Anyone use an iPod Nano for working out?

[Bateluer]

Specifically, for running on both outdoor tracks and treadmills, stationary bikes, and lifting? I'm in the market for a new MP3 player. My current 256MB iRiver isn't cutting it any more, even though its been great.

I was looking at the iRiver T30 1GB, however, its 130 at Amazon. The iPod Nano offers 2GB for 200, double the storage for not too much more money.

I've heard the battery only lasts around 6 to 8 hours, but since I don't work out that long, it shouldn't be a problem. The longest the battery needs to hold its charge is about 5 hours, the length of the plane ride to visit family on the opposite side of the US from myself. The question is, how long does the internal battery of iPod last? I remember some iPod models having the batteries die en mass at around 18 months. Apple's FAQ only says the following:

"Question: How long does the battery last?
Answer: The built-in rechargeable battery provides up to 12 hours of playtime on four hours of charge.3 You can also fast-charge the battery to 80 percent capacity in two hours. The original iPod models had up to 8 hours of playtime on a full charge.

When fully charged:

* iPod shuffle provides up to 12 hours of playtime.
* iPod mini (Second Generation) proviedsup to 18 hours of playtime.
* iPod photo provides up to 15 hours of music playtime or up to 5 hours of slideshow and music viewing time."

Comments?

 

[Hacp]

the battery dies at around 500 charges.

 

[imported_goku]

No, I use my cellphone and it works quite nicely..

 

[Bateluer]

No one has any real comments about the iPod Nano?

 

[Pathogen03]

Originally posted by: Hacp
the battery dies at around 500 charges.

No, its rated for about 1,000 charges, or almost 3 years if you charge it once a day.

 

[Bobthelost]

It's gorgeous, tiny, light as a feather and has enough battery life for your needs, it won't last forever but by the looks of things it's good enough. Expect to upgrade in two years or so anyway.

 

[quangdaika]

Originally posted by: Hacp
the battery dies at around 500 charges.

how much to replace the battery?

 

[drum]

No, i like to use heavier equipment for working out. nano doesn't really do anything for me

 

[BlacKJesuS]

ok $200 YOU can get ipod nano w/ 2gigs....$300 you can get ipod w/ video w/ 30gigs


they both will fit in your pocket

 

[Bobthelost]

ipod video is HD based, not great plan for workouts, not bad either, but that's what solid state is really good at.

I've got a shuffle that i've had since they came out, the nano looks even better and i trust apple on the battery life.

 

[imported_Skold]

Get the Cowan IaudioU3...it pwnz everything!

 

[DBL]

Originally posted by: BlacKJesuS
ok $200 YOU can get ipod nano w/ 2gigs....$300 you can get ipod w/ video w/ 30gigs


they both will fit in your pocket

But only one should be in your pocket while you are running.

 

[Bateluer]

I have no need for a portable video device. Never saw the point in them. Aside from short, humorous clips, the tiny screens of the iPods, PSPs, cell phones, etc, are pretty pointless for watching a movie or the like.

I'll probably order a black iPod Nano next week, I'll post how well it works out.

 

[imported_Skold]

Iaudio has the most superior sound quality and is flash based so you can work out with it all day long. it's the only choice for winnars

 

[quangdaika]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
I have no need for a portable video device. Never saw the point in them. Aside from short, humorous clips, the tiny screens of the iPods, PSPs, cell phones, etc, are pretty pointless for watching a movie or the like.

I'll probably order a black iPod Nano next week, I'll post how well it works out.

For the Ipod Video, I think you can buy an accessory and then play the videos you have on your TV. Anyone know of the thing I'm talking about?

 

[pm]

I got a 2GB black Nano for Christmas I use it while jogging, riding my bike into work and a lot at work.

Things that I like:

the user interface is hyper-fast... I can find a song a lot faster than my previous two MP3 players (RCA and Samsung).
it looks beautiful.
I like iTunes and podcasts and the whole thing works well together.
2GB is enough for a good mix of songs for what I do and I can randomize my computer MP3 library and have an interesting mix all the time.
The battery life is more than adequate. I've been getting the advertised 6-8 hours.
Good storage per dollar.

Things that I hate:

It scratches way too easily. Mine is in ok shape, but my co-workers (and my mother's) have big scratches on them. My mother's has a scratch that she said came from the earbuds (without the covers on them) in her pocket while out for a walk. Even with only ever carrying it around in the little leather case that came with it, I have a collection of odd little scratches on it that make it look pretty battered if the light hits it right. I've had two other MP3 players and never paid any attention to them and never scratched them at all and here I baby the Nano and it looks like I'm used sandpaper on it.

Things that I don't like:

It turns itself on too easily, and the volume changes too easily too when it's in it's leather case - so the "lock" button needs to be switched all the time - again, not a problem that I'd run into with my other MP3 players. And then you can't change anything easily while it's in it's case. And aftermarket cases are all priced ridiculously high - $30 seems to be the common price at local retailers - and several don't cover the screen - which is where scratches are the worst.


Overall, I like it. Sold my other players. It's all that I use.

 

[batmanuel]

Originally posted by: quangdaika

For the Ipod Video, I think you can buy an accessory and then play the videos you have on your TV. Anyone know of the thing I'm talking about?

It's the $20 video cable. Of course, if you have a camcorder that has a 3.5mm to RCA cable for output to the TV, you can save yourself some money and use that cable instead. It is the same cable, but on the iPod version Apple changed up which cable goes to which output. You wind up having to connect the red cable to the yellow on the TV, yellow cable to red jack and white cable to red jack.

 

[JAG87]

the nano scratches EASY. you need to keep it in a case all the time. dont even think of running with it in your pocket. you will need an arm band, or a skin for it.

 

[JE78]

I got the 30gb Video. I use it at work and I work for UPS so i'm always moving around and haven't had any problems. Once the weather gets nicer i'm going to start running/walking and plan on using it then too. I've been told that the HDD based players aren't great for working out or moving around alot but i'm taking my chances with this one.

 

[Bateluer]

These scratches don't hurt the function of the iPod or seriously impair the visibility of the screen at all, do they?

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: pm
I got a 2GB black Nano for Christmas I use it while jogging, riding my bike into work and a lot at work.

Things that I like:

the user interface is hyper-fast... I can find a song a lot faster than my previous two MP3 players (RCA and Samsung).
it looks beautiful.
I like iTunes and podcasts and the whole thing works well together.
2GB is enough for a good mix of songs for what I do and I can randomize my computer MP3 library and have an interesting mix all the time.
The battery life is more than adequate. I've been getting the advertised 6-8 hours.
Good storage per dollar.

Things that I hate:

It scratches way too easily. Mine is in ok shape, but my co-workers (and my mother's) have big scratches on them. My mother's has a scratch that she said came from the earbuds (without the covers on them) in her pocket while out for a walk. Even with only ever carrying it around in the little leather case that came with it, I have a collection of odd little scratches on it that make it look pretty battered if the light hits it right. I've had two other MP3 players and never paid any attention to them and never scratched them at all and here I baby the Nano and it looks like I'm used sandpaper on it.

Things that I don't like:

It turns itself on too easily, and the volume changes too easily too when it's in it's leather case - so the "lock" button needs to be switched all the time - again, not a problem that I'd run into with my other MP3 players. And then you can't change anything easily while it's in it's case. And aftermarket cases are all priced ridiculously high - $30 seems to be the common price at local retailers - and several don't cover the screen - which is where scratches are the worst.


Overall, I like it. Sold my other players. It's all that I use.

Thanks pm for the review. Wanted black -but I'm gonna get the white one now to minimize scratch visuals.

Is that battery allegation true?

 

[Zebo]

These scratches don't hurt the function of the iPod or seriously impair the visibility of the screen at all, do they?

No doubt about that...This is pretty crazy
http://arstechnica.com/reviews/hardware/nano.ars/3

After throwing out window at 50 MPH - and various other hard core destruction tests IPOD never skipped a beat so they pulled out all the stops:

At this point we were astounded that the iPod nano was still working properly, albeit with a broken display. Because we had honestly expected the iPod nano to break by this time, we were forced to depart from our planned schedule of destruction and try and run over it with the car. Surely, we thought, it could never withstand the crushing power of German automotive engineering.


We placed the nano in the path of the car and drove over it with both front and rear tires. Driving over the nano produced sickening crunching noises which coincidentally sounded a lot like an LCD being crushed. After the first hit and run, the iPod's display was not cracked but was showing some nasty vertical lines. Shockingly, the nano was still playing music and the controls still operated as expected, as we were still able to skip ahead, go back, pause, and play music!

 

[Tostada]

I've got a black Nano that I really like. I just about only use it when I'm running, which is about an hour a day, and I end up synching and charging it about once a week.

I like the way iTunes works once you get used to it. I really can't imagine actually needing even the full 2GB for how I use my iPod. I only have a couple playlists I listen to, and I change them around now and then, and there's no problem letting iTunes copy over the new music when I change a playlist. I did end up getting the 4GB just because it seemed like a real waste not to for $50.

If you start bumping the wheel around, it'll turn on in your pocket, but I don't think it's a very big deal having to switch the lock if you don't want it to accidentally turn on.

I was worried about how easily it supposedly scratches, so I got this "DLO Action Jacket" thing at Best Buy. Kind of lame that it's $30, but that's what the Apple armbands are, and those don't protect the screen. The DLO is neoprene instead of cheap plastic and protects the screen and wheel, and it velcros shut across where you plug in the USB cable. It's a really nice design, and it has a belt clip and an armband. I've never liked the idea of wrapping something around my arm when I can just clip it to my waist.

http://dlo.com/images/large/ajnano_black_action4_lrg.jpg

Anyway, I just stuck the iPod in that the second I took the plastic off the front and it's lived in there ever since. It's got a slot where you can get to the lock switch on the top, the wheel works through the plastic, and you can get to the headphones and USB cable at the bottom. It can just live in there.

 

[pm]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
These scratches don't hurt the function of the iPod or seriously impair the visibility of the screen at all, do they?

My mother has two circular-looking scratches in the bottom right of the screen covering about 1/4 of the total screen area. They don't impair functionality, but they make it harder to read the screen and they detract from the appearance of an object that is at least in a small part a stylish-looking fashion accessory. One of the things about the Nano is how cool it looks - having two small circles scratched into the screen certainly detracts from that.

But, no, the Nano is apparently built like a brick. A coworker keeps his in his back pocket and just sits on it all day. It doesn't seem to mind a ~175lb guy trying to break it in half all day by sitting on it.

I don't want to overemphasize the scratch thing - but it is annoying. You have this thing that looks gorgeous, and is tiny but instead you have to cover it up (and in doing so make it bigger) so that you can protect it from something that normally isn't a problem with other electronic items. I put my cell phone in my pocket with my keys and it looks fine.

But to my mind, the Nano is a fabulous MP3 player. The interface is largely immediately intuitive, it's fast and easy to use. It's lightweight and fits in a small pocket The software it uses is, to my mind at least, the best out there. It's supposedly practically indestructable (arstechnica). The music sounds good. And, probably most importantly of all from my perspective, it has one of the best GB/$ ratios out there. I think, if you can find a case for it, that it makes an excellent work-out MP3 player. Just keep it wrapped up if you want to have it looking nice.

 

[Bobthelost]

As a little point of comparison to the nano's toughness, an ipod shuffle got left in a pair of trousers and put through a wash and then tumble dry session. The buttons were deformed but it still worked perfectly.

Solid state = good.