Apple iPod Nano 7G

Apple iPod nano (7th Generation)

For the first time in its ten-year stretch of yearly releases since the original iPod, Apple did little to update the physical appearance of its portable media player lineup. For the iPod nano, focus shifted to incremental tweaks of the user interface and, at $129 (8GB) and $149 (16GB), a price drop of $20 and $30 for the respective capacities. Last year, Apple completely revamped the nano, removing the video camera, video playback abilities, and scroll wheel. The new capacitive touch screen brought with it too few benefits to justify the price. This year's minor refresh adds larger icons and some goofy-but-fun watch-face widgets, but the most welcome change is the price drop, earning this incremental upgrade an incremental rating boost. DesignPhysically speaking, nothing has changed since the previous nano's release. The tiny 1.5-by-1.6 by 0.4-inch, .7-ounce frame remains, the 1.5-inch display offers the same 240-by-240- pixel resolution, and the same multiple color options—metallic hues in seven bright shades are offered. In light of this, we're going to focus less on the physical design and more on the minor tweaks to the user interface. If you'd like to know more about the nano's design, check out our iPod nano (6th Gen.) review.