The ToyBox

Ricardo Bilton & Gloria Sin

iPod Nano loses click wheel for square multi-touch display; starts at $149

By | September 1, 2010, 11:30am PDT

Summary: There is a new member of the iPod Nano family, with a new design that somewhat blends previous generations but truly stands apart altogether.

There is a new member of the iPod Nano family, with a new design that somewhat blends previous generations but truly stands apart altogether.

Looking slightly reminiscent of the third-gen iPod Nano with its wider display, the sixth-generation iPod Nano has a new square, multi-touch display, but it lost the click wheel altogether. Such a squarish display was previous spotted and rumored about earlier this summer, and now it is for real.

The latest Nano is 46% smaller and 42% lighter than the previous generation, with a clip (rather than an armband) and hard volume buttons.

The user interface is like a squeezed down version what you’d see on the iPhone 4 and the new iPod touch, but with only four icons on the screen at a time. It’s sure to be a useful exercise companion with a pedometer, Nike+ and FM radio. Users can also expect VoiceOver technology (like on the iPod Shuffle), support for 29 languages, and a battery life for up to 24 hours of audio playback.

The new iPod Nano is available for pre-order today, and it should be ready for shipping by next week. Pricing starts at $149 for 8GB and jumps to $179 for the 16GB variant. Traditionally, the iPod Nano has always been a colorful product (just like its predecessor, the iPod Mini), and this generation is no exception with seven color options to choose from: black, pink, blue, silver, green, orange and a Product: Red version.

Related coverage on ZDNet:

Kick off your day with ZDNet's daily e-mail newsletter. It's the freshest tech news and opinion, served hot. Get it.

Topics

Rachel King is a staff writer for ZDNet based in San Francisco.

Disclosure

Rachel King

Rachel King has no business relationships, affiliations, investments, or other potential conflicts of interest relating to the content posted in this blog.

Biography

Rachel King

Rachel King is a staff writer for CBS Interactive in San Francisco. Before serving as a contributing editor at ZDNet in New York City for two years, she previously worked for The Business Insider, FastCompany.com, CNN's San Francisco bureau and the U.S. Department of State. Rachel has also written for MainStreet.com, Irish America Magazine and the New York Daily News, among others. Rachel has a B.A. in Mass Communications and History from the University of California, Berkeley and a M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University, where she served as art director for the student magazine, Plated.

Related Discussions on TechRepublic

Did you know you can take part in these discussions with your ZDNet membership?
3
Comments

Join the conversation!

Just In

NNNOOOOOOOOOO
grillomalta@... Updated - 2nd Sep 2010
This is the worst step in the history of the much-loved Nano! What where they thinking? No camera? No video?

I will skip this abomination...nice, but not for me...
Apple went from the candy bar form factor to a square one before only to return to the original shape. Remove video? Remove the camera? For the same price? Are you kidding? The Nano was taking innovative steps forward. Now it's being dismantled! Apple should be adding capacity instead of stripping down the Nano and adding a gimmicky touch screen. Why take the most popular iPod in the world and ruin it? Ill pass on this misstep wait for the next generation!
"$149 for 8GB and jumps to $179 for the 16GB variant." waaay too pricey, and for less features!
0 Votes
+ -
NNNOOOOOOOOOO
grillomalta@... Updated - 2nd Sep 2010
This is the worst step in the history of the much-loved Nano! What where they thinking? No camera? No video?

I will skip this abomination...nice, but not for me...

Join the conversation!

Formatting +
BB Codes - Note: HTML is not supported in forums
  • [b] Bold [/b]
  • [i] Italic [/i]
  • [u] Underline [/u]
  • [s] Strikethrough [/s]
  • [q] "Quote" [/q]
  • [ol][*] 1. Ordered List [/ol]
  • [ul][*] · Unordered List [/ul]
  • [pre] Preformat [/pre]
  • [quote] "Blockquote" [/quote]
ie8 fix

The best of ZDNet, delivered

ZDNet Newsletters

Get the best of ZDNet delivered straight to your inbox

Facebook Activity

White Papers, Webcasts, & Resources
ie8 fix