iPod Nano 4G vs 3G: Is It Time To Upgrade?

Sep 18 2008 Published by under Apple

Today, I picked up an iPod Nano 4G 8GB silver and thought I’d capture the moment on video and also do a brief comparison with the Nano 3G.

My first impression of the Nano 4G is that it feels lighter than the 3G, and that its click wheel has more grain on it, which might allow for more accurate control.

On the down side, the Nano 3G ‘fatty’ definitely feels more comfortable in my hands for a variety of reasons. For starters, the Nano 4G has really sharp corners that dig into the palm if it isn’t held exactly right. It’s enough to worry me about placing the device in my front pocket while climbing stairs, bending over or doing any type of exercise. The sharp corners are also noticeable when grasping the unit to use the click wheel, which brings up another issue — the 4G’s slender build makes it necessary to pop the Nano upwards in the hand to use its controls. In comparison, the Nano 3G’s wider girth allows easier access to the click wheel and takes less grip adjustment to get the thumb into position. Some people – perhaps most people — won’t find this an issue, but I prefer to cup my handheld devices rather than to hold them high like waving a winning raffle ticket or something.

Back to the positives, I prefer the Nano 4G’s portrait-oriented display. A longer screen allows for more text to appear in list view, such as when scrolling through song lists. Unfortunately, Apple decided to increase the font size on the 4G, which results in 6 tracks being listed at once. This is still greater than the 3G’s 5 tracks, but I was hoping for at least two more lines of text to appear on the screen at a time. Hopefully, Apple will include a smaller font setting in a future firmware update.

Another feature of interest, and one I knew nothing about prior to owning the Nano 4G, is the built-in voice recorder. I just happened to be using my iPhone 3G’s earphones + mic cable when I was testing the Nano 4G and was pleasantly surprised to find that I could record my voice, and some ambient sounds, (perhaps both sides of a conversation?) with a simple hit of a button.

As for the accelerometers in the 4G, I feel that this is a bit of a gimmick. Sure, you can play games that make use of awkward tilt controls, but the rounded glass will produce some nasty glare when viewing it at odd angles. Also, I have never been a fan of Cover Flow – especially on an iPod – so holding the 4G in landscape to activate album cover viewing is just a battery waster for me. Finally, the shake to shuffle feature works, but you’ll look like an idiot using it in public!

In summary, I like the old Nano 3G version better than the 4G, and I kind of wished I had purchased an 8GB version of the fatty instead. As much as I like new toys, the Nano 4G offers very little over the 3G. In addition, it sports some dangerous looking corners and I also suspect the unit is not as physically robust as the 3G (its top and bottom are now made of plastic). Despite these concerns, I’m sure I’ll grow accustomed to the new Nano in time, but if you’re thinking of upgrading to the 4G, I would only do so for the fresh battery life and/or increased storage capacity (my two reasons).

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Rogers iPhone 3G: A Deal With Frustration

Aug 31 2008 Published by under Apple

A few days ago, I posted about my defective iPhone 3G. I received this phone last Monday, but by the evening, I realized that it was broken beyond repair. That night I went through some troubleshooting with a friendly and responsive Rogers iPhone specialist and she assured me that I would receive another unit within 48-hours. So, assuming that the phone would ship out on the Tuesday, I expected it to arrive sometime on Thursday. Thursday came and passed, and by midday Friday I felt something was wrong.

I called up Rogers and went through the usually steps to speak with a representative. After a couple transfers I was connected to an iPhone specialist. I told the representative that I was still waiting for a replacement unit, and he perused my file to see what had happened. After putting me on hold to chat with his boss, he came back to tell me that my order had been cancelled!

Apparently, the lady who submitted my request for a replacement iPhone did not complete the troubleshooting checklist correctly, and as a result her boss decided to scrap the entire order. Needless to say, I was a bit perplexed. Clearly, I was expecting the imminent arrival of a replacement phone, but I guess this didn’t concern someone in management who deleted my order without making any effort to contact me or to correct the mistake made by his or her subordinate.

Later that night, after my frustrations had died down, I looked over at my almost-perfect iPhone with somewhat mixed feelings. The thought that it was going back was good and bad. On one hand, I felt annoyed by the extended delay of receiving a replacement — I hate being stuck at home waiting for deliveries and it’s almost impossible to get a tracking code from Rogers — but on the other hand, I’ll have a brand new iPhone 3G to unbox next week!

So I’ve begun to see my current iPhone as much like a test model that I’ve been allowed to take home and review. I have it in a soft case with a screen protector so that it’ll remain pristine, but short of destroying or losing it, there’s really nothing holding me back from pushing it to its limits. I’ve thought of running some battery tests, like draining it from full charge under various settings, or seeing how many free apps I can install until it breaks or shows signs of slow down. There’s always a silver lining if you look for it, and I have to remind myself that dealing with telecoms is rarely a smooth process when you have issues.

Do you have any suggestions for testing my temporary iPhone 3G? Do you want to know how many hours of continuous Youtube it will play before dying or catching on fire?

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Iphone 3G Inaccurate Accelerometer

Aug 27 2008 Published by under Apple

If you couldn’t tell from my last post, I am somewhat infatuated with the new iPhone 3G. So with a lot of joy, I found a UPS box sitting on my counter top when I got home the other day. Inside, was the nicest phone I’d ever owned, but an hour later I knew I’d have to send it back!

The iPhone 3G, like the original iPhone and the iPod Touch, have accelerometers that sense the orientation of the device. Unfortunately, the iPhone 3G that I received had an inaccurate accelerometer. In fact, you could describe the tilt sensor as being ‘stuck’.

Using the Dual Level app that I downloaded from the iTune’s app store, I confirmed that my iPhone was getting incorrect readings from one of the accelerometers. Because of this defect, my phone believed that it was permanently placed in a landscape orientation. After witnessing the anomaly in a couple tilt-based games, and also when using the built-in calculator, I called up my telecom and got a replacement shipped out pronto.

Now here’s where it gets interesting. During the phone call to tech support, they had me reboot the iPhone a couple times and they also activated my SIM. By the end of the call, the accelerometer was no longer stuck, but it was still showing a heavy preference for the left landscape orientation — it wouldn’t even sense a right tilt. But then, several hours later, I noticed that it was suddenly responding to right tilt movements and that the Dual Level app was showing the accelerometer’s inaccuracy down to just ~15 degrees. Had the phone came like this, I probably would not have requested a replacement. However, the problem is more noticeable when apps, like games, delicately use the accelerometers. I could easily live with the phone in this state, but reselling it down the road could be a bit sketchy, and I have no plans to keep this thing into the next decade.

I’ve dealt with a lot of tech gadgets in my time, and to occasionally receive a defective product is not surprising at all. Sure, it’s disappointing, and I’d really like to start loading my iPhone with all sorts of apps and media and be on my merry way, but I’ll have to tough it out for a few more days while I wait for the replacement. In the meantime, I still get to use this almost-perfect iPhone, and it’s already made me realize that having a web browser in my pocket at 3G speeds is something that I’ll never be able to live without now that I’ve experienced it!

Do you own an iPhone or have an opinion about it? As much as I like the product, I am a bit weary of Apple’s quality control measures…

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