a device so small in size produces images of really superb quality. Watching TV shows, video podcasts, movies etc. with the iPod nano 3G is an unforgettable experience. The incomparable picture quality and the vibrant colours are the reasons for the same.
Operating the device is comfortable as well as exciting. The Multi touch display of nano 3G enables the user to organize the music according to his choice. After browsing by songs, albums, artists, playlists and genres the user can play the song which is selected by him. Simultaneously the display will show the album art of the song being played.
Nano 3G also has the ‘shake to shuffle’ feature. Just by a gentle shake, the player will switch over to a different song of the user’s music library.
The ‘Genius’ feature identifies other songs from the user’s music library which are similar to the favorite songs of the user, makes a Genius playlist, creates a Genius Mix in iTunes and sync them to the nano 3G.
The artist, song or program being played is displayed by the FM Tuner. The user can break a running program by tapping “pause” and tap again to continue from where it was stopped. Provisions are also there for ‘rewind’ and ‘fast forward.’
Portable nano 3G is provided with a clip with which the user can walk, run, work and dance without the risk of the MP3 player falling down and getting damaged. While walking or running, the clipped iPod nano 3G will keep a track of the user’s steps with the help of the pedometer and then the data can be uploaded to the Nike+ website.
iTunes can be downloaded free of cost and it equips the nano 3G with up to date podcasts, audio books, songs etc. The iTunes library keeps everything that was either purchased or imported. The user can create a Genius playlist and sync the same to the nano 3G. Nano 3G has the special accessibility feature that enables the physically challenged to enjoy music, audio books etc.
Nano 3G possesses the latest screen reader feature called “Voice Over.” For a touch on the screen the ‘Voice Over’ tells the name of the song or the artist. THE ‘Voice Over’ feature supports 29 languages. iPod nano 3G can also give ‘white on black’ display to make higher contrast on the Home Screen as well as in the other applications.
The sturdy and stylish nano 3G is shaped in such a way that it is easy and comfortable to hold the MP3 player in the hand and operate.
The click wheel is unbelievably sensitive that the lightest touch with the finger is promptly responded. The circular scrolling of menu and contents is easy and smooth While the center button selects the highlighted items; buttons on the periphery are for control as well as access to main menu. The viewing angle is also quite comfortable. The much advanced interface is easy to operate.
The nano 3G has 22 preset levels that include jazz, pop, rock, classical, bass boost and the like. According to the type of music, the EQ will adjust the sound.
In addition to scrolling through the song list, the nano 3G can find out the specific item being searched by the user with the help of the ‘search’ feature. Other audio features of nano 3G are lyrics display, song rating and shuffling.
The cute and attractive 2” display of nano 3G is the most ideal to watch music videos and TV shows. Nano 3G has the extra features – photo viewer, light PIM, clock, calendar, alarm stop watch and text viewer.
The nano 3G is capable of launching video podcasts as videos without mistaking the same for audio podcasts. Similarly this nano model can recognize and skip the chapter markers in ‘Quick Time’ movie files.
Music and video files can be added and deleted without playlist syncing in nano 3G.
The software ‘Mac OS x Leopard’ in nano 3G is a much improved version and has been derived from the OSx software used by iPhone.
The perfect and crystal clear video playback, thin, sturdy and compact body, good battery life, free built-in games and a much innovated interface make nano 3G a lovely and convenient MP3 player.
The slimmest MP3 player at the most affordable price, offering a huge package of entertainment with a fabulous performance and a host of exciting features – that is iPod nano 3G which comes in two versions, 4GB & 8GB in attractive colours!





