Back in 2004, when I got my first MP3 player, I never cared that it lacked a camera, Web browser and crystal-clear video playback — features that are now common on digital media devices.
Apple’s latest iPod Nano and Microsoft’s freshest Zune, both released [recently], offer these kinds of perks and plenty more. Neither is right for everyone, but both serve as a reminder of how far digital media players have come in just a few years.
Apple has sold more than 100 million iPod Nanos since launching the first one in 2005, and the latest version should cement its title as king of the prom.
At first glance, the new Nano seems very much like the previous version. It has retained its skinny legginess and curved sides, along with its crisp screen and slightly annoying shake-to-shuffle music feature. Astute gadget hounds may notice it has a slightly enlarged screen — it’s now 2.2 inches on the diagonal, up from 2 inches.
There are some major additions, though, that make this tiny tune toter really worth its price tag ($149 for 8 gigabytes of storage space; $179 for 16 gigabytes).
The first is located near the bottom of the Nano’s back: A little video camera lens with a pinhole-sized microphone. The location is prone to fingers-over-lens issues, but because the Nano has a built-in accelerometer you can solve this problem by turning the device upside down and it will still know to film right side up.
Apple says it simply wasn’t possible to place the camera anywhere else without making the Nano pudgier, so I’m willing to forgive this inconvenience.
The quality of Nano videos probably won’t get you into Cannes, but the camera is so easy to use that I found myself looking for cool things to record while wandering around listening to music. I also…