Apple ipod nano 4th gen vs. 5th gen: Any suggestions?
180170
Below is my review, I would go with an unopened gen4! ============================================= Last year for Christmas, my wife gave me a gen4 Nano that I absolutly love. This year, I decided to return the favor and get her an ipod for Christmas. I gave it to her early so she could enjoy our Christmas cd's on it. I have to say that while my wife does like it, there are obvious issues with gen5. Fist off, the outputs on the base of the unit have been reversed so the gen5 requires it's own mount to use it on any docking station! Why csn't Apple stick with one body style for the nano. So now all the included adaptors in home theater systems are obsolete once again; makes no sense what-so-ever. The gen5 has a built in speaker that is completly useless! Sound is emitted out of the base of the unit. At best it sounds like and old time transistor radio, only without the volume! The video recoder is very awkward to use with little relivence to listing to your favorite tunes. The genius is still with us, another useless feature if you have an eclectic musical taste. The playlist feature works alot better and is much more fun. The unit works ok and we did not find any defects with it. We did not have any of the click-wheel issues that other reviwers have commented on. For me the bottom line is that Apple has takin a good thing and cluttered it with a bunch of new features. The Ipod classic would of been a much better platform for this stuff with it's 160gb's of storage. All of these features that have been added to gen5 take up precious storage space for your rockin tunes or arias, whatever the case my be.
1996620
The iPod Nano 7th Gen uses Bluetooth 4.0, and Apple chose to implement it without the Classic (backward compatibility) protocol, it is an option and they chose not to. This is not the speakers' fault, it's Apple's.
175880
Don't be sad, I actually prefer the 5.5 generation over the classic. I ended up keeping mine instead of getting a classic. Its much zippier in navigating, especially if you have a lot of videos and the click wheel works much smoother. All in all the 5.5 generation is my favorite thus far.
328518
4th Generation is a term used by apple. It describes what model your iPod is. Now in this case, the 4th generation, means it can update to 6.1.3 and is the 2nd to latest iPod. Sadly, apple discontinued it from manufacture but you can still buy it. The iPod 4th generation is better than the 2nd generation also because the 4th generation has a camera built in. I don't know why the other answer says it doesn't, but it does. I hope this is helpful to you :) please rate this as helpful! Have a good day.
736600
unfortutately I dont have a nano... it has the normal (previous versions, not the new one) ipod connection, and an extra smaller cradle.
1239135
According to Griffin's website, this is not compatible with iPod nano 4th generation. Mine just arrived and I've yet to open the packaging, but the box shows compatible iPods and the nano 4g is not listed.
380245
I would check this out on the Apple Support site. Everything that I see talks about needing the software 1.0.3 for the 4th generation iPod Nano and nothing about a 3rd generation or before.
974035
Thanks for your detailed response. Do you know if the 6thG Classic will still charge when docked to (for example) a clock radio?? I read that the 4thG Nano will still play music from such a device, but no longer charge the battery(unlike 3rdG Nano). I find this really annoying ...
1322988
Is this model compatible with the 5th gen Nano? Amazon pairs it with the 5th gen, but the description only goes up the 4th gen model.
1763760
No- ipod 5th generation uses the lightning pin charger (the really tiny one)- this is the big fat older adaptor which would work for 4th gen and below...
650962
I absolutely agree with the OP.This is the most advanced MP3 player on the planet, and to ship it with 16GB Flash instead of an 80 or 160GB microdrive, like the classic has, was stupid IMHO.It would have also been considerably cheaper with a 160GB drive instead of 16GB of Flash.I have a 2nd Gen iPod and a 1st gen 4GB Nano, both still in perfect condition. The Touch was to be my next purchase, but now I'm just not so sure any more.To be totally honest, the 160GB iPod Classic is a FAR better buy. It's cheaper, has 10 times the storage, has the same new interface and OS, and lasts 40 hours per charge.Apple has made my decision WAY too hard. I absolutely agree with the OP.This is the most advanced MP3 player on the planet, and to ship it with 16GB Flash instead of an 80 or 160GB microdrive, like the classic has, was stupid IMHO.It would have also been considerably cheaper with a 160GB drive instead of 16GB of Flash.I have a 2nd Gen iPod and a 1st gen 4GB Nano, both still in perfect condition. The Touch was to be my next purchase, but now I'm just not so sure any more.To be totally honest, the 160GB iPod Classic is a FAR better buy. It's cheaper, has 10 times the storage, has the... » Read More I absolutely agree with the OP.This is the most advanced MP3 player on the planet, and to ship it with 16GB Flash instead of an 80 or 160GB microdrive, like the classic has, was stupid IMHO.It would have also been considerably cheaper with a 160GB drive instead of 16GB of Flash.I have a 2nd Gen iPod and a 1st gen 4GB Nano, both still in perfect condition. The Touch was to be my next purchase, but now I'm just not so sure any more.To be totally honest, the 160GB iPod Classic is a FAR better buy. It's cheaper, has 10 times the storage, has the same new interface and OS, and lasts 40 hours per charge.Apple has made my decision WAY too hard. « Show Less
407402
There are severe engineering "flaws" which greatly affect the audio quality on the 6th gen classic. It has to do with the cirrus dac which is being used in the newer ipods. im not sure when or if apple has fixed or intends to fix this problem, but until something is done about it, i intend to stick with my 5.5g ipod.
607371
I have a 5th gen. iPod touch and all the elements work with it. Pleasantly surprised considering the price. Very well worth it.
357828
Is the FM radio important to you? The toy video camera something you would use? The pedimeter? I suppose if you saw an alien while going for a walk the video feature might come in handy in a pinch, otherwise I see no use for it.If not, I would go for the 4th generation. The wheel control is slightly larger and easier to use on the 4th generation. I think the outer casing looks better on 4th gen models, the colors also nicer. I've had no problems with the simple 4th.
1216012
My Ipod, is a Nano, so not so new, but I use it every day and have recently downloaded new tunes from itunes. It works great!
131272
That depends on how many apps/music/videos/pictures that your kids load. I think if my son had a 16G instead of 8G on his older 4th generation ipod we probably wouldn't have chosen to upgrade. He had LOTS of apps, and his 8G got too slow. If a camera is important to your kids, you will pay a lot more for a 5th gen - the 4th gen have cameras on every memory configuration but the 5th gen only on the 32G, which is pricey.
1025077
If your nano 4th gen has the same plug as the conventional ipod, then, yes charge and play via the cord. Yes, you can skip songs with the buttons on the ipod. The only control on the Scosche is stop and go for the ipod. The other controls are to change broadcast frequency.