Apple iPod Nano: First Look

Apple revamped its iPod Nano player, inside and out, giving it a taller, slimmer design and a new Shake to Shuffle feature, which lets you shuffle your songs by shaking the player. Here are the key details from our first look in the labs:

Visual switch

The built-in accelerometer reorients the display when you tilt the Nano, just like on the iPhone and Touch, and you can page through your album covers on the screen as well as play games. Although it lacks a touch screen, it’s still quite easy to navigate and make selections using the click wheel.

Greener claims

Apple says its new Nano is more environmentally friendly because it contains no mercury, brominated fire retardants, polychlorinated biphenyls, or arsenic. But it still lacks a replaceable battery, which would make it easier for people to hold onto their Nanos and keep them out of landfills even longer.

Bottom line

The new Nanos are a modest improvement on the older design, and they offer twice the storage for the same prices as the old models: $149 for an 8-gigabyte version (2,000 songs) and $200 for 16GB (4,000 songs). For more information, see Apple Spruces Up iPods, iTunes; Prunes prices, and fixes for iPhone 3G on our Electronics Blog.