Alex Muller

I can’t be bothered to actually write about the iPad; too many incredibly intelligent people have done that already, you can read what they have to say. If you’re looking for something to listen to, Leo Laporte’s MacBreak Weekly 177 had a load of clever folks.

However, I would love you to read this MacRumors thread:

iPoop… iCry. I was so hoping for something more.
Great just what the world needs, another freaking MP3 player. Go Steve! Where’s the Newton?!
Why oh why would they do this?! It’s so wrong! It’s so stupid!
gee! an mp3 player with a HD! how original! kinda reminds me of a JUKEBOX i once knew..

People got pissed off, angry and felt disappointed when Apple first introduced the iPod in 2001. You know, the iPod? That shitty little thing that currently holds the majority market share of MP3 players?

MacRumors link credit: notes, Andre Torrez

Nope, I couldn’t think of a more descriptive title. Michael and I headed along to the Apple Store, Regent Street this afternoon to have a look at the latest (fourth generation) iPod nanos and new iPod touches. Here’s us having a quick go:

New iPod Nanos from Alex Muller on Vimeo. Also on YouTube.

Thoughts on the nano: gorgeous, slim, easily the best looking one they’ve made yet. "Shake to shuffle" is fun, the accelerometer is a nice touch, and it’s much more responsive than the classic has always been. While the screen is incredibly high resolution, it’s still not big enough to watch videos comfortably. Folks were worried about glare from the slightly curved screen; would like to point out that while reflection looks like it might be an issue in the video above, it’s really not bad when you’re looking at it straight on.

As for the touch: volume controls on the side are nice, but Apple have gone and made it too thin. We agreed that it felt slippery in the hand because of the size coupled with the curved steel case, and I almost dropped it the first time I picked one up. The software feels (and upon testing, actually is) faster than my iPhone 3G, significantly so. It’s running the latest version which hasn’t been shipped for iPhone yet, and that might have something to do with it.

Also, a quick note on the new Genius feature in iTunes 8. Shockingly, it does actually work as confirmed by Adam, Samarth [protected], burgesg, Will and now me. The thing it does really well is to grab music you like that would otherwise get ‘lost’ in the thousands of songs the majority of us have these days. Apple have absolutely hit the nail on the head with the way they’re describing it:

Genius playlists help you discover songs in your library you never knew you had — and rediscover forgotten favorites.

The overall hardware verdict is: save yourself £60 and get a nano in your favourite colour. Who needs a touch screen anyway?