Apple iPod Nano / 3rd Generation

The third generation iPod Nano from Apple Inc. was released in September 2005. This generation of the mid-range of Apple’s portable media player product line comes in two storage capacities: 4 and 8 gigabytes. As with previous generations of the iPod Nano, it uses flash memory. The 4 gigabyte is available only in silver while the 8 gigabyte comes in pink, blue, green, black and red in addition to silver. The iPod Nano 3G is also the first Nano to support video playback.

Unlike the previous two generations which had a tall and slender profile, the Nano 3G is wider and shorter leading some to nickname it the iPod “fatty”. It now measures 2.75 x 2 x 0.26 inches. The change in profile was needed in order to fit a much larger screen for a better video playback experience. The screen is a 320 x 240 (QVGA) resolution 2" color LCD with LED backlighting that is noted for having the highest pixel density among Apple’s portable products including the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Notable Features

The third generation iPod Nano features a newer Operating System than its predecessors. The OS features a split display interface for better navigation, the inclusion of the Cover Flow style of browsing and a search function.

This portable media player does not have customizable equalizer settings but it does come with a total of 22 presets. It also allows for the creation of unlimited on-the-go playlists right on the device.

With the video and photo viewer, users can output videos and photo slideshows to their televisions. The photo slideshow also features simultaneous music playback.

Other features include games, read-only personal information manager (PIM) functions and a text viewer. Additional games can be purchased and downloaded from the online iTunes store. The PIM function supports syncing with Apple’s Address Book and iCal on Macs and the Windows Address Book and Microsoft Outlook 2003 on PCs.