December 5th, 2006
Why there's an iPod nano on my wish list - and not a Zune!
I feel that I should explain why, after years of resistance, I've finally added an iPod to my Holiday wish list.
Yep, it's true. This year there's an iPod on my wish list. An 8GB iPod nano to be exact. Kathie, my wife and business partner, nearly fell off her chair when she saw it listed on my Amazon wish list. After all, I've said some pretty nasty things about the iPod over the past few years (some of it on this blog) and in previous years I've resisted all attempts to have iPods thrust upon me.
So what made me change my mind?
Well, partly I blame all you iPod owners who read this blog. You've softened me up over the past six months.
Partly it's Apple's fault. The designers and engineers did such a good of updating the nano line - increased capacities, better shell, brighter screen, longer battery life. Apple has also encouraged and developed a huge ecosystem of third-party add-ons. You can "pimp up" or "James Bond" an iPod more than any other gadget out there. That means more gadget lust in the future. What's not to like about that?
Partly it's Microsoft's fault. As much as I like the Zune, it has one fatal flaw with it that means it won't work for me - it's not compatible with Audible.com audio books. That's a serious drawback for me. While it is possible (but not legal) to convert Audible files to MP3s, I don't want the hassle of it.
Partly it's Creative's fault. If it had a small player that had 4GB or more of capacity then I'd have probably gone in that direction (after all, my Creative MuVo TX has been a faithful friend for a number of years now, but at 256MB it's just way too small for my needs).
I know that there are some things about the iPod that aren't yet perfect. There's no built-in FM tuner, no built-in recorder feature, the battery is non-removable (in the general sense of the term - when the time comes to replace it the iPod will pay a visit to my personal operating theater!), and the earphones are, well, not to my liking.
I almost added a SanDisk Sansa e280R Rhapsody to my wish list instead, but the thing that swayed me to the iPod nano was all the add-ons and the fact that I'd heard that the Sansa doesn't like lossless files.
Now I just have to wait and see if I get one on Christmas morning!
Adrian is a technology journalist and author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology. He also runs a popular blog called The PC Doctor. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations
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| 12/05/06
