All at the stroke of the thumb

WHAT: Apple iPod nano 8GB (third generation) IT’S LIKE: A modern, more fun, much smaller and much nicer looking version of the Walkman of the 80s. RATING: 10 Abba songs out of 10

Remember the Walkman? Back in the 80s, I used to own one with a unique snap-on design, where the cassette was clasped in between the player like a sandwich, with the top of the tape sticking out. It was smaller than a cassette and ahead of its time. It even came with a foldable headphone set, with great quality sound. Way cool.

Hey, I had one too! I used it to listen to my favourite songs from Kenny Rogers to Rocky soundtrack. It even had a portable radio pack which you could push into the cassette slot to tune into your favourite FM stereo broadcast.

The only snag was having to rewind the cassette repeatedly if you wanted to listen to the same song again.

Back to the future in a De Lorean time machine and things have changed drastically. Now I have the iPod.

Yeah but that’s old news.

Yeah but this thing that I have with me, I really think it’s something even Lara Croft would die for.

Really? What is so special about it?

This device, in my opinion, marks the evolution of personal entertainment device which packs everything into one tiny unit including music, photos and videos. If the man with one eye is king in the land of the blind, then iPod nano is that eye.

The wafer-like device is so slim, it can fit into any pocket. It looks fragile at first, but then I discovered it’s actually made of brushed aluminium on the front and stainless steel on the back. So it’s very sturdy but still, the design makes you want to treat it carefully, for fear of scratching or dropping it.

Ok, so you’ve talked about the exterior design. How else is it different from the previous iPods?

Now not only can you listen to your favourite songs, you can carry your photo and movie
collection in it as well. Why not? Human beings have five senses Ñ why not use two of them? You can call it the eye-pod if you wish.

The brilliant electronic engineers must have spent time in the caves thinking, and finally got their aha moment on how to make a man happy Ñ why not put all his favourite memories in a portable device he can bring along to feed his hungry mind?

But how much can you put on the nano?

It has 8GB of storage space so there’s no worry about lack of space.

What are your favourite features on this iPod?

I like the touch sensitive wheel. You can do so many things with the stroke of your thumb Ñ increase the volume, browse through your album covers and song list. You can have hours of fun
just doing that.

But the most ingenious feature related to the wheel has to be the Cover Flow.

Cover Flow? What is that?

It’s like this. Imagine all your album covers arranged in a virtual 3D shelf. As you browse with the scroll wheel, they pop up one by one. And when you play a song, the album cover is displayed next to it.

Cool!

If you have digital photos of your favourite people and events from many, many years back, you can use the scroll wheel to scroll through the pictures rapidly. It’s like an instant playback or like your life flashing before you.

Videos and movies on the nano is excellent, too. Yeah, the screen is small but it’s so sharp. See? They say the screen has the highest density in the market. It’s funny but with the earphones plugged in, it really does feel like watching a normal-sized movie. You have to try this for yourself.

So what’s your verdict on this gadget? You think everyone should own this?

Absolutely. With this machine, now I can be free to be the real me. I have the Abba Gold album on this iPod. It’s a collection of their best hits, and whenever I listen to the songs, I get transported two decades into the past.

I used to listen to these songs from an eight-track cassette on my dad’s car stereo. The music lives on even with this new technology. Yes, this thing will turn your life upside down.