Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, iPod Family, Flickr Find
Flickr Find: 40 Nanos laid out

Aaron bought 40 of the new iPod nanos for a client (all he says is that he had to put content on them), and apparently was struck by how beautiful they were all lined up together, so he got a quick photo shoot set up on Flickr.
While I called them stubby and squished before, I have to admit that they look pretty darn elegant in these pics. I'm still not buying one (an iPhone is going to be my next purchase, very soon here), but the design is growing on me a little bit. I still think the scroll wheel looks weird, though-- it balances perfectly on the old iPods, and here it's too small and leaves too much space open on the sides. I'm no Ive, but I know what I like.
Thanks, AaronS!

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Michael Kummer said 12:05PM on 9-22-2007
I wonder how many of them have those slightly tilted LCDs...
mk
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Simon Arch said 12:09PM on 9-22-2007
Having played with them in the store a few times I've come to love the look. The wheel is remarkably responsive and very easy to use, which I did not expect, given its tininess and my Godzilla-sized thumbs. In fact, I now think the old nanos are the weird-looking ones. I can't wait until I've got the cash saved up for one of these little beauties.
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saamvisual said 12:56PM on 9-22-2007
Did he try to put calendar events on them, or address contacts with notes attached? I am guessing not. If he had tried it then his depression would have been 40 fold. When will the update arrive and match the 2g nano performance?
Deficient kit is not my motivation here.
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Simon Arch said 1:03PM on 9-22-2007
I suppose if you depend on iCal (I don't even use it) that would be a deal-breaker. I just want one so I can have the smallest (usable) iPod for listening to audiobooks. The shuffle would work, but without a screen it's almost useless for audiobooks.
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Moose said 2:53PM on 9-22-2007
I agree with you. From a purely proportional standpoint, they don't work visually. The scroll wheel has always lived in an area that worked for its size, but in this application, it is far too tight to the screen, and too tight to the bottom of the unit. And relative to the ample space to the left and right of the wheel, it feels oddly misaligned for an Apple product. Further, the rounded chamfer edging doesn't photograph well (although it feels great in your palm), which certainly didn't help with initial impressions.
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adrian said 3:37PM on 9-22-2007
How many movies can you store on one of these things at reasonable good quality before it fills up.
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MacBookOwner said 3:40PM on 9-22-2007
Yeah, because we all buy iPods Nanos to UPDATE iCal, and not being able to will depress us FORTY FOLD. Not just a minor issue, FORTY FOLD I TELL YOU!!! Yeah, thats the ticket.:P
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Big John said 4:22PM on 9-22-2007
Enough with the bitching about iPods not being able to add events in the Calendar app. It's spilling over to iPods that wouldn't even be useful for that.
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Jon H said 4:42PM on 9-22-2007
When I checked out the nanos at the local store, the white scroll wheels looked kinda yellowish/ivory-colored. Might have been dirt, or the lighting.
Hey, if the Touch and iPhone can show PDFs, do they support showing the digital booklets that come with some CDs on the iTunes store?
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Jon H said 4:43PM on 9-22-2007
The calendar feature might be held up for Leopard, which has a new iCal data store functionality.
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John said 6:33PM on 9-22-2007
Too bad the pictures aren't available in very high resolution. It would make for a nice wallpaper.
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PK said 7:01PM on 9-22-2007
@John:
If you check the Flickr gallery again, you should find the link the photographer put up to the original photos. They're now available as a download for wallpaper use.
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Chris said 7:01PM on 9-22-2007
@11 (John) - He posted a link on one of the other pictures to his .Mac gallery where you can get them fullsize.
http://gallery.mac.com/aaronsteele#100054
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JeffDM said 7:41PM on 9-22-2007
I think the new nanos are fine. David Pogue wasn't talking too much in the hyperbole when he said that it was about the size of a Triscuit. I suppose it could have been just a little taller. I think people got used to the nano, which I thought was a little too narrow and tall, now this kind of goes to the other extreme of both, proportionally speaking.
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geochick said 8:18PM on 9-22-2007
I went to the local Best Buy not to buy one (I too have an iPhone purchase planned in the near future) but anyway I wanted to see what one looked like. They had them in all the colors and I got to play with the metallic silver one. I have to say that it did not look stubby and squished as they do in most of the pictures I've seen. They have their own style not sure what you call it flat and wide maybe. I took out my old 2nd gen nano for comparison and was surprised at the weight difference. Also the screen was nice but since the Nano had no test video on it I didn't see how that looked. I walked away from the store eventually without one but I really can see giving one of these things away as a gift. They would fit perfectly in a shirt pocket.
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Rob C said 9:37PM on 9-22-2007
Nice pic!! I just downloaded the large pic as my new desktop background!! I bought a 4GB iPod nano myself at an Apple Store last week with my $100 iPhone credit. I didn't intend to get one initially but after playing with it, I was amazed at the size of it (and thinness) and its ability to play videos, I was sold!! I got 6 iPods now-- 1st and 2nd gen iPod shuffle, 20GB U2 iPod photo, 30GB 5th gen iPod video, 8GB iPhone and of course, my new iPod nano-- and I love them all!! :)
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saamvisual said 4:22AM on 9-23-2007
7+8: You misunderstood me: I am saying that the ical entries and notes from address book contacts don't get included properly/at all as they do in the 2g Nano.
(Macbookowner: your swift assumption of me being so dumb has only defined your own stature. Please try to think better of TUAW contributors)
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Galley said 9:26AM on 9-23-2007
I'm sorry, but the new black iPods don't look good at all.
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Allison said 7:23PM on 9-23-2007
Why would anyone want to watch a movie on a 2 inch screen?
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Allison said 7:25PM on 9-23-2007
Why would anyone want to watch a movie on a 2 inch screen? I don't get it.
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