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Apple iPod Nano

Apple's master-stroke?

Review Unless you were hiding in a cave last week, you'll have heard about the latest changes made to Apple's iPod range. Out went the iPod Mini, which on the surface seemed like a strange decision. The Mini enjoyed a fanatical reception from the millions of style-conscious consumers who realised that they'd never fill a 20GB iPod no matter how hard they tried, while its smaller dimensions made it even cooler than the original white icon. However, when it comes to dimensions, the iPod Mini looks positively obese compared to its replacement, writes Riyad Emeran.

Apple iPod Nano

The iPod Nano is a triumph of design and functionality. I remember looking at the iPod Mini and thinking Apple couldn't shrink it any further without losing that legendary iPod usability, but I was wrong. With the Nano, Apple has managed to create a positively anorexic form factor, while maintaining the industry leading click-wheel controller.

The nano measures 8.9 x 3.9 x 7cm, and weighs in at only 42g. I can testify that you really don't notice it in your pocket - pretty much exactly what Apple was shooting for.

Fans of the rainbow-coloured Mini range will be disappointed to hear that the Nano only comes in black and white. The black really does look superb, although I'm sure there are many iPod purists who would only have a white one. That said, at the Regent Street Apple Store yesterday, sales of the black Nano were outstripping the white by a huge margin.

The Nano ships in two capacities, 2GB and 4GB. I went for the 2GB because 4GB isn't anywhere near enough for me to store all my music, and besides that's what my 20GB iPod is for - so my rationale is that you might as well save £40, since you're going to have to pick and choose your tracks no matter which capacity you go with. Apple reckons that the 2GB Nano will store 500 songs, with the 4GB holding 1000. Of course, how much you actually get onto any device depends on the bit rate at which you encode your music and the codec you use. Like all iPods, the Nano supports two codecs AAC, MP3, AIFF, WAV, Apple Lossless and Audible.

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