04 February 2011

Nano-no-NO.

My beautiful third-gen iPod Nano carked it on Wednesday, thanks to a passing S.U.V. with High-Powered Splashing Action! (Make your own at home: all you need is a mile-long slush puddle six inches deep, some rock salt, and one asshole driver with no fucking sense. Mix well.)

After four years of good service I really can't complain too much. I am entirely iPod dependent, though, so I had to replace it immediately. Off I went to the Apple store on Thursday, to pick up a shiny new 6th-gen Nano. I was a bit concerned about the lack of click-wheel but I figured I'd get used to it, and everything else seemed to be in order, so I forked out my spend and was on my way.

This was a mistake. Don't get one, you guys. It sucks.

I was right to be wary: the touchscreen is a right royal pain in the ass, especially when you're in cold-weather land and are wearing gloves all the time. And yes, I could certainly find ways around that if that were the only problem, but it's not: the battery sucks. I mean, SUCKS. It's meant to hold charge for 24 hours, but I used it for maybe 4 hours today and the battery had drained almost to halfway. That is not a viable option for someone who uses her iPod as much as I do, and certainly not for someone who's looking down the barrel of a 24-hour flight.

Turns out that this is a chronic problem with this model. I should have read up, because forums are ablaze with complaints about this and I could find no fixes from Apple. It's been out here for several months, so if they were going to sort it they should have by now. This makes me sad. I'm not used to being cranky about my iPod.

So I've ordered a refurbished 5th-gen from Apple, since people still seem to be happy with those. Tomorrow I'll borrow my Dad's iPod, which he still hasn't loaded with anything after six months (it was a gift, bless him), to get me through until my 5th-gen arrives; and I'll return the 6th-gen as soon as possible so that I don't accidentally bust it up in some bizarre Entropy Girl way. Because you know I will.

Incidentally, where do iPods fall on Maslow's pyramid?


XOXO