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Washington Post reviews 4G iPod nano: If you’re looking for a new music player today, get the nano

Thursday, September 18, 2008 - 12:40 PM EST

"In its almost-seven-year lifespan, the iPod has often changed form and function as Apple has scrapped old versions to give this gadget new capabilities," Rob Pegoraro reports for The Washington Post. "Apple's latest updates arrived last week. It yet again redesigned the iPod Nano, long the best-selling model, to make it a far more useful video viewer."

"The new Nano (available in nine colors, at $149 for an 8-gigabyte model and $199 for a 16-GB unit) could be mistaken for the one Apple sold two years ago. But it's thinner, especially at its edges, and features a much larger screen," Pegoraro reports. "And it hides an accelerometer that, like a Nintendo Wii controller, responds to how you hold the thing."

Pegoraro reports, "When you tilt the Nano on its side, the image on its screen flips automatically from portrait to landscape mode, providing much more room for viewing photos, videos, TV shows and movies. (With music on, turning the Nano sideways brings up the Cover Flow view of your library, as a list of album covers -- and, annoyingly, stops the Click Wheel dial from adjusting the volume.) Hold the Nano upright, so the screen is on top, and the display reverts back to portrait mode."

"This clever trick allows this year's Nano to pack the same size screen as last year's model into a smaller and lighter package," Pegoraro reports. "That accelerometer also lets you shuffle music with a vigorous shake of the Nano."

Pegoraro advises, "If you're looking for a new music player today, my advice would be to get the iPod nano."

Full article here.