2. iPod Nano Redux, Continued

The clicker wheel has a slightly more textured finish and the central button is slightly concave so it's easier to find with your finger without actually looking at the buttons. The Hold button on the top is a fraction larger and easier to push, though it's still tiny. The dock connector looks the same but the headphone socket is further away from it, which may mean some accessories won't fit. In fact, this is the full dock connector from the larger iPods, which means you can connect a recording microphone from Belkin and other suppliers and record voice or line-in connections.

No changes to the way the menu works; scroll with the wheel and click the centre button to connect. The Nano catches up with other players by letting you customise the menu and by adding a simple search. Select letters on screen to display tracks with matching titles, artists or album names. Depending on the track, that can be faster than scrolling down the levels of artists and albums but with no dedicated key to open it you still have to scroll and click to get to it. When you do scroll through a long list, after a few turns of the wheel the letters of the alphabet pop up as you reach them; handy if you find the font size - or the screen size - a little small.

You can create more than one playlist on the Nano, although it's not at all obvious how to do this: first you add tracks to the On-The-Go playlist by pressing and holding the centre button when the track is selected in the library (rather than when it's playing), then you scroll to the bottom of the On-The-Go playlist and choose Save Playlist. This is the disadvantage of sticking to the ultra-minimalist controls of the iPod; everything has to be assigned to a combination of the existing buttons. You can't name the playlist until you synchronise with iTunes either; picking letters one at a time on players like the Creative Zen V is certainly clunky but it's nice to have the option.

Video playback is still reserved for the larger iPods and there's no built-in FM tuner, so other players like the Sansa e200 models are ahead there. But the Nano plays Audible ebooks and if you use the new iTunes it will play tracks that should run together seamlessly (live recordings and classical music) without gaps in between. The Nano also has a clock, stopwatch, calendar, address book and some basic games. You can copy across contacts and events from applications like Microsoft Outlook and Entourage but this is a rather lengthy process involving exporting all of your contacts and then importing them; we'd rather see a plug-in for the applications so you don't have to remember to re-export contacts that change.

Never mind the extras. What the iPod Nano mainly is, is a supremely portable music player. The headphones supplied have changed slightly, with a new rubber ring around the outside that's supposed to make them more comfortable. This is a very personal thing and we find them as uncomfortable as ever. Try the Nano with some noise-isolating canalphones like the Sure E500s or the Creative Aurvanas (depending on whether your budget is luxury models or bargain basement) and you'll really appreciate the sound of the Nano. There are players that match it and some that have the edge in sound quality, but with the right headphones you'll have no complaints.

Battery life is impressive; for playing music Apple claims 24 hours and our tests gave slightly longer at 25 hours. This depends on the bit-rate of the music and on how many times you fiddle with the controls, but it will get you through the longest flight and - more usefully - means you can leave the iPod in your bag for a few days without it going flat.

The headphones, the USB connecting cable and an adapter for Apple's desk dock are all you get in the Nano's tiny clear box; no power supply, no case, no manual (just a Quick Start guide) and no iTunes CD.