At an invitation-only event in San Francisco today, Apple officially announced their next-generation iPod nano player. The 5th generation nano, the Apple iPod nano 5G, will be the first Apple iPod to ship with a video camera on board. Apple took square aim at Flip Video in their announcement, pointing out that the new video recording iPod nano 5G will cost $150, the same as an entry level Flip camcorder, for a 8GB model and $180 for a 16GB iPod with video recording capabilities. Though rumors pegged the iPod touch for a video camera upgrade, it was only the new iPod nano that stormed the mini video recorder battlefield.
The new Apple iPod nano 5G shoots video at VGA resolution, a step down from the Pure Digital Flip's best cameras, which can shoot in HD. Still, Apple managed to fit the new video player, along with some other new technology, into the same sharp, slim shell as the last-generation iPod nano device. The new iPod features not only a video camcorder and microphone built-in, it also features an FM radio and a pedometer on board, both firsts for the iPod family. The display on the new iPod nano 5G is stretched just a bit to 2.2-inches, and the exterior gets a nice polished anodized aluminum look, which gives a glossy sheen to the brightly colored devices.
We got our hands-on the new iPod nano 5G, and on the iPod's small screen, video looked very good. If you hold the center button, you can choose from a few basic effects for video recording, including a Sepia tone and a reverse-color X-Ray mode. We can imagine Apple expanding this feature to include more special effects in future software updates.
The video recording on the iPod nano is still very simple, as we saw in our hands-on time with the device. There's no advanced method for reducing shake or motion while shooting, which we think will be the next big thing for these pocket-sized camcorder devices. Also, as we mentioned, there's no HD video recording. Perhaps this would be a better addition for the iPod touch, which uses a much larger hard drive than the smaller iPod nano 5G.
In addition to the new video recording features, Apple also uses the pedometer in the iPod nano 5G to link with Nike's online exercise tracking services. Just plug in your iPod nano 5G to iTunes and it will give you feedback for your workout. With the new microphone for the camcorder, the iPod nano will also let users record voice memos without an external microphone.
The new Apple iPod nano 5G and the movies it records are compatible with both PCs and Macintosh computers, and both systems will be able to clip, send and edit movies recorded from the device. The iPod nano 5G is available today in a slew of shiny new colors.
By Philip Berne
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The ipod nano 5g really looks impressive. I wonder when I can get one.
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