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Product: Digital music player (flash drive)

Developer: Apple

Minimum Requirements: Macintosh computer with USB port (USB 2.0 recommended), Mac OS X v10.3.4

Retail Price: 2GB - $199.00; 4GB - $249.00

Availability: Out now

When the original iPod came out, I thought it was the stupidest product Apple ever came up with, and that I'd never want one. Then I got one, and I couldn't stop using it. When the nano was announced, I thought it was a clever gadget of limited usefulness, a nice "starter" for people who didn't need a "real" iPod, and that I'd never want one. Then I got one.

The lesson to be learned from this is, "Never listen to Bill Stiteler," but let's continue with the review anyway.

I sing the praises of the nano! Its small size! Its beauty! Its color screen! Its ability to pick up scratches! Okay! Not that last one!

The nano is tiny. Really, incredibly, unbelievably tiny. Yet, it has that magnificent color screen and a solid feel to it (no doubt because it is solid state, and all). It's so small that once when I went walking in a button-down shirt without a pocket, I was able to nestle it between the buttons of my shirt. But you know that it's small.

It uses a flash drive, which means that it doesn't skip, virtually cannot skip no mater how quickly you move. But you know that it uses a flash drive.

It has a color screen which can be used with iPhoto to display pictures. Very tiny—though crisp—pictures. You know that, too.

You also know the nano comes in two configurations: 2GB and 4GB. What you may not know is how great that is. See, I also own a 10 GB iPod, which holds most of my music collection. But I've stopped using it since I got the nano specifically because of its smaller disk size.

I would not have believed—until I owned one—how liberating the smaller disk size is. You see, having my entire music library with me is like sitting down and looking at a menu with 10,000 items on it. Sometimes, it's hard to choose. Sometimes, you completely forget about something because it gets lost in the multitude of choices. I put the entire discography of They Might Be Giants on my 10 gig, but practically never listened to them.

With the nano, that's different. When I sit down to put music on it, I have to specifically choose what I want to listen to. This makes the selection more critical—I can't just put any old thing on there, and if I put something new on, I listen to it to make sure it's not just eating up space. It's like sitting down to a sushi dinner instead of an all-you-can-eat buffet.

The iPod nano picks up scratches. Yes, we all know this. To test it, I scratched it with my fingernail, and made a permanent mark in it. Then, as an experiment, I went back to my 10 gig 2G and tried the same thing, and made the same mark. My advice? Buy a case, and stop reading Cnet.

The Apple-supplied headphones are just okay, but you won't notice that until you get a really nice pair that focus the bass into your ears. Also, they get very stiff in colder weather, like twigs, and can cause the earbuds to fall out of your ear if you're out walking in a winter wonderland.

Another gripe is that it only synchs with USB now. This is a problem because now I have to take the synch cable with me between home and work since I only have Firewire at both locations. Still more annoying is the fact that in order to use the photo function with the nano, I have to link it to one computer; when I hook it up to another, I get the message asking if I want to erase the nano and link it with that computer.

Still, those minor annoyances aside, it's really an incredible piece of work. If you don't care about having every single song you own travel around with you, its tiny form factor and incredible elegance should make this the iPod for you.

Strengths: Incredibly small. Great screen. Makes you pick good music.
Weaknesses: Pricey, small disk size. Picks up scratches.

Bill's been using Macs since the late 80s. When he's not making smartass remarks to amuse Kirk Hiner, he enjoys fighting for the user.