Product spotlight: Apple iPod Nano (third generation)

>> Apple's latest iPod refresh has breathed new life into the line and started consumers thinking about which iPod they want to get. Even if they already own one. I'm Brian Tom for cnet.com, and the Product Spotlight keeps burning it up. This time it's a boom -- Apple's third generation iPod Nano. [ Music ] >> The new redesigned body for the iPod Nano is the biggest change you'll see, and it's really a love or hate thing. When people first saw the new Nano they said, oh, it's so fat, so short, so ugly. What's Apple doing? Really, if the previous Nano was the Kira Knightly of iPod, this newest one kind of looks like Danny DeVito. But once I got a grip of the iPod Nano, I can tell you that devital o never looked this good or this thin. I'm feeling the design. So what's the Nano packing? First thing, video playback on a larger 2-inch screen. Now, check out the video we have playing here. It's razor-sharp, and it's the best of any iPod so far. Sure, it's a small screen, but the quality definitely makes up for it. The menu and navigation system gets some added eye candy where you can see your album art work, photos, and it's a swift touch to freshen things up a little bit. Now as you can see here each different menu selection shows a different corresponding image on the side. Another addition. You know how the Apple's cover flow which for some reason is like the coolest thing on earth to them. Now it does look great and you can look at your collection by album art. But I rarely use this feature, and I don't think I'm alone. Games. What about games? Okay, it's not that big of a deal. But it's still cool to have some preloaded ones like solitaire. The Nano is great. But you also might be let down in other areas. The audio quality is still about average-sounding compared to other products out there. And don't get me wrong, it's not bad, but it's not top-notch either. Another thing that might get to you is the fact that the screen is still plastic. That makes it more prone to scratching over time, and it would have been nice to have a glass finish -- [Inaudible] iPhone. Now this Nano also plays video, but wouldn't it also be nice to play video out through the headphone jack into your TV like previous iPod? It's nit-picky, but I just want it. Now the capacity on the Nano line is 4 gigabytes for $149 and 8 gigabytes for $199. But if they offered a 16-gigabyte model that would make it even more compelling to go get one. I'm Brian Tom for cnet.com, and the new redesign of the iPod Nano plus its new features at a sub-200 price tag continue to keep Apple on top of the game. ^M00:02:31[ Music ]