3. The Tale Of The Tape - Looking At Past Vs. Present

In this top down angle you can see the difference between the 5 GB unit and the new 15 GB unit. One thing that you can see very well in this picture is Apple's attempt to round the corners of the unit, which helps shave size and weight of the unit and gives the new iPod a slightly different look from its predecessor.

The 15 GB (M896LL/A) iPod is the new "middle of the road" model, being flanked on either side by the 10 GB and 30 GB iPod models. The 5 GB model has been discontinued; most users (including me) found that the 5 GB model just did not offer enough storage. The 10 GB and 15 GB models of the iPod are the same size, while the 30 GB model is slightly thicker in mass.

You can see in this picture, there is quite a difference between the thickness of the older 5 GB unit and the new 15 GB unit. Apple has done a great job to reduce the size of the iPod while at the same time adding many new innovations to the mix.

When compared to the older 5 GB unit that we previously reviewed (the previous generation of the 10 GB model was the same size as the 5 GB), the new 15 GB iPod is considerably smaller. Apple was able to shave nearly ¼ inch in the thickness of the unit, while still keeping the overall length and width of the unit about the same. The 15 GB iPod checks in at .62 inches thick, 2.4 inches wide and 4.1 inches high. Apple also smoothed the edges of the new 15 GB iPod to give it a rounder and sleeker appearance. What is really remarkable with this new iPod is that Apple was also able to reduce the unit's weight (without the case) to an incredible 5.6 ounces.

The size of the backlit easy-to-read display is much the same as the previous iPod unit. The touch wheel, on the other hand, has been changed to an enclosed non-moving part design. The most notable change is the movement of the navigation buttons from the outside of the touch wheel to a row of four buttons that are illuminated with red for easier viewing. These four buttons control skip backward/rewind, menu, play/pause, and skip forward/fast forward. The arrangement of the new buttons took some time to get accustomed to, mainly because I was familiar with the previous arrangement of these functions on the 5 GB iPod.